Is this starving stray pregnant, or has she had her kittens?/ Thomas

[checkers]

Thomas update

Thomas on sofa 23 05 15 (2).jpg

• checkers
• May 28, 2015

I rang the animal hospital this afternoon to see how Thomas was going.

He's still not eating so they have put him on a drip, poor boy.

 

[handsome kitty]

@Checkers I finally got my kitten fix yesterday.  They are so tiny and cute.  But I found myself more drawn to the adult cats now that mine has grown.  It was sad to see that some cats had been in the rescue for almost a year.  At least they are in good homes.  It was very tempting to get a 3rd cat but my DH would be very unhappy with a 3rd. Still surprised I managed to sneak in a 2nd cat.

 

[handsome kitty]

Poor Thomas.  He was just getting used to your house.  It must be so confusing for him.

 

[mani]

Thomas...

 

[checkers]

 
@Checkers I finally got my kitten fix yesterday.  They are so tiny and cute.  But I found myself more drawn to the adult cats now that mine has grown.  It was sad to see that some cats had been in the rescue for almost a year.  At least they are in good homes.  It was very tempting to get a 3rd cat but my DH would be very unhappy with a 3rd. Still surprised I managed to sneak in a 2nd cat.....

Poor Thomas.  He was just getting used to your house.  It must be so confusing for him.

@Handsome Kitty  , so pleased to see you got your kitten fix at last.  As much as you wanted one, your two cats are probably just as pleased as your DH that you didn't come home with a 3rd cat! 

And yes, I'm upset for poor Thomas who was coming out of his shell when the flu hit.  I doubt he would have survived out of the animal hospital after getting the flu, though. He's in the best place, where he's getting 24-hour care.  

And thank you, @Mani, for your positive thoughts for Thomas! 

 

[Norachan]

Poor Thomas! Cat 'flu is really nasty, I hope he's feeling better soon. You'll probably see an improvement fairly quickly after he's been on a drip, the extra fluid and nutrition seems to perk them up.

Are you allowed to visit him? Will he be coming back to stay with you once he's strong enough?

 

[checkers]

 
...You'll probably see an improvement fairly quickly after he's been on a drip, the extra fluid and nutrition seems to perk them up.

Are you allowed to visit him? Will he be coming back to stay with you once he's strong enough?

Thanks @Norachan!  I'm looking forward to hearing some good news from the animal hospital in a few days.

I am allowed to visit him, but I thought it probably wouldn't help him any, as he'd be confined to a  cage and he's only known me a few days so I don't think he'd find any comfort in my visit - unless I took him home with me! 

Thomas was supposed to be in the care of a rescue-group home by now. I was only meant to have him a few days to bridge him from his owner to the group and keep him out of the shelter (so he didn't get the flu!).  But I did tell the refuge that I would take him back as a foster if the rescue group wasn't ready for him.  It may be that his hospitalization has thrown out their schedule and another cat has taken his place with the rescue group.   

 

[Deleted member 73596]

I wish you'd tell blighty that cats like small places then maybe he'd let me put him in the carrier. I have to keep cancelling appointments wit the vet, who just laughs. She's quite willing to come here but he does a good. Disappearing act bb

Have you tried putting a treat in the back of the carrier? That's how I get Peony in.
Maybe get him used to going inside by putting his food and water in there too.

 

[kntrygrl256]

I am thankful that none of my cats have ever had a fear of their carrier. I put mine in the floor with the door open and they push and shove each other to get in so they can take a nap. I have two and if I need to get them to the vet all I have to do is open them and they will walk right in.

 

[mani]

MOD NOTE:

Please stay on topic.  

Posts have been deleted from this thread as they had gone a long way off-topic.

Whilst we often describe our own experiences in the threads of other members, they are experiences that relate to the topic at hand.

If you wish to change the topic, please start your own thread in the appropriate place.

Thank you.

 

[Norachan]

How's everything going with Thomas @Checkers  ? Any updates?

 

[checkers]

How's everything going with Thomas @Checkers ? Any updates?

Thanks so much for asking,@Norachan!  I haven't any news since my post ( #421) about my ringing the day before yesterday to check on him.  I'll ring again but don't want to bother them too much as they are so busy in the hospital and I am confident they are taking good care of him.  He seems to be very popular with the staff.  They told me they'd ring me when he was ready to be released, but I won't let it go longer than another two days.

 

[stewball]

I hope you get him back.

 

[Norachan]

 
Thanks so much for asking,@Norachan!  I haven't any news since my post ( #421) about my ringing the day before yesterday to check on him.  I'll ring again but don't want to bother them too much as they are so busy in the hospital and I am confident they are taking good care of him.  He seems to be very popular with the staff.  They told me they'd ring me when he was ready to be released, but I won't let it go longer than another two days.

I'm sure he is very popular with the staff, he's such a handsome fellow. So, he'll be released back to you when he's over the 'flu? I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you again. I'm looking forward to some more Thomas pictures.

 

[segelkatt]

Get well, Thomas [emoji]128049[/emoji]

you are "steaming" the cat. Do you mean a humidifier? That's what I used on my babies (human kind) a lot when they were not feeling well. I would put the humidifier at the foot of their crib, put a sheet over the top to keep the water vapors in and they would sleep, well, like babies. I first learned this when I took a 6-month old baby to the emergency room with some awful noises coming out of her and the doctor said she had "croup" and to get a humidifier. Worked like a charm. I've even used it myself when the desert wind blows and the humidity goes down to about 12 %, your sinuses dry out, you get a headache, you feel stuffed up but you're not, you get shocked by touching any kind of metal. Ah, the humidifier solves all of that. 

 
I'm sure he is very popular with the staff, he's such a handsome fellow. So, he'll be released back to you when he's over the 'flu? I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you again. I'm looking forward to some more Thomas pictures.

same here; Thomas, everybody is rooting for you, you won't have any choice but to get well. 

 

[checkers]

THOMAS update

Thomas on sofa 23 05 15 (2).jpg

• checkers
• May 28, 2015

Thank you so much for your concern and interest in Thomas.  I'm Finding it hard to type this, but here goes.

I’ve just had a call from the RSPCA. They are going to put Thomas down.  They said he should have picked up by now, but he hasn’t responded to treatment and is very sick.  They now think he has renal failure.

 

The person who phoned me said the vet was doing more tests, but had asked her to call me.  I said he didn’t have renal failure when he was brought in recently, and she responded that the vet suspected that’s what he had now as he was so sick, and ‘he was quite old’.  I said if he was doing more tests, was there still hope.  She said she thought not, as the vet had asked her to call. 

 

What can you do?  He’s not my cat.  He’s theirs.  I got a bit emotional and the poor woman had to wait until I’d composed myself.  She asked if I wanted a break from fostering.  I explained I had to have two lots of surgery so would have to break anyway. She said they'd contact me again in a few months to see if I'd recovered sufficiently to take on some more fosters.

Sorry to end on this very sad note, but I guess this is the end of this thread, unless I get any more kitten news from the new adoptive parents in which case I will bring that to you.

Thank you again.

 

[segelkatt]

I am so sorry to hear this. It's so hard to have a cat put down even when it's not your own. There is still a small hope that he will recover and that it is really just the flu but I think you should prepare yourself. Perhaps it would help you if you could be there when he goes, hold him in our arms so you can both say goodbye. It doesn't hurt to ask 

 

[checkers]

 
I am so sorry to hear this. It's so hard to have a cat put down even when it's not your own. There is still a small hope that he will recover and that it is really just the flu but I think you should prepare yourself. Perhaps it would help you if you could be there when he goes, hold him in our arms so you can both say goodbye. It doesn't hurt to ask 

Thank you @segelkatt  . I really appreciate and admire how some people  do this - for their pets and themselves,  but I'm afraid I couldn't cope with that experience. It would haunt me forever. I could never work in a vet surgery. 

 

[checkers]

final Thomas update

Thomas on sofa 23 05 15 (2).jpg

• checkers
• May 28, 2015

After my last post today (#436) about receiving the worst news on Thomas, I contacted the animal hospital again saying I doubted if they’d find renal failure in the blood tests and if the vet thought Thomas could possibly recover in a home environment, I’d take him back and do what I could.

The shelter vet then rang me to explain the person who had rung me earlier to pass on his message had got it wrong.  He did in fact do some more blood tests, and Thomas did not have renal failure.  He said the reason for the euthanasia decision was based on his deteriorating condition from the flu, despite the drip. His white blood cells suggested he may have even had a secondary infection, but he suspected he had a particularly bad strain of the flu which was just too much for a 15yo cat who already had reduced immunity.  He said his immunity would have been even worse with not just his age, but the stress of being taken from his home and placed in a cage in a foreign environment.  This stress is heightened in old cats who have become set in their ways.

The vet said they tried everything to improve Thomas’s condition, including hand-feeding him yesterday. He actually took a little food that way, but his condition was too poor for it to make a difference. He had continued to lose weight. He said I could not have provided the care Thomas needed at home, as it involved feeding through a drip and changing medications, and it wasn't working for them anyway. He said euthanasia was not taken likely and was their last resort for the welfare of the animal.

It’s hard to accept when you’ve taken an animal into your home and heart, and had hoped to see an amazing transformation to health again, but the welfare of the animal is paramount and if he was only going to deteriorate in pain and depression, then I can’t argue.

To those of you who’ve followed Thomas’s journey with concern and encouragement, a huge ‘thank you’ to you for your support and care.

This has been a very long thread, starting with a lactating tabby, a search for kittens that may or may not have existed, finding those kittens, after handing them over to the refuge getting three kittens back to foster, and then their final handover for adoption once they reached de-sexing age. It was on the day of the handover that beautiful old Thomas came unexpectedly into my life. I hope, at least, he had a little fun and love before his final illness.

 

[Norachan]

Oh Checkers, I'm so so sorry to hear this.

Thomas was a lovely boy, it's such a shame he didn't make it. I'm sure he enjoyed his time with you, he was very lucky to have someone to care for him in the last weeks of his life. I know it's heartbreaking for you, but I hope you can take some comfort from the fact that you helped Thomas get out of the shelter and enjoy a bit of home life.

This has been a long and winding journey for us, hasn't it? A lot of happiness but some tears as well. I hope you carry on fostering once you feel up to it. You obviously have a lot to offer to those cats and kittens in need.