Just had you and the kitties on my mind. I hope all is well and we are sending purrs!
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Semi-feral: Bring Them Inside Or Not?
- Thread starter Avery
- Start Date
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #263
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- Aug 5, 2018
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So nice of you to check on me and the kitties,
Jcatbird
and
rubysmama
! (I hope I have remembered how to tag someone!)
Lucky and Ruby are doing very well. Not a lot has changed over the past months. Ruby and her little boy Palmer (who will be 5 soon) still are not buddies, but they tolerate each other. Ruby usually will not let me pet her unless I am feeding her treats, when she allows petting before and during each treat, or when I put down her bowl of food. She is comfortable throughout the house and is good friends with Lucky. Lucky remains THE most affectionate cat I have ever had. He wants to be in my lap all the time and gets a little jealous if another cat is there first! He will sit next to me and kind of move closer and closer, putting his front paws on my leg and eventually scaring Palmer or Rosie away by being too close!
Lucky has had a few medical issues. Recently, he had two small lumps under his chin which were diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma. He was given two steroid shots three weeks apart and the lumps are gone. I understand they are benign but could come back so I'm just watching him. A few weeks after that adventure, I took him to the vet for sneezing, which went on for about 4-5 days. He was given a shot of Cerenia and a liquid vaccine in his nose and he is now fine, with maybe only a sneeze once in a while. The vet said it was a mild viral infection and would have gone away on its own.
Palmer seemed to have caught Lucky's cold but with less sneezing, more lethargy, and less appetite. I took Palmer to the vet and they kept him for three nights, giving him IV fluids and antibiotics and a few other things. They did an X-ray (no pneumonia) and blood work which showed a mild elevation in white blood cell count. As I understand it, while this may have started out as a virus, it can turn into a bacterial infection so they were being really cautious since he didn't seem to feel well. I brought Palmer home a few days ago and have Clavamox to give him, along with Mirtazapine (for appetite) and Cerenia (for nausea) and was told to isolate him for 2 weeks!
Yesterday, I took Lucky back to the vet since he was shaking his head and scratching at his ear and the vet found absolutely nothing! No ear mites, nothing on his fur, a perfectly healthy boy! But I took advantage of this different vet (the other two in the practice had taken care of Palmer) and asked her about Palmer. She said if the Clavamox was giving him diarrhea (which it is), I could stop if for 48 hours. Then she asked more questions and when I said he seems pretty healthy now, eating well, etc. she said her advice would be to stop all his medicine and let him out of isolation! She said that the other cats would already have been exposed anyway. She said unless I am putting on a gown and gloves and so forth, I could be transmitting germs back and forth anyway. I think she feels that he probably had a virus and there really isn't a need for an antibiotic. Honestly, Palmer had a very slightly runny nose with clear liquid and I never saw anything green and gunky coming out so she might be right!
This is a brand new vet practice for me (my previous vet left) so I am getting used to the different strategies of each of the three vets. Two of them are very by-the-book, test-oriented, and cautious. They are the ones who administered to Palmer while he was sick. This third vet who advised me to let him out and stop the medicine is more practical, relies more on clinical signs, and has tons of down-to-earth experience because she has eleven cats, including a feral cat, in her house!
Yikes! I really like each of the three vets and think they are all good vets, but it is certainly confusing to know what to do with these different opinions! It makes me realize that there is no perfect answer and I think there is an inbetween strategy. I did stop the Clavamox because of the diarrhea, but I might continue the other two for another day or two. Palmer is doing well in my bedroom and isn't too insistent to get out so I have kept him isolated, but maybe for only a few more days. I am used to following a vet's orders faithfully and it is a little stressful to have to analyze the situation myself and make a determination!
Well, I'll bet you didn't expect THIS long-winded reply! Despite these very recent medical issues, things really are going very well. I am working from home so I can keep an eye on everyone. I hope you are doing well with your kitties! Thanks again for getting in touch!
Jcatbird
and
rubysmama
! (I hope I have remembered how to tag someone!) Lucky and Ruby are doing very well. Not a lot has changed over the past months. Ruby and her little boy Palmer (who will be 5 soon) still are not buddies, but they tolerate each other. Ruby usually will not let me pet her unless I am feeding her treats, when she allows petting before and during each treat, or when I put down her bowl of food. She is comfortable throughout the house and is good friends with Lucky. Lucky remains THE most affectionate cat I have ever had. He wants to be in my lap all the time and gets a little jealous if another cat is there first! He will sit next to me and kind of move closer and closer, putting his front paws on my leg and eventually scaring Palmer or Rosie away by being too close!
Lucky has had a few medical issues. Recently, he had two small lumps under his chin which were diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma. He was given two steroid shots three weeks apart and the lumps are gone. I understand they are benign but could come back so I'm just watching him. A few weeks after that adventure, I took him to the vet for sneezing, which went on for about 4-5 days. He was given a shot of Cerenia and a liquid vaccine in his nose and he is now fine, with maybe only a sneeze once in a while. The vet said it was a mild viral infection and would have gone away on its own.
Palmer seemed to have caught Lucky's cold but with less sneezing, more lethargy, and less appetite. I took Palmer to the vet and they kept him for three nights, giving him IV fluids and antibiotics and a few other things. They did an X-ray (no pneumonia) and blood work which showed a mild elevation in white blood cell count. As I understand it, while this may have started out as a virus, it can turn into a bacterial infection so they were being really cautious since he didn't seem to feel well. I brought Palmer home a few days ago and have Clavamox to give him, along with Mirtazapine (for appetite) and Cerenia (for nausea) and was told to isolate him for 2 weeks!
Yesterday, I took Lucky back to the vet since he was shaking his head and scratching at his ear and the vet found absolutely nothing! No ear mites, nothing on his fur, a perfectly healthy boy! But I took advantage of this different vet (the other two in the practice had taken care of Palmer) and asked her about Palmer. She said if the Clavamox was giving him diarrhea (which it is), I could stop if for 48 hours. Then she asked more questions and when I said he seems pretty healthy now, eating well, etc. she said her advice would be to stop all his medicine and let him out of isolation! She said that the other cats would already have been exposed anyway. She said unless I am putting on a gown and gloves and so forth, I could be transmitting germs back and forth anyway. I think she feels that he probably had a virus and there really isn't a need for an antibiotic. Honestly, Palmer had a very slightly runny nose with clear liquid and I never saw anything green and gunky coming out so she might be right!
This is a brand new vet practice for me (my previous vet left) so I am getting used to the different strategies of each of the three vets. Two of them are very by-the-book, test-oriented, and cautious. They are the ones who administered to Palmer while he was sick. This third vet who advised me to let him out and stop the medicine is more practical, relies more on clinical signs, and has tons of down-to-earth experience because she has eleven cats, including a feral cat, in her house!
Yikes! I really like each of the three vets and think they are all good vets, but it is certainly confusing to know what to do with these different opinions! It makes me realize that there is no perfect answer and I think there is an inbetween strategy. I did stop the Clavamox because of the diarrhea, but I might continue the other two for another day or two. Palmer is doing well in my bedroom and isn't too insistent to get out so I have kept him isolated, but maybe for only a few more days. I am used to following a vet's orders faithfully and it is a little stressful to have to analyze the situation myself and make a determination!
Well, I'll bet you didn't expect THIS long-winded reply! Despite these very recent medical issues, things really are going very well. I am working from home so I can keep an eye on everyone. I hope you are doing well with your kitties! Thanks again for getting in touch!
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
- Messages
- 7,112
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Thanks for the update. Wishing you success.So nice of you to check on me and the kitties,
Lucky and Ruby are doing very well. Not a lot has changed over the past months. Ruby and her little boy Palmer (who will be 5 soon) still are not buddies, but they tolerate each other. Ruby usually will not let me pet her unless I am feeding her treats, when she allows petting before and during each treat, or when I put down her bowl of food. She is comfortable throughout the house and is good friends with Lucky. Lucky remains THE most affectionate cat I have ever had. He wants to be in my lap all the time and gets a little jealous if another cat is there first! He will sit next to me and kind of move closer and closer, putting his front paws on my leg and eventually scaring Palmer or Rosie away by being too close!
Lucky has had a few medical issues. Recently, he had two small lumps under his chin which were diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma. He was given two steroid shots three weeks apart and the lumps are gone. I understand they are benign but could come back so I'm just watching him. A few weeks after that adventure, I took him to the vet for sneezing, which went on for about 4-5 days. He was given a shot of Cerenia and a liquid vaccine in his nose and he is now fine, with maybe only a sneeze once in a while. The vet said it was a mild viral infection and would have gone away on its own.
Palmer seemed to have caught Lucky's cold but with less sneezing, more lethargy, and less appetite. I took Palmer to the vet and they kept him for three nights, giving him IV fluids and antibiotics and a few other things. They did an X-ray (no pneumonia) and blood work which showed a mild elevation in white blood cell count. As I understand it, while this may have started out as a virus, it can turn into a bacterial infection so they were being really cautious since he didn't seem to feel well. I brought Palmer home a few days ago and have Clavamox to give him, along with Mirtazapine (for appetite) and Cerenia (for nausea) and was told to isolate him for 2 weeks!
Yesterday, I took Lucky back to the vet since he was shaking his head and scratching at his ear and the vet found absolutely nothing! No ear mites, nothing on his fur, a perfectly healthy boy! But I took advantage of this different vet (the other two in the practice had taken care of Palmer) and asked her about Palmer. She said if the Clavamox was giving him diarrhea (which it is), I could stop if for 48 hours. Then she asked more questions and when I said he seems pretty healthy now, eating well, etc. she said her advice would be to stop all his medicine and let him out of isolation! She said that the other cats would already have been exposed anyway. She said unless I am putting on a gown and gloves and so forth, I could be transmitting germs back and forth anyway. I think she feels that he probably had a virus and there really isn't a need for an antibiotic. Honestly, Palmer had a very slightly runny nose with clear liquid and I never saw anything green and gunky coming out so she might be right!
This is a brand new vet practice for me (my previous vet left) so I am getting used to the different strategies of each of the three vets. Two of them are very by-the-book, test-oriented, and cautious. They are the ones who administered to Palmer while he was sick. This third vet who advised me to let him out and stop the medicine is more practical, relies more on clinical signs, and has tons of down-to-earth experience because she has eleven cats, including a feral cat, in her house!
Yikes! I really like each of the three vets and think they are all good vets, but it is certainly confusing to know what to do with these different opinions! It makes me realize that there is no perfect answer and I think there is an inbetween strategy. I did stop the Clavamox because of the diarrhea, but I might continue the other two for another day or two. Palmer is doing well in my bedroom and isn't too insistent to get out so I have kept him isolated, but maybe for only a few more days. I am used to following a vet's orders faithfully and it is a little stressful to have to analyze the situation myself and make a determination!
Well, I'll bet you didn't expect THIS long-winded reply! Despite these very recent medical issues, things really are going very well. I am working from home so I can keep an eye on everyone. I hope you are doing well with your kitties! Thanks again for getting in touch!
Sorry you're having to deal with/worry about Palmer and Lucky's health issues. Sending healing vibes that they recover soon
.
Happy, though, to hear that Ruby (you know as a mama to a Ruby I have an extra soft spot in my heart for all other Ruby cats) is now comfortable throughout the house, and that all 4 cats are co-existing, and "sharing" your lap.
Thanks for the update.
Oh, if you have any new pics, do feel free to post them.
. Happy, though, to hear that Ruby (you know as a mama to a Ruby I have an extra soft spot in my heart for all other Ruby cats) is now comfortable throughout the house, and that all 4 cats are co-existing, and "sharing" your lap.
Thanks for the update.
Oh, if you have any new pics, do feel free to post them.
