Very sick “community” cat!!

[Norachan]

Poor little kitten! It's so sad how many cats are out there on the streets needing help. It's always refreshing to hear of some that have happy endings!

She did have a very nice life after she was rescued. She was FIV+ and needed to have all of her teeth removed, but it made the world of difference to her. Another of my cats, Mia, has had stomatitis most of her life. She started suffering with her teeth when she was about 6 months old. We tried various courses of anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories, but eventually the vet suggested taking all of her teeth out and she`s been much more comfortable ever since. It is an expensive surgery, but well worth it.

Looking forward to lots of updates as your sweet girl settles into her new home.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Cats do very well with no teeth at all. I've seen a good many toothless cats joyfully crunching kibbles and Temptation treats with no issues.

AND, I'm lighting a candle for your girl!

 

[Rdanes]

I am sooooo glad you found her and she's in your care! I am reading this thread with a great deal of interest. Can't wait to hear of her improvements as time goes on. Have you a name for her yet?

Thank you! We don't have a name yet but we are open to suggestions!

 

[Rdanes]

She did have a very nice life after she was rescued. She was FIV+ and needed to have all of her teeth removed, but it made the world of difference to her. Another of my cats, Mia, has had stomatitis most of her life. She started suffering with her teeth when she was about 6 months old. We tried various courses of anti-biotics and anti-inflammatories, but eventually the vet suggested taking all of her teeth out and she`s been much more comfortable ever since. It is an expensive surgery, but well worth it.

Looking forward to lots of updates as your sweet girl settles into her new home.

I have a feeling we are going to end up removing all of her teeth sooner rather than later. I don't want her suffering at all anymore. It gives me hope to hear that Mia is doing so well. Was it a difficult recovery after the surgery?

 

[Rdanes]

Cats do very well with no teeth at all. I've seen a good many toothless cats joyfully crunching kibbles and Temptation treats with no issues.

AND, I'm lighting a candle for your girl!

View attachment 482130

Thank you so much! I'm feeling very hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

 

[betsygee]

Thank you so much! I'm feeling very hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

This is wonderful news. It's so good of you to care for this little girl, she is lucky that you came along and were kind enough to stop and help her.

 

[Rdanes]

This is wonderful news. It's so good of you to care for this little girl, she is lucky that you came along and were kind enough to stop and help her.

Thank you there was no way that I could leave her there. My in laws were visiting from out of state and we were out to dinner when I saw her. I'm sure they weren't too happy when I went into rescue mode and started to hatch a plan to save her right then and there but I just couldn't ignore the poor baby.

 

[Rdanes]

She is home and resting in her crate for now. She seems much better but her mouth is definitely a huge concern. I can tell that she is in pain and having difficulty eating even her wet food.
She is using her litter box already! Although she is not burying anything. I'm not sure how to teach her to do that.
The vet thinks that she is still a kitten. She is so small. Also, they said she may not go into heat due to being so unhealthy. I will need to get her spayed at some point but will be holding off until her health has greatly improved so I hope they are correct about that. I have never had a cat in heat before and am not sure what that would be like.

Just wanted to send a quick update! Thanks everyone for the support!

 

[fionasmom]

Despite being as poorly as she is, she looks so much better already in your care. Her eyes are very calm, as if she knows that someone is helping her.

 

[Rdanes]

Despite being as poorly as she is, she looks so much better already in your care. Her eyes are very calm, as if she knows that someone is helping her.

Thank you yes, she seems to have improved a bit. She is a sweetheart. She loves when I pet her and she has a very big appetite for such a tiny thing! I'm in love with her already

 

[fionasmom]

Who knows how much she was eating, even if the people at her old "home" did put out food. They were kind to have done anything, but I doubt that they were trying to make sure that she was eating enough.

 

[Avery]

I'm so glad to hear she is home! She is on her way to a good life under your care and hopefully you can have the dental work done fairly soon. I have a formerly semi-feral cat who has lived in my house for the past five years or so. I don't know why, but she often does not cover her pee or poop in the litter box. Sometimes one of the other cats stops by to do it! Otherwise, I have just accepted it and scoop often!

Please keep us posted and let us know what name you chose!

 

[fionasmom]

I agree that some cats don't cover their waste. In the case of a multi cat household of healthy cats, I have been told that it can mean that the cat who leaves his waste uncovered is showing some dominance and I don't know if that is true or not. I have one who does not cover and one who digs to the center of the earth trying to get everything covered. In the case of this little girl, she may just be exhausted or may not have ever seen litter or even used dirt. I would not even worry about it now.

I have a rescued cat from an alley who never saw anything but concrete and she will not use litter, only pee pads.

 

[Rdanes]

Who knows how much she was eating, even if the people at her old "home" did put out food. They were kind to have done anything, but I doubt that they were trying to make sure that she was eating enough.

They had a small bowl of dry food out for all of the cats to share and no water.
Luckily it's a downtown area with a lot of shops and restaurants with water bowls outside for dogs, so the other cats were able to find what they needed. But she doesn't move around very much so I don't think she was able to find water on her own or any soft food that she was able to chew.

 

[fionasmom]

That certainly answers my question. She was probably starving and dehydrated.

 

[Rdanes]

That certainly answers my question. She was probably starving and dehydrated.

Unfortunately she was. But never again! She will always have fresh water and a tummy full of food and treats now.

 

[Rdanes]

I'm so glad to hear she is home! She is on her way to a good life under your care and hopefully you can have the dental work done fairly soon. I have a formerly semi-feral cat who has lived in my house for the past five years or so. I don't know why, but she often does not cover her pee or poop in the litter box. Sometimes one of the other cats stops by to do it! Otherwise, I have just accepted it and scoop often!

Please keep us posted and let us know what name you chose!

We are trying to come up with the perfect name for her so it's taking a bit of time! Lol

We have two other cats and they cover everything in their box, they like to be very thorough so I'm hoping that they will teach her what to do once they are able to meet in a few weeks.

 

[Avery]

I totally understand! It always takes me forever to choose names for my cats! I make lists, I search online, I try out a name for a day or two...

 

[Norachan]

I have a feeling we are going to end up removing all of her teeth sooner rather than later. I don't want her suffering at all anymore. It gives me hope to hear that Mia is doing so well. Was it a difficult recovery after the surgery?

They both recovered very quickly. Happy, who was FIV+, had a mouth infection and anemia when I found her. The vet wanted to wait until she was over the infection and her blood work was normal before doing any surgery. She did go through heat, her first and last one, while we were waiting for her to recover but it wasn`t so bad. Our vet spayed her and removed all of her teeth at the same time so we only had to pay for one surgery appointment. She`d just finished a course of antibiotics so was given an anti-inflammatory injection and was good to go. She was on wet kitten food mixed with warm water at first, then on canned for the rest of her life. There is dry food around for the other cats to snack on but she rarely ate that.

Mia had antibiotics before and after the surgery, an anti-inflammatory injection and gets fed mainly canned food, but she will sometimes eat a bit of dry food too. I think once they`ve struggled to eat with a mouth full of painful teeth recovering from the surgery isn`t as bad as you`d think.

 

[Julest]

She is home and resting in her crate for now. She seems much better but her mouth is definitely a huge concern. I can tell that she is in pain and having difficulty eating even her wet food.
She is using her litter box already! Although she is not burying anything. I'm not sure how to teach her to do that.
The vet thinks that she is still a kitten. She is so small. Also, they said she may not go into heat due to being so unhealthy. I will need to get her spayed at some point but will be holding off until her health has greatly improved so I hope they are correct about that. I have never had a cat in heat before and am not sure what that would be like.

Just wanted to send a quick update! Thanks everyone for the support! View attachment 482220

poor baby. Sending love her way for a full recovery. Well done for taking her in.