http://www.catforum.com/forum/ en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 12:02:59 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.catforum.com/forum/images/CatForum/misc/rss.jpg http://www.catforum.com/forum/ http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/135151-losing-freckles-suspected-fip.html Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:25:35 GMT Hi Yesterday we lost Freckles, our 7 month old beloved kitten to what we think was FIP. We decided to get our first kitten mid march and visited... Hi
Yesterday we lost Freckles, our 7 month old beloved kitten to what we think was FIP.

We decided to get our first kitten mid march and visited a property in a very poor area. It was clear that whilst the owners were cat lovers, they did not clean their house and it really stank. When we arrived to view Patch (as they called her) the little entrance porch was a mess with old half used tins of cat food by the door, old takeaway cartons, it was a complete mess - you get the picture.

When we took Patch home we renamed her Freckles, a beautiful 8 week old kitten with white, grey, black and brown markings and a Bengal/moggy cross. She would run around the house like a loony, climb to the top of the curtains with that cheeky look, then meow to be brought down, she really was beautiful.

After 3 months of having such joy from Freckles we decided to get her a playmate, so visited a local farm to pickup a tabby cat called Libby who was 9 weeks old. Initially they did not get on very much and Freckles was hissing a little at Libby but that was normal territory behaviour as far as we know.

3 weeks after getting Libby we were going to Spain on holiday so we took Freckles to a cattery, but as Libby did not have the correct vaccinations in time she was not able to go and stayed with my mum for a week.
When we collected Freckles she was very excited and ran from the cage and virtually jumped into my arms and starting purring to us.

About 1 week after getting back from holiday and with both kittens reunited we started spotting a little liquid patch on the floor, but initially thought it was Libby, then one day we saw some vomit with whole pieces of cat food in it, which alerted us to think it was Freckles so we took her to the vet. She was diagnosed after blood tests as having a Gastro problem and was put onto antibiotics.

1 week after that I came home early to find a clump of fur on the floor, not too much but enough. Then I saw Freckles walking like she was Bambi on ice with her back legs giving way. I thought initially Freckles and Libby had a scrap and she was limping as a result but as there was no sign of injury I took her to the vets. The vet said it could be neurological and prescribed some steroids to help he mentioned he would treat her for Toxoplasmosis.

During the last 4 weeks she had gone through stages of not eating very much, she lost so much weight, her balance did not really improve, she would look very sad.

On one of the checkups to the vet over the last 4 weeks, she was with me in the cat carrier and had what can only be described as a seizure or a fit where she rolled over and over fast, then stopped with eyes crazed and panting, then it happened again and a 3rd time. I was in shock.

But again another symptom from what I have read of both Toxoplasmosis and also FIP. She had a couple of seizures where her body contorted but after a few seconds it released.

She had started following us around the house for a week which we thought was beautiful even though she was struggling to walk at a normal pace.

Over the the weekend though she started to favour one of her front paws and was really struggling, so we took her into the vets he asked us to bring her back the next morning for blood tests and all the major tests. As she was struggling too much we left her downstairs near to the litter tray on a comfortable cushion. We woke at 5am and found she had soiled herself in her sleep and we told the vet this as we were taking her in for blood tests.

I took the phonecall to say that she had died at the vets. She apparently woke after her tests but died shortly after.

When I have been explaining what happened at the vets to my friends, I am not angry nor do I blame them for her dying there as I think we had both resigned ourselves to losing her that morning. We had decided that if it was FIP we would let her go without suffering but was surprised at how quickly she went downhill.

David

ps. Sorry for the long post, but Freckles was such a lovely kitten and I wanted to tell her story. ]]> Over The Rainbow Bridge David1975 http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/135151-losing-freckles-suspected-fip.html http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134887-jonah.html Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:53:01 GMT Ive never met a cat I didnt love. But there are some that capture your heart in a special way and that was Jonah. Jonah was a manx bobtail kitten our... Ive never met a cat I didnt love. But there are some that capture your heart in a special way and that was Jonah. Jonah was a manx bobtail kitten our TNR group rescued in a litter of kittens. My friends know I have a weakness for bobtails!

Though I didnt meet Jonah I heard about him from all my friends and he was very special to several of them. He was a very quiet and subdued kitten.

He was adopted out to a family which had terriers and teenagers and a disabled child. We ended up removing him from the home because he was so terrorized by the dogs.

He was adopted out again with another cats from our group. We got a call a couple weeks ago that the people wanted to return Jonah. He was hiding under the bed, loosing weight, and the other cat he was adopted with was attacking him. They didnt know what to do.

Jonah came back to us skinny, listless, and only 7.6 pounds and not eating. I offered to go over and get him and take him to the best vet in our area to see what was going on. Jonah immediately stole my heart. I was determined to get him back to health and promised him we get him the best home ever just hang on for us to get him back to health.

We did exrays, blood test and both vets felt it was strongly leaning toward FIP. He had bacterial phenomia (:sp?) and we started him on meds and sub Qing him daily. Two vets consulted on him and one of the vets contacted a specialist on FIP. The specialist said on an outside chance this could be a strong bacterial infection & put him on a second med to see if that helped. We were force feeding him also. Friends of mine had taken him in to foster him while sick and were lavishing him with love and attention trying to help him turn the corner.

Monday one of the vets came to the house to draw blood to see if anything had changed. But when she saw him she said it would be more humane to send him on to the rainbow bridge. He was euthanized surround by loving people.

Im grateful the last two weeks of his life he felt safe, loved, cherished, prayed for, valued. Jonah we will not forget you. Thanks you for your beautiful spirit. The joy you brought so many of us. Run free sweet boy. Please come see me when Im on the other side. I miss you even though I only closely knew you two weeks. You were a very special cat in my heart. ]]> Over The Rainbow Bridge http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134887-jonah.html http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134716-i-rescued-cat-june-i-had-put-him-down-today.html Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:00:03 GMT He was 14 years old, declawed, and his owner had given him up. I adopted Buster from the shelter. I didn't look at any other cats and took him home. He developed a URI and stopped eating. We gave him SubQ fluids as he ate after getting fluids. We got that under control (just barely). Then came the urinary tract infections. He couldn't fight them. He got diaharea. Then we stopped the antibiotics for a while. Then he peed outside the box again. The cultures at the vet office showed nothing - they sent them out yesterday. Buster was prescribed Mirtazapine to help get his apettite back, but it didn't work.I had an appointment for him to see a specialist for an ultrasound. This morning he had a black diherea and he was foaming at the mouth. Then he cried and howled. I called the vet to make an appointment to have him put him down at 4pm. I held him for a long time after he was gone. He went to the rainbow bridge. I am at my mom's house. Tomorrow will be tough as I will return to my apartment to clean his litter box. I miss him so much. ]]> Over The Rainbow Bridge JulieC http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134716-i-rescued-cat-june-i-had-put-him-down-today.html http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134714-i-dont-think-ive-ever-cried-much.html Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:39:11 GMT Today, I lost one of my best friends, my 8 1/2 year old Spice, to a battle with something we didn't even know she had.

Yesterday I thought she had a simple cold, and I took care of her all day...I didn't really sleep last night because I was worried about her, even though we already had a vet appointment for today. Fast forward to about 3 hours ago, and I was given the crushing news that my little baby had chronic kidney disease. I knew then she was pretty much past the point of no return, and anything we did at that point would be too costly, and only put her through more stress and pain sheerly for my selfishness - I wouldn't even be around enough to see her for it to be worth it, as I'm off to college in a few days and won't be able to come home much.. I felt like the only thing I could do for her was to end her suffering, and we did just that.

I'm an easy crier, but for some reason deaths don't really affect me that much, unless they're fictional. {I know, it's weird.} I did cry a lot when my grandmother died a few years ago, but never have I cried more than this. Spice wasn't exactly a people-cat, but hearing her meow when I'd pet her and having her purring right next to my ear one time not too terribly long ago are special memories, as is the memory of coming home every day afterschool and getting to pick my tiny little kitten out from her brother and sisters to hold for a few minutes when she was little. I truly do miss my little Spicy-boo. ♥ ]]> Over The Rainbow Bridge SpicySplendor http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/134714-i-dont-think-ive-ever-cried-much.html