am i a fair weather cat mom?

1481 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by kty78, Jun 10, 2012

sjk373

Discussion Starter · Jun 7, 2012

I reached the end of my rope today. I think. With at least one of my two boys.

Shoes was diagnosed with diarhea yesterday morning. The night before he was eliminating outside his box and couldn't go. Vet gave him injections and me a whole lot of medication and i brought him home. where he promptly eliminated again outside the box. so i set up other boxes. and tried to give him medications without much success.

two sleep-deprived nights, where i was ever-vigilant against him going somewhere he shouldn't. i slept when he curled up on the couch next to me. My room is out of buonds for both of them until they are both well.

i came home early from work because I couldn't focus on what they might be doing. apartment was fine. nothing out of whack. shoes still didn't take his medicine. socks, his littermate, who the vet after seeing a photo of his bum, suggested also be given anti biotics, was not smart enough and ended up with most of a dose. shoes, on the other hand, has not, and while his bum looks soooo much better, he's not fully recovered.

and he eliminated right in front of the other litter pan. and was going to do the same on the carpet.

i broke. i love them. i've been taking care of them for nearly 3 years now. and the thought of anything wrong with them breaks my heart but right this second, i would pay someone to take them off my hands.

right now, after reading the various suggestions, Shoes is in the spare bath, and was whining when i closed the door to my roommate's room.

Socks is curled up next to me on the couch, like nothing is wrong.

and i can't wait to get a full night's sleep, although what Shoes will do in the morning when I check in on him, I don't know...

am i a fairweather cat mom, ready to quit at the first sign of trouble?

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librarychick

· #2 · Jun 7, 2012

They're sick....

Getting mad at them for having accidents when they're sick is like getting mad at a baby for throwing up. They didn't do it on purpose, they feel crappy as it is, the only thing to do is clean up and move on.

That being said keeping him in a bathroom sounds like a good idea. When one of our four is sick they spend tome in a bathroom for a few reasons: it's easier for them to rest away from the other cats, I know where they are and have easy access if it's needed, and I know what/when they're eating and potting. Makes it easier to doctor meds into their food too.

Take a deep breath, relax a bit. Having sick pets is stressful, but they wont be sick forever. Diarrhea isn't tough to treat anyways, usually it's linked to either poor food or worms so its an easy fix.

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maggie23

· #3 · Jun 7, 2012

i'm so sorry things have been so tough for you. it hasn't been for the full 3 years, though, has it??? i sure hope not. it sounds like this might just be a temporary sickness for the boys. if so, i also suggest taking a moment to step back, relax, get a better perspective on things. take a vacation from work if that's possible just to spend some time with the boys and make sure they take their medicine. (which is another issue all together meaning i just hope the vet knows what he/she's doing by giving them medicine and not just suggesting some nice simple holistic remedy like canned pumpkin or probiotics or something)

my sister-in-law has a kitty with cancer and she's been going through weekly chemo for @3 months now. some weeks are better than others. you can imagine my sister-in-law's stress level during this time along with the sleep deprivation, etc...

i could barely handle it myself when our own kitty developed cancer and we made the decision to let her go peacefully. it was a total of maybe 2 weeks that we stressed about it and got no sleep, so i do know a little of how draining it can be.

librarychick is right. the boys aren't being sick on purpose. they need you more than ever now! they don't mean to put you through this and make you lose sleep and stress out. and remember. you said it yourself. YOU ARE THEIR MOM. do the right thing. hang in there for them. help them get better. we all need to vent, of course. we all need to commiserate just like moms of humans do! that's completely natural, but in the end, you're still their mom and you should be there for them. i'm rootin' for ya!!!

and if you can't take vacation, fake a sick day or TWO!

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hoofmaiden

· #4 · Jun 7, 2012

Your mistake was not confining him from the get-go. He can't help it, so make it easy for him. The bathroom is OK--a large dog crate w/ LB, bed, and water would be better. That's what I would have done.

Management is an important part of living w/ companion animals. This is as true for dealing with illness or behavior problems as it is for housetraining puppies. Don't set them up to fail!

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kty78

· #5 · Jun 7, 2012

This too, shall pass. I know how you feel. I hate messes and it's frustrating when a pet or child is sick and you have all the extra work. Years ago we adopted a dog and only a few weeks later she got giardia and had the liquid squirts all over my floor. I quickly got her treated and kept her crated as much as I could while she recovered but during that time I thought Omg, what have I gotten myself into? Is this going to happen often? She really only got sick one other time and that's when she got out and ate a pan of who knows what kind of scraps that one of the neighbors put out for cats. She had diahrrea for days from that. It really is gross, I completely get it. Just hang in there!

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MowMow

· #6 · Jun 7, 2012

I think you also need to go back to your vet and tell them you're having trouble medicating the cat. They can give you something to go IN the food or a liquid to make it easier. The longer kitty goes without the needed meds the sicker he may get and the longer it will take him to recover.

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orrymain

· #7 · Jun 7, 2012

I'm sorry you're going through this. I know how tired you must be. When Orry got sick I confined him to the master bath because it would be easier to clean up and it has a window for him to watch the world go by. He did meow/whine to be let out but he would quiet down after a few minutes. We spent time with him there playing and just keeping him company and after about a week in confinement he was all better. And cleaning up with so much easier. So I'm with the others...put him in a large dog crate with everything he'll need or the bathroom. Just hang in there. It will get better. Keep us posted.

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sjk373

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 9, 2012

Guys, thanks for the thoughts and the advice.

Shoes jumped out of my fifth floor window in the bathroom yesterday. I had left it open a few inches as it was a bit stuffy. I woke up this morning at about 5:30 to find a missing cat and a big hole in my screen.

After much searching, i did locate missing cat in the bushes directly below the window, but coudln't get to him as it was behind a locked and pretty tall fence until a couple of hours later when the superintendent showed up with the key.

we went straightaway to the vet but Shoes was wriggling around pretty good - somewhere in there I lost his cat carrier so we were winging it in a duffel.

The vet checked him out but didn't recommend any xrays right away - decided on a wait and see approach and i boarded him for the night at the vet so at least he's getting his meds on time. they reported that he;s doing real well but he's still really scared.

socks and I are now home alone, and we don't know what to do without shoes... i miss my boy. i want to bring him home tomorrow so i can keep an eye on him during the weekend, and I have a woman who can cat sit for him during the week until I can get a couple of days and either work from home or take a couple of vacation days [although two will be tough].

anything like this happen with your cats? what do i need to be asking the vet, to make sure my boy gets the best treatment? he hasn't passed any urine that i could tell in over a day now - vet said he hadn't gone there - and i don't know where he would get better care. they're professionals, but i can do this one on one...

man, i feel like i'm making one screw-up after another. maybe i should have asked for the manual...

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marie73

· #9 · Jun 9, 2012

Shoes is down to at least 8 lives now. :shock: I think he's probably better off with the vet, some injuries don't show up right away.

Two hours, though? There's not a fence in the world that would have kept me from getting my cat after falling five stories.

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kty78

· #10 · Jun 10, 2012

Awwww.... I hope all is well with Shoes.

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