Oh, poor guy! Look at this tail!! How sad to be so terribly cold that they have to amputate part of your tail! Poor baby. How wonderful of you to take them in. Funny how your cats are so accepting right off the bat. So you don't bother to separate newbies from the home cats? You just put them in together from the start? I knew a woman once that fostered and she said she didn't have the time or the space to do slow introductions. I always thought she was brave.

 

Funny how your cats are so accepting right off the bat. So you don't bother to separate newbies from the home cats? You just put them in together from the start? I knew a woman once that fostered and she said she didn't have the time or the space to do slow introductions. I always thought she was brave.

It depends totally on the fosters - I sometimes do slow intos (I just didn't want anyone new reading this to think that you can just throw a couple cats together and expect them to be friends). I know that my cats won't have an issue at all, but I don't want to stress the fosters out or have them not find litter boxes / too scared to eat. So I take it case by case.

I seem to get mostly fosters with behavioral issues or ones very, very scared of humans, but most are coming from a pet store or a stray environment where there were with a lot of other cats. So I think my cats almost help the fosters settle in and show them the ropes a bit. But I have two spare rooms that I can separate fosters in, so I just give them a few hours alone with food, water and litter and then see what I think. I have the time and resources to do slow intros, I just usually find that friendly cats help the fosters settle in quicker.

Kumba will be mostly alone until the cone comes off, but right now he is asleep on the bed and Aries is asleep not too far from him. Aries is especially wonderful with other cats, he already groomed Sarah a bit.

 

I was very close last week to taking in two fosters but thankfully because of my Craigslist postings they both got adopted! Such wind in my sails.

I met a little old cutie yesterday that has been playing on my heart strings that has a severe allergy going on. They want to give her a steroid shot to ease her misery and I'm thinking of bringing her home and starting her on a raw or very limited diet. She is eaten up with scabs and looks miserable with her constant scratching. I have my safe room all set up nicely - kind of like a Taj Mahal for kitties so I'm anxious to use it. She is in a female colony so gets along with other cats and is VERY affectionate - seems to crave it above and beyond playing. I think she is a senior.......

 

Oh what sweeties these two are Tiliqua! Poor Sarah, no wonder she is scared, like you said. That is so heartwarming that Aries groomed her so soon after her arrival. He really does have a knack for knowing just what a new cat needs doesn't he? What a doll. I can't believe your resident cats are so accepting, that is amazing. My original girl is still hissing at Mystique 3 months later (although much less) and she is DEFINITELY not keen on Sunny, poor boy. I would give anything if they acted like yours, although I'll take what I have over what some people have to deal with.

I was very close last week to taking in two fosters but thankfully because of my Craigslist postings they both got adopted! Such wind in my sails.

Yay!! How awesome Marcia!!

I met a little old cutie yesterday that has been playing on my heart strings. I think she is a senior.......

Of COURSE she is a senior - something tells me this girl is going to be making a road trip in her near future. :wink

 

Yes, it always does my heart good to see them start to play. :luv To me it means they are relaxed enough to let their chasing/hunting instincts start to engage without having to be hyper vigilant to every noise/interaction around them.

 

Sarah is doing well - she is the opposite of most of the fosters, she loves people but is scared of other cats! So she is following me around the house looking for attention but is very unsure of other cats. Everytime she runs into another cat she tenses but they pay no attention.

Here is a better photo of her - poor girl has a scratch on her nose and her tail has been broken and healed bent. She's tiny too.

 

And meet Charms... also a tail amputation and a couple toes as well. She was in another foster home but I guess she got her cone off and chewed up her tail pretty badly so that they had to amputate more and restart the whole healing process. The foster home was not comfortable medicating cats and having her chew her tail was extremely stressful for them. Charms was also throwing up, which made quite a mess in her cone (likely due to stress). It was too much for that foster home and so now I have a pair of cone kitties.



Poor little girl, she is pretty beat up and has a bad hair cut in a lot of places! She seems very sweet though.

 

I know this isn't the most interesting thread... but I can't help but share a couple more foster pics!

These little cone-kitties are so sweet! Kumba is just fitting in, he tried to join the cuddle fest on the bed last night and has been playing with Orion and Aries, despite the cone. He seems content and happy, despite the cone.


And little Charm is just tiny, toes gone from two feet and most of a tail gone. The last foster home said she was extremely stressed and unhappy, but it seems that most of the stress and anxiety was because the fosterer was very unsure and apprehensive of medicating her. Poor little girl has been here less than 24 hours and is very calm and seems fine (she's on anti-anxiety meds, which must help). She wanted out of the quarrantine / spare bedroom and has explored the house and made friends with the boys. She's now hanging out on my bed with me and Orion, snuggled against me and purring. Awww!

 

I, for one, really enjoy these types of threads!!
It is always so heart warming to hear of the cats and kittens that are getting a chance to come out of their shells!!
I'm so happy for Kumba and Little Charm!!
How did that little girl lose her toes and tail?
I think you must be Blessed, to be able to help these needy little ones, that others can't!! :thumbup:

 

I, for one, really enjoy these types of threads!!

Same here!! I love to hear about these little mites who get a second chance because of your big heart and your resident kitties' big hearts.

Poor Charm! I hate to say it but I would probably be in the same boat as the former foster home - I hate, hate, hate having to medicate my cats. I think I've been so lucky in having such healthy cats that when my Punky started getting sick in his old age and we started having to medicate him it was really hard. I always feel like I'm being mean to them even though logically I know I'm helping them. I get it done, but it does stress me out and because of that I'm sure it's worse on them. Anyway, thank god for people like you who can put on the big girl pants and get it done in a much better way lol.

 

Kumba and Charm lost tails / toes due to frostbite. Poor little kitties, alone outside in Edmonton winters!

I love having these cats, they are so sweet. I'm very lucky to be able to help them and for them to settle in so easily.

 

Poor babies...
Some People still don't seem to understand how animals outside, are at the mercy of the cold...
And can't always find a safe place to try and get out of cold, wet and
wind...
Kumba and Charm are in good hands now!

 

Kumba is about the happiest cat I've ever met. He hangs out on his back, purring. If a human comes near, he purrs louder. If another cat comes up, he tries to play. He's just a darling, so easy going and happy! I wonder what he went through before, that being in a cone with an itchy / sore / healing tail is just the greatest thing ever?

Charm is sweet but she'll be a bit of work. She's losing hair due to stress and the vet is concerned that she is a self mutilater... we'll see once she is healed and we can wean her off the anti-anxiety meds. She hasn't thrown up with me and seems very relaxed and curious, so I'm hoping that she just needs some love, but I'm not sure how much the relaxed part is due to the meds. Has anyone deal with cats and anxiety meds? It is Elavil (Amitriptyline).

Heather - I think I'd be a mess if I had to medicate one of my babies. It's somehow easier with fosters as they are better off / happier here even with meds than they are before... and I don't have that same bond with them.

 

Awe! How cute are they! You're so lucky to have such awesome residents!

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Hopefully someone knows of Elavil anxiety med...and how it works...
I'd say give Charm lots of scratches and pets before she starts coming off of it...it might help with the familiarity of touch already in
place between you and her...if that makes sense...?!

 

Poor little Charm! She is such a sweet thing - I take her cone off to feed and medicate / pill her twice a day and she is so thrilled about the NV limited ingredients wet food that I'm feeding that pills are barely noticed (I figured I'd feed limited ingredient because she had been throwing up at the last foster home - can't hurt). She can put down the better part of a 5.5 oz can by herself each meal and she is TINY! I figure she has some healing to do and she is really skinny, so she can eat all she wants.

While she is eating, I pet and brush her - she just purrs. I feel bad for cats in cones as it must be so stressful not being able to clean yourself! I'm not sure how much of this little personality that I'm getting to know is the medication though.

Kumba now has his cone off when I'm around. He's completely unconcerned with his tail - he's too busy being the happiest can in existence.

 

They are so sweet looking, hope they heal up well at your place! sounds like they are relaxing!

 

Tiliqua, I don't know how long Charm has to go with wearing the cone, but just a thought, if you've got a gentle type brush, try brushing her when she's done eating, this mimics their own grooming cycle and she may find it soothing...

 

Haha - 83Cats2dogs, I had the same thought. When I medicate her I feed her her favorite canned food and pet and brush her. I take the cone off too, as long as I'm watching all the time.

We had a setback today though - her cone wasn't long enough and she managed to lick one tiny area of foot... until it bled. I was working from home, so I caught it quickly - she only had about 15 mins! So that foot is rebandaged and she has a dog sized cone, where she can't even eat or drink it's so big. So it will be a lot of work - I'll have her in the smaller cone whenever I'm around to watch her and I'll try to have her out of cones for at least a 1/2 hour twice a day to feed her, medicate her, pet her and brush her. Poor little one, it will probably be a month in a cone until she is healed completely!

The vet that works with the rescue made me angry - I have never liked him much because he seems very uncertain about his diagnosis, has poor bedside manner and never seems on top of things - you have to remind him about other conditions or other medications, when he should have just read the chart!! But today when I brought poor Charm back to have her foot rebandaged and get a larger cone he said that she is a self mutilator and will have to be on anti-anxiety meds forever. Which is crap - she has only been on them for 2 days and they take weeks to fully kick in. Plus, she just had a bunch of amputations - of course she wants to lick them! Ugh. Poor girlie.

Kumba remains the happiest cat in existence. He is ridiculous, you'd think I was giving the good drugs to the wrong cat!

 

Hahaha at your last sentence! At least one of them is easy lol

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That vet sounds like his brain needs a re-set!
Honestly, does he think she chewed her own toes off? Yikes!
Of course the poor little girl is going to try and get at her feet right now, they hurt! And bandages are an alien thing to them...
Poor Charm...
I know you'll do everything you can to help her feel better!!
Glad Kumba is such a happy go lucky boy!

 

Yeah - I know! It isn't like she chewed herself up before the frostbite. It is her instinct to lick, especially when it is foreign and hurting. I have dealt with him on several occasions with fosters and I hate it - he doesn't explain things and if you ask questions he just seems confused and then annoyed, almost like you're questioning him (instead of just looking for clarification or more info). I would NEVER take my cats there, but he is cheap, gives them a discount and I'm sure he is excellent at spay / neuters. I'm almost tempted to start taking Charm to my vet and paying out of pocket if things get worse... I'm not sure if the rescue would appreciate that though...

Charm is very sweet and purry and she follows me around the house. She doesn't seem anxious or stressed, just a bit unsure and in need of love and reassurance. Even when I'm hurting her to remove bandages or pilling her, she is upset but she doesn't fight very hard.

I got a new 30 L garbage can today and it came in a BOX!! Yes, a BOX!! A big one - 3-4 cat capacity! And little Charm was in there trying to play with my boys and bumping around in her cone - she can't play very well with the cone, the surgeries and the meds, but she tries a bit!

 

You're going to need to post some more pictures! !

 

I'm loving this thread! I know you are going to do miracles with each of your fosters. They landed in the right home! My heart goes out to Charm. I know he is going to get the love and care he deserves! Bad start but he is in for a happy ending!

Sorry to hear about the vet you have to deal with. It makes me realize how lucky I am to be able to pick and choose my vets. Everyone is on the same page in our little group as far as vets go.

Your fosters are lucky to have a foster mom who is very informed on cats. I'm looking forward to hearing all about their progress and how they blossom in your care. What a big heart you have.

 

Thanks all. I'm not the most knowledgeable but I'm learning... and that vet just matches a Royal Canin food with any condition and gives no explanations. He might be right - he might intuitively know that she will always need meds but if he can't give me any reason (and doesn't seem to care that she hasn't been on them long enough for them to fully kick in), then I have a hard time believing him.

A few pics before bed:
World's Happiest Cat


"Hi new mom. I noticed the bed fills up quickly at night, so I got here early!!"


And the little stub-tail munchkin Charm and her poor feet, complete with new blue sock! This is the smaller cone because I was watching her all evening...

 

They're both PRECIOUS!!

 

Aww, Kumba is just the cutest thing ever!! Someone is going to get a fantastic loving cat in him.

And poor little Charm - here's hoping her anxiety settles once she knows she is safe and warm. That vet sounds like a Debbie Downer and I'm betting he may be wrong after all. :-x

 

Yeah, Kumba is awesome! He keeps trying to snuggle in between me and the boyfriend at night, but the cone is kind of annoying in your face at 3 am. So he got relocated to the foot of the bed where he cuddled with Orion.

Charm doesn't seem too anxious... We had a really good day. She spent a lot of time with me while I was working. My mom even brought a dog over but kept her on a leash and Charm came downstairs to see what was going on - no issues with the dog! We watched a movie together and had the cone off 80% of the time - I just made sure she didn't lick her two paws or tail and she groomed everywhere else and fell asleep on my lap.

I think the vet is wrong - she'll be fine as soon as she is healed!