Hi, everyone, from Pennsylvania:
I've recently adopted a five pound, approximately 1 1/2 year old, female Siamese mix from a rescue organization eight weeks ago. She is my third cat, but it's like I never had a cat before! Our last little girl, Athena, was also a rescue and went to the Rainbow Bridge the day before Thanksgiving at 17 1/2. She was my soul cat and had helped me heal from the loss of our first cat, Gabriel. She rescued me more than I did her.
I had hoped that our new little girl, Marina, would begin to fill some of the holes in my heart that Athena left, for we have so much love to give. Marina has made many strides in trusting us since she came into our home, but is still cautious. I took her to the vet for evaluation right after I got her, especially concerned that the rescue organization had a vet treat her for giardia. That was months before she came to us. In the interim, while in foster care, she gave birth to one live and one still-born, and then was spayed. (She was with her foster mom and eleven other cats for around seven months before we adopted her.)
Our vet sent her stool off to be tested again for giardia, since she said the initial test was done "in-house" and not sent away. Our lab test came back negative for giardia, thank God.
For weeks after we brought her home, she would only use her litter box for urination, using our rugs instead. I ended up getting a third litter box for her, and eventually she started using all three with no accidents. We attributed her inappropriate elimination to having been given back to the foster mom from a failed adoption from another family and then going back into foster care before we got her.
One of my concerns is that her microbiome was affected by the medication she had been on for giardia and/or the positive result was in error. The foster mother said she also gave her gastrointestinal food at that time. The fact that she is not a big eater makes me wonder how much of it she really ate.
We have had her on Biome for several rounds to alleviate her loose stools. (She wouldn't eat the probiotic sprinkles from the vet.) The problem is that I am having a very difficult time trying to transition her to wet food. She is extremely picky- the lady knows my name at PetSmart from my frequent visits to try new food- and mostly will eat Fancy Feast. I am worried that she has intestinal discomfort because of the way she sits sometimes, hunched. Did the giardia meds ruin her intestinal tract??
I have been feeding her wet three times a day, since she eats as much as a bird would! She mostly eats the gravy or broth and little of the food. I have tried all different kinds of textures, warm up her food if it's cold. I am at a loss what else to do. She is on sensitive stomach dry food that the foster mom said she gives all her cats.
I have to mention that she does play a lot with her toys with my husband and by herself, for long periods, purrs, and comes for lots of petting.
Any suggestions/ comments are greatly appreciated. I apologize if my post is disjointed or confusing.
Thank you!
I've recently adopted a five pound, approximately 1 1/2 year old, female Siamese mix from a rescue organization eight weeks ago. She is my third cat, but it's like I never had a cat before! Our last little girl, Athena, was also a rescue and went to the Rainbow Bridge the day before Thanksgiving at 17 1/2. She was my soul cat and had helped me heal from the loss of our first cat, Gabriel. She rescued me more than I did her.
I had hoped that our new little girl, Marina, would begin to fill some of the holes in my heart that Athena left, for we have so much love to give. Marina has made many strides in trusting us since she came into our home, but is still cautious. I took her to the vet for evaluation right after I got her, especially concerned that the rescue organization had a vet treat her for giardia. That was months before she came to us. In the interim, while in foster care, she gave birth to one live and one still-born, and then was spayed. (She was with her foster mom and eleven other cats for around seven months before we adopted her.)
Our vet sent her stool off to be tested again for giardia, since she said the initial test was done "in-house" and not sent away. Our lab test came back negative for giardia, thank God.
For weeks after we brought her home, she would only use her litter box for urination, using our rugs instead. I ended up getting a third litter box for her, and eventually she started using all three with no accidents. We attributed her inappropriate elimination to having been given back to the foster mom from a failed adoption from another family and then going back into foster care before we got her.
One of my concerns is that her microbiome was affected by the medication she had been on for giardia and/or the positive result was in error. The foster mother said she also gave her gastrointestinal food at that time. The fact that she is not a big eater makes me wonder how much of it she really ate.
We have had her on Biome for several rounds to alleviate her loose stools. (She wouldn't eat the probiotic sprinkles from the vet.) The problem is that I am having a very difficult time trying to transition her to wet food. She is extremely picky- the lady knows my name at PetSmart from my frequent visits to try new food- and mostly will eat Fancy Feast. I am worried that she has intestinal discomfort because of the way she sits sometimes, hunched. Did the giardia meds ruin her intestinal tract??
I have been feeding her wet three times a day, since she eats as much as a bird would! She mostly eats the gravy or broth and little of the food. I have tried all different kinds of textures, warm up her food if it's cold. I am at a loss what else to do. She is on sensitive stomach dry food that the foster mom said she gives all her cats.
I have to mention that she does play a lot with her toys with my husband and by herself, for long periods, purrs, and comes for lots of petting.
Any suggestions/ comments are greatly appreciated. I apologize if my post is disjointed or confusing.
Thank you!
