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Stinky looks so much like my old russian blue. 
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Apr 4, 2016 05:13
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Hey Chili maybe you can help me out, I have a pretty large cat I'd like to give a bath to, he's not butterscotch size but he's pretty big and is all muscle, this is a cat that could beat my rear end if he wanted to and sent me to the hospital once with a bit so vicious it came out the other side of my hand. Normally he's a sweetheart though except when it entails anything that isn't pets or food, giving medicine, cleaning his ears any of that sort requires at least 3 people and even then its nuts, anyway me and my mother would like to give him a bath but we don't know how to approach it, we don't have a bathtub or anything we mostly bathe the cats here in the spare sink next to our washing machine. Mom would also like to give a bath to our oldest who is 12 but she's afraid something might happen to him, not sure if you can have any advice for that.
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Apr 30, 2016 06:55
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Chili posted:One of the main reasons I wanted to set up this thread was to provide support to folks like you. Trust me, if you foster long enough, the worst eventually happens. When it does, it's one of the worst feelings in the world. Try to take it as easy on yourself as possible and know that when kittens are separated from their mother, their odds always drop. If you ask yourself if you could do more, of course you could have. You could have sat with the kittens all day and given them every single bit of attention you had.... but it probably wouldn't have helped in the end. Sometimes, they just don't make it. You guys are pretty amazing, I don't know where you find the strength to be honest. I use to foster terminally ill pets and after the 4th one I was so utterly destroyed and heartbroken that I simply couldn't carry on, despite knowing full well what I was getting myself to I still became very attached.  My last one was this little baby right here, I opted to adopt him because I loved him so much and spent an absolute fortune to keep him going, he lived 2 years but it might as well have been lifetime for me, after that I just couldn't do it anymore much to my great shame. Your words reached me, maybe I have some thinking to do.
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Jun 17, 2016 20:20
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quote:Will you elaborate a little on the process? You don't have to get into specifics if it's too tough to talk about. How long would these pets be fostered for? And jeez, please consider yourself champion of the thread. The pets where meant to be fostered till they died, that was the entire point, nobody really wants to take in a terminally ill pet, hell I didn't want to either but from my time volunteering I just thought it wasn't very fair to these animals to have to die like that I volunteered to take in a few. My first was a russian blue named Claudio, he had contracted FeLV and FiV and was just not really doing well, his platelets I believe they're called where like 0 when he was brought in, nobody thought he'd survive the night when he stopped breathing during treatment, next day he was up and eating like nothing had happened, he was such a tough son of a bitch I figured I could make his last days easier, gave him a solid 3 months before his condition deteriorated far to badly, I learned a very hard lesson about attachment with him because I convinced myself I could someone keep extending his time with me and I tried all sorts of things, eventually he got so bad he could barely move, I remember the last moment we spent together prior to me taking him to be put down, was me coming downstairs and he was stumbling out the litter box after peeing, like literally stumbling, he could barely get up to it and he crawled to me and layed at my feet, breathing hard along the way, I knew it was time and vowed to never do that again, I would put down the animals while they still had some dignity left.  This little guy was my 2nd, I named him Porky, you see that little tag he's wearing? I bought him that and engraved his name onto it, I buried it with him to. Porky was just brutal, he was a kitten born with FeLV, he lasted 2 months and his last days where horrific, it wasn't even a case of I waited to long, he just deteriorated that drat fast, one day he was running around and begging me for chicken scraps the next he was vomiting blood, and pooping god knows what, I've never seen cat excrement look like that in my life and I hope I never do again.  Leo was number 3, you ever meet a cat and you're like nobody could love this cat but me? That was Leo, he was such a little poo poo in his time with me, he was so vibrant and had such an amazing personality but you needed a wealth of patient to deal with his mannerisms, he had throat cancer and eventually he just couldn't eat anymore, he lived 2 years with me and I miss that annoying little poo poo every drat day. And Kami as I described above.  This was the last picture I took of him, he had FeLV and hit his mouth really hard, if you look closely you'll notice he's missing a little hair on the edges of his mouth, that was because his drool became so acidic it did that to him. I won't lie, Kami hurt like a son of a bitch, I didn't make the mistake of letting them getting to bad but I did get attached to much, after his death I was in what was described as the fugue state of depression for a very long time, it really messed up to have lost him, even today I still have some psychological issues relating to pet loss simply because of my time with these animals, but that was my mistake I knew very well what was I was getting myself to, if this is the price I have to pay to ensure that a few little animals didn't spend their final months/years in a cold cage then so be it, if I ever work up the heart again I might volunteer again but for now I have my own pets to care for who are more than giving me a run for their money, one had dental surgery recently and another ate a goddamn string and poo poo it out today along with some blood, they're both fine thankfully. So yea, sorry for the downer of a post but since you asked, if you are interested in caring for terminally ill pets make sure you're made of pretty stern stuff because its amazing how they worm their way into your hearts regardless of the time spent with you.
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Jun 18, 2016 07:27
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FeLV is the worst disease ever and I'll be happy if I live long to see it cured. If I lived in the states I'd try to visit your shelter herder, at least give a few cuddles to those poor segregated cats, that's honestly the worst thing about it to me, they're like any other cat, they just love, pets, food and cuddles but that drat disease.
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Jun 18, 2016 10:37
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So I spoke at length about my experiences fostering and there's one thing I wanted to touch on, something I'm sure you're all aware and have had experiences with and that's the state of mind. It seems to be you all do this because you're wonderful people, because you genuinely care and want to give these poor animals who have nobody to bat for them a good life, make sure their first steps in this world are ones full of love and care. When I opted to first care for my first terminally ill animal I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, I simply knew the animal would not live as long as most do, but somewhere along the line it became a bit warped in my own head, in some ways I convinced myself that either my presence or sheer force of will could prevent the inevitable and in many ways I made their passing much harder on myself than it needed to be, because rather than accept it as simply the natural order of things, I took it as a failure on my part, I didn't try enough and so on and so forth. Its really messed up, even today despite knowing I did it all right there's this part of me that still blames myself for their passing, like I failed somehow. So I really urge people to be careful, especially if you ever decide to care for an animal on its deathbed, maybe at the time its not a comforting though, it wasn't for me, but you are doing your best and without you those little animals would have nothing.
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Jun 23, 2016 02:38
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Yea go ahead.
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Jun 23, 2016 03:28
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Yea that's why I said that here, cause in a way I'm trying to help myself as well, gonna get a little personal here but I'd like to tell a story on the dangers of what can happen if you're just not in the right state of mind and think you can change things just by being there. This little guy was my cat Rocky, he wasn't a foster, he was mine, he was born right here in my house, I saw him being born, I was the first thing he saw and heard and I was the last thing he saw as he passed on to the rainbow road. The problem is that it hurt so badly that at some point I convinced myself he wasn't really gone, he was gonna be back, I'd just have to wait, and all it all went back to me refusing to accept the natural order of things, that as much effort as we expend, as much we bust our asses for these wonderful creatures, things just happen, either disease or just age, it just happens, nobody's to blame, it just life, but I refused to accept that, there's just no way this animal I spent so long with is gone, its a lie and I refused to believe it, I was like this for almost a year, when his birthday came and went and no sign of Rocky, that's when the sadness and the reality of it all truly hit me, for the first time in my life I felt suicidal, I felt worthless, like nothing would be right every again, that was the point in living without my Rocky, that was the point I finally got help which I'm still seeing and its the subject we hit on today during my session, the roles we play in the lives of these animals, however long or short, it mattered, I think everyone here can say they wanted a few more moments with those wonderful animals they had, who wouldn't, but you also know what you did mattered. Forgive me herder and Grey to use you as an example but, the heat stroked little one, I'm sure you went above and beyond to save them, that little one didn't die alone in god knows where, they passed on warm and knowing someone cared for them, same goes with little Mars. So please folks, take care of yourselves as much as you do those little ones, don't be me, don't make the same mistakes I did, if you feel its to much, back off, if you feel you can't foster for awhile, then don't nobody will judge you, but please stay safe, because without you nothing happens and those little ones have nobody to be there for them. Thank you and god bless you all, or whatever deity you believe in, if you don't that's also fine.
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Jun 23, 2016 05:44
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I can understand what you mean by feelings of abandonment. Where it be a foster or our pet, we sometimes get a little ahead of ourselves and think on the life there going to lead, the things you'll do, the time spent together, then the unthinkable happens you're left with a broken heart and unfulfilled promises, we're sad over their passing but deep down there's a hint of anger there as well, anger over being abandoned, how dare they leave us when I had so many things in store for them planned. Eventually we realize how stupid we are but yea, I can perfectly understand those feelings.
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Jun 23, 2016 06:33
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Safari Disco Lion posted:This is how I felt with my little kitten Eddie. He was the absolute sweetest animal in the entire world and even if I only had him for a little over a week and I tried to prepare myself for the worst, I loved him with all my heart. How could I not? He would climb up onto my chest and just put his head on my shoulder or under my chin and sit there all day and nap or play with my hands, and if I put him down he would cry and follow me around until I picked him back up. I was hurt when he died but I was also angry, all the work and money and energy I put in and the day after being given a clean bill of health and all good scans, he deteriorates and then just falls asleep and dies within a few hours. And it felt like such a "wow, why would I expect anything different?" moment too, because that tends to just be how life goes for me and my family, we have plans and expectations and life finds a new way of ruining it all no matter how reasonable or how well prepared we are, and it just had to go for my little Eddie too. Yep I can understand this sentiment perfectly. Small story time, few years back I managed to coax this stray that used to hang around my house into a kennel I had in the back, she was MASSIVELY pregnant like good god I had never seen a cat that looked like that, it didn't help that she was a small cat in the first place, we where having some bad storms lately and I didn't want her to give birth in unstable conditions so I put her in there while she gave birth which wasn't long, about 2 days later I woke up to 4 little fuzz balls nursing, anyway several months pass, I gave away 2 of the little ones and kept fluffy and stephano, stephano was a persian mix, beautiful and fluffy was a totally white kitty cat, here's a picture of him inspecting my dirty rear end desk.  Anyway a few more months pass, been like 7 months or so at that point, momma and the kids where fixed so no more babies for any of them and vaccinated, at that point I was committed to keeping all 3, one night I put em into the kennel like normal, feed them, kiss em goodnight and off I go to sleep myself, next day I go downstairs and fluffy's lying dead on the floor of the kennel, apparently he had a stroke, completely fine one moment, seemingly looking forward to a life full of joy and play time and gone the next, it really messes you up, it kills your optimism in a lot of a ways and makes you unsure of life in general and sometimes jump at shadows with perfectly health animals, to this guy momma and stephano are perfectly fine. So my sincere condolences to you.
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Jun 23, 2016 09:07
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Yes please, don't take my posts or other posts as anything bad, its just the sad nature of things sometimes, but even with what I did I still have many happy memories of those animals as I'm sure many do regardless of the time spent with them. Fostering is great and fulfilling.
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Jun 26, 2016 23:40
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When I was 18 a momma cat died on our property and a few hours later we found her babies, we too gave them cows milk thinking it would help and they all died, we know better now but yea, its not malicious, people mean well and try with whatever they have on hand.
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Jul 3, 2016 21:54
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You ever have one of those moments where you gaze upon a cat and see one of your departed babies? I went to Petsmart and holy crap they had this poofy girl up for adoption, it was like looking at Kami again, I actually cried in my car after I left, it was just uncanny. Wish I had the income to adopt her.
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Jul 5, 2016 01:35
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Need some cat round-up advice. I have a reputation where I live as a cat person and someone's been dumping little ones on my property, 3 so far across 2 months, I cannot afford to keep them, I've made one my pal and I'll be taking him to the shelter soon, yesterday another one got dumped here and I'm pretty sure I can win him over, the problem is another one that dumped along with the first one, he will not let me near and bolts if he so much as senses me, need some way to get him without hurting him.
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Jul 5, 2016 21:22
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So today I go downstairs to go get one of my boys like I always do at night and this completely beat to poo poo, scruffy bastard comes up to me, first hissing a little then meowing, it takes me a few moments but I place his face, I know this cat but I haven't seen him in 4 years. His name is Sylvester he used to belong to a couple not super far from my house, I tried going over there but it seems the family moved away, now I'm not stupid, I've seen this to many times, I doubt this little fella will make it through the night, all I can do is keep it warm till it happens and it just breaks my heart so goddamn much and its patently obvious this animal has been on the street for years, he is just utterly beat to poo poo, disheveled, missing patches of hair, drooling, one of his ears is all notched and won't stay straight. All I wanna do is cuddle him and tell him its all going to be ok but I know better, I know it won't be ok and it utterly destroys me, I'm so tired of seeing this, our little animal friends deserve better.
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Jul 13, 2016 08:05
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Chaosfeather posted:I know the odds are against him, but did he make it? If so how is he doing? He made it. I don't know how, I can't even begin to describe how utterly baffled I am right now but yea he's alive, I took him to the vet with what meager funds I have and in no particular order he has: Dental infection, pretty much needs complete tooth removal. Mild respiratory infection Full of fleas Mite infestation in his ears Malnourished In need of vitamins Vet gave him a few injections and just told me to keep feeding him, he says he probably looked like was at death's door because he hadn't eaten in so long but now he's getting meals and has water at all times he's perking up. Much as I'd like to say I'll see him through his twilight years I can't, I just had a major electrical issue repaired in my home and most of the stuff he needs will require nearly 800 dollars wish I do not have nor can afford anytime soon, especially since I start nursing school in a little 3 weeks, come wednesday I'm taking him to a no kill shelter along with his meds and I'll pledge to make a donation every month to help him out, wish I could do more but its all I can do for now. I'm just glad he's alive
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Jul 16, 2016 00:40
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Sylvester's gone, he seemed to be perking up and went to bed after a good meal but when I went to check on him he was gone. I guess his body had just taken to much abuse. Feel like poo poo, I know I did everything but goddammit.
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Aug 1, 2016 02:09
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I just wanted him to make it so badly, after he went through he deserved it.
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Aug 1, 2016 02:34
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Thank you all for the kind words. This is bothering me so much more than I thought it would, I keep checking the kennel I kept him expecting him to be there and of course its empty and I just start crying, he was even grooming himself again, he hadn't done that when he got here but after like a week or so he was back at it, I was gonna try to use the dry cat wipes on him when he was over his respiratory thing. I remember how this cat looked in his healthy years, he was a big, imposing animal, I wanted him to look that way again.
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Aug 2, 2016 01:32
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That middle little one has some persian in him. 
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Aug 2, 2016 22:16
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Chili posted:*Ahem* I need this, where'd you get this cat tree? Its friggin perfect, just the right size for my room.
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Aug 3, 2016 04:07
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So I had a question for the fosters here since you have so much experience with multiple pets and obviously sending to forever homes or back to their shelters. Anyway, a few pages ago I posted about humanely capturing some kittens here and I was able to do so, the shelter had no space and they asked me if I could keep them till they had some space so I did, I kept them for a little over 3 weeks and today they had some space so I took em and I don't know why but I feel bad, one of the little ones was warming up to me pretty hard, he followed me around a lot, meowed at me, would let me rub his belly and knead a lot on me and well I was warming up to him to, but I lack the resources to add another cat to my family, hell I started nursing school in a little over 4 days, I certainly have the disposition but not the means so obviously I did what I could. But I still feel bad for this little one that liked me and I'm gonna miss it for sure and I just don't know if these are normal feelings.
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Aug 5, 2016 02:54
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Any of you guys have any experience dealing with stomatis? My cat has it and its worrying the hell out of me, he's on antibiotics for now.
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Aug 9, 2016 21:29
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Tomorrow he's getting a gamut of tests, x-rays and god knows what else, I am beyond worried because if they can't do anything I might have to do the unthinkable. But yes he's had multiple visits, clean ups and even 2 teeth extracted.
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Aug 12, 2016 03:01
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And hes off to the vet, fingers crossed.
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Aug 12, 2016 15:22
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Cat's relatively ok, turns what he has an INCREDIBLY bad swelling in this gumline which at a glance presented as stomatis, at least the early stages of it, its being caused by him eating things he shouldn't apparently. Was given some prednisone for him and more clyndmamicin and do limit or outright remove his outdoor time. BUT OF COURSE BECAUSE ITS ITS ME HIS PILLS HAVE VANISHED INTO THE ETHER AND THE VET IS CLOSED TILL MONDAY. My cats are going to end me. 
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Aug 13, 2016 23:28
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I had an interest experience in class today and I figured I'd share, I'm going into the nursing profession soon, they showed us a video of a 3D movie, its on youtube but I can't recall the title off hand. It starts with an old lady living by herself, she gets a knock on the door and there's a package from her son with a note, which reads "Sorry I can't make but it here's something to keep you company", inside is a little robot that helps the old lady with chores and stuff, as they live together you see the little robot sort begins to humanize itself, it enjoys being with the old lady and seems really excited about a commercial to go to the circus, at one point we also see the old lady change its batteries, anyway fast forward a bit, the little robot is still doing its thing and the old lady comes home and gives the robot tickets to the circus, as you probably predicted already the old lady dies before they can go. The video is very much open to interpretation but in a way it helped me understand the grief I've felt over the years because of the humanization aspect, in this case it was a robot but when does something become more than what it is, for most of us we see more than just animals, hell I always tell myself don't get attached but I say this then days later I'm pet smart picking out toys and I spend 20 minutes looking at the collars wondering if he's a purple or a red and like so much us tend to do we all have these hopes and dreams for them as well. In that sense the movie really spoke to me when it ended because the robot wasn't able to go to the circus, much like I've had all these hopes and dreams for my own boys or my fosters and they wind up being unfulfilled. Much like I discussed for, its important to care for yourself, but in the same vein you have to find the root of your sorrow and when you do you can truly heal, I honestly didn't realize it till I saw that movie why it hurt so much for me and now I do, and I think many of us can attest to those feelings. Anyway pardon by babbling it really touched me and I wanted to share it.
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Aug 18, 2016 03:27
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Waking up screeching is a very good sign, good luck to you and I hope Farrah grows up big and strong.
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Aug 28, 2016 03:51
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Clearly you need to name the stray buddy Verne.
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Aug 28, 2016 22:01
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Does anyone here any experience with gums swelling in cats? Maybe something natural? I've heard lysine is good, Tibi's been put through dozens of tests and medicine and his swelling persists, part of it is his own fault since he chews poo poo from other people's trash cants, mostly bones, I've tried limiting his outside as much as possible but he still finds new and exciting ways to hurt himself, its driving me nuts, I'm legit considering buying a dog crate and sticking him in there whenever he wants to go outside, I'd like to leave him inside permanently but its just not an option. Looking for anything here to help him out, he's still eating, I don't think he'll ever stop but I'm just looking for some solution. This poo poo combined with the anniversary with Rocky's passing is really fraying my nerves.
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Sep 12, 2016 01:06
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RedTonic posted:Gums swelling? I've only seen gingivitis stuff in cax with tooth problems (like Poyo, who had a abscessed, broken tooth removed when we got her). I'm assuming a vet would've caught that during examination, but maybe not if it was only cursory... No it was fairly intense, x-rays, blood tests, you name it, even the FeLV test just in case. His teeth are 100% fine but his gums are badly swollen.
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Sep 12, 2016 01:34
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cat_herder posted:Keep him on wet food for now, ideally something high-protein and high-calorie because eating's gotta be uncomfy and he needs to make the most out of whatever he gets. I live with my family, mom doesn't want him inside all the time cause he starts poo poo with our oldest cat, I did wrestle the concession out of her to let him come in earlier and stay which is what I've been doing, he still finds ways to hurt himself even if I let him outside for like 2 hours or so like on Sunday. And yea I have him on wet food, tuna as a treat and nutri cal to supplement as well.
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Sep 13, 2016 21:15
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The older just hisses at him, a few times they throw down but they haven't done that in ages, my mom is just very protecting of our oldest and I understand, he's 13 and wants to live peacefully whatever years he has left. And Tibi will be 4 on election day, he's actually lose teeth already because of his dumb habits, he needed to have his 2 very back teeth extracted because they where twisted and cutting into his gums.
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Sep 14, 2016 02:39
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No, I'll try anything at this point, the only solution here is to leave Tibi inside for good, at least he's eating, loving glutton.
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Sep 14, 2016 03:16
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It frustrates me because I don't give my pets human food at all, never have and never will but for some reason tibi has a taste for it, he really loving loves it, he gets incredibly aggressive if he's inside and I'm eating human food in my room and I lock him out, like he wants to get in, if my mom leaves the spoons out for serving food tibi will be up there licking them, if we leave the chicken bones out, he'll fish one out and try to get at the meat on it.
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Sep 14, 2016 03:40
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Well technically his name is Tiberius as in James T Kirk, but we shortened it to Tibi 
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Sep 14, 2016 04:20
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cat_herder posted:there's probably some well-meaning but irresponsible neighbor who's putting out scraps for neighborhood cats. Oh I know, this well meaning neighbor was also putting milk out.  Edit: Ok according to my extensive research it seems Omega 3 Fish oil is what I need, its an anti inflammatory, I'll consult with my vet and give it a shot. Alteisen fucked around with this message at 10:53 on Sep 14, 2016 |
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Sep 14, 2016 06:12
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Its 4am, I'm washing dishes when I hear yelping, suddenly the fattest, cuddliest, friendly puppy I've ever seen just ran out of nowhere, he's rubbing between my legs and demanding belly rubs and won't wagging his tail, seriously the tail is a blur. I haven't the slightest idea what to do, usually its kittens that do this.
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Sep 15, 2016 08:59
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Well it is my birthday today...  God awful quality since its so dark out but there ya go.
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Sep 15, 2016 10:07
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Pupper update, it apparently belonged to someone who's big dog got out and the pupper followed after it, pupper is safely home now.
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Sep 15, 2016 20:48
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