Cats in Hollywood

It has been determined that this crook who is stealing these kittens lives is a virulent strain of systematic felineherpes virus. In chasing down when the symptoms appeared- the carrier appears to be Axle, the van kitty who is not even sick. Ironically, that is the nature of the beast.Often the carrier exhibits no signs of the illness but infects any cat or kitten in his path. There is nothing I can do at this point, but continue to try and combat this cat burgler. Sadly, kittens are the most vulnerable to this beast, especially those robbed of mom’s milk or whose mom had tainted milk.

I have all the kittens together in the kitten room with the door barriers up. Even though my older cats likely have an immunity to this disease, I do have younger kittens that have joined the group and I don’t want to take chances. I have several large antibacterial pumps in the room, I have an old pair of jeans and tee shirt and old shoes I wear now when I am with the kittens. Tandem is trying to get sick and Stash is actively sick with the drainage from the eyes, the discharge from the nose and she is starting the hitching breath. My soul needs a sabatical about now.

My vet wants to take all the kittens, but I don’t have the funds for that- as it could be a lengthy stay- plus it would stress out these kittens more to be caged and away from each other- and like the good Dr. says, the damage is already done. it’s a moot point at this juncture.

Those of you who read my ramblings- please just send up prayers tht God will spare these last three survivors. To literally watch them drown in their own body fluids is to much to bare and so unfair for them- although they check out long before it gets to that point.

Last night, I tried something new as Foster’s temp soared even higher. I put rubbing alcohol in the wash basin and put all his feet down into the solution. I propped his head up high so the fumes didn’t make him sicker and we did that several times last night. His temp was 107.4 (sob) it is now 103.4. He is so congested, I put saline drops in his nose and then just put him in the cage for the day. He is eating and drinking so that is encouraging. The other kittens seem fine-

It is now almost 7:00 p.m. Foster started plummenting downhill fast early this afternoon. When I left for work he was having problems breathing. I had a call in to the vet, but when I got home from work the vet hadn’t called and Foster had died. Mike laid him in the forest.
I’m sorry little guy- I was trying like hell to save you but help came to late. Go in love and at least you knew that someone did give a damn.

Just got home from work and went to check on the kitttens. Foster looks horrible again and the temp is elevated 105! I can’t keep running these kittens to the vet when the vet doesn’t know what is going on. I will call the feline specialist in the morning. So instead, I put on coffee, it is going to be a long night of alcohol rubdowns on ears and pads of the feet. 🙁 I just wish I knew what was going on here. My friend Trish told me earlier that she heard there was a new form of distemper discovered in Washington State recently. The symptoms kind of fit. Maybe the new form has jumped the border into Oregon.

Temp is normal, kitty is sneezing some but showing no other outward signs of being ill. Am giving all the kittens antibiotics at this point. I had hoped for some answers rather than more questions. I am on a wait- and-see mode. Wait-and-see if the kittens get sicker, wait-and-see if the meds will work. Wait-and-see what might be coming down the pike next.

This weekend the Jamboree hits SH. I have long shifts at work Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I am hoping only for the best.

This morning, I found myself yet again at the vet, this time with Stash whose temperature peaked early this morning at 105.4. I was up all morning with her giving her alcohol rubs and trying to get her fever down. Then when the vet opened- I went in and dropped her off so he could get a look at her.

He is baffled. Said that he has several kittens all presenting with the same high temperature. 2 of the kittens were dead in an hour, one went back home with the owner and the other one is in isolation-as is Foster. Apparently last night, Foster’s temp went up to 107! God, what is going on here?

Stash came back home with me, she is on clindymicin and rest. The bloodwork shows negative for FeLV and the vet is still thinking this is distemper. I know I am not a vet, nor do I play one on the Internet, but I respectfully disagree with his diagnoses. There is no vomiting, no diarrhea, and the kittens are drinking water. Dr Vicki thinks it might be FIP- I just don’t know.

Deanna came in while I was there- Spencer crashed. She was quite anxious about it but I told her that he was only here at the house for 5 minutes before I whisked him and Nera off to her. I think she blames me for Spencer being so sick as well.

She is being rushed to the vet as I type by Mike. I have to go to work in about 20 minutes or I would have taken her. Her temp spiked last night rising to 105.6! No believing what I was reading, I tried 3 other thermometers on her and they all read into the 105 degree mark. 🙁 I am so sad-of course it has to be on a Sunday when the vets are closed. I hope Mike can find Ben- I told him what door he would have to knock on to get his attention. I don’t know if Foster will come home or not- Ben is now feeling that this is distemper which means that the virus I had here over three years ago might still be in the house regardless of how well I scrubbed and threw things away. I am shutting down to kittens now. It has nothing to do with the fact that I am emotionally and financially tapped. This has to do with the feeling that I am now running a kitty death camp. 🙁

This morning, Tandem met me with thick, snotty discharge from her eyes and nose. 🙁 Because she is still on the shy side, I elected to keep her in the bedroom with the other kittens, but she is in a large dog crate with food water and litter. It is easier to medicate her this way. Her ears still go flat when I pick her up, but she must be feeling punky because she hasn’t bit or scratched me yet. She has had ample opportunity to do so. Tonight, her discharge is receding, her appetite is returning. The other kitties are quiet, but I think they are missing their littermates and not showing signs of illness.

I have started Tandem on clindimycin and hope I have nipped this off quickly. She is also getting L-Lysine in her food. She loves chicken baby food!

I was talking with a dear friend last night about how devastated I am with the loss of Tilt. I don’t know if Tilt was just the catalyst of my tears I have been holding back during the last few months as I have had to say goodbye to several rescues; Torah, Maverick, the three fading kittens, Cyrus, Frankie and then Tilt and I just reached my breaking point when Tilt died.

We were talking about everything regarding rescue. She recently lost an older cat and she said to me “Mary Anne, it would be so easy to stop doing this rescue work. So many people walk around ignoring kittens and cats in distress, you will never be able to stop the tide of homeless kittens no matter what- so why not just stop?” Then before I could answer- she said it for me. “It’s what you do.” And, she is right. It is what I do right or wrong, black or white, it is my path in life. I have tried to stop so many times, but as I jokingly tell my friends “God must not have gotten my memo!” I see these cats all over the place and to not help them isn’t in my character. One of the gals who works with me- we drive the same route home told me the other day she never sees cats run across the road in front of her. Funny thing, I do. I see them scoot across the highway, I always slow down, honk make noise try any aversion I can because I know their life is short enough as it is.

Today, early this morning, I went in to get Baker. I went early before the vets got there and at first the girl wasn’t going to give him to me! You don’t do that- you don’t play that game with me, not with my cats anyway. I got him back- I signed him out “against medical advice” (what a joke that was) I did have to promise them that I would pay off the vet bill before the end of August and I will, even if it kills me. Then I rushed him to my regular vet and lo-and behold the first thing he did was take an x-ray!

He gave him some lactalose and before we got back home, Baker had pooped in the carrier.

He is now back in his cage. I suspect they weren’t giving him water or food because he drank so much water when I released him that I had to refill up the Drinkwell! He is eating- and I hope he will poop again tonight-if not, I will get some lactalouse and help things along…..because after all- it’s what I do.

I am a bit miffed right now. Baker is back at the vets because he still hasn’t passed poop on his own even after two enemas. The vet doesn’t think that films will tell them anything, nor will she take any. At first she said she didn’t see any need for it- then she let it drop that my bill is high and they just won’t take that extra step. I guess my kitty isn’t worth $750.00 except to me.

I have been a client there a very long time and have never cheated them out of one thin dime. He is staying overnight so they can see if he will pass stool. he is eating and drinking and there is no other reason he isn’t passing his waste except the car collision. But- I guess that’s not a good enough reason to explore the options, not while there is “Past Due” stamped on my bill!