Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[animalangel1]

Today I took Onyx to his visit with Dr. Will for a repeat of the Lyme titer.  Those results should be back by Wednesday or Thursday.  Onyx did manage to ingest about 25 of the 30 required antibiotics for this and we will see if this is sufficient based on the results of the titer. 

In other news - Onyx's heart murmur is getting worse. A month and a half ago he was "rated" about a "soft one" (scale of 1 to 5 I think it was) and today he is at a "hard two".  Also, he STILL has a temp of 103.  That has not wavered in MONTHS.  Normal is 101 to 102.  This is a concern.  Dr. Will thinks that he COULD have endocarditis which would present with both those symptoms.  To test for that he would need to do a complete CBC and an ultrasound. 

He did not think it was "urgent" enough to hurry up and do it right away; he said we could just take one issue at a time and right now it's the Lyme Disease.  After that we may also want to run another Bartonella test he said.  Onyx tested negative for that two years ago but since I have no idea where he goes when he goes outside, he could have contracted it... don't really know.  That would also cause the fever (but not the murmur).  So..... I suppose we just wait and see about the titer for now and I'll let you all know the findings as soon as I am able.

[galensgranny]

Sorry to hear that.

It would be best if Onyx didn't free roam, giving his health status.  Sending, "cat enclosure in the not so distant future" wishes.

[animalangel1]

Thanks Margaret..... yes, my little wheels are turning in my head about what kind of enclosure I want to build, where I want to build it, (I have already decided I want TWO access points into the house at opposite ends so am trying to figure out how to make that happen) and what I want to build it out of. 

It will have to wait until spring however as it is already very cold here (possible snow predicted for this Thursday night into Friday already!!!) and I don't really have all the "plans" for it ready in my head yet. 

Also... I will NEED the enclosure by spring anyway.  I have been in contact with my lady friends two daughters (the lady that used to be my neighbor in Florida) and though she has gained weight (she weighs 75 lbs as of this past Friday), she is becoming more and more forgetful.  She certainly has quite a few "lucid" moments and she is still in her own home but she can no longer drive or live alone (though she thinks she can). Her daughter from New Zealand is with her right now (been there since June and staying till December) and then her other daughter lives an hour away so I don't know what will happen then, but I will be inheriting her two cats within the next year I am afraid.  Momma kitty is and outside feral that only she can touch.  No one else can get close to her at all and she is terrified of being indoors (so that's why I will need an enclosure).  Shadow is a complete love and he'll be fine indoors but they are close and I want to keep them together.  In fact, here are some pictures of Shadow (grey) and Momma that were just taken last week!

[animalangel1]

Having trouble posting the other one..... one more time!



Just so you are aware, Shadow does not roam free.  For many years she wouldn't even let him out on her porch (as seen in this photo) until one of her sons came and posted chicken wire all over so that he could not get out.  Mommy kitty sits at the gate and waits for her to let her in to play with Shadow.  You can see the wire over the gate in this photo.

Shadow is about 8 years old.  I know this for a fact because he was a dumped kitten in our neighborhood just weeks before I took kitten Peaches in from the neighbors across the street.  Shadow used to sit with Neil and myself when we were outside until one day when he went "missing" and I was FRANTIC trying to find him.  I called all the shelters, the SPCA, the humane society (DAILY) and went all over the neighborhood looking for him - I was literally IN TEARS!!!!  Crying for fear that he had been picked up and euthanized (they do it within 24 hours there because there are so many unwanted cats.....). Neil happened to be talking to Joy one day (my neighbor) and something slipped out that he caught and he asked her about it and she took him into her home to show him Shadow - he was safe and sound!!  She had placed ads in papers for a "found cat" but when people called, she told them that he had already been picked up (she fell in love and couldn't part with him).  Anyway, at least I knew he was safe and sound and I was his permanent babysitter while I was still next door. 

Mommy kitty is much older..... Joy had been feeding her for several years before Shadow came along. 

[animalangel1]

Onyx's titer came back with "no change".  The values have not gone up or down so this, according to Dr. Will, does not prove his theory of cats getting Lyme Disease either way.  I will have to keep an eye on him to watch for the return of the lameness and we can always repeat the Lyme titer in another 6 months to see if there is any change further down the road. 

At this point, I am going to aim for the CBC, Chem profile and urinalysis (senior panel) and see what we come up with.  After that, it will be an ultrasound based on the results of the aforementioned tests. Of course I will not be able to have these tests done for a couple weeks (or a few months) yet..... but that's where we're looking right now. 

[galensgranny]

It will tricky adding two more cats to your home.  Do try to get a door on your bedroom, so you will have two rooms with doors.  Baby gates aren't good enough because in the early stages of introductions, the new cat should not be on constant view, but rather feel safe and private behind a closed door.

If you do make an enclosure that is about a large as an average bedroom, it will help so much by adding more safe territory.  It will need to be positioned where it gets some sun and some shade as the sun moves throughout the day, if you intend for a cat to be out there even in winter and on hot summer days.  The feralish cat can over time become integrated with the tame cats and the feral cat can wind up fine to go in the house as long as she can scoot out a pet flap into the enclosure when she gets too nervous inside. The feralish cat would probably come in at night when all the humans are asleep to get warm and dry in bad weather.

Sorry things are not solved with what is going with Onyx.  Hopefully you will be able to get the blood tests done soon.

[animalangel1]

It will tricky adding two more cats to your home.

  I know.... still having "issues" with the Sparky/Lexi integration.   I've been keeping them completely separate (no viewing or anything) but he still gets that "wild hair" thing going on.  And he has jumped the gate so now we have a gate on top of the other gate to prevent that.  He wants the Purina One food in her room.  Need to keep him out of that food because he needs to lose weight AND he's supposed to eat his prescription stuff.  Anyway... it's going to take a very long while for this one.......

The plan IS to get a door for our room.... and I was also thinking that the cat enclosure could come from the backside of the house (north) (morning sun then shade all day) to around the east side (sun for most of the day).  Two access points (to be determined) and it would need to be at least 15 feet high (that's how high our windows are from the ground) so it would be quite tall and have shelves are many levels throughout.  I need to make it "detachable" as well in case we should ever end up selling to move (or whatever...).  Still thinking..... My thought is to have two pet flaps available to all the cats 24/7 to go in and out as they please.  We were even thinking of screening in the entire front porch for the cats but then coming in and going out (or for company) would be an issue as they would all try to escape to play free in the yard as they are used to.  So.... lots to think about.

[galensgranny]

You could screen in or lattice-in (with the small holed lattice that cats can't fit through) half of the front porch, with the cat flap in a window, then build a wall side on the porch with a door to get into the screened in area  (you have to have a way for the humans to get in the screened-in part).  That way the front door is not involved so people can come and go from the front door without a bunch of cats milling about.  That would be the easiest way to start out, then later on build the outdoor enclosure, which in your case will be a bit more complex.

Regarding Sparky wanting to get at the PurinaOne, give him just a little bit per day.  Maybe a few pieces as a treat.  Otherwise it is too tempting and frustrating for him to smell it but not be able to get at it. That will help cut down on his jumping on the gates trying to get into Lexi's room. She won't know that Sparky is just trying to get at her food.

I would make getting a door on your bedroom the first thing to do as soon as it is possible.  You can get a cheap door for now, then if you wanted a fancier door, later on as expenses allow, switch it out. With so many cats and trying to do integrations, any solid door on the bedroom really is must.

[animalangel1]

with the cat flap in a window

  I've been trying to figure out a way to do that without cutting the glass or removing the screens.... is there something that I am not aware of to make this happen?  That's where I was thinking of making the flaps, just haven't figured out how and do not want to block our vision of the outside or allow bugs in during the summer either.  Idea's welcome!

Am giving Sparky some Purina One as a treat... boy, he really HATES that poor little girl.  They haven't SEEN each other in about a week now and I just let her out to come sit with me in here and he came right down the hall after her and cornered her under my chair.  He wasn't even IN VIEW when I brought her in here..... he was on the couch.  Boy oh boy......

[galensgranny]

You need to make sure Sparky is shut behind a door before letting Lexi out.  Do try to follow my integration steps exactly and precisely.  Each time there is a negative interaction, things get set back even more. You must make so that there is no possible chance for it to occur. Just because Sparky was not in the room in view at the time, he was fully free and able to wander in at any moment, and you could not possibly know at which moment he might come into the room where you and Lexi were. You need to make it so there never is any possible chance for Lexi to get cornered.

I am  wondering how it is that you say Sparky hasn't seen Lexi in a week, but 2 days ago you said he jumped the gate and was in her room.  So he certainly could have seen her then.

It is fine and good for him to have brief peeps at her with NO possible way, in any manner, for there to be any physical contact. Really try hard to follow Step 3, Visual Familiarization- http://wvcats.com/integratingcatspage2.html#visual .  Maybe switch Lexi's safe room to the 2nd bedroom- the only room in your house with a door (not counting the bathroom).  Then you could manage to do "peeps through the crack in the door".  Sparky should be at the Visual Familiarization stage of the integration process.

If Lexi is still staying in your bedroom with the baby gates in the doorway, and she can fit through the gate, how are you keeping her from coming and going at her will?

I am thinking that since you will be taking in two more cats in the near future, it would be best to rehome Lexi.  She sounds highly adoptable.  I know you love her, but love sometimes means letting go.  It isn't going to work out for you to add two more cats.  Every time a new cat is added, it adds more stress to all the cats, and changes the relationships and balance the current cats had. There is also the expense for vet care for all the cats, which you are not really able to afford.  Plus, you are not really set up for proper cat integrations.

At some point, things really do get to be too much.  We cat lovers have to say "no" at some point, no matter how much we want to say "yes".  It can really get out hand and become a bad situation for all the cats and the humans if one is not very careful.  That is why it is best to adopt out any cats one can.

Regarding a cat flap in a window, you can cut a board the width of the window and a little more than the height of the purchased cat flap.  Then shut the window and screen on top of the board.  Use some sort of hardware gizmo the affix the board to the window- some sort of rectangle thingy where one end gets screwed to the board, and the top to the window.