Bad Luck with pets lately....

[fly on the wall]

My wife 'fosters' for the Humane Society which is where she works. She has fostered close to 400 cats (most of them kittens) in the last seven years. The house is a shambles and we can't have people over anymore.

The problem with 'fostering' pets is that a certain percentage eventually present themselves as being unadoptable. They may be incontinent (we have one that just lets loose wherever he is), They may have goo running out of their eyes (we have two of them). They may be obese (we have one of them) or nasty (we have one of them). They may throw up all the time (we have one of them). So one way or the other we got stuck with eight grown up cats. They grew up that is, from kittens.

She keeps taking in kittens, I can't stop her. The latest crop is a doozy. One was found with blood coming out of his nose and ears, just like Superman these days when he gets punched hard. The kitten didn't want to eat and kept biting us. He wobbled when he walked. The vet said he had severe brain damage and convinced us to put him down.

Another kitten we had at the same time was perfectly fine cream colored kitten, real lovable, easy to adopt. But we had to put him in a cage to keep him isolated from three other kittens we had at the same time that were ill. The kitten in the cage got so lonely and desperate that he forced himself out of the cage, fatally injuring himself in the process. My wife found him under the couch and picked him up. He wimpered twice and died in her hand.

That cheered things up considerably.

Meanwhile back to the three sick kittens we had to quarantine the cream-colored one from. They were picked up along with their mother when they were seven days old. The mother was feral so they decided to put her down. They could have waited for the kittens to be weaned to put her down but they decided to put her down. Then they dumped the seven day old kittens on my wife. She valiantly got them to drink fake kitten formula (KMR) and they began to grow. It looked like they were out of the woods but then they came down with an upper respiratory disease that every kitten catches if they spend a day at the shelter.

My wife has valiantly fought the disease and two of the three kittens recovered. But the third is wheezing and is slowly succumbing, it's only a matter of time.

I told my wife the kitten needed antibiotics nebulized into it's lungs two days ago, we've been through this before. But my wife hates the only vet in town that has a nebulizer, "He's a fraud!" she says. When my wife told me the kitten was dying I reminded her about the nebulizer and at first she got mad at me, "You're saying I killed the kitten! After all I've done!".

But she calmed down and started putting on her thinking cap, "I think I know another place open 24 hrs. a day that has a nebulizer!"

But like it's too late. The kitten has progressed too far for the nebulizer to be effective. The kitten's going to die.

[morna]

wow


shit

[Ontir]

Oh man.

Animal rescue can be rewarding, but it's often really damn hard.
My heart goes out to both of you, and you have my admiration for being able to do this again and again.

I live in an apartment and can't have animals. Even if I did, I'm not sure I could do the foster work. A friend of mine rescued dogs for a long time, but he had to have a transplant and that ended. (He wasn't even allowed to be with his own dogs for several months afterwards.) He used to talk about the difficulties of the job. I saw how hard it was for him at times, and he didn't have any of the issues you're talking about.

Again, my admiration and best wishes.

[fly on the wall]

Oh man.

Animal rescue can be rewarding, but it's often really damn hard.
My heart goes out to both of you, and you have my admiration for being able to do this again and again.

I live in an apartment and can't have animals. Even if I did, I'm not sure I could do the foster work. A friend of mine rescued dogs for a long time, but he had to have a transplant and that ended. (He wasn't even allowed to be with his own dogs for several months afterwards.) He used to talk about the difficulties of the job. I saw how hard it was for him at times, and he didn't have any of the issues you're talking about.

Again, my admiration and best wishes.

Thanks for your supportive words. What kind of transplant did your friend need?

Meanwhile my wife took the dying kitten to the all-night veterinarians and they nebulized her with a bronchodiliator and put her in an enhanced oxygen environment. A box, I think.

Apparently the kitten is rallying, she is eating and grooming herself, which she hasn't done for two days, but I still think she is doomed. We've had pigs like that at work that start dying and you give them 100% oxygen and they bounce back but as soon as you take the oxygen away they recommence dying.

So I don't know. But at least the kitten got to feel better again and have a bite to eat, regardless of what comes next.

Incidentally it costs 200 dollars just to walk through the door of the all nite Vets.

[warspite1805]

That is so tragic.I don't know how people like your wife manage to do that, it must take so much out of you both. I always felt that Britain's honours system should be used as a means to recognise the good work done by people such your wife, instead of rewarding individuals who do well in their careers, athletes, pop stars and the like

[fly on the wall]

That is so tragic.I don't know how people like your wife manage to do that, it must take so much out of you both. I always felt that Britain's honours system should be used as a means to recognise the good work done by people such your wife, instead of rewarding individuals who do well in their careers, athletes, pop stars and the like

Let's just say this is something good that we have done and hope it outweighs our less stellar moments. Like when I used start massive flame wars on these boards just for fun.

I don't think you can do flame wars around here anymore. Sigh.

[Ronald Bryan]

You can always do flame wars, fly. Those are stellar moments.

But until the next one, that sucks all of the kittens that are dying. How does that affect the bipolar thing?

[OzBat!]

Well, you know how it is, one moment you're all "Oh woe is me, I'm going to die" and the next it's "HOLY CRAP, I'M A CAT!"

Oh wait, you were asking about Fly.

[Ronald Bryan]

Well, you know how it is, one moment you're all "Oh woe is me, I'm going to die" and the next it's "HOLY CRAP, I'M A CAT!"

Oh wait, you were asking about Fly.

No, I think that's probably fly's exact response.

[fly on the wall]

You can always do flame wars, fly. Those are stellar moments.

But until the next one, that sucks all of the kittens that are dying. How does that affect the bipolar thing?

First let me answer OzBat's impertinant comment. If I understood what you said I'd be mad at you, as it is I'm just confused.

Now, how does this kitty-cat emotional rollercoaster effect my bipolarity. The answer is as long as I get plenty of sleep it does not seem to bother me, but if I'm staying up all night long feeding underage kittens, the lack of sleep couples with the drama and screws my head up.

Right now I'm getting plenty of sleep and the bipolar thing is in check. Of course it cycles so it will come back eventually but I'm sure glad it's gone. I'm not high and I'm just a little bit low. These are the good old days for people like me.

Okay now is the sad part. The vet told us we should put the kitten down, in fact it is probably already done. My wife went to do it about noon.

The vet told her the kitten had aspiration pneumonia. In other words some fluid got down into her lungs and rotted. It was either the kitten formula my wife fed them or she may have aspirated her vomit, since they went through this faze where all three would not eat and just vomitted all the time.

So my thinks it is all her fault that the kitten got pneumonia and I suppose that may be so. But it might have been the vomitting that brought it on. I know how she feels, I drowned a tiny kitten (2 days old) trying to feed it. It died right there I didn't need to wait for aspiration pneumonia to develop. I felt horrible.

The thing is you risk aspiration every time you feed a kitten in an unnatural way, what they need is a mother. But there is no mother so they have to rely on us. We are better than nothing I suppose but right now I feel pretty lousy. Not as bad as my wife does, though.

[Shellhead]

My parents have taken in a total of four stray cats over the last 20 years, but they never had more than two at the same time. The last one was created a sad situation. Darby (cat #3) is an outdoor cat who likes to wander around the neighborhood, but comes home every night for dinner and a place to sleep. A couple of months ago, the nameless cat (#4) started following him home, so my parents regularly let that cat in the house and fed him, too.

About a month ago, the nameless cat decided that he didn't want to share my parents with Darby anymore, so he viciously attacked Darby and bit him on the lower lip, drawing blood.

My mom asked my dad to give the nameless cat one more meal, then load him into the pet carrier. She then told my dad to take the nameless cat to the woods several miles away and release him there. My dad returned with an empty pet carrier, and that was that. Unfortunately, the nameless cat brought fleas into the house, so now Darby has fleas.

[fly on the wall]

My parents have taken in a total of four stray cats over the last 20 years, but they never had more than two at the same time. The last one was created a sad situation. Darby (cat #3) is an outdoor cat who likes to wander around the neighborhood, but comes home every night for dinner and a place to sleep. A couple of months ago, the nameless cat (#4) started following him home, so my parents regularly let that cat in the house and fed him, too.

About a month ago, the nameless cat decided that he didn't want to share my parents with Darby anymore, so he viciously attacked Darby and bit him on the lower lip, drawing blood.

My mom asked my dad to give the nameless cat one more meal, then load him into the pet carrier. She then told my dad to take the nameless cat to the woods several miles away and release him there. My dad returned with an empty pet carrier, and that was that. Unfortunately, the nameless cat brought fleas into the house, so now Darby has fleas.

Yes, some stray cats can be really fierce and territorial. My mother-in had two cats, they were both strays but she got them when they were very young so they civilized up pretty good. She made a cat door for them to come in and go out.
Well a real stray cat used the door to come in and eat all the cats' food. Then the stray cat attacked my Mother-in-law's cats and literally took a chunk out of both of them, out of their backs. Big vet bill. Needless to say the kitty door was nailed shut.

Now I have sad news, the little kitty got put down because the Vet said she had no chance. My wife went along with this because she trusts the Vet but at the same time she noticed that the seem to be doing better. But she decided it must be in her mind so she had the cat put down.

When she got home she was blaming herself for aspirating the kitten. So from the five kittens we took in a month ago, only two remain.

[OzBat!]

First let me answer OzBat's impertinant comment. If I understood what you said I'd be mad at you, as it is I'm just confused.

My life is complete, I have out-confuzzled Fly.

But for the sake of completeness! My little piece of nonsense-ity was merely drawing a line between Ronald's bipolar comment and the kittens; as if it was the kittens that were bipolar. Not the Fly.

Good to see ya around a little bit bud. Wish the kittens were better. We have bunnies, a pair of mini rex, both brothers. They pee a lot and live permanently in their hutch. 'Cause if we let them out much, they pee a lot everywhere else around the house. We have tile floors, not carpets, so that's good but still it's a trial mopping up every time we let the furry little maniacs out for a run.

On top of being fuzzy speed merchants who can turn on a dime and are too cute for words, one is also a homicidal maniac and will tear holes in your hands with his teeth if you put them anywhere near his hutch. I guess his home is his castle, even if it is pee-sodden poop-pellet-ridden cage. I think he might calm down a bit if we get him desexed. His brother might stop hiding in the corner of the hutch if that happens, too.

So, that's our current pet quota. When I was a kid we had kittens and puppies out the wazoo, which I'm quite sure my kids would absolutely love but it just aint an option right now. So, they're stuck with bunnies in a cage.

[Fenris]

I'm sorry, Fly. That's very sad.

It's like you're absorbing all the grief of pet ownership, without the years of happiness that normally go with it.

But I'm glad for the kittens' sake that they have you two taking care of them. You're making their lives better, even if only for the little time they have.

[morna]

I'm sure it's pale solace but the kittens wouldn't have had a chance without your efforts. As Fenris says you're getting way more than your share of the pain. There must be rewards to it too ... anyway my heart goes out.