Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

I did suggest to Looney2 that maybe we should keep his little pride and just find YumYum a home....

But no, they all need to go get homes. They are too adoptable not to find perfect homes and stay here.

What did I do to YumYum? I gave her 20 days of antibiotics, twice a day, when she first arrived. And then, I gave her 5 days, once a day, of deworming meds - really bad tasting stuff - and that cemented her opinion of me.

The other kittens all forgave me. They believe me when I told them it was to make them feel better. YumYum doesn't care. She is royalty and I should crawl in the dirt begging forgiveness that she will never grant me. I told someone yesterday that she could destroy an insecure person in seconds with her attitude.

At bedtime, I weighed the Punx. She weighed 23.3 ounces!

I texted one of the rescue girls and told her saying "maybe she just needed to know I care enough to spend a lot of money on her" - she replied "what a little punk". And THAT is why she was named Punxsatawney - because she has been a little punk since the moment they went to put her in a carrier with the other kittens.
Yeah, sounds like what I expect happened here - except cats don't wag their tails, so it is likely due to an external force. I think Gertie just got caught up in some rough play. Maybe she got play attacked and fell back on her butt twisting the base a bit. It was very sensitive to the touch yesterday morning. Last night, I could run my fingers down it with just a little sensitivity.

P.S. YumYum actually prefers being around Tornado-dog than me.

Punx gained another 0.2 ounces today!

Tonight, Looney2 and Looney3 brought Hobbes and Gertie downstairs for bedtime. When Looney2 and I went back upstairs to bring Punx down and search for YumYum, Hobbes came back up claiming that Looney2 said he could sleep upstairs. I asked Looney2 if this was true while Hobbes cuddled up to him... Looney2 yelled at Hobbes - so downstairs did the Hobbes go.

I fed the three Looneys and called out to YumYum. Nothing. I pointed out that she'd spend the night with Tornado-dog AND evil mama. Nothing. I called for Your Highness, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Empress... And then I called for Duchess.

YumYum was laying in the bathroom and let me pick her up (she wasn't there while I was calling for her). As we walked downstairs, I asked her if she needed a different name. I named her YumYum after a childhood cat because I thought she was sweet. So I suggested we change her name to Duchess, after my Mom's torti-point siamese - the toughest cat I ever met. She slapped my dad's husky across the nose and scarred him - just because he was there. She knocked a decorative shell off the shelf above my parents' bed - smack into my dad's forehead as he slept. It was a big shell...

So I set Duchess down on the big cat tree and said we could definitely agree to her new name. She looked me in the eye and didn't try to leave.

We'll see if this is enough to change her opinion of me.

When I talk to my dogs one of our trainers says all they are recognising is their name, the rest gets lost in a blah blah of human sound. This is why dogs need clear, concise, commands and praise. I think that once there is a bond, they can pick out a lot more than that, and can deduce even more from our inflection and body language.
I have never thought of giving any of them a say in choosing a new name though. You almost have me believing that they are capable of a two way conversation. I'm really interested to see whether Yum Yum responds to becoming a Duchess.

I swear they understand and communicate better than we do.

I think that if all we ever say to our dogs are commands, then they never have reason to communicate with us. If we converse with them, then there is a reason to communicate in return. Commands have their place - just like the librarian saying hush or the teacher saying everybody sit. But conversations are about interaction.

This morning, Duchess was in the hallway playing with Hobbes. When I approached and said "good morning Duchess", she looked at me and then went back to playing. Yesterday, she would have run into the bathroom behind the toilet.

Just now, I called them to for lunch. Punx came right out. Gertie was sleeping in the big cat tree. I couldn't find Hobbes and Duchess. So I took the girls upstairs and opened a can for lunch. I called for Hobbes and Duchess one last time and went downstairs. Hobbes was cuddling with his bankie. Duchess was laying in the bowl on the little cat tree. I went over and started to pet her (normally she cringes). She rolled over so I could rub her tummy. And she played for a second - never has done that before.

I texted the rescue and told them we have an official name change.

Yep. I definitely believe they understand more than a few words. They understand context and subtleties and complexities.

I had a foster dog, a poodle terrier mix of some sort with some lhasa in there. She was a pain in the rear. I would let her out back to go potty. When she was done, she would bark. If I didn't let her inside within 30 seconds, she was scaling the 6ft fence and running away.

When visiting my parents, my Mom and I went shopping. My dad immediately put her in the backyard (he did that with all of my dogs - regardless of how behaved they were). She barked, he ignored her, she ran away. She ran into a house down the street - the woman who lived there called her friend asking what to do. The dog had a tag with my phone number on it - a different area code). The friend worked with my Mom and realized I must be visiting and this was my dog so she called. I walked down the street to get the dog and she had just escaped from their backyard and was running down the street again.

I tell all this to illustrate just how intent on running this dog was. If her command wasn't obeyed immediately, she was out of there. She walked into houses and would walk right back out.

So one day, I took the dogs (4 at the time) for a drive up to the mountains. We spent a few hours exploring and then got in the truck to head home. I decided to take a back road. I'm driving along and there are these massive granite outcroppings all along the side of the road. I decided to stop and take the dogs for a quick walk. It was summer and warm and I had the driver window down. As soon as I pulled over, that little sh!t had run over my lap and jumped out the window. She started running down the road as fast as she could. I started after her. And then I thought, NO. I'm not chasing this dog in the wilderness.

I stopped and yelled out "Go ahead and run away. But you might want to stop and look around. There's nothing here but trees and rocks. You'll be alone and starving!"

Honest, she stopped, looked around her, and then walked back to me - she was a good football field away already. She let me put her back in the truck and home we went.

That's impressive.

What a weekend...

Hobbrs and Duchess got fixed on Friday. Hobbes recovered nicely and made an executive decision that everyone is big enough to sleep upstairs in the Cat's Room rather than downstairs in the kitten bathroom.

Duchess was very unhappy. I thought she might be slow to recover from the anesthesia so I watched her overnight. Saturday, she didn't get better, so I thought it was a reaction to the anesthesia. Sunday no better.

So Monday, I got her in to see my vet when I took Punx in for her bloodwork. The vet said something was definitely wrong. The incision looked infected and she said the intestines felt wrong. So we talked about what to do. Money no object, take her to an emergency vet and do exploratory surgery. Will run at least $3,000 possibly as high as $10,000 and she could still die.

We ended up giving her sub-Q fluids and putting her on antibiotics. That would buy some time to contact the vet that did the spay.

Contacted the rescue and arranged for me to bring her to the vet this morning between 7 and 8 am - hour long drive.

About 8 pm last night, she threw up bile. Debated taking her to an emergency vet. Called and they were all at least 2-4 hour wait times. So, I set my alarm for 1 am, 3 am and 5 am and I checked on her all night. She stayed the same, so I skipped the ER visit. At 6 am, the dogs and I drover her to the vet. Arrived at 7 am. It's basically a low cost spay clinic, so the clerk took notes and Duchess and I waited for the vet to arrive.

Got in to see the vet around 8:45 am. She examined her and Duchess vomited bile again. She also peed - which is good.

The incision is definitely infected. The vet wanted to test for panleukopenia - I think in a last ditch effort to divert the cause away from the surgery. Test came back negative (of course it did, none of the other kittens are or were sick like that and she hasn't been exposed to anything in two months).

So they gave her fluids and a dietary supplement and are letting her stabilize for the morning. This afternoon, she'll have exploratory surgery.

The dogs and just had breakfast and are hanging out in the car for a bit. We'll find someplace to walk around for a while before we go back for Duchess.

At this point, we're just hoping Duchess survives the surgery.

These last four kittens have had a rough time:

Punx and her weight issues. She got a negative FeLV/FIV test result and her doctor says she is doing amazing! The tech was carrying her around in her smock pocket after her blood test - Punx was happy as a clam.

Gertie with her tail. It's fine now.

And now poor Duchess.

Knock on wood, the only thing going on with Hobbes is he has a super long tail. It tapers like a snake. And he curls the end like a monkey. I keep meaning to measure it.

Will update this evening once we know what's going on and I get her back home.

I had been looking for more updates on the antics of your fosters, but this sounds scary. I hope Duchess makes a turnaround soon.

This is so sad, poor Duchess. I hope you will have more positive news tomorrow.

I just got home. It was a very long day.

Unfortunately, Duchess' insides were severely inflamed and infected. From what the vet could see, she thinks her ureter had been cut during surgery. Her incision was not stitched up - just the skin glued. How much more damage couldn't be seen due to the inflamation is anyone's guess.

The vet felt that with the amount of inflammation and infection and Duchess' current condition (she received 2 sub-Q fluids during the day and was still extremely dehydrated), that it was very unlikely that she would survive. And even if she survived the infection, they've have to go back in to see what other damage was done and potentially needed fixing.

So, at about 4:30 pm today, Duchess was euthanized while still under the anesthesia.

The vet and staff were very very apologetic, without admitting any mistake by the vet on Friday. You could see it in their faces that they knew this was a botched surgery.

The rescue executive board member spoke with the vet today. It has been very clearly explained that the vet on duty Friday will NOT ever touch another of our cats again. I suspect they will not be working there much longer. You can't really call it a surgical complication when you didn't even suture the incision.

I came home and told Hobbes, Gertie and Punx. I told Hobbes that he can wait until the girls get fixed to go up for adoption if he'd rather not go alone. I figure I'll take him Saturday and if he's unhappy, I won't bring him back until the girls are ready.

I am getting Duchess' ashes back. The box inscription will simply say "We are not amused". I think that personifies her. I'll bury her under the new tree in the front yard. I hope she'll approve - but with my track record, she'll hate it.

I have never seen anything like this in years of rescue work. But I take heart in that Duchess has affected more than 18 people with her death. So everyone give your darlings all a big hug in her memory.

This is really sad. You put a lot of love into rescuing all those kittens. Unfortunately unforeseen things can happen.

What a shabby vet practice. If this had been a pedigree kitten they would have had a minimum of an insurance claim - possibly a court case.
I'm sorry you have had to go through this, and hope Punx gains weight soon so the remaning trio can set out to find their forever homes. I think you must feel ready for a break from kittens, but do be proud of the way you have cared for these. xx

Thanks. The clinic has done thousands of these surgeries, for the rescue I'm working with and for at least three counties worth of ferals and low-cost neuterings. The vet I saw yesterday looked completely disgusted with what she saw. And the rescue board member had a long talk with her about what happened. I suspect the vet in question is packing their bags - but if not, I will be intiating a letter writing campaign to have them fired.

There just really is no excuse for the multiple botches made. The vet yesterday identified three separate mistakes, two of which are so obvious as to be extreme incompetence. And we don't know if there were any other mistakes made under all the inflammation and infection - even after this vet removed a walnut sized section of infected flesh.

Today, Punx spent the day with me on the couch while I worked. Well, it was more that she spent the day on HER blanket and she allowed me to sit next to her. I bought each of them their very own faux fur pillow cover, but Punx is claiming the 50*60 faux fur blanket.

I can't go into detail but a friend has just lost her six year old female dog. Usually a bouncy girl, her health had been gradually declining over a period of months, and the vet practice didn't know why. When her condition started to look critical the dog was referred to a teaching hospital, where they found a swab that had been left from her spay several months ago. Sadly there was too much internal damage to save her life.

It isn't about the money, it is about the feelings we have for our animals, and the duty of care that vets owe us. I know that they work under a lot of pressure, but they do charge quite hefty sums for their expertise and can't be allowed to wave away such basic mistakes.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. When I took Duchess into my vet, that was the first thing she thought when she saw Duchess - something was left inside. A friend's mother died because they left a swab inside during surgery, so this isn't even just a vet issue.

Please share my condolences with your friend - I understand exactly what they have just gone through.

I spoke with the rescue board member today. She had talked to the vet on Tuesday and was told that the issue would be dealt with at the clinic - so we both feel pretty confident that this vet will no longer be working there. The vet is not a new vet but is new to the clinic. The clinic has a couple longtime vets there, but are trying to hire new staff to be able to take over as the longterm vets "age out".

I hope this isn't a sign of the future. These low cost spay/neuter clinics are so important to help control our unwanted kitten/puppy popoulations. I think it cost me about $400 to neuter Looney2 with my regular vet back in 2019. This clinic charges $69 for a neuter today. For many people, this is the only way they can afford to spay/neuter their pets. And for the rescues, these clinics are how they survive - they just don't get the donations and funding to spay/neuter 50-100 animals per month at full rates.

Arrgggh! Punx is off her food again. Nothing else wrong. Her last blood test came out negative for FeLV and FIV.

Years ago, my Mom had a cat boarding with her who would routinely just stop eating. My Mom would have to tube feed her for a few days and then she'd start eating again until one day she'd just stop eating again.

I told Punx that I don't what her reasons are, she's not dying of starvation on my watch.

I have jars of baby food, evaporated milk, and special kitten food on the way. If she won't eat it on her own, I can use the syringe to get it down her skinny little neck.

There will be no "failure to thrive" death in this house.

Hobbes and Gertie are being good kids. They did come over to see why Punx was mad at me and being vocal - I had dared to put their food in front of her and tell her to eat.

Punx ate well last night and this morning. She's still very underweight again, but better than yesterday morning.

This morning, Hobbes conquered the Tornado-dog Divide. At night, the kittens have run of the Cat's Room (baby gate at door), hallway, stairway and upstairs bathroom. Tornado-dog is confined to my bedroom (although he can jump over that gate). Only the Looneys come into the bedroom when Tornado-dog is in residence.

But this morning Hobbes decided he was big enough to take on the beast. He even got on the bed while the beast was on it. Hobbes attacked the under the cover foot monster, had cuddle time under the covers, and got some sun worship on his handsome fat tummy. He enjoyed it very much.

Gertie is now big enough to get spayed. Yes, I'm having some fear about it. I can get her in on Tuesday or wait another 2-4 weeks. If she goes on Tuesday, then she and Hobbes would go to adoptions next weekend.

That would leave me with a certain problem child. With her eating issues, I don't think she'll be available for adoption for months if at all. And we could lose her at any point.

Argggh.

Oh dear, what a worry with the girls, and there is Hobbes is doing his best to tell you that he would like to stay with his new friend. I think I would be inclined to give it another 2 weeks and just hope that Punx has turned a corner and started to put on enough weight so the three of them could go together.
If Punx doesn't look like gaining enough weight she may not be able to go anywhere and you may have to consider keeping her much longer. The alternatives would be to ask the rescue take over, or to decide that her condition was non-viable. After your sadness with Duchess, I don't think you would want to do either of those.
I'm sorry.

Gertie has been a doll. Hobbes doesn't LIKE Tornado-dog, he is just learning from the Looneys how to ignore and avoid him. He and Gertie need to get adopted. They deserve to be the center of their people's world. And the longer they wait, the harder it will be to adopt them out.

I suspect I'll be pulling Punx out of the system. If she's got an eating disorder, then I can't put that on another family - it's a lot of work getting her to start eating again: sub-q fluids, appetite stimulant (getting that this week via Rx), special foods, syringe feeding, weighing regularly, and so on. And how do I know she won't stop eating again in a month's time or even a year or two down the road...

Gertie will have a note on her carrier when she goes for spaying: "Duchess was my sister. Please give me special care and attention." And the rescue staff will keep a close watch on her before and after for me and keep me updated via text.

For your enjoyment.

Hobbes and Gertie having cuddle time with a blankie:


Hobbes in his post-cuddle coma:


Gertie in her post-cuddle coma: