OMG,What else can go wrong?

On 14 Feb, 03:21, Charlie Wilkes
wrote:
On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 16:42:07 -0800, sheelagh wrote:

We are just going through a very blue faze recently.. we have had
plenty of good times, so it only makes sense that the bad times have
caught up with us ~ It's all part of the fabric of life...It just
doesn't make it any easier to like or live with it though...
I haven't seen you around for a while so you might not know that Lilly
was VERY sick last week and we nearly lost her. she had Pyometra & had
to have her womb removed. It is no loss, & I am just so grateful that
we still have her.

I have been following the story and looking at the pictures as you post the
links. But I was unclear on the overall situation, i.e., just how many
cats do these people have? Seven (plus 4 kittens) seems like a lot, but
apparently you have enough energy to deal with the problems that pop up.
It must be fantastically expensive though.

Charlie

I have been following the story and looking at the pictures as you post the
links. But I was unclear on the overall situation, i.e., just how many
cats do these people have?

Charlie
Yes, It is Charlie. I used to a breeder. That is why there must seem a
lot of cats. When I started posting on this site I had no idea about
the cull policy in America, until a few people pointed it out to me.
we had a breeding pair of Ragdolls, & also 3Birman Queens & a stud cat
too. This didn't include the2cats that have adopted us recently as
well.
Here in the UK, there are not very many shelters that do this to
cats, because all of them are dedicated not to doing this (ie:cat
protection League, Battersea Dogs home - yes, they take cats too)
Rspca,&Wood Green Animals shelters as well as privately run ones as
well).
I also cocooned myself by thinking that I was doing my bit for
community cats myself, working for local cat charities & believing
that I was doing "my bit". But in retrospect, I didn't want to see the
cat problem, or admit that I was part of the problem either.
After announcing that I had decided to stop breeding, Phil posted a
photo for me & told me that If ever I felt that I had made the wrong
choice, that all I needed to do was look at the photo that he had
posted for me, & you know what? He was right.
The photo was of a dump of an enormous quantity of of dogs and cats
that had been euthanized. It was highly shocking & had the Wow factor
stamped all over it. I was shocked to say the least.
In the UK I believe that we are too sheltered. This was something
that I personally have never seen ever before, even in all the years
that I have worked for the Cat Protection League.. or the animal
shelters come to that!!
I would think that most people, such as myself and others who
genuinely love cats, feel the need to be blind too. We are not used to
the shocking statistics that most of you in the USA seem to be.
Nevertheless, I think that it is time that we did get used to the idea
that this "does" happen in this country.
I have been looking into this & I have found that it does happen far
closer to home than I realised. If a cat or dog is found wondering and
is picked up by the local council, they hang on to the pet for 28days,
& if the cat,kitten,puppy or dog is not claimed then they are
euthanized!! I had no idea, truely! It was there to see, but I didn't
look for it because I didn't want to know if you take my meaning?
Seven (plus 4 kittens) seems like a lot, but
apparently you have enough energy to deal with the problems that pop up.
It must be fantastically expensive though.
I think that some people think that breeders are rolling in money
because of the price of the kittens..It is not though, when you take
into consideration their injections, chipping & spaying and neutering
too, plus any problems we might encounter before they leave our care.
It has not bee so terribly expensive regarding medical care until
quite recently. But I feel that if you are prepared to make the
commitment to allow a cat to own, you, then you have to be prepared to
care for the cat in full, Whatever it takes.
I settled my bill in full this morning for the last 2weeks expenses,
including xray, a pyometra operation, care, drugs, follow ups,
changing vets, check ups there , bloods, more samples and drugs for
the blue Birman for flu, consultation fees for mother of kittens and
Blue Birman too (this does not include stitches being removed next
Monday), comes to £513.60 Around $1,000!!! Even for me, that is one
big kick in the but, I assure you!!
It would have been OK if I could guarantee that kittens will be fine,
but I can't, because one of them already has upper respiratory
problems, so you can pretty well say that all of them will probably
affected.
I have no idea whether any of them will live or die, so it's a
horrible situation & quite bleak too.
I have just got to the stage where I know which kitten is which, &
their personalities are shinning through, so it would be a real loss
now (not in money terms, but in bonding terms, although I would admit
that the money would be a huge help!).
But as they say, THATS LIFE..!
S;o)

On 13 Feb, 20:26, "sheelagh" wrote:
On 13 Feb, 16:30, "bookie" wrote:





On 13 Feb, 15:39, "sheelagh" wrote:

Lilly the birman is feeling somewhat better, but unfortunately she
came home with a dose of the flu. Even though every single one of our
cats is inoculated against cat flu, they seem to be dropping like
flies(

Lilly is on antibiotics, & I have an appointment to take Belle, the
mother of our 4 tiny kittens to see our new practice this afternoon
@5.40 GMT.
One of the kittens is coughing, but we are at our Witt's and as to how
to isolate a kitten that is so young (1week and 4days old!!).
Mother only seems to be sneezing presently, & we have had her isolated
from the other cats since the day Lilly got home, just in case this
might happen.
Biffy the big fat blue Birman seems to be affected the worst, & he is
also isolated too, but it looks rather like he might have already
passed it on to Tazzy, our seal point Ragdoll, who's pen is along side
biffy's.
I am taking both Belle, the mother of kittens & her baby's later, as
well as Biffy & also Taz as well;thankfully so far Tiggy is unaffected
and also in isolation. Ringo shows no sign of it at all, & neither
does Lucy(fur!), but we are running out of places to isolate them all.
More news update later...
S.

lucy and ringo are hardy street urchins who have probably built a
strong immune system from lving on the streets all those years and
fending for themselves, that is prob why they have not been afflicted.

apart fromthat how is lilly doing? any more pictures? i checked out
the rcvs site yesterday and it' scode of professional conduct makes
interesting reading. basically your old vet is in serious breach of
several of their rules and they do have a complaints proceudre you can
follow, I seriously urge you to talk to them as soon as you can when
you have got over this latest crisis. have a look at the website
pleasewww.rcvs.org.uk

fingers crossed you sort out this latest drama, poor little angels,
purrs from jessie who is sending them from the radiator hammock bed
she has finally decided to use.

bookie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Lilly the birman is feeling somewhat better, but unfortunately she
came home with a dose of the flu. Even though every single one of our
cats is inoculated against cat flu, they seem to be dropping like
flies(

Lilly is on antibiotics, & I have an appointment to take Belle, the
mother of our 4 tiny kittens to see our new practice this afternoon
@5.40 GMT.
One of the kittens is coughing, but we are at our Witt's and as to how
to isolate a kitten that is so young (1week and 4days old!!).
Mother only seems to be sneezing presently, & we have had her isolated
from the other cats since the day Lilly got home, just in case this
might happen.
Biffy the big fat blue Birman seems to be affected the worst, & he is
also isolated too, but it looks rather like he might have already
passed it on to Tazzy, our seal point Ragdoll, who's pen is along side
biffy's.
I am taking both Belle, the mother of kittens & her baby's later, as
well as Biffy & also Taz as well;thankfully so far Tiggy is unaffected
and also in isolation. Ringo shows no sign of it at all, & neither
does Lucy(fur!), but we are running out of places to isolate them all.
More news update later...
S.

lucy and Ringo are hardy street urchins who have probably built a
strong immune system from living on the streets all those years and
fending for themselves, that is prob why they have not been afflicted.

The Cromwell agree with you. apparently there is a terrible new strain
that gas evolved & has never seen before in a village not too far away
from us, called Stilton. The vet asked if we know anyone from there
who might have cats there, but the answer to that one is no!
It would appear that this strain is travelling then, More's the
pity!!
I keep wondering whether it could possibly have been picked up by
Lilly when she was admitted to the previous surgery? None of them had
it prior to that, but now have it since she returned home. It would be
logical conclusion that Lilly picked it whilst her immune system was
low, then bandied it about after she got home...
It is terrible unfortunate, but there we have it.

apart from that how is Lilly doing? any more pictures? i checked out
the rcvs site yesterday and it' scode of professional conduct makes
interesting reading. basically your old vet is in serious breach of
several of their rules and they do have a complaints procedure you can
follow, I seriously urge you to talk to them as soon as you can when
you have got over this latest crisis. have a look at the website
pleasewww.rcvs.org.uk

Lilly is a *little better*, but considering the results of the bloods
that were done by the cromwell,lilly had( bronchopneumonia/
bronchosetica? & treated for felinecalivirus- probably infected
because of her constantly licking her rear end when she had pyometra.
They tell me that we are in fact very lucky to have Lilly still, & I
think that I agree with them.

They have complied a report to sent to the Royal College Of Veterinary
Surgeons when we are ready to deal with the matter. I would like to do
it straight away, purely because I feel that Lilly was left in a state
that required 24/7 nursing. And if that surgery were unable to cater
for these needs, then the simple courtesy of a single call, would have
given us the choice as to whether to move her to a facility that had
this care, or leave her where she was.

It strikes me that some of our readers feel that this was a prime
concern to me, but that it not the case at all I assure you.
I have the most unfortunate habit of blowing up when I am angry about
something, then thinking about it later, which is not one of my better
qualities, to my shame....

On reflection, perhaps I was a little hasty in throwing accusations,
however, I only stated what I felt because of the condition I found
her in, not to mention of course the fact that Paul spent an entire
night camped outside the surgery, in an attempt to gain access to our
cat, so that we could participate in her care.
I was more than disappointed, & unfortunately, I tried to make light
of a terrible situation that I think that might have made some people
have taken offense.
If this is the case, then I am sorry If anyone took it that way too.
It was the only coping mechanism that I was able to use to make light
of the fact that In reality, I sat here balling my eyes out. You
didn't need to hear that, so I tried to make light of a terrible
situation
When I posted *Help my cat is in a dire situation, & can anyone tell
me how the law stands regarding her rights and care*
...all I really wanted to know wanted to know was what my rights were
regarding Lilly's welfare, but more to the point, but more to the
point what were Lilly's rights regarding her predicament?

Thank you very much indeed for the link too. I intend to read it as
soon as I have finish posting this for you.

*I must stress that I am not doing this to gain compensation*.
I intend to follow it up because **I never want another single person
to go through what we did or feel like we did**(helpless with no laws
to state that our cat had a right to prime care), or their cat
either;compensation is irrelevant!

Never allowing the situation to ever happen to again to any other cat
owner is my prime concern & this will be detailed in intricate detail
when I make my report. I am sorry if some people took offense to my
fiery temperament- It was certainly never intended to cause offense to
any other individual.
I regret not sitting down & thinking about what I was asking before
calling out for help in a state of distress... But that was all it
was, A cry for help when feeling down, alone & frightened for Lilly's
welfare & whether she would make it through the illness that was
allowed to go on for so long, *Needlessly*( fingers crossed you sort out this latest drama, poor little angels,
purrs from Jessie who is sending them from the radiator hammock bed
she has finally decided to use.

bookie- -

thank you bookie. The last week has been one of the unhappiest weeks
of my life. I can't think of anything worse than discovering all of
your feline family are sick & not knowing how to go about ensuring
that they all pull through it. It is all the worse knowing that every
single one of them has already been injected for cat flu already. I
can't help feeling utterly helpless!!
As you know, this litter of kittens that Belle had was intended to be
her last litter, so as I am certain that you can appreciate, they
meant all the more to us all. I did so want to enjoy them, fuss them &
make the most of the fact that they were our last litter..

To find out that they too are now affected by this calicivirus, or at
least a new mutation of it, is horrific. It is hard enough to accept
that your oldest companion who is reaching the end of their days, but
to think that a tiny little defenseless Kittie has contracted it too,
is absolutely devastating.

I took Biffy, our big fat Blue point birman who is Lilly's mate down
to the Cromwell with me as well as Belle & her kittens with me too, to
be checked out.

Once Belle had been looked @, it was decided that they felt it was
best not to treat her because she is showing no outward signs of
infection, other than constant sneezing, & one of her kittens as well.
I have been advised to keep an eye on her (Kittie's), & to make sure
that she is feeding. If she goes lame I am advised to rush her down
there, if she is dehydrated or flagging , I must give her a bit of
glucose solution, then try hand feeding her water until I can get her
to the vet.

If mummy starts showing signs of infection, ...

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if i were in your situation, or had been rather, I woudl not be
looking to make a complaint against the previous vet for
compensation, you w probably wouldn't get any anyway. The point of
makign a complaint as I said before and which I think you agree with
is purely to make sure that this never happens again and to make an
issue of it so that other animals do not suffer in the future. If i
make a complaint and got some form of compensation in money i would
simply give it to the local cat rescue anyway (after purchasing some
bits and bobs for jessie first of course), I suspect that you would do
the same.

has anyone accused you of tryign to make money out of this situation?
i do hope not, if so then just tell them what i have put above, which
is the truth, and don't give them another thought, they are not worth
it.

good to see that the cromwell are going to back you up in your
complaint to the rcvs, they do nto want someone sullying their their
profession i am sure as this one vet's bad practise reflects badly on
all.
don't worry you are doing the right thing

bookie

"sheelagh" wrote in message
ups.com...

snip

It would have been OK if I could guarantee that kittens will be fine,
but I can't, because one of them already has upper respiratory
problems, so you can pretty well say that all of them will probably
affected.
I have no idea whether any of them will live or die, so it's a
horrible situation & quite bleak too.
I have just got to the stage where I know which kitten is which, &
their personalities are shinning through, so it would be a real loss
now (not in money terms, but in bonding terms, although I would admit
that the money would be a huge help!).
But as they say, THATS LIFE..!
-----------
Every day those kittens alive and get a little bit stronger, their chances
for survival improve. They are going to live (and they are totally
adorable).
Purrs for all your kitties to have complete recoveries.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:07:09 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

I have no idea whether any of them will live or die, so it's a
horrible situation & quite bleak too.

I haven't read all of your posts (short on time here), but if any of the
kittens are in distress, please discuss treatment with your vet. Levi was
on antibiotics and eye medications at a very young age and he is thriving
now.

I hope everyone will be okay!

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message
. 97.142...
on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:07:09 GMT, "sheelagh"
wrote:

I have no idea whether any of them will live or die, so it's a
horrible situation & quite bleak too.

I haven't read all of your posts (short on time here), but if any of the
kittens are in distress, please discuss treatment with your vet. Levi was
on antibiotics and eye medications at a very young age and he is thriving
now.

I hope everyone will be okay!
-----------
When our then-foster cat, Amanda, had her litter of four, they all caught
colds when they were around 2 months old. They were all treated with
antibiotics and eye drops several times a day, and they also thrived and did
fine. There is every reason to believe Belle's kittens will all be fine as
well :-)
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

On 14 Feb, 15:21, Lynne wrote:
on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:07:09 GMT, "sheelagh"

wrote:
I have no idea whether any of them will live or die, so it's a
horrible situation & quite bleak too.

I haven't read all of your posts (short on time here), but if any of the
kittens are in distress, please discuss treatment with your vet. Levi was
on antibiotics and eye medications at a very young age and he is thriving
now.

I hope everyone will be okay!

--
Lynne
Thanks all of you, I took mummy to the vet last night, but because
there was no infection, he wouldn't treat the kitten,(you can treat a
kitten with no bacterial infection, were his words..)
What he did do was to inject the mother, in the hope that she would
pick up, then he gave me so marbocyl 20mg to give to her too,
explaining that it should help the kittens via here antibodies, the
antibiotics, & I am using chloramphemicol for the eyes. Fortunately,
so far only one kitten is in trouble- I would love to hope that it
would stay that way, but I have my doubts
He did suggest isolating her, but that is rather difficult. I have
also been told that if any of them are flagging, to give them glucose
solution & he has given me a tin of cimmi cat milk formula to feed the
kittens too.
I am very hesitant to feed them though because of the obvious problem
of the esophagus and the trachea being right next to one another. They
are only 12 days old So it frightens me that I might do more damage
than good.
Just off to make some formula now in case... ( you never have any made
up when you need it of course, so trying to be one step ahead.)
As they say, "it is never over till it is over", so I will keep trying
until there is no more to be done.
Thanks for the purrs, always helpful and soothing;o)
Lilly is drinking and eating, Biffy is much better, Tiggy is still flu
free, so is Tazy & Lucy(fur!) & Ringo are fine so far too...
So more good news than bad news which is good!
S;o)