It has been a bad year for my poor kitties - LONG

Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all of
them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so sick that he
almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a vaporiser and
isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink anything on his own for
more than a week, so I had to give him food and water with a dropper every 3
hours. After about 3 weeks he started to improve. He has never been so sick
before, and I am glad that he got through it. But a few weeks later he
started to get sick again, but not quite so bad this time, and he recovered
more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on her
own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on antibiotics.
Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw which was
terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm sure she
feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the litterbox.
She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her to the animal
hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted anal glands. She had to
be anaesthetised in order to have her anal glands expressed manually. The
vet who performed the procedure said that the glands were very swollen and
hard as marbles. Poor Juliet. She was still straining for the first two
weeks, but she has recovered and is now much better and expressing more
easily, although still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be careful
when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure the vet put
Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just to make sure that
there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said that
his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he recovered
fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to be "intimate"
with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to hormones. He came to live
with us when he was about two years old, and was not desexed at the time. I
have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy but nothing has helped. For now, we
just remove him when he attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she began
sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms ceased after a
few days. She also started squinting in her left eye. At first I thought
that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited to see if it would
improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal hospital and started her on
medication. We returned to the animal hospital every week for 4 weeks. We
tried all sorts of medication, but Tiffy's condition didn't improve. Finally
she was refered to an Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist diagnosed her
condition immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict course
of medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one dose per
day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour for the
first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily for one
week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three days.
Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't have to go to
the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis was
"slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar appears like a
bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay close attention to Tiffy's
eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it does she must receive prompt
treatment to minimise the amount of damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year - thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have spent many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She is due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be sorted out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me. When I was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and financially. I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,
--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.823 / Virus Database: 561 - Release Date: 26/12/2004

"Flippy" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all of
them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so sick that
he
almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a vaporiser and
isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink anything on his own
for
more than a week, so I had to give him food and water with a dropper every
3
hours. After about 3 weeks he started to improve. He has never been so
sick
before, and I am glad that he got through it. But a few weeks later he
started to get sick again, but not quite so bad this time, and he
recovered
more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on her
own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on antibiotics.
Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw which was
terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm sure
she
feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the
litterbox.
She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her to the animal
hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted anal glands. She had
to
be anaesthetised in order to have her anal glands expressed manually. The
vet who performed the procedure said that the glands were very swollen and
hard as marbles. Poor Juliet. She was still straining for the first two
weeks, but she has recovered and is now much better and expressing more
easily, although still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be
careful
when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure the vet put
Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just to make sure
that
there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said that
his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he recovered
fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to be "intimate"
with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to hormones. He came to
live
with us when he was about two years old, and was not desexed at the time.
I
have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy but nothing has helped. For now, we
just remove him when he attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she began
sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms ceased after a
few days. She also started squinting in her left eye. At first I thought
that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited to see if it would
improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal hospital and started her
on
medication. We returned to the animal hospital every week for 4 weeks. We
tried all sorts of medication, but Tiffy's condition didn't improve.
Finally
she was refered to an Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist diagnosed her
condition immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict course
of medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one dose per
day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour for the
first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily for one
week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three days.
Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't have to go to
the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis was
"slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar appears like a
bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay close attention to
Tiffy's
eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it does she must receive prompt
treatment to minimise the amount of damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year - thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have spent
many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She is
due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be sorted
out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me. When I
was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and financially.
I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,
--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com

I'm sorry you've been having such a hard time, Flippy. We're sending purrs
that all your family, bare and fur, get well and stay well.

Hugs,

CatNipped

I'm so sorry for your very difficult year, Flippy. Heartfelt purrs from us
for you, Mia, and your kitties that 2005 is a much happier and healthier
year for you all.
love,
Christine, Omar, Oreo, Midnight, Robin & Tucker
"Flippy" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all of
them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so sick that
he
almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a vaporiser and
isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink anything on his own
for
more than a week, so I had to give him food and water with a dropper every
3
hours. After about 3 weeks he started to improve. He has never been so
sick
before, and I am glad that he got through it. But a few weeks later he
started to get sick again, but not quite so bad this time, and he
recovered
more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on her
own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on antibiotics.
Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw which was
terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm sure
she
feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the
litterbox.
She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her to the animal
hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted anal glands. She had
to
be anaesthetised in order to have her anal glands expressed manually. The
vet who performed the procedure said that the glands were very swollen and
hard as marbles. Poor Juliet. She was still straining for the first two
weeks, but she has recovered and is now much better and expressing more
easily, although still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be
careful
when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure the vet put
Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just to make sure
that
there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said that
his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he recovered
fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to be "intimate"
with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to hormones. He came to
live
with us when he was about two years old, and was not desexed at the time.
I
have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy but nothing has helped. For now, we
just remove him when he attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she began
sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms ceased after a
few days. She also started squinting in her left eye. At first I thought
that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited to see if it would
improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal hospital and started her
on
medication. We returned to the animal hospital every week for 4 weeks. We
tried all sorts of medication, but Tiffy's condition didn't improve.
Finally
she was refered to an Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist diagnosed her
condition immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict course
of medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one dose per
day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour for the
first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily for one
week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three days.
Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't have to go to
the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis was
"slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar appears like a
bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay close attention to
Tiffy's
eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it does she must receive prompt
treatment to minimise the amount of damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year - thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have spent
many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She is
due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be sorted
out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me. When I
was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and financially.
I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,
--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.823 / Virus Database: 561 - Release Date: 26/12/2004

Doesn't seem like it's been a great 2004 for anyone, does it? Purrs and
birdy chirps for you, Mia and your kitties.

Jill

Flippy wrote:
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all
of them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so
sick that he almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a
vaporiser and isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink
anything on his own for more than a week, so I had to give him food
and water with a dropper every 3 hours. After about 3 weeks he
started to improve. He has never been so sick before, and I am glad
that he got through it. But a few weeks later he started to get sick
again, but not quite so bad this time, and he recovered more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on
her own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on
antibiotics. Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw which
was terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm
sure she feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the
litterbox. She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her
to the animal hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted
anal glands. She had to be anaesthetised in order to have her anal
glands expressed manually. The vet who performed the procedure said
that the glands were very swollen and hard as marbles. Poor Juliet.
She was still straining for the first two weeks, but she has
recovered and is now much better and expressing more easily, although
still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be
careful when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure
the vet put Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just
to make sure that there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said
that his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he
recovered fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to
be "intimate" with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to
hormones. He came to live with us when he was about two years old,
and was not desexed at the time. I have tried Feliway and Rescue
Remedy but nothing has helped. For now, we just remove him when he
attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she
began sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms
ceased after a few days. She also started squinting in her left eye.
At first I thought that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited
to see if it would improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal
hospital and started her on medication. We returned to the animal
hospital every week for 4 weeks. We tried all sorts of medication,
but Tiffy's condition didn't improve. Finally she was refered to an
Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist diagnosed her condition
immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict course of
medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one
dose per day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour for
the first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily
for one week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three
days. Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't
have to go to the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis
was "slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar
appears like a bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay
close attention to Tiffy's eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it
does she must receive prompt treatment to minimise the amount of
damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year - thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have
spent many hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's
offices. She is due for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this
problem can be sorted out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been
times that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for
me. When I was in the depths of despair she was supportive and
caring. I feel very fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and
financially. I hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,

"Flippy" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular -
all of
them have been ill.

Dear Flippy,

Some years are more challenging than others and I am very sorry to
hear that 2004 presented you with so many.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have
spent many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She
is due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be
sorted out.

My dear,

From here, will be coming many hope and purrs for Mia to make a swift
and full recovery from her op and for it to bring an end to her pain.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

And we wish for you, Mia and your furkids all that you'd like for
yourselves and also for Flippy's Cat Page continued success.

Love and best wishes

Sheenah and the gang
..

Flippy, all the best wishes for you, Mia and the
furbabies for the coming year. We are purring and
praying for you over here.
Jazz & his mama


Flippy wrote:
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all of
them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so sick
that he
almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a vaporiser and
isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink anything on his own for
more than a week, so I had to give him food and water with a dropper
every 3
hours. After about 3 weeks he started to improve. He has never been so sick
before, and I am glad that he got through it. But a few weeks later he
started to get sick again, but not quite so bad this time, and he recovered
more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on her
own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on antibiotics.
Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw which was
terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm sure she
feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the litterbox.
She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her to the animal
hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted anal glands. She
had to
be anaesthetised in order to have her anal glands expressed manually. The
vet who performed the procedure said that the glands were very swollen and
hard as marbles. Poor Juliet. She was still straining for the first two
weeks, but she has recovered and is now much better and expressing more
easily, although still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be
careful
when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure the vet put
Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just to make sure that
there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said that
his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he recovered
fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to be "intimate"
with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to hormones. He came to live
with us when he was about two years old, and was not desexed at the time. I
have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy but nothing has helped. For now, we
just remove him when he attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she began
sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms ceased after a
few days. She also started squinting in her left eye. At first I thought
that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited to see if it would
improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal hospital and started her on
medication. We returned to the animal hospital every week for 4 weeks. We
tried all sorts of medication, but Tiffy's condition didn't improve.
Finally
she was refered to an Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist diagnosed her
condition immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict course
of medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one dose per
day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour for the
first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily for one
week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three days.
Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't have to go to
the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis was
"slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar appears like a
bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay close attention to
Tiffy's
eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it does she must receive prompt
treatment to minimise the amount of damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year - thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have spent
many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She is due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be sorted out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me. When I
was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and
financially. I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,


--
Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time.

"Flippy" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.
snipped
What a terrible year! Here's many sets of purrs that 2005 is better for you
and your family.
Sam

Sorry for the less-than-spectacular year. Purr'n and praying that 2005 will
be better.

--
Larry - Owned by eight cats

Flippy wrote:

Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

I'm retired and I still have a hard time keeping up sometimes. At
times all I can do is read the first message of a thread, and if it's
a purr request, I try to answer it.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular - all of
them have been ill.

I thank the powers that be that mine have been healthy this year.
Let's hope that yours are as lucky in the year to come.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have spent many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She is due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be sorted out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me. When I was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and financially. I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Let's hope that your wish comes back to you and brings you good
fortune and good health this year.

Regards and Purrs,
O J

I'm so sorry to hear about all the troubles you've had this year,
Flippy! You should post more and ask for purrs as things are
happening so that we can all send purrs and good vibes. They seem to
really work! So I will send out some purrs and hugs to you, Mia and
your kitties right away. I hope 2005 is better for you guys.
--
Britta
Sandpaper kisses, a cuddle and a purr. I have an alarm clock that's
covered in fur!
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album



"Flippy" wrote in message
...
Hi group,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have 5719 messages
still unread, and I don't think I can catch up.

It has been a terrible year for me and my kitties in particular -
all of
them have been ill. Romeo had a bad case of cat flu - he was so sick
that he
almost died. He had difficulty breathing so I bought a vaporiser and
isolated him in one room. He would not eat or drink anything on his
own for
more than a week, so I had to give him food and water with a dropper
every 3
hours. After about 3 weeks he started to improve. He has never been
so sick
before, and I am glad that he got through it. But a few weeks later
he
started to get sick again, but not quite so bad this time, and he
recovered
more quickly.

Juliet also got cat flu although she at least would eat and drink on
her
own. I took her to the animal hospital too and she was put on
antibiotics.
Thankfully it took her less time to recover.

In June Juliet had to have an operation to remove her dew claw
which was
terribly infected. I had taken her to the vet and she was put on
antibiotics, which didn't help. She had to be brought into the
animal
hospital to have the claw amputated. She recovered nicely, and I'm
sure she
feels better now without the infection in her system.

Six weeks ago I noticed that Juliet has having trouble using the
litterbox.
She was straining and becoming very stressed. I took her to the
animal
hospital, where she was diagnosed as having impacted anal glands.
She had to
be anaesthetised in order to have her anal glands expressed
manually. The
vet who performed the procedure said that the glands were very
swollen and
hard as marbles. Poor Juliet. She was still straining for the first
two
weeks, but she has recovered and is now much better and expressing
more
easily, although still not 100%.

Juliet has also been diagnosed with a heart murmur, so we have to be
careful
when she is given anaesthetic. After the anal gland procedure the
vet put
Juliet on oxygen and sat with her for almost an hour just to make
sure that
there were no complications.

Jetson has also been ill with cat flu. The vet who examined him said
that
his glands were very swollen. He was put on medication and he
recovered
fairly quickly. He has become aggressive, though, trying to be
"intimate"
with the girl cats. The vet thinks this is due to hormones. He came
to live
with us when he was about two years old, and was not desexed at the
time. I
have tried Feliway and Rescue Remedy but nothing has helped. For
now, we
just remove him when he attacks the girls.

Tiffy has had a very hard time this year. About four months ago she
began
sneezing and showing symptoms of cat flu, but the symptoms ceased
after a
few days. She also started squinting in her left eye. At first I
thought
that perhaps she had some fluff in there. I waited to see if it
would
improve. It didn't, so I took her to the animal hospital and started
her on
medication. We returned to the animal hospital every week for 4
weeks. We
tried all sorts of medication, but Tiffy's condition didn't improve.
Finally
she was refered to an Animal Eye Specialist. The specialist
diagnosed her
condition immediately as "Viral Keratitis". She was put on a strict
course
of medication which included:

Lysine Powder - 1/8th teaspoon orally, twice a day. She is on one
dose per
day now, for the rest of her life.

Idoxuridine drops - to be administered in the left eye every hour
for the
first week. Then 6 times daily for one week. Then 3 times daily for
one
week.

Interon A Syringes - to be injected under the skin once every three
days.
Thankfully I was able to administer this myself so I didn't have to
go to
the specialist every 3 days.

Vibra-Vet 50mg - 1/2 tablet twice daily - for 28 days.

Metacam Oral Suspension - once daily in food for one month. This is
anti-inflammatory to reduce the blood vessels.

I took Tiffy back to the Eye Specialist after 6 weeks. The diagnosis
was
"slight corneal scarring". She can still see, but the scar appears
like a
bit of dirt on the lens of the eye. I have to pay close attention to
Tiffy's
eyes in case the virus re-occurs. If it does she must receive prompt
treatment to minimise the amount of damage to her eyes.

Little Chloe is the only one who escaped the cat flu this year -
thank
goodness.

Mia has been very ill this year with gynaecological pain. We have
spent many
hours at the Royal Women's Hospital and in specialist's offices. She
is due
for surgery on January 20th, so I hope that this problem can be
sorted out.

As for me, I've had many personal upsets this year. There have been
times
that I have felt very down. Thankfully Mia has been there for me.
When I was
in the depths of despair she was supportive and caring. I feel very
fortunate to have such a supportive partner.

This year has been very draining for me, both emotionally and
financially. I
hope that 2005 is not so traumatic for this family.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2005.

Purrs to all,
--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com



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