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When Kitty Rescue Comes Close to Home

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Image icon Sick kitty from the barn353.28 KB
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Most of you know my husband and I have horses. We board them at a farm not far from our house. There are a lot of barn cats there, and a number of our cats came from the farm when they got sick or hurt and we took them home. Every Spring and Summer, idiots who think a farm automatically needs cats dump kittens at the barn. Sometimes we get these poor lostlings and find them homes, sometimes they are too feral and run away. Josephine feeds them so they don't starve, but still, it's not the life of a loved pet.

Normally I am not at the farm during the late morning/early afternoon, but because my afternoon client was in Ohio this past week, I'd been going out there after my morning client. As such, I was there when Jo fed the cats, and I noticed one very small cat that was very sick and thin. Jo said it was one of the older kittens that was born at the farm, and she'd been sick a while.

The following day I came prepared and I trapped the 1/2 wild cat. Luckily, she didn't give me too much trouble or try to kill me when I pushed her into the crate I'd brought. I got her home & made an appointment with my vet to look at her. He is used to me bringing my rescues to him.

It turns out, she was damn lucky I'd caught her. Not only did she have a nasty URI, but she also has pneumonia and tapeworms. My vet said she would have been dead within a week if I hadn't caught her. She weighs a pitiful 2.8 lbs. But that's not all. My "kitten" is not a kitten at all. She is at least 2 years old based on her teeth. She isn't a kitten born at the farm. This was a cat someone dumped, and the more I spend time with this poor baby, the madder I get.

At first this kitty hissed and shied away, but now that I've been caring for her for a few days, she purrs and kneads my shoulder when I hold her. We gave her bath because she was filthy and had fleas. Now that she is clean and feeling a bit better, she is really coming around. She thrives on attention, but she still shies away when you first approach her. It's so sad and infuriating.

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This poor baby is pitiful. She is so tiny and thin. She was someone's pet and she got dumped. Right now I am nursing her back to health. Then I will get her spayed (if she isn't spayed already) and try to find her a home. I am resisting naming her because as sweet as she is, I do not want to keep her. This means I need to get her well and get her out before I name her and convince myself that having 19 cats is perfectly OK and normal. O.O

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What a sweet kitty. She's so lucky to have met someone so caring and compassionate. I'm glad she's coming around.

Many years ago, I rescued a cat my mother was feeding. The cat was badly injured. My mother said "let nature take its' course." Not going to happen around me! I took the cat to the Vet, she had her eye removed and had lots of medical care. We thought she was young. She only weighed 5 pounds. A long time later we found out she was more like 20 years old and had been on her own for a long time.

She was a sweet cat. I named her Sasha and she lived with me until her last day.

I hope you find this sweet girl a home as soon as she feels better!

Poor thing, I don't know how people can just abandon their pets. My cats are treasured family members, and even the half-feral rescue that just isn't adapting well to indoor life has me looking for the perfect place for her that isn't somewhere dangerous around a busy apartment complex.

I had been feeding her, her brother, and her babies for some time and done the T-N-R bit, but then had a neighbor who was "afraid of cats" and "didn't want to get rabies" refuse to listen and understand what T-N-R is. I've had this beautiful girl in my care for 2 months or so now and she isn't adjusting to indoor life very well (Her brother is one of my two permanent family members now and the kittens all have forever homes!). I'm debating taking her to Caboodle Ranch (www.caboodleranch.org) and allowing her to live the rest of her life out there. Everything seems awesome from the research I've done-- have you heard anything that I might have missed?

Best of luck finding a home for this beautiful girl. She deserves so much more than the hand she was dealt, and she got it with you. :]

A friend of mine had a cat follow her & her boys home from school 2 Fridays ago. She called me (she's never had a cat & didn't know what to do). We took her to the vet the next day to find out she had a URI & a bad ear infection. Not only that, but she has a lazy eye and I think has trouble seeing clearly; and I believe she is mostly, if not completely deaf as she doesn't react when I drop items behind her or clap hands, etc.
I am on my 2nd week of Amoxicil and ear drops for her which makes her ears & coat a bit dirty/oily.
The girl who found her is interested in getting her back but her hubby is allergic to cats and we were wondering if giving her a bath would help with his allergies.
When you said you gave the white kitty a bath because she needed one I began to wonder if there is a product that I can use to give a her a bath that will not only clean her but perhaps take away the dander.
Please let me know if you know of any such item.
I really appreciate your input - rescuing cats is very new to me and I want to get her a safe, indoor home but I'm afraid with her eyes & ear problems it might be harder to do.
Thank you!

There are shampoos out there that are designed to reduce dander.

http://www.allergystore.com/cat_allergies.htm

I know someone who uses the Allerpet shampoo and likes it.

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