Update on Miri's condition

Miri is such a sweet baby.

This afternoon, had to tried another bit of albuterol sulfate. I used a water bottle with the bottom cut off. I put the spout on her nose and sprayed the dose into the open back of the bottle. She didn't like it, but still breathed in a small amount, which was all she needed. She took off after the inhalation dose (my towel wasn't snug enough.) She went to her pillow on the chair and I loved her and snuggled her into a bigger towel.

I put a bit of Mentholatum on her upper lip. In a few minutes, her breathing calmed down to where I had to put my ear to her chest to hear her. The Mentholatum was the biggest help, since she took off after the inhaler made a noise and didn't get much of the dose, which was okay. (Albuterol can make the heart race, so only a tiny amount for little lungs.)

I found out that Eucalyptus oil is okay for cats to breathe who have asthmatic symptoms. I'm going to get a small bottle from Whole Foods Association, a local health food store. (not related to the large Whole Foods Market Chain) I also read that Marshmallow and something called Inula helenium (elecampane) is okay for cats too and helps in calming the lungs. Whole Foods Association carries marshmallow, but I have no idea about elecampane.

=^..^=

Last 3 Kittens and Miri has Asthma

Been a long week! Sorry so late in this update
Caught the last three kittens last Sunday night!!

Keeping these three bigger babies quarantined for now in an extra large dog crate. Sure are a handful to tame down for "Inside Land," but progressing surprising well. I wrap them in a towel and pet them and scratch their ears, making lovey talk. They are now just mild hissy babies, versus LET ME OUT OF HERE!!! lol...

Had to treat them for fleas and worms. Thanks to Jane in England... was able to give them worm meds and flea applications on Tuesday. Since Frontline costs 40.00 for three doses, I tried the generic "Tri-Force," for only 20.00. Works slowly. Still a lethargic flea on one of them yesterday!

Here is a photo of my big scaredy kittens:

Our Three J's... or 3 Cat-skateerz.

White kitty in the back is Jordi with one yellow eye and blue left eye. (or Geordi for Lt. LaForge on Star Trek). Probably partially deaf.

White kitty Jazpurr in front is the biggest baby.

Fiesty little black bear kitty is Justin (Justin Case he settles down! He is a furry little fighter!).

Yesterday, their tamer brothers and sister came to visit with supervision from outside the crate. The boys calmed down and recognized their littermates. Still a bit of mild hissing and large "personal space" going on. Jordi got bold and started playing with a rope hanging from the crate top, while the other two just laid down and closed their eyes to let smaller Sammy and Toby know they were "cool" with them hanging around.

v6666666666666tayyyyyy Sa78mmy i t8888888h is typing! - okay Sammy, off the keyboard now, gotta talk about your sister.

Sweet Miri has Asthma.



She is in my lap right now, wheezing. Mildly, thank God.

She was having some milder symptoms several times this past week, but they sounded like hacking from a fur ball. And since she has a sensitive tummy, just watched her closely. But she never threw anything up.

Then Thursday, she was hacking fairly bad and I put my ear to her chest and heard the trachea clicking, a sign that Sandy Red Tigger (1990-2006) made when he had trouble breathing. Still thought something was stuck in her throat, since she just ate something. Sandy never hacked when he had an asthma attack.

Then last night after vigorously playing with Toby, she had a full blown wheezing attack. Sandy took Albuterol Sulfate as an adult, the same as me. Normally you use a tube and a small mask to administer, but didn't have it. I took a risk and opened her mouth to spray some in. The sound scared her, but she breathed in some of the med and began breathing better, but not too much for her little body. I'm going to monitor this weekend and search for herbal remedies online. Hopefully won't have to use emergency vet.

Hopefully will be able to make an appointment with the Cat Hospital where Dr. Jones can run tests to check for allergies, a collapsing trachea or heart worms. I hope to God it isn't a symptom of heart worms. I'm going to ask ML if we can have an auction for her. She is only 4-5 months old and soo young to be having so much trouble breathing.

And all the boys should be tested for FLV and Leukemia and get their shots before neutering. As long as they all test negative, then I can use my free voucher to get them neutered at the the low cost clinic. Miri will need to be tested as well and may need monitoring when spayed. May not be able to use the free voucher for her, because the low-cost clinic doesn't have the equipment, plus have to wait and find out if this is asthma or something else.

From an article on feline asthma: http://cats.about.com/od/respiratorydisease/a/felineasthma.htm
A full-blown asthma attack may at first resemble a cat trying to cough up a hairball, or possibly choking on food. However, the body posture is somewhat different. With asthma, the cat's body will be hunched lower to the ground and his neck and head will be extended out and down in an effort to clear the airway of mucous. The "gagging" may also be accompanied by a typical coughing sound, and possibly sneezing. The cat may or may not expel foamy mucous... These serious attacks may not happen frequently, which makes it easy to write them off as just a hairball.

Actually, they can be life-threatening, and a cat in a full-blown attack should be taken to a veterinarian immediately. Even a cat showing one or two of the early symptoms should be examined. Once diagnosed, there are things you can do to help your cat during one of these attacks.

Other diseases share many of the same symptoms as feline asthma, including Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease, a serious disease in itself. Your veterinarian will use several diagnostic tests to eliminate those conditions.

Most common diagnostic tools are:

• Blood Tests. These are the quickest and easiest, and will detect infection, which often accompanies asthmatic bronchitis. They will detect macrophages, esoinophils, neutrophils, and mast cells, which are types of blood cells that help constitute the immune system. And blood work is also useful in eliminating other diseases with the same symptoms.
• Chest XRay. Also called a thoracic, xray, will disclose abnormalities, such as areas of chronic irritation, as caused by infection, a flattened diaphragm, or unusual fluid accumulation. Evidence of heart disease may also be seen. This would not necessarily eliminate asthma, as the two sometimes go hand-in-hand. Your veterinarian may want to send the xray to a specialist for consultation.
• Bronchoalveolar Lavage. This is an extremely useful procedure and in itself, perfectly safe. BAL, as it is called, is performed by inserting an endotracheal tube into the trachea under general anasthesia, then fluids present in the airways of the lungs are extracted through this tube for examination. Aside from asthma, the BAL may diagnose other conditions of the lungs. In a study done in Barcelona of 26 cats, two were found to have Toxoplasma gondii cysts, two showed evidence of carcinoma, and 18 were determined to be related to asthma or infectious bronchitis. The down side of BAL is that it requires a general anesthesia, counter-indicated in a cat with severe respiratory distress

Please keep Miri in your purrz and prayerz, especially this weekend. Will update if I have to take her to the emergency vet.

Katie Kat

Toby is Curly!!

Toby now has curly fur! Especially on hims tummy! Sammy's fur is getting wavy and even Miri is getting longer furs mixed in with her short ones. They don't seem too wavy though, still that is odd.

Some kind of Rexness going on here, which is a mutation. Well maybe that explains their adaptability to people! And will also help in finding them homes.

Still working on catching the other three kittens. Got an xxl crate and it is sitting outside right now. I put their food in and Maggie and the remaining babies go in and eat! The crate cost 60.00, but I hope to re sell it when I no longer need it.

(Had to scare an Opossum off the porch last night!)

Today is the day to buy the second round of worm meds fur Toby, Sammy and Miri.
And I will have to get worm meds for the other kittens.
Mom has had her first dose. So she will need her next round, too.
The round worm tablets are only 2.15 a piece at Mitchell's Vet Supply. Will give their tabs tonight.

Funny sideways Video of Toby and Sammy playing in the living room.



Toby and Sammy in a box - they stayed in the box for nearly thirty minutes!!!

Toby finally jumps out.




No matter what we did, Sammy stays in the box!



More stuffoms later!
Purrz,
Katie Kat

When it purrz, it rainz more kittenz

Maggie was holding back three more kittens!!



Two white kittens and one more black kitten showed up Sunday Morning.




They were born and raised in an empty house next door. Used to people smells, they're learning what "people" look like. Will tell a longer back story later.

A far shot with my digital camera, showing Maggie and two of her remaining kittens eating. The black one has his/her face in the bowl. One of the white kittens may be a girl. Going to need worm meds.

Will ask Dr. Adkins if I can buy Drontal from her since Drontal covers all worm infestations with one dose. Will let you know how much that would be for three kitten pills.

The Round/hook and tapeworm meds (two different pills) from the Vet supply would cost abt 8.00 for each kitten, around 24.00 total.

Once captured, will have to keep them separated from their other siblings until they have been dewormed at least.

And the little bathroom won't hold 6 three month old kittens at once!

Have a quiet room where I can put a big crate for the last three kittens and possibly Maggie too. Looking on Craig's list and price ranging from 20 to 50 dollars. Making phone calls Monday morning to see who still has one and price.

Some good news! I have a voucher code that will get my almost three year olds Bootsie and Daisy spayed for free as well as spaying Maggie and getting her babies fixed at Kansas Spay and Neuter Clinic. The voucher is from a local organization called RETAIN. (Wichita, Kansas)

Hope to catch Maggie and her remaining kitties furry soon!

Update on first three kitties: Both Toby and Miri's stools not firming up. Corn free food time! RETAIN has 1.00 coupons from Petco for Natural Balance, a corn-free food! Will be about $7.99 in store for 3 lbs with coupon. Does anyone know where I can get more Petco coupons?

Other choices for a corn free food include: Katzen Flocken, which is good for kittens. (runs around $9.00 for 4 lbs) and Petsmart Authority Brand for sensitive tummies ($7.99 for 4 lbs)

Would like to know if anyone has better ideas for corn free food for these kittens and their mommy.

Thanks for any help, especially financially to look after these kittens until I can place them in forever homes. I can draw your purr babies from a photo that you can send me by email. Some folks can only donate small amounts, but it adds up to saving these little ones.

If you donate, please let me know if you would like a portrait done or an ACEO that I have already made.

Here are some examples of my work: The kitty patty pawing is Pencil, crayon and watercolor on yellow cardstock.

ACEO (Artist Certified Edition Original) one of a kind 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 and is available for any donation amount.









The Beagle and the Siamese below are samples of orders from folks who sent me a photo and asked for a purrtrait. These finished drawings were 4 x 6.




Purrz of Thanks fur helping these sweeties,
Katie Kat

Three Kittens Photos

Miri is in the back. Sammy is on the left and Toby on the right.

Maggie the Mommy is hard to get a photo of!

Miri's name is from a Star Trek episode where Miri and some other children were left to fend for themselves due to a plague that wiped out all the adults on the planet.


Had a vet (Dr. Adkins) make a house call Thursday to check on Miri. Dr. Adkins took a stool sample and gave her meds for tapeworms just to make sure. (Thanks to KC and ML of Catblogosphere, plus Gypsy and Tasha's Mom in Australia for your donations that paid for Miri's checkup!)

We hope to catch Maggie, their Mommy soon so she can have her lady opurrayshun! It's possible that Maggie may calm down inside a home. If she does then I can find her a home too. Once Maggie is caught, she will also need shots.

I have a voucher that will cover spaying and neutering evfurrybuddy, but no money for vaccinations for Maggie or her babies. They also need to be checked for FIV. For any donation amount, I can draw your sweeties from a photo!

The vet said she would call Friday if there were any other parasites that could be causing Miri's diarrhea, but didn't call. So hopefully that is a good sign. Yet Miri is still having loose stools and the vet isn't available on the weekends.

I am going to get some slippery elm bark that was suggested and also try them on corn free foods and see if that helps, since the boys stools are not as firm as they should be either. When I brought in the two boys last Friday (July 9th), I laid down on the bathroom floor with them and they huddled next to me and went to sleep. Toby crawled inside my t-shirt!

So amazing that they have calmed down in such a short time! Especially Miri, who had to be caught with a kitty cage early Monday morning. Miri was bigger than the boys. Probably due to being nursed longer.


Now that the boys are free of roundworms, they are catching up in their growth and are now closer to Miri's size.

Toby is still the smallest though, although it doesn't look like it in his glam photo below. Sammy is a little fiesty, when hims loud purr purr motor isn't going a mile a minute! He even starts purring when I pick up his brother or sister, instead of him!

When Miri gets better, then will get their shots and opurrayshuns. I wish I could keep them. They have such gentle dispositions. I will be placing ads to help find their new Mommies. And closely checking all Mommy candidates!

Below are some cute photos. These photos were taken within the last two days, on Thursday and Friday. The kittens are around 12 weeks old.

More photos tomorrow... Purrz, Katie Kat

A Tail of Three Kittens

Hi Kitties and Humans!

Haven't put up a blog in a while cuz a friend was changing my PC to a better one.
Then had to do computer updates and new fans for faster CPU (was getting too hot and siren kept going off! ) and then I misplaced my camera cable!

Well wanted to share that I've been caring for a female kitty for almost three months. She is a grey tortie that I call Maggie.

Her kittens showed up about two weeks ago. Two of them did anyway. Two long haired males. One small black boy with a white bib and one white toe on his hind foot! His name is Toby (or toe-bee!) The other male has even longer hair and is brown tabby and white. His name is Sammy. (At first thought Sammy was a girl so her name was Samantha...)

Took a week and a half of nights to gain their confidence so I could sit on the porch while feeding them. Finally on Thursday, with the help of their fav food - chicken - I was able to sit right by the dishes, even touch the bowl and they didn't run away!

Then Friday morning, I was able to snatch them up and get them in the house. I just picked them up by the nape of the neck and they barely made any fuss! I was so amazed. They are about 7 - 8 weeks old I think.

Amazing, they let me handle them at this stage and they seem to need a lot of touching. Yet my long haired Siamese mix was like that. I have them in the bathroom, where they hide behind the toilet or in a cloth and vinyl carrier.

The boys seemed too skinny with pot bellies, a possible sign of round worms, so I got pills for that from Mitchell's Vet Supply Saturday morning, which sells to the public. I mashed up two tablets into their food (tuna and chicken to make sure they ate it all), one tab for each baby. I fed them on separate plates. Will have to give them another tablet in about two weeks. Got tape worm pills too, but haven't administered those yet.

I got an adult tablet for their Mama. Put in the food on the porch for her on Saturday evening.

Instead of Mama showing, another kitten showed up! Short hair and female, very striking tabby markings. Took that food away so she didn't get an adult dose of meds and got her something else to eat. She did eat some of the medicated food though.

Mama showed up Sunday morning along with her favorite kitten. Gave Mama the food with the meds in it and fed the third kitten something else.

Had to use a kitten trap for her, using chicken again... Sunday evening, put out the trap. Monday morning, a kitty in it, thank God she went for the trap.

I have all three in the bathroom now. The female is letting me hold her and will sleep a little in my lap, but if I move, she scampers into the open carrier. Her brothers were okay with her this morning, but this afternoon, they were hissing at each other.

My concern is that she has diarrhea and I don't have funds to take her to the vet. I can try to treat her by getting supplies from Mitchell's but I have no way to test if she still needs worm meds or antibiotics.

I would already have some blog entries up on the kitties, but haven't found the camera cable - nothing works better than seeing the babies themselves.

Just hoping for some good advice.

Thanks,
Katie Kat

P.S. If anyone would like to help financially for these babies to get checked by a vet, that would be great. I do have a voucher to get them and Mommy spayed for free, but it doesn't include shots and checkups.

Here is an example of my artwork: This is Sandy On Printer. Her owner sells items on Bonanza.




















Any kitty or doggy that donates, I will draw your purr-trait or paw-trait from your photo.

Just send your photo to laugh_safely(at)yahoo.com and let me know that you would like to help fund these babies for vet checkup and local ads to find a good home. Hopefully I will find my cable soon and can show your their photos!

Purrz,
Katie Kat
ThePurpleKattery