A HOME FOR KITTY Home for Kitty started out as just a video and turned into a educational learning opportunity for those that have cats and are introducing them to their household. We hope you enjoy Kitty. There are so many emails that Kitty gets, we are working on a website...just for Kitty. Stay tuned, and enjoy!
A real life story... click on the arrow below to watch the movie
CHAPTER 4: INTRODUCING KITTY TO THE OTHER DOGS IN THE HOUSEHOLD
CHAPTER 3: INTRODUCING KITTY TO THE PACK LEADER/SYDNEY
July 2010. Our old girl kitty, named Chicken dies recently. My husband Henry and I are vacationing and return late July. A gray and white cat keeps staring at me through our neighbor's bushes. "I'm supposed to be able to "read" animals," I think. What is this kitty telling me. "I get it... you don't like living where you do. We don't always like where we live," I tell her and continue doing my outside chores.
But this kitty is determined to engage in a conversation, so I begin talking to it. She shows up every day on our property and I try to coax her back to the neighbor's house where she belongs. However, she's very persistent. And for the next few weeks continues to walk over and visit when I garden.
One day, I am very intent on digging and planting, and the kitty watches me and starts to dig with me, in the same spot I am digging. Ive never had a cat that actually gardened with me!
Summer: Kitty shows up to help me garden. Me, Kitty and my son's friend, Austin
August. Kitty shows up soaking in the rain during a thunderstorm. He is very thin, and wet. We feed him in a clean asktray by the pool.
August 2010 This thin little kitty has been visiting us very steadily and I had seen the neighbors move their contents out of the home. I suspected however that someone was coming in regularly to feed her. And knowing that it is not a good thing to feed someone else's cat, I honored that and did not feed this kitty.
One Sunday afternoon, my husband tells me very sternly that we will not have more pets. I frankly don't remember how this conversation started but it was not about taking the kitty, but rather other animals. We both agree..we have 3 dogs, and 1 cat left, and we were fine with that. About an hour or so later, it started to rain heavily, thundering, lightening, and just more rain. We were sitting by the pool area under our lanai. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something moving across our lawn. It was the gray and white kitty, soaked, trying to shake off the water, and responding with a quiver whenever it thundered. I suddenly realized how extremely thin she was. We both looked at one another, I went out to get Kitty and then towel dried the kitty. I filled one of our clean ashtrays that we kept by the pool with cat food. I have never seen a cat inhale food so quickly. This cat was obviously starving and proceeded to inhale 2 more bowls of food.
Two weeks after we started to feed the gray and white kitty, I do a double take as another kitty shows up. We name it "Guest"
A few days after the "Guest" shows up, another kitty shows up! How many are there?
I continue to feed the kitty. She is very charming and extremely thin. Two weeks after we begin to feed her, I put down the food bowl, and do a double take as I see a black and white cat hiding in our bushes. "Where did you come from," I think. But set down another bowl. This cat inhales food as fast as the gray and white kitty. A few more days go by, and I hear another meow and see a beautiful long hair orange cat. "Did you guys come as a group?"I 've never seen this one before but my friends tell me that they have. This is not good I thing. I knock on the neighbor's door. I see a car in the driveway, but no one answers. I make several attempts and finally succeed when a young man opens the door. The family is divorcing. They have moved out. The cats are on Craigs List. "Could I help and see if I can find them homes," I ask. He thinks that would be most helpful. I send out emails to my contacts. Since the cats dont actually live with me, and since I havn't handled them, I don't know if they are declawed and ask the son. He tells me they are all declawed. I put this in my emails. But, he is wrong, and I soon find out that he knows as much about these cats as I do. They are not all declawed and the interest levels to adopt a adult cat that is not declawed drops rapidly. I luck out. The orange kitty, gets adopted immediately. My husband and I agree that we will take in the gray and white one, and now to find a home for the Guest.
We decide to adopt the kitty. But my intuition was telling me to keep this kitty apart from our animals until we were able to go to the vet and do tests.
September 2010 My husband and I decide to adopt the kitty and keep her isolated in a part of our house until I can get her to the vet to do a full panel of tests. Surprise, the vet tells us that "she" is a "he" and does a full panel of blood tests. (Cost$250). They ask me for the kitty's name. "Kitty" I say.
Until we get the results, another few days, we decide to keep HIM in a part of the house away from our animals.
We finally get the call from the vet's office and they tell us he has Bartonella, Stage 4, very bad says the woman from the office. It's the highest number. I have never heard of this disease. She is of no help as she cannot tell me info. I google the heck out of Bartonella and find out it is also called "The cat scratch disease". If you get bitten or scratched, a human or dog, or cat can contract it. It is a flea originated disease that can be treated with antiobiotics that have to be squirted into the cat's mouth, twice a good. Should I just bring him in and you can administer this. Not a problem says the vet. No big deal. Not contagious. "Have you ever tried forcing to squirt liquid into a cat's mouth", I think.
I buy my antibiotics and take Kitty to another vet, who immediately puts Kitty in quarantene for 21 days. Good move.
Kitty has Stage 4, Bartonella & Herpes
Kitty has to receive antibiotics 2 times a day
A few days after I drop off Kitty, and wet and dry food, I go to visit and take one of the dachshunds in for her check up. They bring Kitty into our room. But Kitty doesn't look that great. "What is that at the end of his nose," I ask. The vet comes in and says Kitty has Herpes, which is in its active stage, very contagious to other cats. They laser the bloody scab and begin treatment.
We continue to feed Guest. A neighbor tries to help so we can take it to a shelter. But this black and white kitty is getting more ferrel by the day. It only lets me hold it, but only for a short time.
My husband and I wonder if we should take the risk with Kitty by exposing our other cat. We will continue paying the vet bills (at approx $20 per day). What if Francis, our other cat gets it? I struggle with this for almost the 21 day period when one night a revelation occurs in my memory banks. My old girl Chicken had Herpes. The vet ( the one I don't go to anymore) had told me no big deal. So apparently our cat , Francis was fine, built up an immunity to it. We decide, guilt free, Kitty stays with us forever!!!
A few days later after training the Guest to go into a box so I can take it to the vet and have it updated on shots and bloodwork, it mysteriously disappears and I am not to see this one again. The family came back for it I tell myself.
Kitty Comes Home!
October 8, 2010 Today is the day we go to pick up Kitty! The vet retested him. He is free of Bartonella. His herpes has cleared up. We are to keep him on meds for the rest of his life...no big deal a few sprinkles in his food twice a day. (Heck our Great Pyr, Bert is on all kinds of meds...this is a piece of cake).
We put Kitty in a carrier, pay our vet bill (now totaling almost $1000) and head home.
I am so excited and within a 5 minute ride notice that Kitty's nose is bleeding profusely. He has rubbed the scab on his nose from the Herpes against the carrier. "Does that mean he is contagious"? I think. Just a scab the vet tells us. His herpes is in remission. they laser his nose. The bleeding stops immediately.
Now for the next part of Kitty's life...the introduction to the pack.
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