Kirby Krackle Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 To those who wish to skip ahead to the bottom of this post, there are pictures. To those who wish some context, here I go.About two weeks ago, I found a cat on the street. She was pregnant, so I picked her up, planning to raise the youngin's and find them good homes. As is our routine when picking up kitties, we get her tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV. The bad news is this is the first time ever we have found a cat that tested positive for FIV. To those who don't know, it's just like HIV except in a kitty-sized formula. The rescue group we associate with says put her and the unborns down. No questions, no remorse, just dead cats. But that's not how my moral compass points. So off we go, keeping her in the best shape we can. Sweet kid, too.About two nights ago, she delivered. Nine kittens total, only six survived. The poor three were barely developed and are wrapped up and in the freezer until the weather is nice enough for me to give them a proper burial. The other six are scrawny but healthy, as far as we can tell. The mother on the other hand has been leaking... fluid those two nights. It stinks in my bedroom right now. Not normal. We take her to an emergency vet for XRays and Ultrasounds. There are growths inside her. Strange things that the doctors think were at some point kittens, but are now necrotic blobs of... stuff that need to come out ASAP. So she's in surgery today. Hopefully she'll make it.In the meantime, we've been hand feeding the kittens. Barely. It's hard to keep them still, to open their mouths, to actually get formula from the bottle to their bellies. My wife can work from home, but I had to take a personal day. And that's just today.I'm tired. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flutterscotch Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Poor babies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saren Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Damn, That poor cat. It mustve been through a lot, and poor you, you mustve done a lot of running around too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 She made it through the surgery and we can pick her up today! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaconofChaos Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Oh those poor creatures. It's good that you were able to take them in. You're a good man, Kirby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm really impressed with you, Kirby. I hope her recovery goes smoothly.What is the prognosis for a cat with FIV -- and its transmission to kittens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solaria Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 Oh Kirby, this is one of many reasons that I like you. Such a caring soul. It'll be a fantastic acquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanthakC Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Hi I am new. Those kittens are cute. Also, I hope the cat gets well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 What is the prognosis for a cat with FIV -- and its transmission to kittens?Pretty much the same for HIV. They won't be able to fend off infection very well, so in the long term, they'll need more medication if they get ill. It's definitely not a death sentence though and can live a normal lifespan with proper care and nutrition and lovinz. My wife says it cannot turn into AIDS, which is weird to me?As far as her kittens are concerned, so many "experts" give me different answers but the emergency vet we went to last night apparently researched this all to heck and back with HIV kitties of her own. The kittens can get it maybe, usually right at birth when blood things happen. Because nursing also gives the baby antibodies, they'll test falsely positive up to six months.Also, thanks much for all the warm wishes. I had no idea I had fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appliance Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 I'm incredibly thankful that my own stray queen is healthy, and so are the kittens.I'd never taken care of anything so tiny and weak before, even though they were healthy. Best of luck to you and the cats. >_<How often do you feed them a day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mother of God, I'm a sucker for kitties.You go man b(^_^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solaria Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Also, thanks much for all the warm wishes. I had no idea I had fans.Mmm, you were very kind to me when I first joined. I unfortunately have barely talked with you since then, but I don't often forget such things. That's interesting that the FIV can't develop into AIDS though, rather curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'm incredibly thankful that my own stray queen is healthy, and so are the kittens.I'd never taken care of anything so tiny and weak before, even though they were healthy.Best of luck to you and the cats. >_<How often do you feed them a day?Approx. every 3 hours. My wife and I are fixing it so at least one of us is home when the "timer" goes off. She works from home in the morning, heading into the office around 2. I usually get in at around 6, so it works out. Also, wow. "Queen". One of the technical terms.Mmm, you were very kind to me when I first joined. I unfortunately have barely talked with you since then, but I don't often forget such things. That's interesting that the FIV can't develop into AIDS though, rather curious.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_immunodeficiency_virusHuh. My vets said "FAIDS" wasn't a thing. Weird. Also, thanks for remembering me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appliance Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Approx. every 3 hours. My wife and I are fixing it so at least one of us is home when the "timer" goes off. She works from home in the morning, heading into the office around 2. I usually get in at around 6, so it works out. Also, wow. "Queen". One of the technical terms.I'm sure they'll pull through, long as they're warm and well-fed. :"IAt least you guys have a system. It must be pretty tiring, though.Also, yeah. XD I may just be some high-school kid, but I'm a nerd for cats, science, and writing. Best of luck :"I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Also, yeah. XD I may just be some high-school kid, but I'm a nerd for cats, science, and writing.Three of the best things in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Here's some updates.Momma cat is in the same room as kittens. She's very tired and full of wire stitches, which means we don't trust the kittens to nurse too much. Some of the nipples are in a safe and furry area, others not so much. We pull kittens away if we think they'll poke an eye out. But she's very attentive despite the fact that she feels like crap. She has in fact, plucked kittens out of their sleepy box to lie with her. She's groomed and lied back to nurse, which is back to problem 1. Better than expected.Also, here are some things that I do.Separate the kittens into two piles: Black and tuxedo.Select and feed a batch not fed.Put the fed batch into an empty 12 can box of Mountain Dew, hereby referred to as the "Inbox".Take the Inbox to the bathroom sink and make the kittens potty one by one, placing finished kittens into an empty 12 can box of Pepsi, hereby referred to as the "Outbox".Deposit contents of Outbox into Sleepy Box.Repeat steps 2 through 5. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noedig Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I had a cat who was feral.We caught her in a possum trap. Don't worry, this possum trap isn't some kind of sharp-teeth like trap that can penetrate your skin. Painfully.Anyway, this trap was a cage, triggered by stepping inside. The bait was uh... cat food. Apparently this kitten liked it, and got caught in the trap.We cared for her for a year, I think. Then we had to give her away, due to the city's pet population restriction. We really loved her for being very social.At first, she felt threatened, then later she adapted and was nicer, then came to the lap cat habit. So relaxing...Oh yes! I forgot to mention: Her name was Rabies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Krackle Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I had a cat who was feral.We caught her in a possum trap. Don't worry, this possum trap isn't some kind of sharp-teeth like trap that can penetrate your skin. Painfully.Anyway, this trap was a cage, triggered by stepping inside. The bait was uh... cat food. Apparently this kitten liked it, and got caught in the trap.We cared for her for a year, I think. Then we had to give her away, due to the city's pet population restriction. We really loved her for being very social.At first, she felt threatened, then later she adapted and was nicer, then came to the lap cat habit. So relaxing...Oh yes! I forgot to mention: Her name was Rabies. There isn't a bit of this story I don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but we do have updates! I remembered Kirby started this thread when the kittens were born.The kittens are a little over 3 months old now. Four of the six have already been adopted and in wonderful homes As for the FIV...They were first tested at 2 months old. Two of them tested negative, the other four tested weakly positive. They were retested again just last week and ALL of them are negative now! My beautiful, strong, brave momma cat gave us perfectly healthly babies. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocoswirl Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 That's great, Tortoise! Both you and Kirby saved a bunch of lives when you took that pregnant cat in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Especially when so many people (including the vet) told us we should put her and her kittens down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Glad they are doing well. Guessing that mama is still doing fine?Makes me glad that the cat that came with our house was healthy and not pregnant!(She was on the steps when we got there after closing, very very thin. Former owners said they didn't have a cat when we asked them.)She's nice and has stayed for 2 months so far.I had a feral cat once. Caught him by hand under my trailer... leather gloves....He got to where he was real lovey to me but would hide whenever anyone else was around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Mama is doing great! You'd never know she has FIV. The only thing that gives it away is that her paws bother her when she's standing - she has something wrong with them common in FIV cats ("pillow feet" I believe it's called, they are slightly puffy). She's getting tired of her kittens though and ready for them to leave the nest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicRainboomGirl Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 D'aww!!! Thats fantastic. I took a pair of 1 week old kittens in a few months ago after their feral mommy died. I love people who love animals. So you are on my list of awesome people now. Congrats, and they look great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TortoiseShell Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 While bottle feeding babies basically since birth was a much-needed learning experience in rescue, I don't think I could do it again. With Kirby and I both working full time, it nearly killed us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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