Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

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Ruth B
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Ruth B »

One question that does spring to mind, and depending on the type of litter you use, may be easier or harder to answer, how much pee is Milla producing when she does go. I use clumping litter so I get an idea of how much a cat produces by the size of the lump, the other one is how long they are going for. if Milla is only going once a day, is she producing the same amount of wee in that one time that she would if she was going several times a day. Did the vet examine her and find she had an over full bladder or were they just going on what was said. I guess my line of thinking is, if she isn't stressed what else could mean she pees less and some options spring to mind. its Summer, unless you keep your house to a constant temperature summer and winter with air con and heating then she will react to the change in temperature a bit. I know that cats that live where it can get hot will groom a lot more to help them cool off, they can't sweat the way we humans can so coating the fur in saliva is their alternative, and takes a lot of liquid to do, hence hot weather can mean they drink more but pee less. Another one is you feed her dried food most of the time (from what I remember) it could be that she is using more of her liquid intake to soften the food as it moves through her system so the water is coming out in the poop a bit more and so less pee. Have you even changed the food at all, it could be something as simple as that could mean she pees less often.

Personally I would say you know your cats best and if you don't think she is stressed then I don't think you have a problem, as long as she isn't producing a massive amount or only a tiny amount when she does use the litter tray. While she may be holding it in some of the time, if she desperately needed to go, she would try and find somewhere, it doesn't sound like she is displaying that type of searching for a safe place to pee even if it isn't the right place to pee behaviour, and i'm assuming you are vigilant enough to notice if she was trying to go somewhere she isn't meant to. The other thought is that the vet might be a bit over invested in her. You mention a link between Milla and the vet's cat, so it could be that they are seeing problems where there aren't any and instantly see Spaska as the causing the promlem, as they have less investment in Spaska, it is easy for them to see the solution of getting rid of Spaska believing it will solve everything and Milla will be fine, when really there may not be any problem to be solved in the first place.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thanks for the extensive and beautiful reply as always :)

Mila just mated with the vet's tom, is all.
I wouldn't say they're invested in her per se, they love animals so much they invest themselves in all cats and dogs people bring them. But they do consider Mila and her kittens family of course :) Their tom is Kala and Casper's dad.

Now about Mila

- The 24 hour pee clump is definitely larger than her normal clumps would be had she been going 3 times a day like she used to
- But if she pees twice a day which she did a few days before messing up again the cumps were normal sized
- The weather has been exceptionally hot in Macedonia for the past 10 days or more, we're talking well above 40C pretty much all day actually, however the home is well cooled by our AC. Still it seems the cats sense there's a massive heatwave going on even tho it's cool at home because all 3 sleep a lot more than usual, dare I say all 4, even Spaska hasnt been very active today. But the vet says the outside weather couldn't possibly be the cause. I do turn the AC off at night tho and open doors and windows (they have screens on them)
- They've all been eating a lot more wet food as of late, since it doesn't give Mila soft stool anymore, dunno why it did earlier this year, Mila also loves and eats her sour cream.
- She has excellent appetite, but she does drink a lot more water than she used to before the heatstroke, for a time it normalized but I see she has been drinking more as of late too
- The other day all 4 cats were active, played together and Mila went to the bathroom normally that day, I asked my vet if the reason she delays her bathroom breaks like this could be because she isn't active at all and he said no.
- I monitor my cats very carefully, have been for years, I would definitely notice if any of them is trying to pee or poop outside their litterboxes. Fortunately this hasn't happened.
- I'd say Mila isn't afraid or bothered by Spaska per se, but she IS afraid of Spaska cutting her off in the litterbox again and this could happen even if I add more litterboxes.

I'm going to buy a big hooded litterbox, however I think that might make things worse because if Spaska corners Mila in there it'd be very bad, Mila HATES being cornered, even by her own kids.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by booktigger »

I would take your vets advice with a pinch of caution, a lot of vets do seem to go off what the textbook says and don't see the human/cat element. No, toileting less frequently isn't ideal, but there is a chance she will grow out of it and Mila will get back to normal, so I would say a few weeks isn't long enough to cause any issues, and if she doesn't grow out of it, then something to consider. I don't think a covered box would help, as Spaska could easily spook her more, and I had a cat who used to sit on top of them and try and bat the cats as they were leaving the tray!
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Now I know that Mila has been holding it in on purpose which is a lot more worrisome.
After adding the new litter tray today, she peed a total of 3 times, once in one of the old trays and twice in the new one.
And pooped once in the new one.

Problem is, Spaska almost got to her as SOON as she approached the new tray, this tells me that Spaska unintentionally does block Mila from using the other litterboxes and Mila has indeed been holding it in. The addition of the new one is only going to help as long as Spaska doesn't approach Mila when she is doing her business in the new tray, otherwise we're going to be at square one. Unfortunately it is physically impossible to prevent this form happening, even when the door is closed all four cats easily open it, keys we don't have and even if we replaced the locks, if Mila were to be confined to this room under lock and key she'd freak out, same with Spaska.

One thing is for sure, Mila was avoiding using the old litter boxes because Spaska spooked her one too many times and it's only a matter of time before the same happens in the new litterbox, earlier the cats were all chasing each other and before I could see where each one was Mila and Spaska found themselves in front of the new litterbox chasing one another around my computer chair and out of the room.

So yeah, while they're all happily playing together, the litter box fear Mila got from Spaska is a problem.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well I'm at my wits end
I put up an ad on facebook about potentially rehoming Spaska, nobody responded because I actually want her well taken care of.

Mila was fine yesterday
peed 3 times, normal, small clumps of pee
she peed this morning too
no issues with Spaska whatsoever

and that was it

Mila has been sleeping, eating and drinking water like crazy all day without even attempting to go to the bathroom
Spaska spent half the day isolated from Mila for no reason at all, just stressing Spaska out at this point

I am forced to listen to stupid suggestions from family and friends to "just give her to the neighbor down the road" who has a ton of cats who go in and out of their yard, because that has become a viable solution now all of a sudden.

and yeah im done man
I'm so done with this

I even had people on another forum i post on, a gaming forum but it has like sub forums for everything, cats, dogs, pets whatever, tell me that I'm killing Mila by keeping Spaska

I'm sure at this point that Mila is messed up from that heatstroke she had and that it has jack all to do with Spaska

I've been under insane pressure form people who know squat about cats all day and I just can't do better
I tried to engage Mila in play since she goes when she is more active, like yesterday and on Saturday, she didn't want to play, I tried feeding her sour cream which she loves, she gulped it down, went back to sleep.

i can't handle this im losing my mind and i want it to end like right now :(
I don't know what to do
I give up

My vet never called back with a solution for re-homing
my friends never got back to me about potential re-homing

what am I supposed to do? Give her to some rando on facebook who is going to mistreat her or abandon her when they realize she isn't the loving ccuddly kitten they want her to be?

Because apparently I'm killing Mila according to these people on that one other forum
and according to my vet "YOU HAVE TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION RIGHT NOW!!!!" when he was yelling at me yesterday when I kept politely saying that I called him to help me come up with a solution because I can't on my own.

According to everyone
I'm supposed to just dump her out in the neighborhood and let her be fed and taken care of by people who feed stray cats in their yards. That's everybody's solution to this problem, because otherwise I'm killing Mila because the vet said so.

I don't know guys
I'm not in the right state of mind

too much reading online
too much worrying
way too much paying attention and waiting for Mila to go to the bathroom so I can catch the kitten on time so it doesn't bother her
Way too much just stress ever since Mila got that heatstroke things have been piling up nonstop

tbh if an opportunity presents itself for me to give Spaska away, at this point I will
I can't take it anymore, yet I feel that won't fix Mila's issue because my gut tells me she has other problems caused by the heatstorke back then and it has jack all to do with Spaska, but now the vet is going to blame everything on Spaska.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

Stop asking idiots for advice.

You need to have more faith in your own experience and gut feelings, and trust your cats. If Mila was that upset, holding on to her pee for a while would not be your only symptom.

What happened? You were managing the litter shuffle and then suddenly it's a panic again because other people have become experts overnight? If you have looked into rehoming Spaska and you're not satisfied that she would be well cared for, then it's ok to draw a line under that and rehome is not an option.

This isn't going to last forever. You can do this!
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

You have no idea how much your support means to me.

The vet's reaction yesterday and then the comments on that video game forum about me abusing my cats because I don't have conditions to take care of them all, that I'm a cat hoarder and what not. People IRL preaching to me about how I should just drop the cat off outside.

You go online and read signs of stress in cats and it lists everything, literlaly
so it tells me nothing basically

The cat might eat too much
or not eat
the cat might go to the bathroom too much
or hold it in

Every article on cat problems I ever read lists the same symptoms for everything, then tells you to consult with your vet.
Well I consulted with my vet and he freaked out lol

People on that gaming forum kept insisting i add one more litterbox
I did
that fixed jack all, yesterday Mila was more active, so she used the bathroom normally
today she isn't and isn't using it at all

Were going through an insane heatwave in this country, but my vet insists the changes in weather have nothing to do with my cat 's behavior and it's all probably because of the kitten

I'm pretty sure if Mila was so stressed over the kitten this wouldn't be happening
IMG_3698.JPG
IMG_3710.JPG
Also here's Spaska freaking out because Mila is isolated in my computer room :)
IMG_3705.JPG
The opposite happens as well
If Spaska is isolated in a room or something and she cries, Mila tries to open the door and usually succeeds
Mila was just sleeping in there at the time yet Spaska still hated the door being closed
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

I honestly think it's an adjustment and sure holding on too long isn't ideal and needs watching, but if Mila was really upset she would be hissing, hiding, spitting, lashing out and possibly peeing in really difficult places.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Ruth B »

While she may still be a bit wary of using a litter box while Spaska is around, I do not think that rehoming Spaska is a matter of urgency, particularly as you have been unable to find a home suitable for her. Leaving her to live as a stray, with no real home and being fed as and when would be more abusive to her than keeping her and the other cats in your apartment. I hate to say this, and i don't want to make you feel bad, but if living on the streets like that after she has known a loving home is her only option, then it may have been better if you hadn't found her and nature had taken its course. (Sorry if that sounds harsh, but i hate people who seem to think that a house cat can be put out to fend for themselves even if fed without any serious consequences).

As for Milla, looking at those pictures I can see no sign of her being stressed by Spaska presence. When she is more active she pees more, and when she isn't she doesn't, that doesn't sound like she is being bothered by Spaska that much, just that she doesn't feel the need to get up all the time and use the litter tray. As for her not feeling the heat outside because you have aircon, unless you have really high grade, climate control air con that adjusts pressure and humidity in the flat, she will notice it. Hot weather is associated with low humidity so that alone can make a cat pee less often as any liquid she applies to her coat through grooming will evaporate off quicker. It could be that her body is getting enough signals to say that it should be hot, even if the air condition is keeping it cooler inside,so her body is still reacting as if it is hot and working to preserve fluids a bit more than it needs to.

I also hate to have to say this, but your own stress levels are probably causing her more upset than Spaska is. I know it isn't something you can just turn off, but if you can just take a step back a bit and see how it works out, if Milla shows any signs of problems other than just not peeing as often then you will have to do something, and as long as her urine appears normal, no unusual scents to it (or to Milla, when Blue had kidney problems I actually picked up the change in scent on him), no discolouration, then I will say try not to worry too much, but I know that is so hard to do.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Ruth, it's like you're reading my mind.
I wouldn't EVER put Spaska out on the street, I'm just saying that people pressure me into doing it.
Neither me nor my mom who found her and brought her in would do that.
Sadly people don't understand this, they see we're worried and their advice is, well let the kitten out.
Granted here, the cats living our neighborhood are not suffering, they're all healthy, they're all well fed, have shiny coats and everything

Here are pics of some of our many many neighborhood cats who have been around for years
In fact the gray one I brought home when she was little (not the one I posted pics of in 2019, that one also turned out gorgeous), fed her and because Casper started growling at her I took her back outside, Mila and Kala immediately started grooming her tho, this was back in 2016 I believe or 2017, the pics were taken 2018, these cats are still around
IMG_5744.jpg
IMG_5746.JPG
My point is, I wouldn't do it, but IF Spaska was to be left outside in my neighborhood, she'd most likely be just fine
plenty of people feed them, tend to them, take them to vets and everything.
We also care for stray dogs like that
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by booktigger »

I am surprised your vet is dismissing the heat as being a factor in making a longhaired cat pee less in hot weather, it seems fairly natural and might just be a coincidence and nothing to do with Spaska
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

I'm so sorry about panicking, according to my vet, since I have an AC cooling the house Mila couldn't possibly be affected by the heatwave, even tho as Ruth said there are more factors about the weather than just heat.
but my vet's outburst, the people on that forum pressuring me, people IRL giving me idiotic ideas, it was all too much.

Let me tell you what happened this morning at 5AM when I woke up and the weather was normal and not hot.

Mila went to one of the old litterboxes with Spaska monkeying around and peed, I held onto Spaska for just in case but Mila did not care, she didn't so much as look around or think twice before entering the litterbox.
Then a few hours later she went to the new one and pooped there right AFTER playing with Spaska in the same room and getting in a bit of a fight because Spaska jumped on her neck and wouldn't let go, they made up.

Mila is so stressed out by Spaska she sleeps in the middle of the living room while Spaska is going crazy around her.

I don't know why my vet reacted the way he did

If Mila has a problem, which she clearly does it's either
- Overeating kitten food, this I'm starting to manage, even the vet said this could be it because she holds her stool for so long
- The downright INSANE heatwave going on in my country
- Her kidneys might have messed up from the heatstroke


Everything else is normal
and there's no stress surrounding Spaska, that much I can tell I've had cats long enough to know

so whatever happens form now on
I won't let the vet blame it on Spaska
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

Please forgive me if I'm wrong here but the sense I get from your posts is that you tend to panic because you are very aware that the vet care available to you is not of the standard you would wish, and that nobody else cares for or understands your cats like you do. Seems to me maybe you then look to the internet to connect with people in other countries around the world who maybe you believe will know better than you? Or maybe you just need people to understand and share ideas? But I get the impression you look to other people, you look outside of yourself, for guidance and answers, when maybe the answers you have really are good enough and your cats are healthy and happy. You know this!

I could be wrong because I could just be projecting these ideas onto you because I am guilty of not knowing what to do for the best, not trusting my vets with my cat because she is a special case, looking to the internet for answers, getting myself in a state and ending up in a wait-and-see when really the cat is fine. So maybe it's me and not you, or maybe it's both of us, but you definitely need to place more trust in yourself - you spend all your time with these cats and nobody knows or loves them like you do, and you are a million times better at caring for them in every way - not just food water and shelter but their mental health, happiness and complete welfare - than you give yourself credit for. Your cats are very lucky to have you and Spaska is a very lucky kitten to have been found and cared for by you.


Just to add - Molly has had a back leg limp which is now gone, she refused all wet food for more than a week which means she didn't get her medication, she is definitely stiff jumping down from things, and she had 3 days of loose bowels ... I have been tearing myself apart should I take her to the vet when I can't go in with her, do I trust the vet who didn't take the samples we discussed last time she was there, but what other vet could I take her to ... We didn't go, and all of it except being uncomfortable jumping down from a height has resolved itself and the steps and boxes I put out to help her she jumps over them or next to them. Unless she starts limping again, we can wait until I can go in with her.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Molly, that is so spot on you have no idea.
Word to word that's exactly the case.
I have a couple of friends who feel much the same way about this kinda stuff, be it dogs or cats, but most friends and people IRL don't get me, even those who own pets.
Thank you

I am sorry to be such a dang bother
I've never in my life had so many problems with pets in such quick succession
normally something happens, I get worked up, then a year or two go by and everything is chill.
Now, starting from Mila's heatstroke on June 29th it's been one thing after another, the moment you think all is 100% well
a new issue rears its ugly head and you are all on your own handling it as best as you can.

I panic because I feel cornered with no viable solutions in sight and new issues kept popping up in such quick succession I simply did not have time to recover psychologically.
If new problems don't stop popping up soon I won't be able to work, my art is in demand, clients are starting to ask for me now that summer is coming to an end, this always happens and come September I'm going to have to go back to drawing, however I can't draw under stress, so I need a month or so without any stress to unwind a lil to relax with my cats, to know all 4 are well.

I mean, of course I lost it yesterday, being called an abuser, being told I'm killing my cat, my vet panicking, dumb friends IRL telling me to just let the cat out and IT will be fine, granted as I said, it was just all overwhelmingly stressful and the guilt that I'm causing Mila harm was too much. The vet basically said that by not removing the kitten I'm harming Mila :(
So of course after a great, fun filled extended weekend I freaked out on Tuesday when I talked to my vet and that continued on to yesterday.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

You are not a bother at all, it's good to share and discuss but we have to find ways to keep ourselves calm and filter out the insensitive and misguided panic-inducing input from the Wrong Sort Of People, and do it quickly as soon as they say it before The Fear gets a grip on us.

Nothing to fear but the Fear itself, The Fear is true evil, the real opposite to Love, not hate but Fear. You are full of love, your cats are full of love, don't let idiots bring The Fear into your loving hearts and home. Maybe one day I can commission some artwork from you about that :) we are slowly filling our bedroom with Dragons and we missed out on a nice one for above the bed. When the animals give us some respite from vet bills, anyway.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thank you so much
If I can do it I would be honored to draw you a dragon :) If you like my style that is.
At least vet bills are fairly low here, so that's something I find some comfort in.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

I love your style, and I like to have original art in my home.

I know many people complain that vet bills are high, but personally I am happy to pay experts and professionals to do things I can't do, people who have studied and keep up to date, who use expensive equipment and technology and help me whether it's blasting my cat with radioactivity or cutting wedges out of my dog's leg bone or fixing the air conditioning in my car. If vet bills are lower in Macedonia I expect it's because they don't invest in the latest tech because not enough people would pay for it, from that point of view it must be so frustrating. But just think how much things have changes in recent years and decades, and yet somehow we all survived this far.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Macedonia is a very low income country, even if vets had the technology as you said, who would be able to afford high vet bills.
People on average make 500 euros a month here, myself included, which is perfectly fine for a nice comfortable life.
However if you make 500 a month and have to pay another 500 for a basic vet visit or something that wouldn't be feasible.
It's a country with many many problems, corruption runs in every aspect of our society, from healthcare to your average job. Even I have to deal with Nepotism and corruption in my line of work and you'd think people working for the children's book industry would steer clear of such things but they don't.

It's a very different world out here and one that can only be understood by people living here and experiencing it first hand.
For example, my Australian friend was telling me how when he visits Macedonia, they openly ask him for bribes at the airport if he speaks Macedonian and let's them know he is of Macedonian descent. But if he sticks to speaking English and acts like a complete foreigner, they treat him with respect.

We do have private hospitals for people here that cost and arm and a leg, they charge first world prices and of course most people can't afford those hospitals and even there the conditions and treatment of patients is not ideal.

It's common in my country, rather it's the norm for doctors to be rude, dismissive, to brush you off or to see people in the waiting room out of order based on connections. This is somewhat better in private hospitals but not ideal.
It's the same with our vets, I'm actually very grateful to have landed good vets even tho they're not as well equipped because they are generally very kind, understanding and always polite. I know my vet freaked out about Mila holding her urine in the other day, but he meant no offense and he was scared, not rude.
Other vets are flat out RUDE.

So yeah, I understand that paying high vet and healthcare bills in the 1st world comes with its share of perks, it's something most people in my country wouldn't be able to afford, ever. The only people making insane money here are programmers. If the average person makes 500 euros a month or less, they make anywhere from 1500 minimum to over 10k euros a month, especially those working online for foreign clients.
Locally they make anywhere from 1500-2500-3000 euros a month which is insane.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Yesterday Mila peed and pooped perfectly normally, but today I noticed that when she went this morning she passed very little pee.
Around 4PM I heard Mila meowing in pain, Casper rushed to where I was and took me to her in an instant, like a puppy, she was sitting above her new litterbox meowing.

I immediately packed her up in the carrier and took her to the vet.

The situation isn't the best but according to the vet it's not dire either

- Mila has a drastically reduced white cell count, however the vet is 90% sure this is due to the heatstroke and infection and it's NOT leukemia, he kept reassuring me he doesn't believe it's leukemia because for one he noticed a slight decline in white blood cells when Mila got the heatstroke and now it went down very drastically very quickly which tells him it's an acute reaction probably from the infection and/or heatstroke
- He tested for FIV, FIP all that nasty stuff, everything turned out negative, the kitten was also good last time they checked so it's not from the kitten. He kept reassuring me now that it is definitely not from the kitten and that I did well for noticing something was off with Mila and for bringing her over so quickly
- They did detailed bloodwork
- Everything else, kidneys, liver, everything is in 100% perfect condition
- Mila has bladder stones, they're small, he prescribed some pills for that
- Mila is also to take therapy for 6 months now for her white cell count, but I'm to bring her in for a checkup in 15-20 days

The vet doesn't think it's anything serious, at least it doesn't seem serious for now
He is more worried about the bladder stones causing her pain.

The FIP test turned out negative
Because when he said she is anemic I almost got a heart attack right there on the spot thinking it's FIP, but it's not.

The whole thing cost 5150MKD
everything, meds, tests, everything
So that's about 84 85 euros
If we make 500 euros a month on average or 500USD not sure, it's almost 1/5th of what we make in a month in the country, so I guess it's a tad high but still manageable

I hope she can pass the stones without surgery since apparently they're small
she also had what he referred to as "sand" in the bladder but he paid that no mind
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by fjm »

Well done for spotting the unusual behaviour and getting her to the vet at once. If she has had discomfort when peeing it would explain her behaviour recently. I hope the treatment works quickly and the problem resolves - you have had a pretty frantic month of it already, without more anxiety!
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by booktigger »

Fingers crossed for her - I'm surprised he dismissed the 'sand' in her bladder, that is linked to the bladder stones and can cause issues, as it can cause a blockage, although these are rarer in females than males. Bladder stones are caused by crystals, there are two kinds, and they need to check under a microscope to see which ones, as they need different diets to dissolve them, I'm not sure what the medication he gave you was. I have had a cat with anaemia that was linked to urinary issues, and he didn't have the symptoms Mila does, so it can just be the urinary issues causing it, as they can be passing tiny amounts of blood that aren't obvious to the naked eye. It can take a while to clear up, so please don't panic if hers seem to linger for a while, but stress is one of the biggest causes unfortunately.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Mollycat »

So maybe all this time the poor kitten got the blame when really Mila was brewing up some bladder stones and a low wbc!

Thank goodness you didn't go along with the panic and rehome Spaska.

Best wishes to Mila for a full and speedy recovery.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well Spaska WAS/IS to blame for spooking Mila in the litterbox 3 times that day, no doubt about that. I still have to watch and make sure Spaska doesn't bother her, especially now.

The vet prescribed URINO CAT for the bladder stones and sand, he called it sand dunno if that's the English term, it's the same term we use for people here. He said he wasn't too worried about the sand because we all have that in our bladders he said "even if you were to look at my bladder now I bet I have sand in it too, it's common and nothing to worry about"

This is the meds he prescribed
https://www.vetapro.net/en/urino-cat-2/

I forgot what he prescribed for the low white blood cell count, he wasn't overly concerned about that tho because her red blood cells were fine, all her organs were fine. He said it could be any number of things, from the fairly strong antibiotics she was taking for 15 days for the strep throat infection, to stress from the heatstroke and throat and difficulty urinating.

Well, not to speak too soon, but after an hour of taking her first dose of URNO CAT Mila peed a normal pee clump, I looked for stones but the whole litter is tiny stones so I don't think I found any lol
She also pooped normally today and yesterday, so that's grea too.

Maybe she passed a stone earlier when she cried? Who knows
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by fjm »

That sounds very promising. Urinary issues in cats are often stress related, and poor Mila had plenty of that over the past weeks, with Spaska’s silliness probably the least of it. Add in the dehydration, and not really surprising she is having problems. I hope you can finally get to calm times with them all, so you can get back to earning a living for everyone!
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Hey everyone! It's been a week since Mila started taking her URINO Cat pills, she hates them but they seem to have done wonders for her.
Since last Saturday she hasn't missed a day of pooping and her peeing schedule is back to normal.
However, Spaska is more annoying than ever with her litterbox antics, when I'm able, which is most of the time I prevent her from following Mila to the litterbox but sometimes it happens before I can even tell where the kitten is.

Other than that, for now, everything is back to normal.
Mila is back to being more active and playful, when the weather is cooler of course and while Spaska isn't her favorite person in the house she does care about her as she did before, I'll post about that some other time as to not make this post too long.
Bottom line is, Urino Cat helped a ton.

Spaska and Casper have a great relationship as always
IMG_3880LR.jpg
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by fjm »

That's very good news and a lovely photo! I have a feeling your little ragamuffin foundling is going to prove a great blessing in years to come.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Ruth B »

Wonderful to hear, I'm so glad Milla is feeling better, even if Spaska is taking it as a sign she can be even more annoying to her. That photo of Caspar and Spaska is gorgeous, it can be surprising just how well an adult male cat can handle a kitten, sometimes they just seem to know what to do.
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by booktigger »

Aww, glad they all seem to be settling down
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Re: Found a month old stray kitten and brought it home, now what?

Post by Joe_Danger »

Mila gets very upset with Spaska when she goes crazy and starts biting everyone and jumping on their faces and necks, Mila can't stand this, but I think she also understands Spaska is a kitten and cares for her.

For example, the other day Mila woke up in a bit of a panic meowing, this has been happening to her since we first got her, she dreams I guess and first thing she did was run over to where Spaska was sleeping and snifed her, licked her a bit, made sure Spaska was ok and then went back to sleep.

Also Spaska started climbing up...here:
IMG_3944.JPG
When Spaska first went up there Mila kept watching her like a hawk, when Spaska started panicking because she couldn't get down and started meowing Mila showed her how to get down. One time Spaska fell from there and Mila gave her a good beating lol
After that Spaska learned to climb down properly. Mila used to worry about Kala and Casper getting up there too but once they learned how to get down safely she stopped caring, same with Spaska now.

IMG_3935.JPG
She does get very upset when Spaska gets into her face tho, but I think they'll work that out among themselves no problem

I'm just very happy that Mila understands Spaska is a kitten and cares for her even tho she can be annoying
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