Saturday morning, I cleaned at the adoption center. There was a young cat there who was not doing well at all - she had severe diarrhea and was refusing to eat. She had come into the rescue as an owner-surrender a week ago, and suddenly started going downhill. This stuff always, ALWAYS happens on the weekend, when the regular vet's office is closed.
SO, I brought her home with me to see if she would improve with a little personalized care.
Meet Tippy, the cat with the world's loudest PURR:
Here, Tippy, have some yummy food!:
(that stuff in the middle is pate cat food mixed with cat milk and forti-flora. The stuff on the right is chunky fish broth. The grosser-looking and stinkier the food, the better the cats like it, as a rule.) Not pictured: several large bowls of water.
Tippy was NOT HAVING IT:
Here, girl, let me move some closer to you:
NOPE.
Well, with the amount of stuff she had coming out of ONE end of her, I had to make sure that stuff was going in the other end. It was time to bring out the big guns:
Yep, syringe feeding. Complete with record-keeping:
(Yeah, that photo's REALLY out of focus. It was late and I was tired, what can I say?)
Despite syringe-feeding (and watering) her every couple of hours, by yesterday afternoon, she still wasn't eating on her own and she was dehydrated by the diarrhea. So the rescue called the vet, who despite having the day off, agreed to meet me at the vet offices last night to see what was going on. Tippy was examined and put on sub-q fluids, and she spent the night there and will be re-examined with further testing this morning to determine what the problem is.
Hang in there, Miss Tippy! And for the love of God, EAT something, PLEASE!
6 comments:
we know that sometimes owners surrender for the right reasons, but for others, we often wonder if they realize the impact on the pet they are leaving. this is just so sad and we are sending love and purrs to Tippy
She's an adorable young cat - only six months old! - and so sweet.
If this little kitty is sick, doesn't it make your house smell pretty bad? You are a saint, for sure.
haha yeah, James P./Ginny, the foster room was pretty stinky. And by the time I got done holding her for feedings and at the vet's office last night, *I* was pretty stinky. Nothing a little disinfectant, a hot shower, and a few loads of laundry can't fix. :)
Oh Tippy, eat honey.. it gets better, I promise
Tippy, please eat, honey. It will make us all feel better.
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