Wellness

It's a good thing I was at a conference full of pet lovers because sure enough Dorian Wagner, of Your Daily Cute, who had been playing with one of the kittens, jumped up when I said I needed a Vet and said she knew where to find one. She made a quick call and the Vet popped her head up from across the room, waving over the top of a low room divider. We hustled BlueBelle over to her. She was very calm and relaxed, which was the polar opposite to how I was feeling. She was perfectly willing to asses BlueBelle's incision.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Kate Benjamin and BlueBelle.

She gently turned BlueBelle over and looked at her little belly. There was a bright red, open area. We told her about the crappy spay surgery. She said she thought that the glue (the GLUE?) had failed and popped the incision open, but that there should have been stitches inside the kitten that would hold her abdomen closed. She was concerned about infection and the wound opening further. I asked what I could do and she said to find some Crazy Glue!

The clock is ticking. We have to leave for dinner soon. Bobby and Maria are really tired and hungry. I just won a big award, but now I must find Crazy Glue in a hotel that has a tiny gift shop and NO OTHER SHOPS anywhere close by.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Ingrid with Truffles.

The front desk offered me a dried up tube that we couldn't even get the top off of, so I tried the gift shop. They DID have some glue! Okay! Great! I ran over to the Vet and the small gathering of ladies around the kitten. Now the Vet says she really needs some sterile saline solution, some betadine and a syringe with no needle. Yeah. I can get that...WHERE CAN I GET THAT? My mind is spinning! I have to HURRY. Someone figures out there is a drug store a few miles away. It's rush hour in the D.C. area. We have no idea where we are going, but I grab Sam and he says he will drive me over to get the things we need. Meanwhile there are about 20 people wondering what is going on and some of them have grumbling bellies. Thankfully, Ingrid King, said she would call the restaurant and change the reservation! WHEW...okay...time to RUN!

But wait...can I get the first aid kit from the front desk? Sure! I was running back and forth between the front desk, the vet, the gift shop, Bobby & Maria and Ingrid. My head was getting ready to spin off my neck. There was nothing much in the kit. The woman at the front desk said that the night before had been a busy night for injuries in the hotel and that the kit was mostly empty!! Still, I brought it over for the Vet to take a look though..but it was sorely lacking so I returned it.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Snack time in the hotel room!

We got an address for a local pharmacy and just hoped for the best. Sam started driving and the GPS wanted us to go in a different direction than the point by point directions we had from GoogleMaps. Crap! What to do? We just followed the GPS hoping it wouldn't route us into a lake.

The traffic was TERRIBLE. No one was moving. Tick, tick, tick...HURRY! I wanted to JUMP OUT OF MY SKIN! It seemed like the drivers in front of us had cotton shoved in their brain hole because they were driving really slowly and they wouldn't try to cross traffic to turn into the parking lot!

Once we got into the lot, it was packed full of cars. Sam told me to go into the store and he would circle around.

It took me a few minutes to find most everything, but I had to wait for someone to help me with the syringe, so I stood there on line, tapping my leg, wishing they would HURRY already!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Time to head to Connecticut.

I got what I needed...$34 for this? Geez! Not complaining, but really? I jumped into the car and Sam sped off. Traffic back to the hotel wasn't as bad. My cell phone rang “where are you? we have another kitten that needs help!”

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Tree removal trucks getting into position before Hurricane Irene hits.

SHIT!

We got back to the hotel and the Vet said she wanted the First Aid Kit after all...so I ran back to get it...and she needed a place to work on the kittens. Truffles incision looked infected and needed to be cleaned out, too. We agreed to go to my hotel room so she could work on the bathroom counter.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Moments after arriving in their new home.

We loaded up all the cats, which saddened all the cat lady bloggers. They were not deterred. Many of them came upstairs with us! Before anything was done we had to promise not to say who the Vet was because like everyone at the conference, she was licensed in another state-even though she was just going to clean out a wound and put a drop of glue on the skin. I left her to do her thing while a few of the ladies watched the procedure. I needed to SIT DOWN and try to spend some time with Bobby and Maria, who were clearly energized by all that was going on, but I knew they needed to eat and have a chance to relax.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Blaze, Peri and Jack, ready to play.

The kittens did great. Their bellies patched up and looking better, the Vet excused herself and I thanked her profusely as she left our room! Where could I get a housecall in a hotel for kittens that needed help-RIGHT HERE! How lucky we were! We had antibiotics with us that the kittens were already getting so we kept them on their meds. We let them out of the cat carrier to run around in the hotel room while we all went out for dinner-at last! Everything was going to be ok now, right?

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. BlueBelle is doing fine now.

And it was...we had dinner with lots of PETTIE-WINNING cat lady bloggers, along with Maria, Bobby & Sam. We had a great time, great food, but sadly some of us had Hurricane Irene on our minds. Sam and I reluctantly decided we needed to leave early in the morning. Time was running out. We'd had our one day at BlogPaws and asking for another would potentially put us in peril...and the kittens, too, so we decided to call it a night.

Instead of going to bed, everyone came back up to our room to play with the kittens some more! Kate was on her belly, shooting videos of the kittens playing. Amberly took a huge stinky poop (we had a litter pan on hand) and we couldn't open the windows! No one cared. They were all cooing and laughing. I'd forgotten that I'm used to being around kittens most of the time and for them, it was more of a rare treat. It was really lovely to sit on the floor and watch the kittens and watch the joy and the delight on everyone's faces.

We bid everyone good night. We had to pack. Bobby & Maria still had 10 more miles to drive before they could get some sleep. For awhile I forgot about all my problems and what was waiting for me back home. It was nice, but far too short of a break. We got packed and set the alarm. Bobby & Maria would return in the morning with the kittens and we'd load up the car and head for home.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Amberly, always lovely and ready to chat wtih me.

Sam and I were very tired. The morning came too early, but we got ourselves out of bed. I went down to the car to start loading it up. I set up the dog crates where the cats would be traveling. I realized we didn't have enough room in the car for everything we had, so I made some changes so we could make it all fit.

Bobby & Maria were right on time. We let the kittens out so they could run around while we had breakfast. It was just the four of us eating, while BlogPaws continued on. The sky was slate gray and the winds were starting to pick up. I knew we had to leave soon. Irene was nearby.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. One of the many reasons the power was out. This is across Route 34, a main road in our town.

I was very sad to leave. I gave Bobby & Maria a big hug goodbye. We'd only just met a less than 12 hours before. We loaded the kittens into the car and began our trip home, deciding to take a longer route, away from the coast. It added an hour to the drive, but in the end, it was the right thing to do. We missed some flooding and a few tornadoes. The entire drive home we hit bands of violent rain, but they only lasted a minute or two. I looked the weather radar and we were literally skirting the edge of the storm the entire drive home.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. A common sight around Newtown, CT.

Seven hours later, we pulled into the driveway. I unlocked the door. I just wanted to see if Bob was still with us. I hadn't had an update on him and I was worried. Sure enough, Bob was sitting on his favorite red chair, looking a little more frail, but still with us. Once I knew he was ok, we worked on getting the kittens settled and getting ourselves unpacked.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The Housatonic River flooded quickly. If you look carefully, in the center of the image, you can see a home. It's built on stilts because the river often floods, but not as bad as this time around.

Irene swept into town and took with it, many of our lovely trees. 80 percent of the town went dark. Almost a week later, the power is still out in 26 percent of the homes. We were VERY LUCKY our power didn't go out. Many of the roads were impassable, not marked that trees were down, so getting around has been tough. My car is STILL in the SHOP because they lost power and phones. We drove past there and you can see my car on a lift in one of the bays. We haven't gone out much and we offered shelter to all our power-less friends, but they are doing fine without and hopefully things will be getting back to normal again soon.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The Pootatuck River was raging in downtown Sandy Hook, CT.

Now that I can look back, I know going to BlogPaws was the right thing for me to do. I'm glad I didn't miss out on the entire conference and I left yearning for more...for more connection to these good folks...for just a break from the troubles in my life. It was exhausting, but worth it. I'm glad I took the risk.

After careful consideration, from time to time I write a product reviews. If you see it here, it's because, at LEAST I think it's worth you knowing about even if I have an issue with it and, at BEST, I think it's amazing and we should all have one, two or more of whatever it is I'm reviewing. I get NO reimbursement for writing these reviews, though to write a review I am usually supplied with the item, as I was in this case. This review is MY OPINION, ONLY. The result you experience using this product may differ.

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I've been a fan of Wellness® canned cat foods for many years. Their turkey & salmon flavor was one of the foods my cats liked when I was starting to transition them from grained dry food to grain-free canned food. As many of you know, I'm a BIG BIG BIG (literally and figuratively) fan of getting the GRAIN out of our cat's diet and Wellness was one of the few brands, at the time, that had products that were wholesome, grain-free and that the cats enjoyed.

Wellness® is part of the WellPet® family of brands that was created, when Old Mother Hubbard® and Eagle Pack® Pet Foods merged. They have a focused philosophy on doing right by our pets nutritional needs. From their web site:

“True Wellness can only come from an ideal balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates—no ‘empty calories.’ That’s why our nutritionists never stop studying our animals’ needs. And, when it comes to protein, we know that pet foods sometimes use inferior ingredients. We do not. True Wellness comes from using only pure protein from high-quality sources.

True Wellness means every ingredient has a purpose in every food we make. We study until we’re confident of its health benefit… and then, we make sure to put in the right amount so you’ll see a difference in your animal— We never add ingredients just to have the newest ‘buzzword’ on the label.”

They've also created the WellPet Foundation®, whose goal is to give back and support non-profits that promote natural nutrition. I love this because my own non-profit, Kitten Associates, Inc., insists that new adopters feed a grain-free diet and never a bite of dry food.

Wellness recently released their newest line of canned grain-free products. They come Minced, Cubed or Sliced, in twelve varieties, in a 3 oz size, only. The list of available varieties is HERE-Wellness Canned Recipes. I received some samples of the product to try on my foster kittens and their mom, Mazie.

When I saw the cans, it made me think, right away that these products might be aimed as competition for the Fancy Feast brand. The cans are small, the food is in different shapes and consistency. There are no plans for a larger sized can, at this writing, so it seems perhaps that's what is going on. If so, the FF folks better run. This new product by Wellness is GOOD STUFF, made with high quality ingredients and not a lot of ingredients, either. It's GRAIN-FREE, too.

From their web site, here's an example of what to know about each of their flavors:

• 100% Grain Free, Complete and Balanced Meal

• Single Protein Source (Turkey)

• Convenient serving size

• No Wheat, Meat By-Products, or Artificial Colors, Flavors or Preservatives

• Perfect for encouraging hydration

This is what I like to see!

You should learn to read the ingredients panel of your cat's food and what it means. We'll do that in another blog post, but generally speaking, below you can see there is a single protein source-which is really good. It helps keep food allergies at bay. There isn't a lot of extras in this food. Keep it simple, which is best. Here's Sliced Turkey Entrée:

Turkey, Turkey Broth, Water Sufficient for Processing, Peas, Dried Egg Whites, Natural Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Carrots, Guar Gum, Broccoli, Sodium Phosphate, Ground Flaxseed, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Cranberries, Minerals (Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Carrageenan, Taurine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride.

But did the cats eat it?

Yes! They seemed to enjoy the minced over sliced or cubed. The larger the pieces were may have been why they didn't completely gobble up every bit of it off the plate. They seemed to enjoy all the flavors-of course if there's fish in it, the cats always go for that. There's a nice gravy on the food and the cats lapped that right up.

The product, itself, seemed wholesome and had a nice aroma, though I personally did not TRY any of it myself!

My cats generally like a “paté” consistency over something chunkier, but from the standpoint of ingredient choices and a nice blend of flavors to choose from, if you only have one or two cats, this is a great product to try. If you have more than a pair of cats, I'd suggest you look into Wellness's other flavors that are part of their Complete Health Line come in both 5.5 oz and 12 oz cans. The just don't come in the sliced, minced or cubed style.

Now for the FUN PART! We're giving away ONE MIXED CASE of Wellness Cubed, Sliced & Minced Canned Cat Recipes to ONE LUCKY READER! We also have TWO, $10.00 OFF coupons, one per person, to TWO OTHER LUCKY READERS!

Winning is EASY! Just leave a comment, below and make SURE you include your email address. To avoid spam bots, you can post your email address like this: myemailaddress @ someplace.com Notice I added a SPACE on either side of the @ symbol. That will keep your email address safe. If you don't want to post your email address, you can email me at info@coveredincathair.com with the subject line: I wanna WIN wellness! And I will includes those folks in the drawing, too. PLEASE DO NOT E-MAIL ME MORE THAN ONE TIME or PUT A COMMENT BELOW AND EMAIL ME. Those folks will be disqualified! Sorry, we can't ship out of the USA, so only folks with addresses in the United States of America can enter.

DEADLINE IS MIDNIGHT EASTERN STANDARD TIME (USA) JULY 28TH

(which is just before the last day of VOTING for us to WIN BEST CAT BLOG AND BEST SOCIAL INTEGRATION BLOG FOR THE PETTIE 2011 AWARDS-HINT!) VOTE HERE

Let the comments, begin! Good luck to all of you!

Being a foster mom to kittens is one of the most joyful things I've ever done. Yes, there's much work involved and some times it's very difficult and even heartbreaking. Yet, there are moments of bliss, sweetness and great love.

As someone who suffers from depression, I can say it helps keeps the blues away and reminds me that whatever bothers me or makes me feel badly is insignificant. It helps me forget about “me” and reminds me what is truly important-saving this fragile life in my hands. Seeing this creature through a journey, not only of survival, but one of thriving, of learning to love interacting with humans, know the joy of playing, instead of being fearful, so one day this animal will be ready for the next part of his or her path.

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Hello, Polly.

It's time to reflect on a very special girl-Polly Picklepuss. Polly was born in a cage in a shelter and at just three weeks of age, my group, Kitten Associates, rescued her and her family. Some of you already know Polly's story, but for the ones that don't-Polly got very sick after she left the shelter. What happened next will scar her for the rest of her life.

©2010 Betsy Merhcant. Polly, with Cara and Chester (background).

Polly and her family were hit with a terrible Herpes virus infection, which we might usually call an Upper Respiratory Infection. Most cats carry Herpes, but don't get sick from it. Kittens with a fragile immune system can't fight it off and being a virus, it's very difficult to treat. Many vets will treat with antibiotics to kill off any secondary infection, but it doesn't treat the virus. Sadly, no matter what we did, Polly kept getting sick. We even consulted and treated her homeopathically, but by then she'd had too many medications in her system. Looking back I would have handled it differently, but in the heat of the moment, between many trips to the vet and with Polly being so very sick, we threw everything we could at this illness-which at the time we did not even know what it was, and hoped she would survive.

©2010 Maria S. Polly just days before everything went to Hell.

At the worst of it, when we thought we were going to lose Polly, I made her a promise-that I would adopt her if she promised not to die. I would have done anything for her and her family and over the months I was tested over and over again.

It took months before Polly began to recover and sadly, as she got better, her sister, Cara began to show signs of being seriously ill. Cara's journey is still not over. She required much more care than any of us imagined. She is stable now, but her future is uncertain.

©2010 Maria S. And so it begins...

Polly has blossomed in the past seven months, from a tiny infant to a lovely young lady. Her medical issues are resolved, but due to her early illness she will always have runny eyes and bouts of sneezing. She eats well, her coat is like silk and she is one of the most affectionate cats I've ever worked with. Polly has been ready to leave me for over a month. I have been torn about the promise I made to her versus knowing it would not be wise for me to add another cat to my family of eight cats.

Polly gets along great with everyone. She's rarely in her room anymore and is well enough so that she can mingle with all the cats and have the run of the house. It's tough to sleep some nights because she likes to get nutty around 1am and by 2am she likes to sleep on Sam's chest or curled up by my head, on my pillow. She follows us around like a shadow and will stop suddenly and throw herself on the floor, innocently wanting a belly rub, but not realizing she's going to cause one of us to trip and break our head open. She can't help loving people as she does and I wouldn't have it any other way.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Her eyes will water and she'll breathe loudly for the rest of her life, but Polly did not lose her vision as a result of a terrible herpes infection.

The problem is, I've spent too much time with Polly. I've never had foster cats here for almost eight months. Polly is part of the family, but now a new family is interested in adopting her. They're a very nice couple who have no other pets. Their cat died not long ago and they miss having a cat to love. I checked out their Vet reference and went to their home. I tried to find a reason that this wasn't a good match and I could not.

That's when it hits me hard-it's time. This day has been coming since the day I called to make arrangements to have Polly and her family rescued. I knew it when I made the call and I knew I would have to find a way to let her go when the time came. The day is almost here, but I don't want to let her go.

This is going to hurt-even thinking about it makes me cry, but Polly deserves to be spoiled and to have a lot more attention than she would ever get here. She should have a home she won't have to share with many other cats. She'll have a buddy with her and I would have to insist on that. Polly is too social to be an only cat.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. This is what I was meant to be-a human cat bed. (Me, Polly and Cara).

I've worked very hard for Polly and her family and letting go of them is not easy. I'd like to say I can tell all of you how to foster cats and not be sad when they leave, not have second thoughts, not hope the adoption doesn't go through, but I can't do that. Fostering cats is filled with so much joy that it's tough to let that go. You have to have faith that you're doing the right thing for that cat. That they can be happy and thrive in another home. That your home isn't the only place in the world where they will be all right. That another family can give them just as much love, if not more.

I think you have to allow yourself to feel dreadful and not be afraid of FEELING that sting in your heart. If you don't suffer this, then those cats die. It's as simple as that. If you don't foster cats because you don't want to feel hurt, they don't make it out of the shelter alive. For me, tears and heartache over them leaving me is an easy price to pay compared to my tears over them never having a chance to even HAVE a life to live.

I guess my lesson is this: Be brave. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Remember why you're doing this. Remember that although you will be sad and cry, it will pass. Keep saving more lives. Keep crying. One day you'll look back and realize you've saved hundreds of lives and had just as many tears, but you did it. You did it and you CAN DO IT AGAIN.

Tomorrow is the big day. If the adoption goes through, Polly will be on her way. The pain of saying goodbye will be multiplied because it's likely she will not be the only one to leave here tomorrow. One of the other fosters will be joining her.

Deep breath.

It's been a VERY LONG JOURNEY for Cara Melle-one I wonder will ever come to a happy conclusion. Cara's been sick for SEVEN MONTHS. When we cure one issue, another problem pops up. We've squeezed everyone's pockets to shake loose every last penny. This little kitten has cost my rescue group thousands of dollars in Vet care. This is not about the money, but it is an illustration of how far we've travelled to find a way to get Cara HEALTHY.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara knows she's at the Vet. Been there, done that, one too many times now.

There've been a few times when we thought we had Cara's problems licked. At first, it was a terrible URI that permanently effected her brother and sister. They both have scar tissue in their tear ducts which slows draining of their tears and causes them to have one or both eyes weep. They won't suffer much as a result of this, but it's a reminder to us of what they went through, too.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Those big eyes just cut right through my heart.

Cara, however, was hit the hardest. She had two esophageal strictures from being burned by Doxycycline when she was just a little kitten. It was avoidable had we known the antibiotic was so acidic. It could have been caused by her genetics, too. We'll never really know for sure. Either way, it caused her tremendous suffering, for a very long time. Her growth was stunted and she remains underweight.

We treated her strictures twice and medicated her every six hours for weeks. We gave her “novel protein” diet to make sure she didn't also have a food allergy (turns out she did not). We gave her the best food, the most love and tender care, but it was not enough.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara's resemblance to her mother, Mazie is very clear. Mazie still waits for her forever home, but was very glad to see Cara again.

Cara continued to vomit-PROJECTILE vomit. If you've never seen that before, imagine a hose being turned on inside little Cara. The spigot flies open and a torrent of fluid comes out. It's shocking. Disturbing. Horrifying. It leaves Cara limp. She rarely ever plays. She sits hunched over, uncomfortable, licking at her mouth, her tummy grumbling.

On Friday Cara returned to see Dr. K. Our last three weeks of feeding her a special diet showed us she had no food allergies, but she was still vomiting. A repeat of her blood work revealed her White Blood Count was still shockingly high at 29,500. Dr. K needed to do a third endoscopy to find out what was going on. The results surprised all of us.

While Cara's strictures were healed, her stomach lining, which was once fine and normal, was now “grossly” full of Helicobacter. To understand how common this is, here's a portion of an article by Bob Sherding in 2001

“Various surveys have found a high prevalence of Helicobacter approaching 100% in most shelter and colony cats and 30 to 100% in pet cats. The spiral organisms identified most often in these surveys are the large Helicobacter-like organisms, e.g., H. felis and H. heilmannii. Because of the high prevalence of infection in animals without clinical signs, the clinical significance of gastric Helicobacter-like organisms (GHLO) in cats is uncertain. Helicobacter organisms may be an incidental finding in clinically normal animals, but when they are associated with clinical signs (chronic intermittent vomiting) and gastric mucosal inflammation (lymphocytic gastritis), it is possible that they should be considered potential pathogens and treated.”

The treatment remains the same-even today: Amoxicillin and Biaxin™

But that's not all Cara is dealing with. She also has Leukocytosis-which is a high White Blood Cell Count. Because her Neutrophils are also high, it means she probably has a nasty bacterial infection. Last month, Cara had a high Eosinophil count, which could have meant she was having an allergic reaction to her food or medication. That indicator is back to normal, so it leads us to believe that Cara has a “Mother” of an infection.

What causes this? Another mystery. Helicobacter is common. It making us or our cats sick, is not so common. What caused Cara to have such an overwhelming infection leaves us all scratching our heads. All we can do is treat her and hope it resolves. She may get better or she may get this on and off for years to come.

The saddest thing to consider is that this infection can be a precursor to Adenocarcinoma or Lymphoma. Adenocarcinoma is always malignant. My cat, Bob, has lymphoma. It can be treated, but there is no cure. To think that Cara, at such a fragile age, could face this one day is unbelievable and completely cruel. I hope it is not so. Today it's too soon to tell.

Cara's endoscopy. Tough to see here, but her stomach lining is a mess.

And then there was Cara's pancreas to consider. Either it was inflamed and getting worse, or it had been and was resolving. They ran a PLI test to determine how badly her pancreas has been effected. This is in a EIGHT month old KITTEN. To have such problems is disturbing, gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

Cara's pancreas shows white highlights. This means it's inflamed and irritated. Is it getting worse or is it getting better?

Who will adopt a kitten with such health history? Who would I even TRUST to give this kitten a home? We have a long way to go before we can even worry about that. Right now there's much to be done, but the fear sits in the back of my head. I don't know that Cara will ever be on Petfinder looking for a forever home.

Sam was able to drive with me down to Norwalk to pick Cara up after her procedure so I could hold her on my lap the entire drive home. She was very weak and withdrawn. Although she had a nice reunion with her Mother, Mazie and sister, Polly, Cara wanted to be alone, to rest. She ate well for me the first night, then the next day, back at her foster home with Aunt Connie, she stopped eating. Her coat was rough. Her left eye was now weeping from the URI. She hid under the sofa where no one could get at her.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. After endoscopy, Cara is wiped out and sick with a URI.

We had to give her antibiotics, so after some coaching, were able to get her to come out so we could treat her. It took two long days, but Cara started to turn the corner just a bit. She began to eat some food and came out from under the sofa. Her eye stopped running, but she was still very worn out.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara looks out the window into the darkness. She didn't want to visit with us. She just wanted to be alone to rest and try to recover from the procedure.

This morning Cara projectile vomited again, so I called Dr. K. to let her know. She said the infection was so bad that she wasn't surprised there was more vomiting. She said to stay the course, keep giving her the meds and give it a week. By Saturday, maybe she'll show signs of feeling better. We can only hope.

I have no idea what is to become of Cara. Once her meds are done in two weeks, we'll re-evaluate the situation. If Cara is responding well, then what? I don't know. Will Cara get something else? We she relapse? Will she even live to be an adult?

Cara looks right into my soul with those big owly eyes. She's so much like her Mother that way. I only wish she was just as healthy and ready to be adopted. For now, all we can do is keep our commitment to her, in sickness and in health, for better or worse.

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If you'd like to read more about Helicobacter, how common it is, how it may be transmitted and its' effect on humans, you can read this article on DVM360, as well as on Wikipedia

After a long chat with Cara's Internist, instead of going straight to a third endoscopy, we're giving Cara yet another round of Clavamox to treat her high White Blood Cell Count for about 10 days. Cara's also on a special diet, which I pushed back on, (you know how fussy I am about diet)! But after looking at the ingredients and realizing it was only for three weeks, I decided it was all right. Well, feeding her the special diet was ok. That it cost $52 for one case, well, I was not too happy with that!

Cara's been back home with me and her Mama, Mazie and siblings Polly and Chester after staying with her foster mom for two weeks. Everyone got along well. Mazie licked Cara's face as a way to welcome her back. Cara is still half the size of her family, but I can see that Cara has grown some, too.

Cara still has that big, sad-eyed look and she still shakes her head and licks at her mouth. After being here for a day or so, she vomited again and was a bit lethargic. The next day she was brighter and ate well. She's still not vibrant, in the way her siblings are, but she's starting to explore more of her surroundings now that she can leave her foster room and meet my cats.

Cara doesn't go too far. She'll stay upstairs and nap or sniff around my bedroom. I think the stairs are tough for her because she's still so small. She can't race down the steps the way Polly is accustomed to doing and I think seeing my HUGE cats makes her a bit shy.

I've noticed she's starting to purr more frequently. I think the clavamox might be helping her. In some respects, she is stable, but she is clearly still struggling with something. The constant head shaking and mouth licking must mean she's feeling queasy or her tummy is acting up.

When it's all said and done, I know in two more weeks, when Cara has completed eating the special diet, we'll have to re-visit getting her spayed and doing endoscopy and biopsy at the same time OR they may say we can't spay her for the time being and just focus on doing further examinations of her digestive tract.

In a few days it will mark SIX MONTHS since this family first arrived. Six months and they are ALL still here. I try not to beat myself up about how many cats I could have helped if I could have gotten this family out of her faster. I'm devoted to the cats that are in my care. They are all getting to a point where they can be adopted. It would be great to see them get out of here. The price I've had to pay is that my own cats are angry and frustrated having newcomers running around and every day we find a new, horrifying place where one of them has decided to pee.

We may have more SSSCATS than anyone else in the world. There are Feliway diffusers everywhere. Some of my cats are making friends with the fosters, but even those cats we've caught marking. I know the best solution is to get the fosters OUT and give my own cats a break-especially with Bob having cancer. I think more quiet time would be good for him, too.

While I wonder when we'll finally get Cara's health issues sorted out and find her a home, something lovely happened. One of the fosters MAY be getting adopted in a few days. I don't want to jinx it, but it's looking very good. I wish I had more adopters like this family. If they go through with the adoption, I'll let you know just how wonderful they are in more detail.

For now, I'll just enjoy the company of the fosters and their crazy antics with a roll of paper towels and odor neutralizer in hand.

We're still trying to raise enough funds to cover Cara's endoscopy in a few weeks. She looks bright and well, but she, like most cats, is very good at masking illness. She weighs just over 4 1/2 pounds. The normal weight for a cat her age is 6 to 8 pounds.

I keep hoping we're getting to the point where all the foster cats are well enough to be adopted. A few weeks ago, Polly FINALLY got spayed. She made it through the surgery and recovery well, but she's still got a lingering issues with recurring upper respiratory tract infections. She gets sick for a few days, then is miraculously over it. Sadly, her left eye, which has been a problem for her since she first became ill when she was three weeks old, has never resolved its cloudy appearance. I fear Polly has lost some vision in that eye.

The only way to resolve this for her is to get her to a specialist. Perhaps there's something we haven't done that could help her? Her brother, Chester is doing great, for the most part, but he has a chronic runny eye. He should see the specialist, as well. These kittens have cost a fortune to care for. I'm very grateful they are so very sweet natured and loving. It makes seem even more worthwhile to make sure they get whatever they need.

Polly has been spending more and more of each day with my own cats. She gets along GREAT with them and I'm constantly hearing her making trilling sounds as she races through the house-most often with MacGruber on her tail. She's come a VERY long way from the kitten I thought we were going to lose late last year. You can see a before and after photo of her HERE.

Then there's Cara. Cara! What am I going to do with you, girl? Cara has been doing okay-ish, not great. She gained just five ounces over the past month. To me, that is not enough. She's still under five pounds while her siblings are easily over six pounds, each! Cara has episodes of vomiting every two weeks or so. The volume of what she outputs is frightening. It seems as though it must have come out of a much larger animal, there's so much fluid.

I've been in regular contact with Cara's Internist, Dr. K. and her assistant, Laura. I was hoping that we could get Cara spayed and while the spay was being done, Dr. K. was going to look at Cara's esophagus. Cara's been scoped twice now for strictures in her esophagus. If you're not familiar with her story, you can read more HERE and HERE (or use “Cara” in the Search field on the top, left of this page to read all the stories about Cara and her family)

Cara's been struggling for a very long time. I thought it was a good idea for her to go to a new foster home so she could have “alone time” and a chance to flower without her big brother and sister there to push her out of the food bowl or away from the toys. Cara has been in another home for about two weeks and was doing fairly well. Then, the vomiting started again and Cara became withdrawn.

Yesterday I brought Cara to Dr. Larry for blood work. We discussed seeing her shake her head and lick her mouth. She is nauseous, clearly. She's quiet. Not a bouncy, crazy kitten. She's alert. She eats well, but...something is wrong. I brought her home with me so I can keep an eye on her.

Last night I got the results of the blood work. Cara has a SCREAMING high white blood count-AGAIN. It's 28,000, when a high normal is about 19,000. Dr. Larry is worried Cara has aspirated some of her vomit into her lungs and that is the reason for the high count. Cara's in trouble and needs to go back to the Specialist, Dr. K., as soon as we can work it out. I put Cara on clavamox last night, to start knocking out the infection, but Cara is going to need another endoscopy, no doubt.

This morning, Cara was bright and ate well for me. When I look in her eyes, I see a frail little kitty. She's far too thin and struggling to be well. I'm glad she's a fighter, but she can't fix what is wrong and neither can I—not without some help.

Our resources are depleted and we need to do yet another fundraiser for Cara, Polly and Chester. I don't know exactly how much we'll need for Cara, but I do know some of the cost. I'm going to estimate what we need, then adjust it up or down as soon as I have more information. Anything we don't use will go into the General Fund of my Non-Profit Rescue: Kitten Associates, Inc., to provide food and basic Vet care for any of the cats in our Program.

If you have the resources to help out, we are deeply appreciative. Your donation IS Tax Deductible, which is always a good thing!

If you can't help with a donation, if you would kindly help us spread the word, that would be terrific. We need to get the donations put together BEFORE we can go to the Vet, so we gotta make this happen fast if we can.

Thank you to the many folks who have jumped in to help Cara along this difficult journey. I hope you can help again, for Cara and her family.

I spoke to Vet. Mazie's temp was 103.7°F, now 102.2°F. Her heart rate was off the chart-due to stress? Liver and Kidney function is NORMAL. She is on IV antibiotics-getting Baytril. They do not think it's FIP but that is not completely off the table. Snap test: NEGATIVE! (for FIV+ and Feline Leukemia)

I can leave her at the Clinic overnight or pick her up. I'm going to bring her home since they don't have staff at night. She has to go back in the morning..and we have to take Bob to New York for his chemotherapy by 10am, so busy-busy. They want her back for another day of IV antibiotics even if she is feeling better/eating. Suggested repeating CBC and I could not argue that point. We do need to see white blood cell count going down. Urinalysis is due in tomorrow.

Cause or culprit? At this point...we just don't know. I can say that due to serious concern of Mazie (and Cara) getting sick from aflatoxins, I have pulled the corn-based cat litter out of the room and done a scrub down of everything I can get my hands on. I am NOT saying the cat litter had anything to do with the cats getting massive infections, but I don't want to risk being wrong. I can do a test with another litter to see if anything dramatic changes over time.

Poor Mazie. She's definitely had a lousy day. I'll keep close watch on her tonight and with any luck she'll feel well enough to start eating again.

I'd also like to take a moment to wish my friend Jennifer J. a big hug and lots of love. She got sad news about her cat, Gett and this is just a few months after losing her beloved cat, Tucker and Mr. Darcy, too. I think there should be a rule that you can't lose more than one cat in any five year period..or ten...yes...ten...that would be better.

This morning I brought Cara in to see Dr. Larry. Thankfully, they were able to fit her into the schedule for today without an appointment, but it meant I had to leave her there and they'd do x-rays and an exam at some point during the day. I got home and sat in the foster room with Mazie, Chester and Polly. They've been in that room for FOUR MONTHS. Only Mazie can be adopted and no one has been interested in her. Polly STILL has a URI and Chester is dealing with that spot of ringworm on his head. I know that being in a small room, even if it does have one huge window that overlooks the yard and another smaller window that gives them a view of the sky and tree tops, is not enough. Since they can't really catch anything from my cats and vice versa, I let them out into my bedroom once in awhile. There's more room to run around, but they really need a huge space to stretch their legs. I suppose if being bored or not having a lot of space was their biggest problem, I'd be lucky.

Dr Larry called me early this afternoon. Cara's x-rays did not show any obvious foreign object, but he wanted to do a blood panel to make sure she didn't also have an infection. I wanted to push back and say, no, not to spend the money since Cara seems fine, but I agreed. He told me to meet him at 4pm and by then he'd have the results and I could take Cara home.

Things were busy at Maple Ridge today, so I grabbed a People magazine and looked at it while I waited for Dr. Larry in exam room number 2. I noticed photos of celebrities in their bathing suit, walking on the beach at some exclusive resort. I didn't even know who half the people were. Then, it dawned on me. Why does it matter that I need to see these photos at all? If there were photos of my neighbors walking on the beach, I would be just as uninterested. They're on vacation? So what! What are they doing that's unusual, interesting, important? Maybe People should be renamed; “Photos of people on the beach with really nice bodies, wearing huge sunglasses, but otherwise not really doing anything.” I swear they use the same photo each week, they just photoshop the latest celebrity A-lister face over the body they used the week before.

I was just about to read about why Catherine Zeta-Jones is disclosing she has Bipolar Disorder II and why there is a “II” and what that means? Is it a sequel to Bipolar Disorder I? Maybe it's fancy movie star version of Bipolar disorder? Dr. Larry entered the exam room before I could sort it all out. He sighed. Then he said something about me having too much on my plate. I had a feeling he was about to add more to it and I was right.

Cara's blood work showed her White Blood Cell Count was VERY HIGH. High-normal is about 20,000. Cara's is 35,000. She's got a raging infection. Her stomach is swollen full of gas. Her intestines are full of stool-almost packed solid. I looked at the x-rays and asked about something I saw in her stomach-some small particulate. Dr. Larry waved it off saying it was the cat food I feed...you know the RAW food with the BONES in it. I balked. Cara does not get raw. She gets canned. So of course it has to be the canned food. It's CANNED FOOD! There aren't BONES in it. Then it hit me. It was the cat litter. It confirmed what I had been suspicious of all along—that Cara has been eating the corn based cat litter. Perhaps the high WBC count is due to her eating out of the litter pan?

It's tough to say what's going on exactly. Dr Larry wanted to have an ultrasound done. The Vet who performs them had a cancellation. It's for tomorrow at 8:30AM. Larry felt we might be able to see if there's still a piece of yarn toy acting as a filter between her stomach and her intestines or if there's any damage to her stomach from eating the toy or ingesting the litter. It would give us some info, but potentially not enough.

Cara may need exploratory surgery or another endoscopy. Dr. Kittral, who's been performing all Cara's endoscopies needs to be included in our decisions. Sadly, she doesn't start her work week until TOMORROW. Dr. Larry wanted to put Cara on antibiotics, which, of course, raised a huge alarm bell in me. We can't give her oral meds or we risk causing her strictures to return. We compromised and Larry gave her an injection that will only last until tomorrow. By then, hopefully we will have more answers and be able to figure out a game plan for Cara.

I tried to be brave, but I felt a bit weak in the knees. Cara could be in a very dangerous situation. With her esophagus compromised already and her stomach lining possibly being damaged, we can't try to clear the stool out of her without risking her rupturing somewhere. Anything invasive that needs to be done, has to be carefully considered. Any medications given must be carefully scrutinized. She's been on too many antibiotics. She's been through so much already. I just don't know how we're going to get her over this next hurdle.

This Vet bill, even with a discount, is going to be bad. It could be the beginning of VERY BAD, I don't know how bad just yet. I'm going to open up yet another fundraiser for Cara. Her last two Vet bills came to $1500.00 and with the loan I got, we were able to pay everything off in full, but now we're back to loose change in our pockets to pay for the next Vet bills. I'm guessing that between today and tomorrow it will be $600.00 and counting. I can't give up on Cara even if the timing is the worst, ever. I thought we were over the hump, but now we've been pushed back down the hill like a feline version of Sisyphus.

I also have a lot of guilt about this situation. The past two weeks I just haven't been home much with frequent trips to NYC to care for Sam's mother. I couldn't feed the cats as regularly as usual and I fear that Cara resorted to eating the litter out of desperation and perhaps now has developed a taste for it. I really LIKE the litter and the other cats are fine with it, but I have to stop using it around Cara.

As for Cara; we've just GOT to get her well; for once and for all.

I realize we've had to ask for help more often than I ever imagined to get Cara well. I'm blessed with having devoted and compassionate friends of this Blog. My hope is that not one person has to donate more than $5. If we can all ChipIn, we'll hit our goal in a heartbeat. If you can share this request with your friends, I would appreciate it very much. Your donation IS tax deductible, as the funds go to a Kitten Associates, Inc. foster kitten (Cara).

I've rarely been so excited to write about a new product. It's so top secret, I'I had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've been lucky, heck, honored to be the ONLY BLOGGER TO BE GIVEN BEHIND THE SCENES ACCESS TO THE MOST DAZZLING NEW PET PRODUCT TO COME TO MARKET SINCE CAT LITTER!

I can't even believe I'm going to write this...inappropriate cat urination problems have been SOLVED with the modification of a simple device that's been around since the 1930's.

I give you, Flunette™

Let’s start with the obvious question: What is this thing? Flunette is a silicone container, a reusable device that collects the urine of female cats rather than allowing it to be released, then collected (by you) as clumped waste in litter pans. The container can be worn continuously for up to 12 hours, including overnight, before it must be emptied. This just means a quick rinse off with their Feelin' Good Feline Wash Liquid and you're ready to go.

The Flunette is based on menstrual cups, which were first used in the 1930's. It was a reusable alternative to tampons and pads that collects the menstrual flow rather than absorbs it. With a slight modification and adjustment downwards to a small size, the Flunette was born.

There’s a learning curve, for sure. But there’s also a payoff. Flunette is comfortable, well at least that's the theory. Your cat can do everything she normally does – take a nap, eat, play with a mousey toy – but no matter how mad or territorial she may get, the last thing she can do is empty her bladder onto your favorite chair, the wall in your bedroom or even on your kitchen counter! All her urine is safely contained inside the Flunette until YOU empty it.

Made of silicone, the Flunette (above) is flexible enough to ensure comfortable insertion. Note: I wear kevlar gloves when I insert the device into my cats. I find it's safer for us both if I take that simple precaution.

Insertion is a snap. Just press the sides together to collapse the container area then insert open end first. The tapered tip should face OUT. It's the handle you'll tug on later to remove the Flunette from your cat.

For those of us who suffer, as I do, with cats peeing all over their homes. The Flunette is a lifesaver. Sure, it was difficult to insert the device into my cat's urethra, but I found that if I gave her a bag of treats, she was so busy gobbling them up, she didn't notice what was going on in her back end. Yes, I did get clawed and bitten the first few times, but never so badly I had to be hospitalized and like anything else, persistence pays off.

I can't believe how clean and fresh smelling my home is now that I have Flunettes in all my female cats! Now that they stopped spraying, the males stopped, too and they didn't even need to wear the cup!

In the big picture, using a urination barrier device is better for the environment since it reduces the need for cat litter! Now Fluffy will only need the litter pan for moving her bowels, though don't tell, but there is a rumor that Flunette will soon have a companion product; Turdtainer.

Think of the money you'll save on cat litter, since a Flunette device can last for several years with proper care. Your back will thank you, too. No more lugging heavy bags of cat waste to the trash!

Flunette is:

Made of 100% medical grade silicone

Hypoallergenic and latex-free

Environmentally friendly

Rinse carefully with soap and water (or Feelin' Good Feline Wash)

As with all of my Product reviews, know I did not receive any payment for my review, only a sample of the product and the wash. My results are simply that, mine! Your results may vary. Also, make sure you have health insurance before you purchase this product.

Ordering information for Flunette is HERE. The Flunette is $12.95 for one and $16.95 for two. The Feelin' Good Feline Wash is $6.95. Both products will be available April 31, 2011 for one day only, so ACT FAST! Please share this post with ALL your fed up, peed upon friends! You'll be glad you did.

Last week many of us had a bad scare when we found out our beloved Wellness Canned Cat Food might be lacking in Thiamine, which, over time, the deficiency can cause some serious neurological problems in cats. WellPet, jumped into action and instead of recalling just certain flavors within certain lot numbers that were effected, they recalled ALL THE CANS in certain lots.

I have to tip my hat to them for taking such action. I fed A LOT of Wellness to Cara and her family from right after they were old enough to eat solid food. I've always trusted the Wellness brand and have told ALL of my adopters that it's one of many good choices for grain-free canned cat food.

When I called the company, in dismay, they told me they were going to send me a “Kit” in which I could return ALL the cans, empty or full, that were part of the recall. I put them aside and waited.

Last night I got the mail. In it was a nice letter from WellPet, along with a fistful of coupons for free product. They've decided NOT to send out kits for returning the product, most likely realizing that the cost to cover all that shipping, the storage of the unused product, could be a complete nightmare. So if you're saving your cans, don't bother if you've already contacted the company and are waiting your coupons.

Now I don't know the real reason why they decided they didn't want their product back, but I'm not going to throw it out, as they suggest. Since I live in the woods, I'm going to offer the food up to the wildlife. I'm sure if they don't have thiamine, but they have something to eat, they'll be pretty damn happy about that.

As for ever buying Wellness again, I already did. Their good faith actions, their sense of responsibility and that they even CALLED ME to make sure they got my recall info correct...that's just good business sense. They just took their licks, so to speak, for an accident and making it right.

Now we can go back to worrying about other things, like who is Jake going to choose on Monday's final episode of “The Bachelor?!” Emily seems like “the one,” but she might get scared and blow it!