Traci, abandoned cat that I may have to take home....

[Sara]

I also wanted to add she's really dirty. She must not have been able to bathe herself in a long, long time. Poor thing. She's so sweet and purrs when you get near her and loves affection. She did not fight hardly at all during the blood withdrawl, they had a little mask type of thing over her eyes and mouth, they even carried her to the little cage by hand. She's just the cutest, sweetest thing you ever saw.

If I can't find her a home I will have to keep her. I will have to at least try to find her a good home if I can though. Let's hope all her tests are negative.

[harryis21]

I hope that she is okay too. I recently saved a 10 yr. + cat who was living in an alleyway and trying to crawl into people's apartments to keep warm. He is sweet, gentle, and a love bug. You can tell that he is just so grateful to be warm and fed. He did test positive for FIV though and he has a bad cold and is sneezing blood so he lives in his own room in the house, away from my other 22 cats. At first I felt bad but I realized that he is warm, fed and loved. The folks on this site also helped me come to this realization. No one wants an old, sick cat, but I do. My Sylvester is an amazing cat.

Lisa

PS He also had to have teeth pulled as they were "rotting in his head" as the vet put it. He eats canned food (a lot of it!) and he has also started cleaning himself again.

[Sara]

Oh... Poor guy... I'm so glad you took him in. How many teeth did you have to pull and how many are remaining? Were they like the cat I just found? Is there any risk if FIV spreading through the air in your house? I'm not quite sure how FIV and leucemia and all those infectious diseases are actually spread. How long did it take him to start cleaning? How long have you had him? I'm so sorry about the coughing up blood. Having his own room is a dream come true for somebody that was living on the streets.

You must have a big house!

[Sara]

You know, now that I think about it I wonder if they will have more test results finished by tomorrow like the feline aids and the leucemia. I wonder if they could or did do that at the same time as the simple one they did? I would hate to have to wait another 24 hours for this. Is it possible I misunderstood them?

[Traci]

Sara, knowing your vet, it's hard to say. Here in the states, most vets are equipped to test for FELV/FIV with a simple snap test that only takes 10 minutes for results...I can only hope your vet has the snap tests. If she is confined in another room, unable to touch noses with the other cats, there is little likelihood the infectious diseases could be transmitted, but you will need to don a smock or something and use it every time you handle her until she's determined healthy by your vet. Do not let her or the other cats share food or water dishes or litterboxes...keep hers seperate with her in her own room, and clean them daily.

However, distemper can be extremely contagious in any environment. It's doubtful she has distemper since you've seen her around for so long and she is otherwise healthy, as your ER vet said.

As for the oral problems, ideally the FELV/FIV test should be done to rule out stomatitis. Some cats with stomatitis are also FELV or FIV+,...this doesn't mean she is, but it's something that needs to be ruled out.

Do NOT get her vaccinated until the vet has determined the extent or seriousness of the oral health infection. Cats with any type of severe infection should NOT be vaccinated until they are recovered from the infection and healed. Given the nature of the oral problem you've described, I strongly advise waiting on her vaccinations until her teeth are assessed and the ulcers are treated and healed. If she requires anesthesia to treat diseased teeth, extractions, etc, please try to get a pre-surg blood test done for her prior to anesthesia.

[Sara]

Traci, I just spoke with my s/o who just spoke to the vet. I think the blood tests here include the viruses for FIV/FIP and the others for anesthesia such as enzymes, total protein, ALT, BUN, and creatinine. We don't have the snap tests here though. Last night she took two vials of blood and the first one was for a fast simple analysis that had to do with renal stuff (I can't tell you exactly but I can tell you what I remember them saying) and the other one was a more complete CBC with the rest of the tests that you mentioned included. From what I understand the CBC's here are really broad and complete. They are sent to a lab to be analysised by a biochemist. Anyway, the vet said this AM that the cat was fine and that the rest of her labs would be in at 6pm and we could take her to our vet then.

When I get the lab results from the abandoned cat and Nan (another post, re: Nan's dental) after 6 I will post the results of the important stuff relating to disease and pre surg. Nans is in, I just have to go pick it up. It's been finished for like a week already.

With these restults in I am hoping my vets DDS friend can come to my vets office after 6 and do the dental. I am also hoping the bath can be done. We won't do anything until all results are in. Is there anyway to know if she has stomatitis? Could she have it even if her FELV/FIV tests are negative? Also, I will hold off on the vaccines until her mouth infection is cleared up.

If her test results are all negative but she can't get the vaccines yet how long unitl you think she could be exposed to other cats?

My cats were last vaccinated for everything 8-16-2003. That makes them 3 months behind on their vaccines. They need vaccines, Nando needs his teeth cleaned and I still need to get Vest's skin problems under control. I can't believe I accidentally went over the time limit for my cats vaccines and now I have this new abandoned cat. I've got my self into a mess.

Thanks for all your help as always Traci. Big hugs to you and your kitties.

[Sara]

Spoke with my vet and she said that she will not give vaccines or anything unit the mouth is cleared up and she is healthy enough and that she will examin the teeth tonight and acess whether or not her teeth can even be cleaned at this point. She may want to wait until some of the infection is cleared up. So basically, I am not sure if she will get her teeth cleaned until she has been looked at. If she's not well enough for the dental she will just get a bath. Do you think she can be de-parasited as well? She also said that she can do basic dentistry but her friend the DDS is better and more specialized. But, she has another friend who is even more of a specialist in Dentistry and she will call him because this cat has much more serious problems. If the cat is okay to get the dental she will call him to come by her office tonight and do the work. Whew, that's it for now. Let me know what you think. I'll post after I get the lab results and then again after my vet takes a look.

Thanks!

[Traci]

Stomatitis does not always mean the cat is infected with FELV...but if it is not properly managed, dental disease, bacterial infection, oral ulcers can really be debilitating. Some cats only need one or so teeth extracted, others require many more, it depends on the severity of the disease and infection. For what it's worth, cats can get along just fine without most of their teeth, but the recovery process may be slow and it's important that all infection is cleared up.

As for the vaccinations.....just hold off on those for now until your vets decide on the severity of her oral health problems. You will need to keep her seperated from your other cats until her mouth infection is healed...this could be anywhere from two weeks to longer. Then your vet can re-evaluate her to determine if it is safe to give her vaccinations at that point or to wait until after her dental if necessary.

As for parasites, she may be able to tolerate droncit (for tapeworms) and strongidT (for roundworms), both given orally, but I would not give her any topicals or injections of the sort. If she happens to have fleas, a flea comb would be more appropriate and safer until your vet determines her general health status. A quick bath would probably be ok as long as she is not severely stressed, and please do not use anything but a cat shampoo, and nothing with essential oils, tea tree oil, etc that are toxic to cats.

[Sara]

Thank you Traci.

The bath would be given at the vets. Strangely enough she is very sweet and calm. She did not freak at the ER while getting blood or anything so I think a bath at the vets would be okay. If she acts to stressed I will tell them not to do it.

I'll mention stomititis (sp?) tonight when I see her.

[FromBeyond138]

Sara, thank goodness for people like you. This kitty sounds like she'll make a great addition to your family when she's all fixed up. Please keep us updated.