Baxter has gone to the rainbow bridge..

[drunkmike]

Today we looked at a lot of kitties and I think we may have found our new baby. As soon as I opened up the cage a little baby named "Poly 1" jumped right up to me. She was in the cage with her Momma who was already adopted or I may have adopted both of them! She is a fiesty little girl who was jumping all over like crazy and wanted nothing to do but.. PLAY! I didn't notice at first, but when the Momma stepped out she had extra toes on her front feet. The lady at the Humane Society let me know that she is a Polydactyl cat and that her babies will also end up the same way. It was really hard to see the extra "thumb" on the kitten but after further inspection it is definitely there! She told us that there really is no worries that are associated with this anomaly so everything was a go for us! I filled out the paperwork, she ran all of the checks on us and said they are going to keep her for a final vet visit in the morning and then hopefully she will come home with us tomorrow to meet her new family! I will have up pictures as soon as we get her home.. Just need to try and think up the perfect name for her now!

[Tambrey]

congratz on your new baby girl!! I know Baxter will be very happy for you and for her...can't wait for pics!!

[k9Karen]

MIke - I am so sorry to hear of your loss, but I know from personal experience that having the new baby will help you through the pain. Congrats on your new little girl. She sounds terrific. Hope to see pictures soon.

[Traci]

Mike, do you know kitten's age?

And actually, while polydactyl cats generally don't have problems, you WILL need to keep an eye on all her toe digits and watch her nail growth. Sometimes, the "thumb" can grow longer nails and actually grow inward in the skin, or toward the other toe digits, the same applies to any toe, so please always remember to check on a monthly basis that her nails aren't growing abnormally, curled, etc. I'm not saying all polydactyl cats have this occur, but sometimes it goes unnoticed by owners, and an elongated nail bothering another toe digit can hurt something fierce and eventually cause infection.

If this kitten is less than 3 months old or so, you'll definately need to kitten-proof your home, just as you would a baby or small toddler. Make sure Cali doesn't get rough with her especially if kitten is not fully developed enough to defend herself.

[Cleo]

Congrats on the new addition to your family Mike! Can't wait for updates and pictures. Good luck!!

[drunkmike]

Thanks again all! We got to bring home our new baby "Layla" last night and she has been quite a handful! She is about 2 1/2 months old (3 months on 7/14) and is a happy and healthy kitten! It was a bit rough for her at first being taken from her Mother, but is starting to adjust well and hopefully she will let Cali step in as a older Sister/Mother figure. She is up to date on all of her shots except rabies and tested neg for felv and fiv but the vet said under 6 months old can give alot of "false negatives" so she will have to be tested again to be absolutely positive in a few months. I think Cali is the first dog that she has even seen so she is quite scared of her, but is starting to ease up a bit as time goes on. She mostly hides, but has taken a few swats at her when Cali has caught her off guard. Cali is not used to such a small animal around the house or the fact that she has claws! The vet did tell us to keep an eye on her paws to make sure her claws/toes don't grow in funny also. I will try to get some pictures of her up tomorrow for everyone to see! One of her eyes has gotten a bit runny since picking her up so she is due for a vet visit this week. Her records show that she had a URI when was born and most likely picked it up by nursing from her Mother while she had it but was cleared at the beginning of June. I went through the same thing when I first got Baxter and the vet said that it is a pretty common thing when so many animals are kept in the same area and that I should not worry too much, but definately get her to the vet to make sure everything is ok.

[Tina B and crew]

Mike...she sounds wonderful. Can't wait to see pictures of her. Welcome Layla!

[slvrwhispr]

Um, yeah, not to rain on your parade, but DEFINITELY get that second test. I know all too well about the false negatives...

Glad you have a new family member.

[Traci]

Yes, definately get the second FELV/FIV snap test done, AND, get her to the vet again this week.

It's possible that "infection" wasn't entirely cleared in June - if it's an upper respiratory infection, those can linger in young kittens, particularly in a shelter environment. Depending on exactly when she was vaccinated and if intranasal vaccine was given instead of an injection, those intranasal injections can also cause those similar symptoms - discuss that potential with the vet, but make darn sure she isn't suffering an upper respiratory infection.

If they eye is runny and has discharge, your vet can prescribe a mild eye ointment to use once or twice a day - oral antibiotics might also be necessary but see what the vet says.

For now, feed her a high quality kitten food, lots of fresh water, keep her stress reduced to barest minimum.

Congratulations, can't wait to see pics of Layla!