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Subject: YAY!!!!

Author:
Shannie

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Date Posted: 16:05:14 06/30/01 Sat
In reply to: LeeAnn 's message, "I got a cat!!" on 15:17:36 06/30/01 Sat

Whatcha gonna name her? She sounds gorgeous!! I love Calico kitties (hell, I love all cats, what am I saying LOL)...

One thing to remember, if you let her out of the room....make sure your house is cat-proof....make sure if you have any windows open that the screens are SECURE....more than one cat has successfully pushed the screen out/gotten away. What I've done in the past to prevent this is..go outside, take a 1" (or whatever) and hammer it along side the bottom of the screen frame, slanted slightly upwards..this prevents the cat from pushing screen out.....

Make sure you check your house for POISONOUS houseplants.....here's a great site that lists them:

Poisonous Houseplants (and common flowers) to Cats link #1

Poisonous Plants link #2

Here's a link on "other" common household poisons:

Household poisons/to cats

Even something as simple as Mothballs can be extremely fatal to a cat!!! (so if you have any in your closets, ditch them...and do NOT let cat in there..the fumes, even a small bit, very toxic).

ALSO.....keep your toilet seats DOWN. A lot of people keep them up, and cats will sometimes drink from them. Some cats have DROWNED, and the cleaners that people use to clean the toilet bowl have caused death in cats. Best to leave them right down.

Let us know when you pick a name...and post a pic when you get one. She sounds like a doll. I'm crossing my fingers that your b/f has no problems. That's a good idea, not telling him she's there.......see how "allergic" he really is LOL

Here are two really great sites, if you ever have any questions about Cats or Cat Health (bookmark them, they are wonderful Cat Message Boards):

Acmepet Cat HEALTH message board

Cat Window (General Cat Questions) Msg Board

One last thing......please consider keeping her as a strictly indoor kitty....sooooo many risks to cats who are allowed outside, even if they're only allowed out for a bit: hit by cars, fights with sick cats, fleas, worms, injuries, dogs, etc. AND.....if you need to treat her for fleas, NEVER EVER use any Flea 'stuff' unless it's from a Vet..the flea collars you can buy in the store (Walmart, etc)...they contain a TOXIC, NASTY ingredient called Permethrin.....has killed MANY cats and dogs..many are fighting to have this sh*t taken off the shelves. Also, the powders and other flea products in stores: USELESS and Lord only knows how safe they are...not worth the risk. There are all kinds of good kinds at the Vet: Advantage, Program, Revolution, etc.

Have fun!
Shan

Shan
katzrok@home.com

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Replies:

[> [> Subject: Re: YAY!!!!

Author:
LeeAnn
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Date Posted: 15:17:52 07/01/01 Sun

Well the name she had was Callie, but we will decide whether to change it or not depending on her personality. We opened the door to her room last night and she came out for a little while. She only seems to want to come out of there if we coax her and then she will go back in her room if we leave (go into the basement or bathroom, whatever). It is not hard to get her to come out of that room though!

Yesterday we had the air conditioner on, so she did not have a windowsill to sit it, but she looked at every window trying to find one! LOL I did get a list of poisonous plants from the Humane Society, and we have a few, but they are hanging and she couldn't possible get to them.

Last night we let her into our room, but she was too active and kept knocking things off our dresser (probably to get our attention) and meowing her little head off! I finally had to put her out of our room and shut the door. She proceeded to "knock" on the door and meow for a good 20 minutes. When we woke up this morning I let her in and about 2 minutes after she was in there she "tinkled" on our bed. I do not know if it was intentional or not, because it was only three drops, but boy did it stink! I talked to my sister and we thought it might be because I shut her out of the room last night...? I hope it was a one time thing, though.

My boyfriend doesn't seem to be having very severe allergic reactions yet. He loves her as much as I do already! I did put the Allerpet on her, so either that is working, or his allergies really aren't that severe. (I am hoping for the latter)

We brought her down in the basement this morning. She has been hiding under the couch the whole time... We hope to put her litter box down here, but I want it to be upstairs for at least a week.

She seems to be adjusting to things really well. She is eating, drinking and using her litterbox. She will lay in the middle of the floor in what ever room we are in, until we leave, then she goes back to her room.

Getting her from the Humane Society has a lot of advantages. They tested her for all the things you mentioned. They gave me all of her medical records. I got a coupon for a free medical examination from any vet in the city and if the vet finds anything wrong the Humane Society will pay for any treatment the vet has to give her. And if there are any health problems within the next 21 days, the humane society will treat her for free. They also have behavioral seminars and behavioral specialists that I can call if I want. The people there are almost all volunteers.

Well I have gone on long enough. Thanks for all your help!

[> [> [> Subject: She might have a Urinary Tract Infection.....

Author:
Shannie
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Date Posted: 20:33:23 07/01/01 Sun

Glad things are working out SOOO WELL!! :-) I'm glad your b/f likes her, too!

Please consider getting her seen by a Vet on Monday, and definitely having them collect a urine sample and testing it for a "urinary tract infection" (UTI). The most common sign of this is peeing outside of the litterbox/dribbling AND really rank/strong smelling urine. If a UTI is left untreated, not only is it very uncomfortable for kitty, it can cause major damage and infection to the kidneys. Your Vet will get a sample from her and put her on a week's worth of antibiotics. If you have any trouble getting pills into her, ask, I have lots of suggestions (I give my kitty about 7 different pills a day, from small ones to large capsules). Some are very bitter (Baytril and Clavamox).....these are the best for UTI's but they shouldn't be crushed up and mixed in food (too bitter/cat won't eat).....you can get EMPTY Gelatin Capsules at most pharmacies....I just put the bitter tasting pill inside it, then lube the capsule with a touch of margarine or olive oil and pop it into the back of kitty's mouth.

Anyway, please get her checked for this. Female cats are more prone to UTI's becuz of their anatomy......AND, stress is often what brings about a UTI in a cat, and your kitty has no doubt been through a lot :-)

Here's a link on UTI's in cats (aka Feline Cystitis):

Feline Cystitis/UTI's

Most common signs of a UTI in a cat are:

-making frequent trips to the litterbox
-peeing only dribbles in the litterbox
-standing in litterbox, trying to pee but appearing to be 'straining' (pushing really hard to pee)...or crying out while trying to pee
-peeing in other places around the house (other than litterbox, such as corners, bathtubs, sinks)....cats often do this because: a) they have to pee so badly that they can't hold it AND b) they begin to associate bladder area discomfort/pain to the litterbox
-hiding under the bed and not wanting to be picked up/crying out or growling when picked up (in pain).

The fact that she only peed dribbles, indicates to me that the chance of her having a UTI are very high.

Shan
katzrok@home.com

Shan