Julian needs more medicine

[redbird]

Dr. Luckow called this morning, with the results of the Bartinella test. On a scale of zero (no infection) to four, Julian tested at 4+.

We'll have to get him medicine, and give it to him once a day for three weeks. And we're advised not to let him scratch us, because Bartinella is the thing that causes cat-scratch fever. Given this tiger-cub kitten, that's probably impossible unless I wear long pants and long sleeves at all times. Right. In a New York summer.

I am more and more annoyed at KittyKind: not just because he's got this and the worms, but because they assured us he was healthy and wouldn't need to see a vet for a year.

And I am very glad we got our pretty Julian away from them, before they could give him to someone who would have listened to their advice and let him be sick for a year.

Comments

[kristenj.livejournal.com]

I had cat scratch fever when I was young. It is painful and not fun at all! I remember, however, being somewhat amazed that it was a real sickness and not just a song.

Poor kitty. Being sick is no fun for a cat either! Have you spoken firmly with KittyKind? If they are reputable, I'm sure that they would want to know.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

Argh! and Argh, again. I'm also glad you got Julian away.

[baldanders.livejournal.com]

I remember Kristen's bout of cat scratch fever, which took away a summer and included buboes that needed to be drained with needles. I don't mean to be alarming, but be careful.

[kristenj.livejournal.com]

Lord, it really was horrid. And from just a tiny shallow scratch, too.

[catelynn.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine recently had the same experience with them. She found out in time and gave the cat back. But it killed her to give it back.
And she found out the same way. She took it to a vet to get checked anyway. (over the last year her 2 previous cats had died of old age and this was the vet who had helped her).
Why did she give it back. She has full blown lupus and it was a danger to her. Her health is fragile as is and her immune system is all screwed up. And she told this to the people at the adoption place.
She was furous and had to scrub her house down and wait til she could get another cat.
Because of this she would not adopt from a shelter and has now found a cat from a breeder.

[crazysoph.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I hope that whatever you do to encourage your immune system to work at its best, you get to do in response to Julian's infections.

I've had cat scratches raise the odd welt, which I put down to being a bit allergic to them (after all...), but never some of what's been described by your other posters.

Crazy(like the man says, "Let's be careful out there..."Soph

[treadpath.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry for you and Julian! What is it with KittyKind and sick animals? We got Kepler from KittyKind too... back when they were still "BeingKind" and he was completely ill and also had a persistant urinary stone problem that they neglected to mention when we got him.

Hope it all works out--Julian is a very lucky kitty to be in your and Cattitude's loving and capable hands. :)

What it is with KittyKind

[(Anonymous)]

Hi. I foster cats for KittyKind and I can tell you exactly what happens. We are overloaded completely with cats coming in every day. Since the organization is all volunteer there's no one constant person seeing the same cat every day in the store, so all but the most obvious medical problems are hard to see. We test for FIV and Feline Lukemia, but it's financially impossible to test for every possible ailment an animal could have. For the cats not in the store, (because there are hundreds that get dumped that we're trying to save at any given time), the foster homes, usually of KittyKind volunteers, are also completely overloaded. I know some of us who have whole rooms of our apartments lined with cages, and herds of cats loose as well. If a cat doesn't get adopted over the weekend it has to go somewhere, so you find yourself with 50 foster cats. Which is the cause of KittyKind cats being sick. What would your immune system be like for common colds and flus, etc. if you were confused, abandoned, lonely, stressed, and around too many other cats without enough space? Come on! KittyKind does the best it can. And how many unwanted cats are you taking in?

Re: What it is with KittyKind

[redbird]

Granting all that--and "all volunteer" doesn't have to mean "nobody has specific supervision over this cat"--in a situation like that, KittyKind should be saying to adopters "We do our best, but you should take the cat to your own vet", not "He's been checked, he's healthy, he won't need to see the vet for a year."

Re: What it is with KittyKind

[treadpath.livejournal.com]

You're missing the point. If the cats are sick, then the people who are adopting them out should not be telling people that they are healthy cats and shouldn't need to see the vet for a year. That's irresponsible and it doesn't serve the best interest of the animal. And, apparently, it happens enough that three people on this thread have had this same experience with your organization.

[wouldyoueva.livejournal.com]

I went to http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_bartonella.html

and it says (among other things)
"Although declawing is not generally advised, HIV-infected persons should avoid rough play with cats and situations in which scratches are likely. Any cat-associated wound should be washed promptly. Cats should not be allowed to lick open wounds or cuts of HIV-infected persons."

Isn't that a dispatch from the Journal of Duh?

It seems to indicate that if your immune system is in good shape, you'll get a little sick from Cat Scratch fever. If your immune system is bad, you'll get horribly sick. I'd think about heavy duty glovage, or something.

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

In addition to what everyone else has said, there are ways to humanely trim a cat's claws into a blunt shape that will take the cat quite a few days to re-sharpen.

There are also "softpaws", padded tips that you superglue to each individual claw.