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

[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.