Posted on 08/23/2009 8:34:49 AM PDT by T Minus Four
From the link provided by fulcroma.
Cost of food, shelter, vaccinations and neutering. I’m as cynical as the next person, but it’s a big building and there are so many animals. It ain’t free.
OK, I have a brain already. But I don’t have $250 for a Sunday emergency vet call when I don’t think it’s an emergency. I’m watching her carefully and the situation is improving. I think it was a bad case of engorgement.
There’s no need to insult me, I have been taking wonderful care of these cats.
The kittens nursing her seem to be the trick - everthing looks better now. It just hurt her at first because she was so engorged. And there sure are a lot of fat little tummies around here, LOL!
The warm, wet washcloths seem to be soothing for her too. I’ll keep them up this evening.
I love it - the Brady Bunch! They're adorable.
In my opinion, there are few creatures on this earth more charming than a kitten.
Google mastitis in cats.
She doesn’t have a fever. I’ve been watching carefully for that, which would qualify as an instant “NO_BRAINER” decision to go to the emergency vet :-)
LOL!
Well I’ll be darned. FReepers never cease to amaze me! Having survived stage three breast cancer, this is doubly interesting to me.
WONDERFUL!!!
Kittens nursing like crazy will help her. And then she can gradually wean them like all mama cats do.
If no fever, then it never got to actual mastitis (infection). She was just plain engorged. Once the kitty ta tas release a little milk, the nipples become softer so the kittens can latch on.
Check to make sure that ALL of her teats are being nursed on. It can be very hard to get a kitten to switch to a new one as they can smell themselves on the “correct one,” and while that is excellent, as then each kitty gets the right supply for it personally, if there is one forgotten engorged teat there still could be infection. Maybe you can trick a kitten into nursing on it.
Sounds like you are doing everything right! Bravo!
No insult---just an observation, and obviously I'm not the only one suggesting that. No where did you mention in your first 7 sentences about it being Sunday, and not wanting to pay for an emergency visit. Assume you'll take her on Monday.
:o])
OH my gosh, I had visions all evening of trying to open a cats teats with a needle, LOL!. A fully armed kitty, and one who is wound a little tight anyway and doesn’t tolerate a lot of handling.
Yeesh! My hubbie has a story of trying to wash a cat who got into somethng smelly. Somehow he got the idea that it would just be easier to strip down, grasp the cat firmly, and take it into the shower with him.
He said it must be what it would be like to step into a six foot tall BLENDER!
Thank you, and to all the kind folks who have walked along with me since yesterday, the whole family seems to be doing much, much better. I came down this morning to a lovely sight - little heaps of relaxed, sleeping kitties all over my big corner couch.
Mamma Mia (curled up with two babies) just raised her head and gave me a sleepy meow, then got up and asked to be fed** They have dry kitten chow available all of the time but I supplement Mia with foil packages of yummy, nasty, stinky, fishy, “wet” food.
I checked her tummy and she seems to be so much better. Still a little “full” but each docking station seems to have been accessed recently. All is pink - no bruising or ickiness. Mia seems comfortable and will tolerate inspection of the area.
**it is unbelievable how much food a nursing cat will put away in one day! mia is a little skinny kitty and goes through a whole cereal bowl of dry kitten food and will eat 3 or 4 packages of wet food A DAY! And the output seems to be double of what goes in! And excessively pungent I might add. Fortunately I have a kitty door to the garage where the “adult” litter box and food bowls can be.
Oh too funny! Can you imagine? Somewhere there must be a milking machine with 8 ports for cats. Or at least a cartoon of one!
I didn’t know that kittens might have a favorite place on mom. I’m going to watch them now and see if it’s so!
Agreed. Foals are close but you can’t hold them in your hands.
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