Topic: jimi the stray (Read 10194 times)

kris · « **Reply #44 on:** May 29, 2008, 10:16:06 AM »

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on May 28, 2008, 21:33:23 PM

I just went back and looked at first post but couldnt see a mention of the age of the other cat........but cats as develop an immunity to FeLv as they get older, thats why I wasnt too bothered about the FeLV false negatives.

One can only do whatt one can do and I think that Jimis tests are just fine.

I agree, there are no absolutes I suppose. Fred is (guestimate four and a half) another stray but this time came via a shelter rather than just showing up

So I suppose his history is just as unknown although they tested his FIV status at the shelter and he was negative.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #43 on:** May 28, 2008, 21:33:23 PM »

I just went back and looked at first post but couldnt see a mention of the age of the other cat........but cats as develop an immunity to FeLv as they get older, thats why I wasnt too bothered about the FeLV false negatives.

One can only do whatt one can do and I think that Jimis tests are just fine.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #42 on:** May 28, 2008, 20:49:01 PM »

Gill, the reason I mentioned about false negatives is that he is keeping Jimi, and has another cat. From what I remember on the Glasgow site, there isn't much mention of false negatives for FeLV, although the false positives are much higher as they can actually shed FeLV, and therefore develop a lifelong immunity to it.

Dawn F · « **Reply #41 on:** May 28, 2008, 12:56:42 PM »

well done Jimi on finding a new place!

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #40 on:** May 28, 2008, 12:56:05 PM »

I wouldnt worry about false negatives, its false positives that are the worry if they are then PTS.

Now he has a clean bill of health as such, I would get him insured

kris · « **Reply #39 on:** May 28, 2008, 12:52:23 PM »

Quote from: Desley (booktigger) on May 28, 2008, 08:09:34 AM

There is about a 5% chance of a false negative with an in-house FIV test, my vets dont use them, so all mine are done at Glasgow. Good luck with his ear drops.

Oh.
What about FELV? Are there many incidents of false nagatives?

For some reason, as I said below I do feel less anxious about FIV because I believe spreading is not that easy and neither of them are fighters?

The two boys sharing a sunpatch.

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Maddiesmum · « **Reply #38 on:** May 28, 2008, 08:22:52 AM »

What great news good luck Jimi in your new wonderful happy life

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #37 on:** May 28, 2008, 08:09:34 AM »

There is about a 5% chance of a false negative with an in-house FIV test, my vets dont use them, so all mine are done at Glasgow. Good luck with his ear drops.

kris · « **Reply #36 on:** May 27, 2008, 18:49:01 PM »

Thanks

I did not plan on a second cat but what can you do when they literally turn up scratching at your front door, he's a wiley old man!!

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #35 on:** May 27, 2008, 17:51:44 PM »

Yay ... what great news ....so pleased Jimi has a new home and you and Fred have a new housemate.

kris · « **Reply #34 on:** May 27, 2008, 17:11:53 PM »

Yaaay, FIV and FELV negative, in house tests which I think are trustworthy enough?. One tooth out, the rest cleaned, lots of drool but demanding food the moment he got out of his box, despite being unable to walk in a straight line

Vet says his tumours in his ears would just grow back so no point removing them but thinks that a lot of the anoyance came from the gunk and muck and infection that was in behind them so I have some drops. Looks like whatever happens I have another cat so poor Fred will have to get used to sharing, at least I don't have to have a minor heart attack each time they have a wee hiss or swipe (half the time it looked a bit like play anyway) or jimi drank out of freds water bowl etc

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #33 on:** May 25, 2008, 12:08:29 PM »

Fingers crossed for him. Do ask the vet if the FIV/FeLV test is in house or not.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #32 on:** May 23, 2008, 22:30:36 PM »

I am also so pleased you have seen a vet that is for real

Hope that she can sort out Jimi and even if he is deaf he will be able to feel vibrations and am sure he will feel so much better when he is all sorted.

kris · « **Reply #31 on:** May 23, 2008, 19:22:45 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on May 23, 2008, 19:14:53 PM

Glad you have seen a real vet!
If he does turn out to have FIV if he doesnt fight with your other cat theres minimal risk. I remember reading on cat chat that theres 3 levels of fiv, negative, positive and untested.

Good luck for Tuesday, he will feel loads better having it all done

Thanks, yes for some reason I'm less concerned about FIV, it would be good to know but he's not a fighter, he's an old soak more than anything else and my spoilt boy isn't really a fighter either, he's more the sulky type, the worst they have done is about 3 hissing incidents over the past week or so which is fine and the odd swipe (without claws) they really just tolerate each other and every so often find themselves having to share the same sunpatch, it's the FELV I suppose I worry about because it is passed in saliva? Of course jimi with his bad tooth drools a bit and with his irritated ears, shakes his head all the time so the place must be saturated with his saliva

I mean I clean up after him but you know what it's like you can't clean every wall, door, door frame, kitchen surface etc etc etc Or at least I can't! And although they have separate litter trays they have started using each others.... it will just be a weight off my mind.

Fingers crossed and yes either way (stay or go) his teeth needed to be done and he'll feel much better for it I'm sure so that's a step in the right direction... thank you

Millys Mum · « **Reply #30 on:** May 23, 2008, 19:14:53 PM »

Glad you have seen a real vet!
If he does turn out to have FIV if he doesnt fight with your other cat theres minimal risk. I remember reading on cat chat that theres 3 levels of fiv, negative, positive and untested.

Good luck for Tuesday, he will feel loads better having it all done

kris · « **Reply #29 on:** May 23, 2008, 19:05:43 PM »

Update!!

Okay so the vet (lovely one this time) confirmed what I knew that yes FIV and FELV tests can be done and they will be carried out on Tuesday when he goes in for his dental work! Fingers crossed because he has been living in relative harmoney with my indoor boy for about a week or so now! (Grrr at the daft vet that said the test couldn't be done!)

His ears are in a bad way, she said on a scale of 1 to 10 he was more than 10 in terms of awfulness, bless his wee soul, she won't know what can be done if anything until she had a good old look and gives them a flush out which she said can be done when he is knocked out for his teeth, do everything at the same time, she said he will be virtually deaf, which I knew (but he is funnily enough able to hear me when he is scratching the mattress in the bedroom... ) and can hear me shout then....

She said there is a big operation that can be done that means going in and removing the middle ear wall where the tumours grow! But she said it is a horrible op, very painful because it is removing cartilage so... again, everything is up in the air until Tuesday when hopefully we will find out more, she game him some antibiotics for his gums (they are not the best with the bad teeth) I'm just really annoyed about the other vet who did nothing, no antibiotics, no nothing.....

kris · « **Reply #28 on:** May 23, 2008, 12:17:52 PM »

I have an appointment with the vet I like this afternoon so hopefully will get some proper advice on his ears and possible treatment or costs etc then and really that will be the deciding factor in where he goes, I have put the two cats together (despite jimi not being tested and fred not being vaccinated at great anxiety to myself because keeping them apart was making fred more annoyed, he was locked out of half the flat and it's hardly the biggest) because cost and how they tolerate each other will dictate if he needs to go to the shelter or not, I wouldn't say that fred was thrilled at sharing but they are not killing each other, my fred just seems a bit miserable and as someone else on the forum has said has had the runs (which isn't like him) but I stupidly changed food at about the same time.... I'm an idiot.

Currently they are behind me at opposite sides of the room but crashed out snoring, it's very sweet.

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #27 on:** May 22, 2008, 18:43:18 PM »

Hi Kris,

Any update on Jimi?

kris · « **Reply #26 on:** May 16, 2008, 13:49:59 PM »

Hi there, to be fair it's confusing because he was taken to two vets, the first was was the local expensive vet that I don't use but I took him there to check for a chip, the vet there told us he was a boy, foudn no chip, weighed him (4.2kg which I was surprised by I thought he was much lighter) and listened to his heart and said he needed at least one tooth out, his gums didn't look great, funnily enough she said nothing about his ears.

The second vet is the one that I use, they are cheaper and usually great, they are the vet used by my local CP so I thought taking him as a stray there might get me a bit of a cheaper deal (wink) but it wasn't any of the usual vets, he looked at his teeth and said yes they'll need done but not emergency, he said it could wait for a couple of weeks until he'd beefed up a bit and settled in, I asked if he could be tested for FIV and FELV because he was living in the same house as an unvaccinated housecat and I couldn't keep them seperate forever and in fact didn't want to because they needed to meet before I could decide if he was to stay or not. he just said there was no tests that could be done that would tell me absolutely and to try to keep them seperate. he said you'll have noticed his ears and I said yes they look odd, is it mites, I have been using treatment for mites (that I had unopened in the cupboard anyway) and he said that would be fine and might help a bit, something might be able to be done down the line.

Of course at that stage it was all a bit up in the air about where he was going to go, I didn't realise there were long waiting lists at the shelter I didn't know how he and my other cat would get on I'm kicking myself for not asking more at the time.

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on May 12, 2008, 22:09:24 PM

i think you need to get him seen by a decent vet, dont go near that other one again.

the vet should be able to advise you properly about the ears and tell you what he thinks the growths are and whether the cat is in pain. you should also be able to get a quote for a dental and any other treatment he needs.

He should also be able to give you good advice about getting this one to a state of health and body weight for treatment, not just flog you anything going!

Did the vet weigh the cat and listen to his heart and give him a a general once over.........if not he hasnt done hios job. How old did he think the cat was?

Hope you can get this sorted out

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Millys Mum · « **Reply #25 on:** May 13, 2008, 17:29:47 PM »

Too many people abuse the vets payment schemes so sadly those honest people that try to help a homeless animal are tarred with the same brush

If he is in a bad way bloods would be a good idea before doing any procedures, imo one GA for an old cat whose had a hard time would be better than 2.
It would be sad for you to spend money on him only to lose him as his kidneys were already on the way out.

Kate · « **Reply #24 on:** May 12, 2008, 22:16:12 PM »

More vets should have payement plans, (my very expensive) vet always asks for full payement upfront, even when dealing with an insured pet. She is a great vet and I am lucky enough to be able to pay but it woould be nice to see some more flexibility.

bunglycat · « **Reply #23 on:** May 12, 2008, 22:12:22 PM »

Yes, i agree with what Gill has said too.
Well, i think the paypal is a great idea - i haven''t much money either , but think most of us could spare a couple of pounds if it was set up.

You are doing a great job there , pity the vets not a bit more understanding .
As i said , i haven''t any money really , but when i have had a few big vet bils recently , i have been allowed to pay them what i can as long as its been every week and i know he has done it with others too.
My vet is in Newark , and i really rate him .

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #22 on:** May 12, 2008, 22:09:24 PM »

i think you need to get him seen by a decent vet, dont go near that other one again.

the vet should be able to advise you properly about the ears and tell you what he thinks the growths are and whether the cat is in pain. you should also be able to get a quote for a dental and any other treatment he needs.

He should also be able to give you good advice about getting this one to a state of health and body weight for treatment, not just flog you anything going!

Did the vet weigh the cat and listen to his heart and give him a a general once over.........if not he hasnt done hios job. How old did he think the cat was?

Hope you can get this sorted out

kris · « **Reply #21 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:37:34 PM »

Quote from: Kate on May 12, 2008, 20:33:54 PM

How many people are on this forum? Maybe you set up a paypal account and we could put in a pound or similar?
Sorry if that is an inappropiate but this little ones seems to need a chance and you have taken him on out of kindness but it should not lead you to financial difficulty.

That's a really lovely idea but I couldn't ask that, somehow I'll get it done, first step is to get him to the vet and have a chat about cost and things, if it's going to be a lot then at least I know where I stand

Lovely idea though!

Kate · « **Reply #20 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:33:54 PM »

How many people are on this forum? Maybe you set up a paypal account and we could put in a pound or similar?
Sorry if that is an inappropiate but this little ones seems to need a chance and you have taken him on out of kindness but it should not lead you to financial difficulty.

Teresa Pawcats · « **Reply #19 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:24:07 PM »

Perhaps if you got a quote from the vet and then asked all the rescues in your area to chip in towards his treatment,lots of small amounts soon add up.
Sending him positive vibes for a speedy recovery.

kris · « **Reply #18 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:12:03 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on May 12, 2008, 19:26:51 PM

If he has a perforated eardrum drops wouldnt be good. I would see a proper vet, one who will actually show some interest in your cat!
If he has got polyps he could be in pain

I would hope he would get bumped up a list as a priority, he deffo needs sorting out.

What area are you in? There could be someone on here who could help you

Well he had a look and said it might be worth investigating, he said to bring him back for his dental in a few weeks once he has built up a bit more bulk, he's still pretty skinny, although Im trying not to overfeed him, little and often is how I'm doing it although I'm sure left to his own devices he would eat the lot in one go, I don't think he was a bad vet he just had an odd manner really and that sort of stopped me asking all the sensible questions I should have, I think, he definitely appeared to rate dental over ears and dental not an emergency situation although needing done.

back to the vets we go I think....

kris · « **Reply #17 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:06:08 PM »

Quote from: Sam (Fussy_Furball) on May 12, 2008, 19:33:20 PM

I know they are sneaky little so and so's, he follows me around like a little shadow (but then so does fred so maybe it's just me, maybe I give off the smell of cat food or something)

Cat's have special powers and instinctively know good people when they meet them. Good luck with Jimi. When you visit your vet make them aware that he is a stray you are wanting to help and would hopefully like to offer a home to .... you never know they may be sympathetic and offer to do the work at a reduced rate. I know it's a long shot but as they say you don't get unless you ask

I have to say I was doing that

, laying it on nice and thick that he was a stray but then I think it might have backfired as this vet perhaps didn't realise that I wanted to know what needed to be done, although I would have thought the fact that I asked about the cost of his dental work would have marked me out as willing to pay (but obviously not too much) I like my other vet, I could have just laid it on the line for him.... bah!

kris · « **Reply #16 on:** May 12, 2008, 20:04:03 PM »

Quote from: Millys Mum on May 12, 2008, 19:29:33 PM

If you giftaided that donation it would go further for them, as they will have a discount on their vet bills

I know it's completely illogical, I don't have the money to donate over a hundred pounds but because I have fallen for this wee fella and his big eyes I am willing to go into debt to ensure he gets treatment even if I then decided to hand him over to be rehomed, the logic being I would be helping him and helping them. I take your point though....

Mark · « **Reply #15 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:57:39 PM »

Quote from: Kate on May 12, 2008, 19:15:49 PM

Bless you for helping him. My uninsured stray (came to us with no insurance and I insured her straight away but she got sick in the no cover period) has just cost £500 in vet bills!! They tug at our heartstrings. maybe you regular vet could give you a quote and then you see if CP would contribute?

CP don't usually pay bills for cats that aren't signed over to them because there aren't the funds and it would open the floodgates I think. If he was taken on by them as a stray, he would be treated though.

Sam (Fussy_Furball) · « **Reply #14 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:33:20 PM »

I know they are sneaky little so and so's, he follows me around like a little shadow (but then so does fred so maybe it's just me, maybe I give off the smell of cat food or something)

Cat's have special powers and instinctively know good people when they meet them. Good luck with Jimi. When you visit your vet make them aware that he is a stray you are wanting to help and would hopefully like to offer a home to .... you never know they may be sympathetic and offer to do the work at a reduced rate. I know it's a long shot but as they say you don't get unless you ask

Millys Mum · « **Reply #13 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:29:33 PM »

If you giftaided that donation it would go further for them, as they will have a discount on their vet bills

Millys Mum · « **Reply #12 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:26:51 PM »

If he has a perforated eardrum drops wouldnt be good. I would see a proper vet, one who will actually show some interest in your cat!
If he has got polyps he could be in pain

I would hope he would get bumped up a list as a priority, he deffo needs sorting out.

What area are you in? There could be someone on here who could help you

kris · « **Reply #11 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:24:32 PM »

Quote from: Kate on May 12, 2008, 19:15:49 PM

Bless you for helping him. My uninsured stray (came to us with no insurance and I insured her straight away but she got sick in the no cover period) has just cost £500 in vet bills!! They tug at our heartstrings. maybe you regular vet could give you a quote and then you see if CP would contribute?

I know they are sneaky little so and so's, he follows me around like a little shadow (but then so does fred so maybe it's just me, maybe I give off the smell of cat food or something)

Looks like I'll need another vet visit, hopefully with a more understanding vet and some facts about what he needs and the prognosis, they did give me a guestimate about his dental work, at that stage I was going to get it done as a gift to the CP before they rehomed him, save them some money because I know they do such a lot. A wee lottery win would come in handy about now

Kate · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:15:49 PM »

Bless you for helping him. My uninsured stray (came to us with no insurance and I insured her straight away but she got sick in the no cover period) has just cost £500 in vet bills!! They tug at our heartstrings. maybe you regular vet could give you a quote and then you see if CP would contribute?

kris · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2008, 19:14:01 PM »

Thanks all, I guess you are all correct, it was just confusing (still is) in that I could just about stretch to feeding and looking after this wee fella, he did turn up on the doorstep after all but I wasn't sure how my mollycoddled spoilt and needy housecat would be unless I let them try and live together but in order to do that I would need to spend a lot of money on one or both of them and now (since I have taken the risk and had them meet) I can see that they can just about tolerate each other it seems that the cost of having him move in might be completely prohibitive.... I know my local shelter have a waiting list but I didn't ask to have him put on it because at the time I was still undecided about him staying or not.

See, round in circles, but yes, nothing can be done or decided until I find out what can be done, if anything, about his ears, before I knew about that I was happily(ish) stretching to his dental work anyway but I fear the ears may be too much. The vet was a bit bleh though, he just said, you'll have noticed his ears yes he'll be quite deaf, it might be worth exploring it's up to you and I said I'd been giving him ear mite drops and he said well it won't do any harm... I was a bit

Mark · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2008, 18:54:46 PM »

I would phone your local CP. If it was us we would take him in as a priority if he needed treatment. Just one of those things. Best to get onto them ASAP as they can advise what to do.

Millys Mum · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2008, 18:50:14 PM »

His ears sound painful

he could have polyps. Ear ablations are quite expensive, i think you should get him into a rescue but make sure they have a no kill policy first (unless he is suffering of course).

What area are you in?

Maddiesmum · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2008, 12:42:33 PM »

Bless him and bless you for helping him. Charlie had a terrible ear infection which lasted 9 weeks, thankfully with two doses of drops a day for 9 weeks it has now gone. Hope the little man is ok. I don't know what to advise re the vaccines. You would probably have to start the whole course again in any event but perhaps better safe than sorry.

At my old vet practice we had a locum vet who was a nightmare. He pushed items at you and showed disgust if you didn't buy them. I spoke to the receptionist about it and she told me that that was the way they operated at his regular practice. He spoke to me quite rudely on a number of occasions and it got to the point where, unless it was desperate, I wouldn't take Dragan if he was on.

kris · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2008, 12:10:11 PM »

He was awful, my usual vet practice but I had never seen this vet before, he seemed completely unempathetic and difficult to talk to, was very keen I should frontline him for fleas though without testing, he combed him and a LOT of junk came out (he was a slightly smelly skinny stray and even after a week of food and somewhere warm to sleep was not exactly mr clean) when I came home I combed him right out, tested it on tissue with water and nothing but by then I had the stuff so I thought I may as well use it just in case... maybe he was working on frontline commission or something. I've been around cat forums and cat shelters often enough to know that you can test for these things like FIV but he said not.

My indoor boy is only half vaccinated, he had the first lot at the shelter (2 years ago) but when I adopted him and took him to the vet he needed other stuff done first more urgently and so the second half were never done and then being an indoor cat it didn't seem too important

Of course now I'm stuck wondering if it's better to test the stray or not test the stray and hope he's okay and vaccinate my boy or do both or do neither, plus the stray is going to need his teeth doing (although the vet said that could wait a few weeks until he has gained more weight) it's just he is constantly at his ears, scratching them, cleaning him, shaking his head and he seems pretty deaf, he seems more irritated than in pain but if there's something that can be done then it's going to help... right.... oh dear.

Author Topic: jimi the stray (Read 10194 times)