Dempsey Update!
So far, we've raised $800 towards his care. We need about $3,000 in total to cover his 12 weeks of treatment. Thank you so much for donating and sharing his story <3
Dempsey is doing GREAT. He hasn't had a fever since the first day he was here and his enormous belly is visibly smaller. He's lost about a quarter of a pound, which tells us he's already starting to resorb the fluid in his belly.
He's eating like a champ, is ridiculously social and affectionate, and happy as could be.
He's not just another stray. He's a big lover boy who deserved his chance at life and we are lucky enough to be able to provide that chance.
#GoDempseGo #FIPSucks #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Ambrosius the Kitten
Meet Ambrosius.
Ambrosius was orphaned at about a week of age. He was found screaming under a trailer, all by himself. We think his mom was interrupted as she was moving the litter to a better location and left him behind.
Since then, Kristin Lassiter has been taking care of him. He came with a super snotty face and couldn't latch on a bottle, even though he wanted to. He's finally gotten better and can finally breathe, and he's doing well.
Ambrosius is big enough that today, he's finally moved to a real crate. Did you know we give orphaned babies little stuffed animals to help keep them company? They'll snuggle with them, play with them, and often, groom them.
Ambrosius will be staying with us for a while. If we can find a kitten and/or litter who is healthy and about the same size, we'll put him with them so he can learn how to be a cat.
#KittenSeason #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Kitten Mayhem!
This is the first litter who will be ready to go in the next 2 weeks :-)
#TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Kitten Survivors
This may not look like much, but look again.
This is Hallie, a tiny kitten barely 6 weeks old today. She came to us with her 2 littermates a couple of weeks ago. A few days after they got to us, they all got sick with feline panleukopenia, or parvovirus.
Do you know what the survival rate for an adult cat who gets panleuk is? Pretty bad.
Do you know what the survival rate is for kittens older than 8 weeks of age? Roughly 50% with intensive supportive care.
Do you know what the survival rate for kittens under 8 weeks of age is? Close to 0%.
You read that right. Almost nil. It gets worse and worse as they get younger.
Doing some backwards math, these kittens were about 4 to maybe 4 1/2 weeks old when they got sick.
It starts with lethargy and a decreased appetite, and if you're watching closely, often a fever. It progresses rapidly to vomiting and diarrhea as the intestinal lining is destroyed, followed by sepsis as the immune system is wiped out by the virus and all the gut bacteria and viruses pour into the blood stream through the destroyed gut barrier.
You have to fight the dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea and not eating and the fever. You have to fight the low blood sugar from being a tiny organism without any bodily reserves who can't eat and expending enormous amounts of energy trying to fight death. And then, you have to fight sepsis.
All this, in a tiny, tiny baby. These guys were 1/2 lb when they got sick. That's all. Just 8-9 ounces.
After a long fight, we lost their brother, Curly, earlier this week. These 2 ladies, though, are still with us and are finally improving.
Hallie is the one you see eating here. She was the first to get sick and she was very, very sick. She had an IV catheter for several days (til she pulled it out), and a nasogastric feeding tube for over a week. She's finally turned her corner, I think.
The one you see at the end of the video is Annie, her slightly larger sister. Annie was the last to get sick and
EEEEEWWWWWW!!!
An older kitten named Daisy was brought to us earlier this week. She'd been in foster care for another rescue for a while, and she was struggling with a nasty ear infection that wouldn't go away.
Turns out, it wouldn't go away because Miss Daisy had an inflammatory polyp blocking her ear canal. Polyps start in the middle ear and grow in and down, through the Eustachian tube into the nose or back of the throat, or up and out into the external ear canal, or both.
Because they start in the middle ear, the only way to guarantee removal would be to do a bulla osteotomy and scrape out the lining of the middle ear. This is a major, invasive, and expensive surgery.
Experience has shown that at least 50% of cases can be cured with 'traction avulsion', also called plucking. So we are going to try plucking with Miss Daisy.
The video attached is the grasping of the polyp with tissue forceps, and applying traction and a gentle twisting motion to rip it from the base.
Because important nerves run through the middle ear, it's common to see temporary Horner's Syndrome for a couple of weeks afterwards as the nerves get irritated.
Miss Daisy is now up for adoption. She's about 9 months old and very sweet. We are hopeful she won't have future problems, but there is a possibility she might.
**Commentary provided by Devon Reed Cunningham
#PolypPlucking #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Clint Lazarus Eastwood Update:
Clint is continuing to gain weight every single day. He's grooming, using the litter box, and he's even playing <3
His ultrasound a few days ago didn't give us any definitive answers. Still, he's very, very sick.
Clint's red blood cell percentage a few days ago was only 10%. That's incredibly low and it's life-threatening. His body isn't making new cells, and we don't know why.
He also has complete loss of all of his fur along his chest and belly with perfectly smooth skin left behind. This particular pattern of hairloss is characteristic for cats with one of a few types of cancer. That same cancer would explain the severe anemia, too. Even though we haven't found it on x-ray or ultrasound.
The reality is that there is a very high chance he's dying of cancer. Or rather, he's living with it. You see, Clint is happy. And we aren't going to do anything to tell him differently.
So, we'll keep him comfortable. Keep him happy. And see how long he wants to stay with us. He's welcome to stay as long as his body is up for it, but when he's ready, we'll let him go.
I'm not going to lie, he looks better today than he ever has. In spite of everything. Let's hope I'm wrong and his hair loss has nothing to do with cancer. Let's hope he stays for years.
#ClintLazarusEastwood #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
GUESS WHO IS JUST FINE??
HAHAHA
#MaggotsLoseCatWins #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
BREAKFAST TIME!!
Morning at Beth's Home for U***d Mothers :-)
#TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Baby Watch 2020:
Meet #2. His ears are still folded down, making him look entirely ridiculous.
Baby Watch 2020:
One out, 6 more to go.
More Kitten-Vision!
Okay, since we've gotten a gazillion requests already, we need to state that this little kitten is not currently available for adoption. She's not entirely well, and neither is her Momma. Both of them will be adopted out together, once they are healthy.
They are GORGEOUS, and both of them have amazing personalities.
#KittenSeason #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Cute kitten!
Just a cute kitten, being cute, now that she's feeling better.
Sly Stallone, Ace in the hole
This young man is known as Sylvester, Stallone, and Ace. He also fell victim to the calicivirus outbreak but is faring much, much better than the other kitty for which we are caring.
Sylvester/Stallone/Ace is officially up for adoption. He comes with a catch, though. This boy is positive for the feline leukemia virus. He is currently healthy, other than minor snots that are improving every single day, but we never know what leukemia virus positive cats are going to bring.
We maintain a small colony of FeLV (+) cats, but it's currently past full and we can't bring in another cat. In our hands, these kitties live absolutely completely normal lives up until they suddenly do not. If we exclude one very young cat who came to us deathly ill, all of our FeLV cats do well for years and years. Our current record is a very special kitty named Othello who died the week before he would have turned 8. He contracted the virus from his mother in utero. Othello lived a completely normal cat life without any particular exceptions and no daily medications until the virus finally caught up with his bone marrow and destroyed it.
Sylvester/Stallone/Ace reminds me a bit of Othello, but he's more demanding. He is goofy, he is outgoing, he is ridiculous, he loves to love bite when you aren't paying attention, and he's pretty great.
If you'd like to consider adopting this very special cat or would like more information, please don't hesitate to reach out.
#SlyStallone #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
This is the super sick kitty we've been caring for that has calicivirus. I am happy to say that he's continuing to gradually gain weight and eat well.
After much discussion and debate, we're thinking about changing his name to Johnny. Johnny Depp. Because he's quirky and wiry and good looking if you can get past the scum (think Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp, if you will).
This boy still won't be up for adoption for a bit. He has a lot of healing to do, more weight to gain, and we need to start vaccinations once he's feeling better.
More importantly, this stinky young man needs to be NEUTERED. But not till he feels better.
#CalicivirusChronicles #TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Prinn loves her babies <3
#TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Baby Update:
Mom is feeling better. She's starting to take interest and care for the babies. All of the babies are active, squirming, and latching and nursing.
Again, I can't thank the entire village that came out yesterday to help. Every single person played a critical role to the incredible outcome. Thank you from the bottom of my soul.
<3
#TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital
Just gonna drop this here...
Guess who is doing GREAT?...
ALL 5 BABIES!!
No tube feeding needed ❤
#TheCatsAtLongstreet #HarmonyHillAnimalHospital