Fostered Diabetics Update

Status
Not open for further replies.
Shelly Frey

Shelly Frey

Member Since 2017
Thank you all for your comments, care and advice. What a wonderful and knowledgeable group of people! I thought I'd take a few minutes and up date you all on the outcome of dropping dry kibble from Jordan's diet.

Recap: I currently foster two adult diabetics, Bo (10 years old) and Jordan (2 years old), for furkids.org (if you haven't seen our commercial you're missing out, it's hilarious.). Furkids provides all medical care, insulin, food and litter and my husband and I supply a home and TLC.


Jordan on dry AND wet DM: Jordan was constantly bloated, she looked like she swallowed a fairly large ball. She was miserable most of the time, she ate and slept and nothing else. Jordan vomited up food and/or water most days. Sometimes several times a day. She liked a cuddle but only a few minutes at a time and did not like her side or abdomen touched. She walked stiffly and slowly, almost a waddle. Her fur was lackluster, almost stringy.

Jordan on only wet DM: Within 48 hours of dropping the dry DM from her diet the bloating dropped by more than half. Her sides were soft to the touch and she didn't cry if you touched her there.

She has vomited only twice in the 9 days since stopping the dry.

Each day Jordan changed just a little bit. She became friendlier, more out going, and less hostile towards Bo. She's also become interested in her surroundings. She hides very little now, spending most of the day either in her favorite chair or the window seat. She's gained 1/2 a pound. Her fur is still lank but it's improving.

This morning I dragged out an old raggedy 'Da Bird' just to see what she'd do and.....drum roll....she chased it. Swear to God she actually played.

Every reply I received offered me a little more information, something new to try or consider and a little more hope. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Shelly & Ben
Fosters: Bo, Jordan, Josh, Eric and Edmond
Our own cats: Portia, Pip, Baby, Sophie & River and the lovable but whoafully outnumbered dog, Mercedes.
 
The planet really needs more people like you. What's that saying, takes more muscles to frown than smile? Are the cats initiating the dog into their gang?
 
Mercedes is our baby but also our test dog. To see if the foster cat can tolerate a dog. If they can they're more adoptable.

We fostered one girl, Rain, who had been in the shelter her entire life, all 10 months. Introducing her to Mercedes was hysterical. Rain was like....what the...what IS that! Rain kept darting over to sniff then shed dart away. The dog thought this great fun.

Ten minutes later they were piled into a bed and cleaning each other.

Nercedes is a really good dog and a passable cat.

Shelly
 
I'm not saying this without any thought. Doesn't it break your heart when foster leave?
As for tolerating dogs.........

hannah&jacob001.JPG hannah&nigel001.JPG hannah&nigel002.JPG This is why we're getting another Border Collie
 
It most definitely does break my heart. That's the down side.

The upside is they get life. Most of our kittens are snatched from the jaws of Animal Control. One litter was already sedated and being prepped for the killing injection when our volunteer got there.

As for the kittens my hubby & I work diligently to train them to tolerate dogs, children, nail trimming and fur brushing.

Then we go in for the kill...

....by the time they leave our house they LOVE cuddling, laps, being picked up & held for a few minutes, they know strict litter and scratching post compliance and of course how to play. With us, by themselves and with other cats.

The consolation for my husband and I is that these are damn near perfect kittens. These are kittens that will please their people so much their people will never fail to please them. We hope.

I cry for about a week.


Now what forum do I post stories that will make you laugh and cheer and want to volunteer?
 
I read somewhere that after PitBulls, Border Collies are the most "returned to breeder" dogs because people can't cope with a dog that doesn't just want to be with you, they NEED to be there. So, unlike a puppy mill our breeder was sobbing when we left her driveway. We had no idea what we were in for and I've talked several people out of getting this one specific breed of dog. There's too many people that don't know what they're getting themselves into. Adopt a cat for your 14 year old kid and 4 years later they're off to college, what happens to kitty? When I was 24; long hair, working 2 jobs, I adopted 2 kits. One lived to 17 and his brother to 23. Imagine getting a cat when you're that age and saying goodbye when you're 46 years old. Those cats flew with me when I moved 3,000 miles. People asked me "What will you do with your cats?" What a stupid question!!! When we were surprised with 4 kittens we had one offer, a woman who had backed over her cat in the driveway. We kept them all. One Saturday morning they all climbed up on our bed and the deal was sealed!
The city I moved FAR AWAY from had a registered SPCA that used a vacuum chamber for their unwanted. When that dirty little secret hit the local newspaper you can imagine what happened.
You don't have to be Gandhi to respect a cat or dogs life. I think some aspects of society are going down the toilet. Yes that's a rant but it is directly related to Feline Health.
 
Shelly & Ben, I really need to know how you get your cats to be nice to each other. I've had cats for almost 40 years and I'm embarrassed to say that I've actually had to use a squirt bottle on two cats in my life. To some people that sounds like the old man that kicks his dog but THAT IS NOT WHO I AM. In our home we don't slam doors, play loud music or have kids that grab the cats tail. I like to think they're fearless because they have nothing to fear. We try not to have favorites, everyone's got a bed or basket, six litter boxes are always clean, they sleep on the kitchen counter and hog our king size bed; a typical cat-nut-house. Bad-Cat 1 was an Alpha male that terrorized Alvin, a tiny house cat living with a pack of ferals that had a year left to live. At great expense we tried to make Alvin's last year on Earth warm and cozy. Because of Bad-Cat 1 Alvin lived on top of an armoire with a tiny litter box, food and water; that's how bad things got! Bad-Cat 1 would leap up there, Alvin would jump 7 feet to the floor and I would lose my marbles. Nothing worked.
Bad Cat2 has the IQ of a rock, he's a bully, pushes Noah away from his food and constantly lurks around Sam, another abused orphan, just to provoke him and he's not even the Alpha male. We've tried positive reinforcement, we don't get annoyed unless we catch him red handed, he gets as much affection as the rest of the cats. We don't hold a grudge because how can a cat understand that? I have always been "good with animals", so much so people see it and can't believe it. I'm emotional but not irrational, we don't hoard animals, we don't own them, we just take care of them. Surely someone out there has gone through this, we need help! I also come from a hysterical family that thinks the electric shock collar is a viable alternative. That'll be the day! If we have to close doors we will but that just leads to more resentment. It's painful to leave the house for four hours and wonder who will have a scratched cornea when we get home.
What's more pathetic is that our latest rescue, six year old Marco has obviously been abused by the squirt bottle. The first time he saw a bottle of Windex he hid in the basement for hours. I don't understand people who can do this to an animal and thinks it's okay, IT'S NOT OKAY! Can you help us? No cutesy picture included, they're all precious.
 
I wish I had answers for you. I have a bully, too, a tiny little rescue girl with health issues. She was rescued from a hoarding situation, and she has been with me for almost two years, now. From day one she has terrorized my other cats, all males and considerably larger than her. She is mean - she attacks them with no provocation and is relentless: they are terrified of her. Two nights ago she tried to chew my other Bengal's face off. So far nothing I have tried has worked. I don't want to rehome her, when I took her I made a promise to her that she would always have a loving home with me, but I feel very bad for my other cats, who were all living peacefully here before she came.
 
Thanks. I never want to go back on the "Forever Home" promise. Easy and romantic to say, another thing to accomplish. We never had this problem with 9 cats and a dog! I got called a Water Bottle Nazi once for this. That's not very constructive,
 
Squalliesmom said:
From day one she has terrorized my other cats, all males and considerably larger than her. .
Click to expand...
I sound like a National Geographic magazine, "For thousands of years the king of the savannah ruled the plains, now we expect them to change within 100 years and sleep under the covers" Not in this house!
 
Shelly Frey said:
It most definitely does break my heart. That's the down side.

The upside is they get life. Most of our kittens are snatched from the jaws of Animal Control. One litter was already sedated and being prepped for the killing injection when our volunteer got there.

As for the kittens my hubby & I work diligently to train them to tolerate dogs, children, nail trimming and fur brushing.

Then we go in for the kill...

....by the time they leave our house they LOVE cuddling, laps, being picked up & held for a few minutes, they know strict litter and scratching post compliance and of course how to play. With us, by themselves and with other cats.

The consolation for my husband and I is that these are damn near perfect kittens. These are kittens that will please their people so much their people will never fail to please them. We hope.

I cry for about a week.


Now what forum do I post stories that will make you laugh and cheer and want to volunteer?
Click to expand...
You are wonderful! Thank you for loving these kitties and caring for them!
 
Noah & me said:
Shelly & Ben, I really need to know how you get your cats to be nice to each other. I've had cats for almost 40 years and I'm embarrassed to say that I've actually had to use a squirt bottle on two cats in my life. To some people that sounds like the old man that kicks his dog but THAT IS NOT WHO I AM. In our home we don't slam doors, play loud music or have kids that grab the cats tail. I like to think they're fearless because they have nothing to fear. We try not to have favorites, everyone's got a bed or basket, six litter boxes are always clean, they sleep on the kitchen counter and hog our king size bed; a typical cat-nut-house. Bad-Cat 1 was an Alpha male that terrorized Alvin, a tiny house cat living with a pack of ferals that had a year left to live. At great expense we tried to make Alvin's last year on Earth warm and cozy. Because of Bad-Cat 1 Alvin lived on top of an armoire with a tiny litter box, food and water; that's how bad things got! Bad-Cat 1 would leap up there, Alvin would jump 7 feet to the floor and I would lose my marbles. Nothing worked.
Bad Cat2 has the IQ of a rock, he's a bully, pushes Noah away from his food and constantly lurks around Sam, another abused orphan, just to provoke him and he's not even the Alpha male. We've tried positive reinforcement, we don't get annoyed unless we catch him red handed, he gets as much affection as the rest of the cats. We don't hold a grudge because how can a cat understand that? I have always been "good with animals", so much so people see it and can't believe it. I'm emotional but not irrational, we don't hoard animals, we don't own them, we just take care of them. Surely someone out there has gone through this, we need help! I also come from a hysterical family that thinks the electric shock collar is a viable alternative. That'll be the day! If we have to close doors we will but that just leads to more resentment. It's painful to leave the house for four hours and wonder who will have a scratched cornea when we get home.
What's more pathetic is that our latest rescue, six year old Marco has obviously been abused by the squirt bottle. The first time he saw a bottle of Windex he hid in the basement for hours. I don't understand people who can do this to an animal and thinks it's okay, IT'S NOT OKAY! Can you help us? No cutesy picture included, they're all precious.
Click to expand...
I don't know if this would help or not, but we used pheromone collars for ours when they were upset about yet another new addition to our cat family. They had started wetting everywhere, and I hoped the collars would help with that. It didn't (we finally gave up, took our carpet out and are still in the process of putting down hardwood), but the pheromone collars really calmed down the upset kitties. It gave them some time to get used to each other, and now most of them are really friendly to each other. We only used them for a month (I think that's how long they last) Our lone male has been getting grouchier, and as I write this, I'm thinking that maybe I'll get him a collar to see if that will calm him down again. You may have already tried this, but if not, it might be worth a try. Just a thought.
 
Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals. I was raised a Catholic but that didn't last long so I had to look that up. I do know I'm the Anti-Christ of gardening!
 
Here is image of my foster Chelsea when she was blesses at last years blessing of animals.
ChelseaBless.jpg

Chelsea went into kidney failure and I said goodbye to her the next month
 
I'm not Catholic, but I love that there are patron saints of cats and animals. I think it pleases God when we're kind to all of His creations, especially those that are helpless and vulnerable. Your Anti-Christ of gardening--very funny! :bighug:
 
Chelsea is beautiful and obviously loved. Not all churches are Fire & Brimstone (what is brimstone, something you line a fireplace with?). Ours was pretty progressive. Our neighborhood had a church that had a "Bring your pet day". Not just in the parking lot, INSIDE the church!
I know this belongs in Off-Topic, bear with me.
Maybe someone can answer this. In the First Testament isn't there something about not eating certain animals? Then someone figured out these animals are DELICIOUS!
When "those people" come to my door I tell them that if there is a God he would be very disappointed with what we have done with the place. They look stunned.
Lessons in life;
1 ) You're supposed to watch the whales, not chase them.
2 ) Putting a bears head on your wall does not prove you're a man.
3 ) Telling children "If I should die before I wake" just scares the crap out of them.
4 ) I'm going to get grief over this but the Peace Corps helps you dig wells. Missionaries help you dig a well and then tell you everything you believed about your God is ALL WRONG!
I hope I don't get my first warning about this. Pressing "Post Reply" now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top