Now I've gone and done it! Introducing....

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Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA

Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA

Member Since 2009
Cami. (Camigwen, but I don't think I will keep that full name)



She is 12-1/2 and has been through a lot in the past 6-12 months. She was rehomed in March due to the birth twins to her original owners. This event was, apparently, very stressful on her. In the new home she began losing weight and had PD/PU and was diagnosed FD in July. She had been fed exclusively dry food her entire life from what I can tell and I am guessing that the FD started taking hold well before she was rehomed in March.

New owner (friend of original owner) did not treat the FD for financial reasons and original owner contacted DCIN. I went to visit Cami last Friday. She was living less than two miles from me. While there I tested her BG (361) and in our discussions, the woman caring for her said she could smell ketones on her breath sometimes (!). I nearly grabbed Cami and ran with her at that point, but I did decide she needed immediate insulin therapy. She was either crying for food (frantic) or lying down exhausted. She looked like she felt horrible.

I brought her to my vet and then home on Sat., pending an FIV test (which was negative). She weighs 7 lbs, down from 10 and is very thin. She is very hard to shoot because she has no subQ fat so is really hard to "tent". I started her at .5u (against advice from the vet - not my regular one - who suggested 1u) and she is coming down nicely. But still terribly hungry all the time. She is eating 12-15 ozs of food in a 24 hrs period.

And, man, is she cranky! I have never encountered a cat that growls and hisses almost non-stop. She will purr, once her tummy has food in it and she is brushed or patted, but she growls and yowls it I walk past her, or bring her food, or talk to her, or..... I am using Rescue Remedy to try and calm her down. She is also having some LB issues so I may even try prozac. I hope this doesn't become a big deal - not using the LB all the time.

This is what she used to look like, and I can only assume this was a while ago. Full coat, very flufffy. Nothing like she is now. I hope I can get her back to this level of health and luxurious coat.
 
Poor baby! Her eyes look so sad. She was gorgeous in the 'before' photo. Best of luck with her. She is one lucky girl!
 
Oh Sheila you did it!!!! I've been so worried about this little one so close to us but I am full up here and still awaiting the arrival of...ah well that's still a surprise...but anyway, THANK YOU for taking her in and even saving her life. Is she home forever or is she a foster kitty? Poor baby does look sad and thin but if anyone can rehab her I know it's you. \M/

I had the same trouble with Vinny at first - he was sooooooo skinny there was zero skin to tent and zero fat on his body. He kept walking away from me and crying in fear. I ended up having to shoot the fleshy skin right in front of his front legs.

ETA: I just saw her spreadsheet and she's getting some great numbers on only 0.5u. Did you shoot this morning? I didn't see a dose on today's line but based on the drop, I'm guessing you shot 0.5u again.

You go Cami!
 
Oh Sheila!! You know darn good and well she will be a beautiful black fluff ball in no time in your care. :-D Just look what you did with Jeddie. And well Autumn looked just about as bad when I got her, and I was also told that she was a dry food junkie but once she got her first taste of canned food she never looked back. And I know what you mean by tough to tent and shoot when they are that thin. I had to shoot Autumn to begin with in the scruff because it was the only place I could find enough skin to tent, well that was before she was shaved also. Autumn not only was thin but so matted I couldn't get a needle through them, at least Cami doesn't look that matted up.

Dearest Cami....knock off the growling and hissing uz gotz a gud momma now...she mak u all purty again and doze pricks & sticks mak uz feel better...s/Autumn


Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
I had really thought that Jeddie was in bad shape with thin fur and wt loss (39%), but his skin was not thin like this. Is that common with these really emaciated kitties? To be honest I am a little concerned that she may have Cushings. Certainly she is not currently a high dose kitty, but she has the pot belly, thin skin, hair loss, PU/PD, and ravenous appetite. Jeddie ate a lot, but he free fed - ate some, left, came back later, etc. She would eat non-stop if I let her. And she got on the dining room table and stole a whole bag of pill pockets and tried to get into it.

Plus this personality thing, with the constant yowling, growling, hissing and spitting is really odd. Luckily, she doesn't go after the other cats, just growls and hisses in their general direction. She dives into the food dish and tries to gulp it down. If I don't walk away she acts like I am going to take it from her.

I have also noticed that whoever declawed her really butchered her feet. I have never had a declawed cat, but I cat sit for one and her paws don't look so short as Cami's. It reminds me of the bound feet of women in China. Makes me furious at whoever had this done.
 
Cami is a gorgeous girl in those photos!

Before Pumbaa was on insulin for a few weeks, he would eat non-stop, 24 hours a day if I let him. Pumbaa was also very irritable before the insulin started kicking in, and he hadn't been re-homed a couple of times. Poor Cami has a lot of reasons to be irritable right now, but hopefully she'll get over it when she starts feeling a bit better, gets used to the poking, and isn't so hungry all the time. (((HUGS)))

Pumbaa was easier to tent when he was skinnier and had dropped from 12 lbs. down to 8 lbs. But he had lost that weight quickly, unlike Cami. Would buzzing her fur off help any? I still buzz Pumbaa's flanks as it just makes it so much easier to see what I am doing and
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I haven't given a fur shot in ages.

Fingers crossed that Cami starts feeling/acting better soon. Poor baby!

Suze

ps: Just looked at Cami's SS and she's already doing great on the Levemir! Sounds like the insulin, the Rescue Remedy and the brushing time are all working!
 
I can actually see her skin, I don't think she has any undercoat fur. When she lays down and her fur separates, I can see skin - so shaving probably won't make much difference. And I would be afraid to do that with her thin skin and no fat layer.

She is marginally calmer this morning. But I have to go out for several hours and have to put her back in "her" room as I don't trust her out without supervision yet. Plus, it gives my other cats a chance to eat. They are free fed and not understanding the meal feeding I have to do now.
 
Poor Cami- all these upheavals and not having her FD taken care of at all... no wonder she's hissy and hungry.

Don't worry- your new bean will take care of you and make you better! Just give her and the other kitties a chance!
 
Sheila, you are a blessing to Cami and so many other kitties you have helped online and I'm sure personally.

I look forward to hearing how she blossoms.

I've adopted several senior kitties over the years and one of the most beautiful things with senior adoptions is that moment when they realize they are forever loved with you. Something changes in their eyes, their demeanor, they become confident and in that moment you can feel your relationship change from caretaker to mom.

One kitty I adopted was about 16 at the time. My vet said he was probably older because his skin was so thin, it did tear once. When first adopted he was disheveled and had matting. After the skin tear, my vet shaved him for us. His fur did not grow back much after that. Before the shave and once some of his fur grew back, I could see through his fur also when he would sleep, it would separate like a part in a person's hair.

Regarding the LB issues, do you have feliway? Do you want to try that? I do like the rescue remedy but I've found it works for us when I rub a drop directly inside the ear. I don't know if Cami would let you do that now.

Some raw food might help her fill up, or maybe some canned kitten food, maybe that could help her get some extra nutrients and feel more full.

Thank you for opening your heart and home to this very sweet little lady.
 
Thank you so much Sheila for giving Cami this great chance at the rest of her life! She will soon return to the wholesome, beautiful girl she used to be. She could not have found a better Mom, and to think she was just a hop, skip, and jump away. And she will calm down, once she gets over all her abandonment and starvation anger. I am so so sorry that she has been treated so badly for so long.
 
Venita and Ennis93 said:
I am so so sorry that she has been treated so badly for so long.
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I am too. Especially reading the vet records from her diagnosis where they said treatment should start right away to avoid potential DKA.

I was just sitting on the kitchen floor with her and while I couldn't get her to purr this time, she was not that grumpy. I actually had her on one side and Ariel on the other. Ariel, my MC, dilute tortie clone, is by far my most curious cat. As a kitten she got up on the dog crate my sister's lab/border collie mix was sleeping in and peered down at him. So she will probably make the first overtures with Cami just as she did with Jeddie.
 
Oh Sheila you are an angel. She looks so sad and tired.

Bless you for saving her, if anyone can restore her to her former health and beauty it's you.

I'm looking forward to seeing her recovering pictures.
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie (GA) said:
I was just sitting on the kitchen floor with her and while I couldn't get her to purr this time, she was not that grumpy.
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I'm like that sometimes...less grumpy than at other times. *LOL* That's big progress!
 
I guess I see something different. @-)

I see an *optimistic* kitty with a very strong survival instinct!

(I suppose Sheila will say that what I'm seeing is Cami's enthusiasm for the bag of pill pockets dangling in front of her so she'll look at the camera? ;-) )

But I think I can see a deeper personality, even in her vulnerable state.

And while 10 pounds isn't much, that puffball in the tub looks like a Maine Coon?

She sure looks a lot like my Max discussed in another thread. :cool:
 
Well just bless ur heart.....that poor little girl. If anyone can "bring her back", it's you!!

She sounds almost like Dante did his first couple of days here. I just let him eat as much soup as he wanted......and gulp he did.


So looking forward to following your adventure w/this gal for sure!!
 
No props were used in the photos - I just called her name and snapped the photo as she looked up. I would never tease a cat in her state with treats I didn't then give (which her owner did when I was there to visit the first time).

I did think she looked a little MC-ish, but she is small. I know the MC females are a lot smaller than the males. She might have some MC in her. I also think her face looks a little like she might have a drop of Persian in her (short nose). She does have the ear tips and the fur tufts (lower on ear and go horizontal from inside edge past the outside edge) of a MC. And her rear legs are longer than her front which I think is also a MC trait. They are also very strong. She is a good jumper with no neuropathy even after being untreated so long.

The photos they sent to DCIN are like false advertising. I am sure she hasn't looked like the one I posted above for years and the other one, her fur is thinner and she looks sick, but her fur is still long and silky - probably from within the past year, I would guess. Kinda like using a much younger photo of yourself on a dating site!

I just think, based on my experience with Jeddie, that she is grieving the loss of her original home, then her replacement home, and can not trust that it won't happen again. It will be a while before she can feel safe and secure, but I hope she is able to get to that place. I wish she would understand that she is home and isn't going to get neglected or ignored again.

Her PS this morning was 178!
 
Sheila,

All I can tell you is what I know of Autumn, but what you are going through with Cami sounds so much like my first few months with Autumn. To the point that I wasn't sure we were ever going to bring her around enough to fit her into the family. Autumn was down right hostile with food with me, with the other cats, the only one she wasn't aggressive with was the drooler...it was instant love there.

It took talking with an AC to figure Autumn out, I don't know Cami's back story but with Autumn she was an indoor/outdoor farm cat that lived with dogs. What I learned from the AC was Autumn was very much like an abused child that had been starved suddenly finding herself in a house of plenty. She didn't trust that the food would continue so she would bolt hers down and then go for the leftovers of the others, much like that child would eat their fill and then stuff their pockets to make sure they had reserves for later. Because Autumn had gone so long without insulin therapy and being literally allowed to starve she didn't know how anymore to regulate herself when it came to food. She was eating 11 oz a day only because I was holding her to that, if I would have let her she could have easily eaten 22oz and still begged for more. She still a horrible mooch and a food thief if we don't watch her. Autumn like the drooler because for her he wasn't a threat in her mind Dogs eat different but find food, dogs interact different with humans (i.e. play, get attention) and dogs protect. So the dog was an ally all the cats were the enemies they were going to take from her in some way either toys, attention or food. So if she could run them off then the resources would be all hers. She was and is a very needy girl that doesn't know how to ask appropriately for what she needs. But she is light years passed where she was those first few months.

And yep her skin was very thin in the beginning, I can only guess that she had gone so long that not only was her body stripping her of fat, hair, and muscle but also skin cells. She has a small scar on one ear where her skin was so thin in the beginning just testing her caused a scar. Once we freed her from all her mats she even tore her skin just jumping up on the couch in front of one of her back legs. Probably the only reason she still had as thick of hair as she did when I got her was because it was matted in place. She was literally in a straight-jacket of her own fur.

Something I am just discovering with Autumn thanks to the high amount of drama that has recently happened in my life in general, she is an extremely sensitive cat, every slight upheavel she takes extremely personal. Any tiny change in her routine stress her out completely, but instead of like most cats I have known of running and hiding or seeking comfort from the human, their peers or canine buddies..Autumn picks fights, she becomes aggressive..her Fight or Flight response is always set to Fight. And I do mean any slight change in her routine, Jon's daughter spent the night here for a couple of nights and Autumn's numbers skyrocketed, just because her routine was upset, she will bounce high again if her meals are a little late or if I sleep a little later than normal..she is the most emotionally touchy cat I have ever known.

I thought Maxwell was in rough shape until I got Autumn, now looking back Maxwell was in robust health in comparison. Maxwell is also a fairly sensitive cat, but I think with him he doesn't get set off as much because he was bounced from home to home so much before lighting here. He has just learned to go with the flow,but let us get weather that mimics a hurricane and I have a 17lb furry appendage Autumn's paws are pretty butchered too from being declawed, she really doesn't have much for toes anymore on her front feet and she also told the AC about that too, because being shaved upset her because she thought she had lost her pretty and to not be pretty meant getting hurt, that somewhere in her past there was another cat (we are assuming as she only identified it as the Pretty One) that she thought was prettier than her, and when she accidently hurt the Pretty One while playing "they" hurt her feet. So for her not being the prettiest one meant she would be hurt again.

I know after talking with the AC I sat on the bed and cried for about 1/2 hour for Autumn. And now I try to make a conscious effort to tell her how beautiful she is and how much we love her and that we will love her forever. That while she is beautiful, it doesn't matter to us what she actually looks like because she is beautiful to us by just being our Autumn, our Pumpkin girl. But also when she does start getting aggressive over something I do also remind her that "Pretty is as Pretty does" That even the most beautiful creature on earth isn't pretty if they can't be nice and kind to others. And as silly as it sounds I think she understands and it works with her because she so wants to be pretty.

I don't know if any of this will help with Cami but at least you know you aren't alone with a challenging kitty. I can say it does get better as they get better. It took months for Autumn and we still have a long ways to go but we have also come a long way too. I measure Autumn's progress not by her BGs but by little milestones, the first real purr, the first jump in a lap, getting her to eat in the same room as the other cats, then eating within feet of the others, and finally where we are now, eating out of her own dish in line with the other dishes..I may never get her to share a dish with them but at least she will now stand shoulder to shoulder and not attack. Rejoice in every baby step Cami takes with you. I know I do with Autumn.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Sheila -

Congratulations to you! And thank you for taking Cami in - she's a lucky girl to get a new Mom with as much experience and love to give as you!

Transitioning into a new place can be very difficult, as everyone has already said, so don't be surprised at how long it takes before she warms up to you and her new home. She's got some major trust issues to work out.

I expect Grayson sent her some subliminals about getting into the yummy treats! :o Sorry about that!

As her numbers come down, so will her appetite. Even Grayson's have! With him, I feed him separately from the others, then the food is taken up and he gets turned out into the rest of the house. The others weren't too pleased at first, but they've gotten with the program. Doors are a WONDERFUL thing! ;-)

Congrats!!! She's beautiful - and will have bright & beautiful eyes before you know it!

Lu-Ann
 
Thanks, Mel. I appreciate the story of Autumn and that Cami is so much like her it isn't something to worry about (I mean, other than the fact that she was allowed to get to this stage).

She is actually purring. I can get her to purr with neck scritches about once a day, especially if she has just been fed. She has also gotten on my lap once.

I am interested in using an AC with her, but can't afford it right now. I do tell Cami that she is not going anywhere and will always have plenty. She, too will eat non-stop. I am holding her to 12-15 ozs of food, but in the first 24 hrs I just fed her 3 ozs every 4 hours and 4.5 ozs once - for a whopping 22 ozs os something close to it! (of course, that all came out as HUGE piles of poop the next day :roll: )

Lu Ann, I am shutting her in a room to eat, thus allowing the others 20-30 mins with access to their own food. They haven't quite figured out the limited window of opportunity (they were free fed) so they act like I am starving them because ALL THE FOOD IS GOING TO THE NEW KITTY! And, of course, they want her FF and not their Wellness no matter how much I tell them it is better.
 
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie (GA) said:
Lu Ann, I am shutting her in a room to eat, thus allowing the others 20-30 mins with access to their own food. They haven't quite figured out the limited window of opportunity (they were free fed) so they act like I am starving them because ALL THE FOOD IS GOING TO THE NEW KITTY! And, of course, they want her FF and not their Wellness no matter how much I tell them it is better.
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I know exactly what you mean! When I open the bedroom door at 6:00 or 6:30 am, I'm met by about 6 little STARVING furries! If I have the audacity of going to the bathroom BEFORE feeding them :o they just pile on top of my lap! At least one on the vanity, usually 3 on the edge of the tub w/ front paws on my lap, and one or two jumping (yes, head-on to one another!) ON my lap. Then someone is usually by my feet as well. VERY predictible... and all because I was selfish enough to think MY needs came before theirs! :lol:

It took a few mid-cycle feeding opportunities for these guys to get with this new routine, but they seem to have gotten it. Usually about 15 min after I put the food down, I pick up the plates.
 
Grayson & Lu said:
Sheila & Beau & Jeddie (GA) said:
Lu Ann, I am shutting her in a room to eat, thus allowing the others 20-30 mins with access to their own food. They haven't quite figured out the limited window of opportunity (they were free fed) so they act like I am starving them because ALL THE FOOD IS GOING TO THE NEW KITTY! And, of course, they want her FF and not their Wellness no matter how much I tell them it is better.

Grayson & Lu said:
I know exactly what you mean! When I open the bedroom door at 6:00 or 6:30 am, I'm met by about 6 little STARVING furries! If I have the audacity of going to the bathroom BEFORE feeding them :o they just pile on top of my lap! At least one on the vanity, usually 3 on the edge of the tub w/ front paws on my lap, and one or two jumping (yes, head-on to one another!) ON my lap. Then someone is usually by my feet as well. VERY predictible... and all because I was selfish enough to think MY needs came before theirs! lol:
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This cracked me up. So funny you two. :) And so true.

Sheila, she is beautiful. I know you will be the most perfect Mom for her. Bless you for taking her in. You have such a big heart. Love you, Pamela
 
(((Sheila))) You're an angel!!!!! Cami will thrive under your tender and expert care. She couldn't have landed softer. :)
She looks like an actor/actress that I just can place. If it comes to me, I'll share. I can't wait to see her progress through more pictures. She is going to be a knock out inside and out.
Marcy
 
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