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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / December 2003Neresse's trip to the vet
So we took her to the vet. The oldest of our girls. Made mention of her in a previous post, entitled "silly kitty". For starters, keep in mind she's always been a small and slightly frail cat. The doctor confirmed dental trouble in the way of some gum disease to an extent of something awful, and pointed out something we weren't aware of - she had lost some of her front teeth. The combination of things just made it too painful for her to eat, and she wasn't even enjoying the soft food we've been giving her. So the doctor sent some blood off to Antech, did an in-office fecal screen, and sent us home with 15 mL clavamox (1 mL every 12 hours approx), some vitamins, and some Rx Diet a/d, since she hadn't been eating enough, along with instructions to give her 30 mLs of water three times a day to help counter any possible dehydration. He also urged us to get her fixed as soon as he gave a green light, noting that based on her condition and history, one more litter could prove fatal. Personally, this whole thing with cats is kind of a white elephant - but you know what, the whole thing is all worth it, seeing them effectively thank you for at least helping them stay healthy, or helping them to get healthy again.  SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > For starters, keep in mind she's always been a small and slightly frail > cat. No offense, but why breed her then? I thought Bengals were supposed to be large. > The doctor confirmed dental trouble in the way of some gum disease to an > extent of something awful, and pointed out something we weren't aware of - > she had lost some of her front teeth. The combination of things just made > it too painful for her to eat, and she wasn't even enjoying the soft food > we've been giving her. Poor baby. :( I hope she feels better soon. You may want to consider checking the rest of your cats' teeth. I clean my cats' teeth weekly to prevent these sorts of problems as well as to get a chance to make sure nothing is already happening. A little brushing now saves them pain and me lots of vet bills later. Signature-- ~kaeli~ No one is listening until you make a mistake. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > No offense, but why breed her then? I thought Bengals were supposed to > be large. Not terribly large. Females for one tend to be small - in fact, a large female is about the size of a regular housecat. As for breeding, it was simply becaue she's had a previous history of being a good mom. We ourselves have had two successful litters with her, and her previous human had a couple with her as well. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > > No offense, but why breed her then? I thought Bengals were supposed to > > be large. > > Not terribly large. Females for one tend to be small - in fact, a large > female is about the size of a regular housecat. I must be thinking of those other cats - the ones that are a cross between domestic cats and bobcats. > As for breeding, it was simply becaue she's had a previous history of > being a good mom. We ourselves have had two successful litters with her, > and her previous human had a couple with her as well. Are good mama cats hard to come by? I don't know much about breeding or showing cats. With so many strays in the shelters, I'd feel like a sh.t for getting a purebred myself, especially since I'm not passionate about any one breed. I probably could never adopt a kitten again, either, knowing how many people prefer kittens and seeing so many nice adults just sitting in the shelter for months while the kittens get homes really fast. You do make your buyers sign a contract, right? So your babies don't get dumped? I've even seen purebreds in the shelter. So sad. Signature-- ~kaeli~ To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace >> > No offense, but why breed her then? I thought Bengals were supposed to >> > be large. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >You do make your buyers sign a contract, right? So your babies don't get >dumped? I've even seen purebreds in the shelter. So sad. IMHO: four litters (pregnancies) is enough to drain the body of any mother. Pets should not be breeding machines. On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 11:44:01 -0700, m.L.Briggs wrote: > IMHO: four litters (pregnancies) is enough to drain the body of any > mother. Pets should not be breeding machines. Optimally, a queen would not be bred any more than once per year. Twice, if you think she can manage it. After all, you're right, pregnancy is extremely taxing. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > Are good mama cats hard to come by? I don't know much about breeding or > showing cats. Actually, it's sort of an instinct thing - both of the girls who have had kittens have been excellent moms, Neresse included. I guess when the illness took hold, it just went downhill from there - and we didn't even see this happening until it was almost too late. (I got more info on Neresse from the vet, btw. More in another post.) > With so many strays in the shelters, I'd feel like a sh.t > for getting a purebred myself, especially since I'm not passionate about > any one breed. I probably could never adopt a kitten again, either, > knowing how many people prefer kittens and seeing so many nice adults > just sitting in the shelter for months while the kittens get homes > really fast. Well, ya gotta admit, kittens are just the cutest little things. I believe it was Ogden Nash, though who said "the problem with kittens is that they turn into cats". You're right, though, everybody wants a kitten, they don't want a full grown cat for whatever reason. And the shelter down the road in Orange is what I call a "mostly no kill" shelter as far as cats go (that is, they won't kill a cat unless it's dreadfully ill or injured, or if they are having population problems), so you could have cats in there for an incredibly long time. > You do make your buyers sign a contract, right? So your babies don't get > dumped? I've even seen purebreds in the shelter. So sad. Oh, hell yes. They sign a pretty standard contract, and those who I don't want to sell a cat to (I have fortunately had only one) I will diplomatically explain that they don't want one of our cats. Usually by way of sticker-shocking them out of it. (It was one of our neighbors, actually. Granted the ones I wanted to sell to them were at a steep discount being they were not exactly kittens, but then again we did have the issue of the fact that there was something about them I didn't trust, and the other detail that they wanted a cat because they, well, wanted a pet. For that, they should go to the aforementioned shelter.) SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- >> > No offense, but why breed her then? I thought Bengals were supposed to >> > be large. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >I must be thinking of those other cats - the ones that are a cross >between domestic cats and bobcats. Um. No. A Bengal, regardless of sex, should be a large, solid cat. My boys are small for their breed at 13 pounds of rock-solid muscle. Males tend to be 15-20 pounds, females 10-15. And they should always be robust. >> As for breeding, it was simply becaue she's had a previous history of >> being a good mom. We ourselves have had two successful litters with her, >> and her previous human had a couple with her as well. WHAT?!?!?!?!? That's all? No titles, no features or traits that you want to pass on to improve the breed? Nothing? >Are good mama cats hard to come by? I don't know much about breeding or >showing cats. No, good mothers are *not* hard to come by. This queen probably never should have been bred, especially if the only thing to recommend her for breeding is that she's a good mother. sh.t like this is what gives responsible breeders a bad name. :( Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > WHAT?!?!?!?!? That's all? No titles, no features or traits > that you want to pass on to improve the breed? Nothing? Well, since you asked, she had produced some beautifully spotted and marbled kittens in the past.... =^^= I'll have to dig up the research, as we got her from another breeder down the road, but she's birthed at least one prize winner to my recollection. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- >> WHAT?!?!?!?!? That's all? No titles, no features or traits >> that you want to pass on to improve the breed? Nothing? > >Well, since you asked, she had produced some beautifully spotted >and marbled kittens in the past.... =^^= Pretty's not everything -- in fact, in the Bengal breed it's fourth in importance. First being temperament, second being good structural and genetic health, third being good conformation (adhering to the Bengal breed standard) and last being pretty patterning. As well, there's a difference between pretty patterning and *good* patterning. Are your spotteds horizontally flowed? Vertically flowed? Randomly flowed? Do you have good contrast, size, and acreage? Rosettes? Are your marbles tri-coloured? Do they have good chaining? Do they have the bulls-eye pattern? >I'll have to dig up the research, as we got her from another breeder down >the road, but she's birthed at least one prize winner to my recollection. Yes, please do. I'd love to know who sold inexperienced breeders a girl with breeding rights without mentoring. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid More word from the doctor. He had ruled out kidney and liver dysfunction as well as cancer (apparently there was concern), but her white cell counts are exceedingly high - so he suspects pyrometra (sp?). Since she has no sign of infectious discharge, he notes the possibility of a "closed" one. Differentials are mostly high, and her electrolyte level and a urinalisys are symptomatic of mild dehydration, but everything else is fortunately normal. On the other hand, the a/d is helping, as well as the vitamins and clavamox. Her spirits are picking up, even though we are still forcing her to drink about 90 mLs of water via oral syringe. (Not fun for her, not fun for us.) The inflammation around the gums seems to have gone down every so slightly, so that's starting to look good. So after all is said and done, the doctor noted she can come back in in two weeks for a further exam and abdominal x-ray, conditional that if her health starts to degrade again despite current treatment we go in immediately. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > More word from the doctor. > > He had ruled out kidney and liver dysfunction as well as cancer > (apparently there was concern), but her white cell counts are exceedingly > high - so he suspects pyrometra (sp?). Since she has no sign of > infectious discharge, he notes the possibility of a "closed" one. I'd get her spayed ASAP. Even if the infection gets treated, it can recur with a vengeance. I hope she gets better soon... Signature-- ~kaeli~ Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace |
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