ORPHAN KITTEN

[Baby&i]

im sorry to post something so random, but i know everyone views here

Ok, there was a really sick orange and white baby tabby kitten 8weeks old me and OH rescued but i refused to take him in becuse of the whole "dangers during pregnancy" thing. hes totaly adorable though! Our last kitty got stolen as hes the most friendly cat ever and has been missing for 4 month which really upset our little one as she still calls for him time to time. We took the baby kitten to the vets to see what was wrong. this vet was awful was in such a rush. he just said it was a infection in his respatory system. hes sneezing, farting and has a really bad looking eye. it looks like hes blinded in his left eye and has a bad smell to it. hes had all his shots and im just worried i guess about being pregnant and having a sick kitten although they say its not any risk at all unless you handle their poop which Oh has took on the responsibility of the litter box. im a clean freak and wont allow the cat anywhere but on the floor or sofa and wash mine and our daughters hands at every chance i get. by how hes looking right now he dosnt look like hes going to make it. hes on antibiotics but he looks so weak bless him. but i just wondered if anyone knows any tips to make him feel a little better as were having real difficult time giving him his antibiotics also any views on pregnancy and having a cat? (we will be getting a net for over babys cot and kitty wont be allowed upstairs too) x thanks

 

[rach]

i have 3 cats hun as long as you make sure they dont have worms and dont touch the litter tray it will be fine its a good idea to have a net to stop the cat getting by the baby i have always done this although my cats have never attempted to go near the babies xxxxxxx

 

[reallyoldmum]

I've been worrying about our cats too - one's 11 and the other is 8. I have to admit they pretty much have had the run of the house and both have beds in our bedroom!! The ragdoll one (Biff) wakes up Dave every morning for a cuddle and I am worried that they will not take too kindly to the new addition to the household!!

 

[maybebaby]

My cat stops talking to me when I'm pregnant and never bothered with DS until he started chasing him! Like Rach said as long as he's wormed & you don't go near his poop there's no problem at all. I still make sure DS's door is shut at night so that our cat can't sneak into the cot but we never had a net or anything.

I hope your little adopted kitty recovers from his illness and is with you for a long time

 

[EllieBelle]

I have 2 cats also...........and although you are not supposed to I am having to do litter tray duties, as my hubby is away for 3 weeks (luckily one of them always goes outside, the other comes in to go )

I have to get on my rubber gloves and make sure Im not breathing in any of the germs!

Having just moved back to the UK from France they were much more strict about having cats there, and if you have cats you are tested for toxoplasmosis every month, in this country its not something they even bother to test for as I asked my MW last week.

I hope the kitten starts feeling better soon, and just give him lots of love and food and he will be a happy kitty!

 

[Sherlock]

Has the vet examined his bad eye properly? If his eye has a bad smell to it that could be very nasty if left. I'd bathe it in cooled boiled water at least if its gunky and have a vet check it over again. If he is blind it may be from injury and worse case scenario is he could lose his eye (ie need an op to have it removed). I've known it happen.

 

[millie15]

I have 2 cats and I have just been making sure that I don't touch the litter tray. I also read that most people who have cats before being pregnant have probably already had toxoplasmosis once and probably thought it was a cold, and are therefore immune. I've had cats my whole life so I'm hoping I am immune! I think if the poor kitty is sick you should be ok, it's just their poop you need to be careful about. Check with your MW if you are worried.

Sherlocks advice was good - keep bathing his eye to get rid of the gunk (I would wear gloves to do this, if you're worried) - I've heard you can use aromatherapy with cats - you'd have to do a bit of research to find out which ones are safe tho. Also, to help his respiratory system you could do what we might do if we had a cold - run a hot bath so the bathroom steams up and then put kitty in there for a short while to inhale the steam - might help? Make sure the room's not too hot.

This thread has just reminded me it's time to worm my kittys again - off to get the OH to do that!! Hope kitty is better soon!

 

[carlyr874]

Awww poor thing! I hope he makes it, that would prob send me over the edge! I'm an emotional hormonal wreck at the moment!!

I adore cats, have got 2 who are about 17months old, Posh Paws and Slippers. Luckily I have managed to get them going outside and so the litter tray has been thown away but when I was pregnant with Holly I had a different cat (RIP Wobble ) and I had no choice but to clean the tray myself as my ex partner was a complete S**t! he refused to do it even though it was dangerous for me but I always wore gloves and washed with anti-bac soap after and it never caused a problem. I'm thinking I will have go get a net for over the cot because I know my 2 will be in there straight away! I found them both snuggled up in the moses basket I have ready in the spare room yesterday! sitting there as though i had got it especially for them!

 

[tallulah73]

I have 4 cats, 2 go out and the other 2 use the litter tray. My OH isn't always here when it needs cleaning so it's left to me. Im just really careful and always scrub my hands really well with antibacterial soap.

I hope your little kitty pulls through. One of our cats was a stray i took in 2 years ago, he was in a bad way too but with lots of care and love he's just fine now.

 

[EllieBelle]

I have 2 cats and I have just been making sure that I don't touch the litter tray. I also read that most people who have cats before being pregnant have probably already had toxoplasmosis once and probably thought it was a cold, and are therefore immune. I've had cats my whole life so I'm hoping I am immune! I think if the poor kitty is sick you should be ok, it's just their poop you need to be careful about. Check with your MW if you are worried.

I was tested for toxoplasmosis before I left France, and despite having had cats all my life too - I have never had toxoplasmosis before - hence if we had stayed in France they would have tested me for it every month, they are much more thorough over there and pregnancy is taken very seriously (you even get a card in your early weeks of pregnancy so you dont have to queue anywhere)!!

 

[tallulah73]

I was tested for toxoplasmosis before I left France, and despite having had cats all my life too - I have never had toxoplasmosis before

Ive had cats for years and thought that id probably be immune already....
Im worried now!!!
Do you have to request a blood test here in the UK or are you tested when your blood are taken at your booking appointment? (i haven't got any of my results back yet)

I see the midwife on Friday for my triple blood test, i think gonna ask to be tested for toxoplasmosis.

 

[Hazel]

I have 2 cats. I've asked the mw and the hv when they have come round and both said cats are fine and have never heard of a problem with them before. In fact the mw encouraged pets as helps with allergies. I've bought a cat net just to be on the safe side.

 

[EllieBelle]

I was tested for toxoplasmosis before I left France, and despite having had cats all my life too - I have never had toxoplasmosis before

Ive had cats for years and thought that id probably be immune already....
Im worried now!!!
Do you have to request a blood test here in the UK or are you tested when your blood are taken at your booking appointment? (i haven't got any of my results back yet)

I see the midwife on Friday for my triple blood test, i think gonna ask to be tested for toxoplasmosis.

I asked my MW about this last week and she said in the UK its not something they have ever tested for, where as in France Toxoplasmosis is considered a real threat to unborn babies!

 

[Julie84]

I read somewhere (sorry, for the life of me can't remember where) that it is very unlikely for a woman to catch toxoplasmosis for the first time while she is pregnant, and the real risk is during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

There is more risk of catching toxoplasmosis from gardening as I don't think any of us would willingly play in the litter tray!

I would still clean out our litter tray (our 2 cats our house cats so do everything in their trays) of Neil refused - wearing gloves and washing your hands after is plenty of protection. However, I have always hated doing it so did play the 'it's best for baby if you do the trays, dear' card!

My cats have been banned from our bedroom since we moved here 10 months ago (just because I wanted to get them into the habit of not sleeping with us for when we had children - not anticiating it to happen quite so quickly!) but I imagine I will probably need to get a net for the moses basket while it is in our living room. My mum brought round her moses basket and left it on the dining room table while she was looking after my animals while we were on holiday and I came home to a very furry basket where the cats had made themselves at home.

 

[ericalightning]

we have 3 cats, they had free run of the house but since being pregnant they are not allowed upstairs, so that they are used to that by the time baby arrives.

 

[BountyBoo]

You will be fine with the kitten re. Toxoplasmosis, especially with all the measures you have taken.

For the kitten if he has a gunky eye you could do with bathing it with cooled boiled water probaly twice a day.
If he is bunged up the idea with the steam in the bathroom is a gd idea to help clear his airways but make sure this is only in short bursts, don't leave him in there for long.
The most imporatant thing is to keep him hydrated, do this with a small dropper if he isn't drinking.
I know how hard tablets are to give, i usually hold the cat with their head leant far back and open there mouth, push tablet as far back as possible, then shut their mouth quickly and stroke their throat. This stops them from spitting it out and encourages them to swallow.
Is he eating? Try him with just chicken if he has diarreah until it settles down then re - introduce other food when he has improved. - You can get a paste from the vets if he isn't eating too well, to build up his strength, it's like a glucose solution.

I hope he is OK, and the antibiotics work. Take him back to the vets if you aren't happy.

 

[Baby&i]

Hello, and thankyou for all your replies. we have a water spray bottle for when kitty is better to teach him what is allowed and what is not (not allowed in bedrooms, near new baby, in the washing, on sides ect). i found with out last cat it worked wonders if they jumped up on the sides youd threaten the water bottle and they would run away and not try it again and as hes a kitty he should learn pretty quick. Obviously clean the sides before preparing food anyway as its always better safe than sorry. and OH is fine with helping with the kitty and doing all litterbox duties, although he dosnt beleive in this "make-beleive kitty disease" i have also had cats growing up called Tabby, Petely, Peppy, Rocky and Sarah so i doubt with all the super-duper loving and dress up tea parties i must have contracted it before as a child. hes looking MUCH better today hes looking really good spirited and happy. his eye is looking much better too. oh and sherlock, i have had him to the vets and the smell is just the infection which he has antibiotics for and he has been de-wormed, de-flead. i read up on the internet human eye drops work just as well as special cat drops so tried the eye drops we had in the med cupboard and he looks fantastic and the gunk has totaly cleared up. its just a little red still he has 17 doses of antibiotics yet though. i cant beleive how loving this kitten is! he cries for me when im out of his sight aww

Heres our baby orphan Kitty Marmalade isnt he cute

and here he is sleeping and purring at our little one this morning.

He does look quite big in the pictures, but hes only about the length of my brothers shoe. hes so tiny and cute and LOVES DD! x

 

[MissyRee]

i cant beleive how loving this kitten is! he cries for me when im out of his sight aww

Awww bless!! You should post a pic of him x

 

[Baby&i]

i cant beleive how loving this kitten is! he cries for me when im out of his sight aww

Awww bless!! You should post a pic of him x

great minds think alike... i just edited my last post xxx
Sorry i couldnt get a better one, my cameras batteries are dead and had to take a few quick ones while it lasted -all of 4seconds

 

[carlyr874]

aww he's so cute! bless! glad he seems to be improving xxx