Living With Gusto

Adopt a Kitten

2005-12-08T20:52:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we were visiting folks on the farm in Iowa and met these kittens.

Cute they may be, but the farm already had its quota of cats necessary to keep the rodent population down, so these were deemed expendable. Even if they could survive the hard winter, the farmer figured he'd have to abandon them in a field or drown them in the spring. Well, how could we look into their eyes and just leave them to that fate? We had to take them home.

Since then, they've been staying in the back bedroom. They've had their first two sets of shots, they've been tested for feline leukemia and FIV, and they're doing fine.

The two kittens above are 5 months old, a boy (left) and a girl.

The boy is quite the calm, collected type. When his sisters may be carrying on to get food or attention, he's most likely to sit by and observe quietly. He can be playful, but he also enjoys sitting still with a person and chilling. With his thick, plushy fur, I think he'll grow up to be a nice lap kitty.

The little girl is quite bright, more adventurous and eager to explore. She's likes climbing up on my shoulders, and it's easy to get her to play with something simple like a string. When she winds down, though, she also likes being with a person. As I go to sleep, she often curls up on or right up next to me.

Below, she's playing with a tassle toy hanging from the door, next to her big sister in the background.

This is the big sister, in the picture below, who is 4 months older than the other two. She's probably the most directly affectionate of the three. When I walk into the room, she clamors for attention. But then when I lay down in bed, she tends to go underneath when she's ready to sleep. So I guess she likes her space and privacy, too. She seems especially adaptable to the other cats in the house. She may walk up to one to say hello, but, if the other cat hisses, she'll back off deferentially and go about her business elsewhere.

They're all great cats. They like people and are surprisingly easy to handle, considering how they were left alone outdoors most of the time in Iowa. We didn't even have trouble getting them to use the litter box. But, truthfully, since we already have four cats in the house, it would be a hardship if we kept all three of these kittens. So I'd like to ask for your help. If you'd like to adopt a kitten, or know someone who would be interested, please drop me a line.

You may contact me at frightwig71@yahoo.com.

Thanks.

Iowa Kittens

2005-11-14T19:08:00.000-06:00

Isabella

2005-05-20T23:11:00.000-05:00

May Updates on Cats with Special Needs

2005-05-20T18:51:00.000-05:00

Isabella

Age: 5 Months

History:
Isabella was adopted at three months from a shelter. She had two kinds of internal parasites and a sinus infection so bad that she would sneeze blood. She also had a funny walk that was determined to be related to her skeletal system. It tooks several rounds of antiboitics for her to get over her illnesses. Then, at age four months, she began drooling, became lethargic, and stopped eating. She was taken to an emergency clinic where they found that she had a liver shunt which was stopping her blood from getting cleaned and toxins were building in her blood.

Personality:
Isabella is true to her breed in every way. She loves to be with someone, feline or human. She is only really upset when forced to be alone. However, she is not docile in any way. She likes to sit with her people but next to them on the sofa, not on them. She loves to play chase with the other cats in her home and does not take no as an answer from them. If they will not play chase she simply walks or lies on them until they pay attention to her.

Symptoms:
Because a liver shunt prevents the liver from cleaning the blood it essenitally results in the same problems as a posining. For Isabella the symptoms were drooling, lethargy, not eating, not using the litter box, and eventually she was essentially unconscious. After she was diagnosed she needed to take medications to stabilize her until surgery. The medications reduced her problems to occasional mild lethergy and some tremors. For a kitten with a liver shunt there are two choices in long term care. Surgery or medications to control the symptoms.

Options:
1. Surgery. This is costly, about $3,000, but is very sucessful. When there are no other problems a kitten who has had surgery can live to be as old as any other cat, about 14 years on average.
2. Medications. This is cheap and works for a while. However, it gets harder to give the medications as the kitten gets older. The medications would need to be given for the rest of the cat's life. This option also shortens the kitten's life expectancy from 14 years to 6 years.

Current Treatment:
Neomycin: This is an antiboitic given twice a day to keep down infection.
Lactulose: This is a diuretic given to help clear the toxins from her blood and keep her gastrointestinal system moving.
Isabella received these until her surgery. She did well in surgery and will continue on the medcation for a few weeks until her blood is being cleared by her liver. After that she will be given normal cat food and taken off the medications.

Costs:
Medications: $45 a month
Special Food: $30 a month
Surgery: $3,000

Once the surgery is confirmed successful Isabella will come off the special food and medications. She should be just like every other kitten by her 7th month.

For cats like Isabella going to a shelter is not an option. The stress of being in a new place and without their families often makes symptoms much worse, can shorten their lives, or cause them to crash and possibly die before treatment. Also, their owners often do not want to part with the kitten which could live a normal life with a short treatment.

You can help us, help cats like Isabella. Visit us at Living With Gusto.

May Updates on Cats With Special Needs

2005-05-17T21:15:00.000-05:00

Abigail

Age: 11.6 Years

History:
Abigail was one of several cats owned by an older couple on a farm. For many years she was an indoor/outdoor cat. As she got older she stayed indoors more and more until she was strictly an indoor cat. When she and her siblings were nine one of her owners died and the other moved into an assisted living facility and could not take the cats. She and her siblings were given to a shelter to find new homes. She was adopted a few weeks later and began to exhibit signs of Feline Leukemia. After being tested she was found to be positive for the virus but had no other medical problems. Her new owners decided to keep her and care for her the best they could.

Personality:
Abigail is a unique kitty. Her owners found her in a PetSmart adoption center. They were looking at and petting a little kitten when Abigail walked over, stuck her paw out of the cage, and said "why would you pet that little kitten when you could pet me!" She was so outgoing and affectionate that they fell in love with her and took her home.
Once home it took only a few days for Abigail to feel comfortable. She was found every night, demanding her fair share of attention. She took no guff from the three younger cats in the house and acted as a protector and example to another cat in the house who had been abused prior to finding her forever home. Abigail frequently chased away the younger kitties from the scared one until one day the scared kitty was able to stand up for herself.
Not only did Abigail contribute to the happiness of her people by her enthusiastic desire for attention, but she also helped to bring a frightened and lonely kitty out of her shell and into her own.

Symptoms:
About one month ago, at age 11, she began to show signs of the virus in her system. She lost weight, became lethargic, hid from people, and stopped eating. Testing revealed that the Leukemia had moved into her bone marrow. Her vet gave two options.

Options:
1. To use chemotherapy. This is costly, about $200 a week for several months, and frequently does not work on bone marrow cancers. It is also somewhat painful and upsetting for the cat and owner. The chemotherapy is injected twice a week, so frequent visits to the veterinary clinic are required. For an older cat with the Leukemia virus as well as bone marrow cancer the odds are not good for this to be successful.
2. Prednisone combined with some milder drugs that can be given at home. This is overall less successful than chemotherapy but less upsetting as well.
Either option has the life expectancy of only a few months.

Current Treatment:
Antibotics: Twice a day because her immune system is compromised
Prednisolone: Once a day to help keep down inflammations and relieve symptoms.
Leukeran: Anti-Cancer medication which helps reduce the number of cancerous cells in her system.
Pepcid: To help calm her stomach and help her eat. Cancer and its treatments can often lead to upset stomachs.
Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids: These help to coat the lining of the gastrointestinal system and calm the stomach as well as providing some essential nutrients

Costs:
Not including standard items like food, Abigail’s comfort and standard of life maintenance costs $80 a month.

The above treatments are not used to cure Abigail. Nothing can cure Feline Leukemia at this time. These treatments are used soley to help her live a happy life and increase her well-being and standard of living for the few months that she has left.

For cats like Abigail going to a shelter is not an option. The stress of being in a new place and without their families often makes symptoms much worse and shortens their lives from months to days.

You can help us, help cats like Abigail. Visit us at Living With Gusto.

Abigail

2005-05-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

Isabella's Surgery Complete

2005-05-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

Isabella, the five month old kitten with a liver shunt, has finished her surgery to correct the shunt. Without surgery Isabella was at constant risk for death. She has been doing so well that she was able to go home a day early. This is espically good because most of the animals that get shunts are dogs and her vets where not sure how things would go for her.

In addition to the surgery helping her liver to work there were two unexpected side effects. She has a small heart murmer. When her vets looked at her heart with an ECHO they found it wa slightly enlarged. The liver shunt was taking wastes and sending them right back into her heart causing the problem. Also, Isabella always walked bowlegged with her legs twisting as she walked. Since the surgery she has been walking completely straight! No one knows quite why but what was a skeltal abnormality that would make her crippled as she got older has been fixed by the surgery on her liver.

2005-05-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

Isabella back from the hospital

2005-05-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

Isabella looking healthy

Update on Isabella

2005-04-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

Because of her liver shunt Isabella needs to be on a special low protein diet until her surgery. This is because on of the major wastes created by the body when it digests protein is ammonia. Ammonia is only cleaned out of the blood by the liver. Isabella is on a low protein diet and has medication to help pull the ammonia out of her blood in a different way.
The biggest problem is that cats need a lot of protein and kittens need even more than adult cats. The vets were very concerned that she would lose weight, which is an even worse sign for a kitten than anything else. Normally a kitten gains .2 lbs a week which is roughly a pound every 5 weeks.
We took Isabella in twice to be weighed since her condition was diagnosed and she has gained weight each time! In fact in the seven weeks we have been monitoring her weight she has gained more than two pounds! She is well on her way to being a very large kitty!

She has an appointment on Monday with the surgeon and will hopefully be done with surgery on Tuesday. Good Luck Izzy Pop!

New Resources

2005-04-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

There are three new resources posted on our site.

The Merck Veterinary Manual
A good source for in depth, technical information. It is not always easy for the average person to find what they are looking for because the information is listed according to scientific names rather than the common names and broken down by many sub groups. However, all of the information is accurate and up to date and the search feature works very well. If you are looking for the next step in information on a condition this is the place to go. (ALL Animals)

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
This site is exactly what it says, a well laid out basic overview of feline nutrition. There is a great deal of information on one page and it can be overwhelming and the formatting is a little difficult on some Web-browsers, but it is well worth it for the information. We have found no other sites that give such a comprehensive well laid out overview. The there is a section on preparing home made cat food which an owner must seriously consider and discuss with the cat's vet before attempting.

The Cornell Books of Cats
The Cornell Books of Cats - Written by the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. This book covers normal behavior to emergency first aid and everything in between. Almost 500 pages will take you through the anatomy, requirements, and ailments of your cat from selecting a kitten to the geriatric cat. Dedicated cat owners will find something in it every week if not everyday. A Must.

For more information visit our resources page here Resources

Three new items in the gift shop!

2005-04-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Little Gusto Sleeping on a large mug.

Little Gusto Sleeping on a regular mug.

Living With Gusto Banner Bumper Sticker.

All of these items have been inspected and approved. A portion of sales goes to the Living With Gusto foundation to help disabled and special needs cats.

See how you can Help.
Visit our gift shop.

Update on Isabella

2005-04-20T21:43:00.000-05:00

Isabella came to us about five weeks ago with two kinds of intestinal parasites and a sinus infection that resisted two rounds of antibiotics and moved into her eyes before being cured by a third round of antibiotics and some eye drops. She was diagnosed with a congenital skeletal abnormality in her back legs that did not seem to be causing her problems. Even with the illnesses and the skeletal problem she could jump so high and far she looked like she was flying. Of course she falls a lot, being a kitten, especially one with so many problems. Maybe what she is doing is more “falling with style” than flying. She sits every so quietly and watches her people on the computer. She runs so fast to catch the older kitties and make them be her friend. You can imagine how energetic and enthusiastic she was when she got over her illnesses.

On this last Saturday she began to fade. She stopped eating, looked lethargic, and then began salivating. Seeing this as a big problem she was rushed to the emergency animal clinic where she continued to decline. The vets felt that she had all of the symptoms of a poisoning and began trying to sustain her until she could work through the toxins. As the night progressed she got worse until she was confused, trembling, and could not stand up.

The next day the vets changed their diagnosis to a neurological condition that would probably not get better. During the second night the vet in charge looked closer into her case a determined that she could have a congenital problem related to her liver called a congenital portosystemic shunt or a liver shunt. Basically, when kittens are in uterus they use the blood, liver, and kidneys of their mother. After being born the shunt which moves blood away from the liver and kidneys shuts down and the kittens begin using their own organs. For some reason Isabella’s shunt had not turned off and her blood was filling with toxins. She had essentially been poisoned and this was causing her other problems.

She was taken to the University of Minnesota to confirm the diagnosis and determine if surgery was an option. They had never seen a kitten in such bad shape and were concerned about her chances. They began to clean her blood of toxins and put her on a special diet. As the day wore on she got better and better. The U of M determined that she had a large operable shunt. She was given lots of medicines and food and sent home to recuperate for the operation which will be in two weeks.

As of today she is doing much better; she runs and plays and attacks anything that moves. She has medications to reduce the toxins in her blood and a special food. She will have surgery to correct her liver shunt in two weeks.

Donations are tax-deductible

2005-04-14T11:06:00.000-05:00

We are in the process of getting tax exempt status from the IRS. After our application is approved, donations will be tax deductible on our donor's taxes. The application is retroactive, so all donations made prior to the application acceptance will also be deductible. We will have this process completed by the end of the year so donations filed on next year's taxes will be covered.

2005-04-11T00:16:00.000-05:00

Gusto