Would you let him die?
Last Update: Oct 10, 2016
So, what would you do in this case? Go on with your "business as usual" and ignore it? Or would you do something to save his life?
Whose life? - Maybe this is the question.
Yesterday a new cat sat on the covered terrace and didn't flee when we ran past it to save the washing from the beginning rain. Strange. Normally foreign cats run away. Later I went near, it was not afraid, I even could touch it. It - he- didn't look well, some stuff running out of his mouth and he only sniffed at the food, interested, but didn't want to eat.
I told him if he was there, still, this morning, I would bring him to the vet. He stood up and left, slowly.
Believe it or not:
This morning he was there and didn't resist when I put him into the transport box. The vet diagnosed a severe inflammation in his mouth, he suffered pain and needed to undergo surgery for the necrotic gums. Otherwise he would starve to death.
What would you do? Would you let him die? Or pay the vet for surgery and care and afterwards have one cat more in your pet family?
I guess you know what I did. When I get him back from the vet in a few days, then the process of re-structuring the pet family will begin. It is an amazing process to watch, but not easy for the cats and dogs, And not easy for us, too who need to protect all of them and not allow newcomers to take over the reign. It takes time - which will not directly contribute to whatever we believe is SUCCESS.......
But SURVIVAL is success, isn't it?
PS: How can I resize the pics when uploading?
Recent Comments
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Another update:
The cat is better. He eats by himself as long as the painkiller works. The vet says she has combed him and he looks great and he is a gentle creature. He needs antibiotics, every day an injection, for about 4 weeks.
So we need to find a way to keep him at home, not in conflict with the other cats - 2 of them are already eating special food in a special room. How can we add the new cat in ways that he doesn't escape if one of the many doors are open? In the moment there is no danger, it is cold and rainy, but as soon as the sun comes back we usually have doors open - or the dog opens them by herself.
So the new cat, we will call him Oliver, will cause some logistic problems in our house. We have enough other rooms, but they are disconnected from the unit we live in. Cats are social creatures and want to stay with you and not be in prison somewhere, right?
You need to keep him inside the house for 1 week. After that he should be fine.... :-) To do that I usually make the humans suffer for the week. (Ie. close the doors and windows - latch where nec.) That way the kitty can hide alone in the room if wants and come out for company when he wants.
PS. I'm expecting! ... Oct 25th. Look!
Ah, Cate, do sweet! Animals bring us back to being human and not only a machine for making money. I am saying this also in response to the above conversation started by electrobot.
I could never let a kitty or doggy die. I feel bad if I accidentally kill a frog when mowing the lawn or squish a bee! I don't even kill spiders, I just put them outside. I will kill mosquitoes on me and other biting insects but that is it. And I don't resent them either, they are just doing what they need to do to survive.
I am a bit of a Buddhist I guess!
I really hope your new kitty improves quickly and fits into your family.
Jessica
I think we are feeling in a similar way. I kill mosquitos, whenever I can, and actually also wasps, their bites are really bad for me and need me take antihistamines - and I don't like to take any drugs except vitamins and minerals.
All the other animals are sort of sacred to me, actually also plants. My huge palm tree has died - and I am very sad about it.
Yes! I have a hard time with plants too. I have some that are just scrawny and don't look good but I never want to rip them out!
I learned that our big bumble bees are not aggressive (at least here...we don't have African bees that are a problem elsewhere) and I can pet them...yes that sounds strange to many people including my husband. I don't like wasps and yellow jackets and hornets at all but the bees I don't mind. The one I could pet is the Western Bumblebee.
I just read that they are disappearing in the other US states but have strong populations in Alaska and Canada.
I never have heard of petting bees. Great that you can do it!
I didn#t become a good farmer here on my ground because of my non-farmer mindset. As you, I try to make the weak plants grow instead of strapping them out. That doesn't bring a good overall result. I guess we are too caring for some professions!
I used to keep bumble bees as pets as a kid, you are the only other person I have heard who does this. I used to keep them in my bedroom, they are beautiful and tame.
That is so neat! I never heard of keeping them as indoor pets. I knew you were a cool guy!!!
What did you feed them?
Jessica
No, it is not for KEEPING him as an indoor cat, but for making sure I get him every day to do the injection. If he can go out, who knows if I could get him again the next day. I have certain experiences with previous cats. One needed medication for 4 weeks and after a week he escaped. Them after another week, he came back and we had to begin the medication cycle from scratch. I want to avoid the bother, so best is to keep them home for that period. Then he can go out whenever he wants, like all the other family members.
I think we were talking in two directions. I was replying to Ultimateless about him keeping bumble bees as pets!
I would bring them the flowers they would eat from but after about 2 weeks I would let them fly back to their families.
They are and we don't get them in Australia :( I used to play with them as a child in England. I would pick the flower they landed on and walk into my bedroom with them. Let them walk over me and they loved their beautiful fur coats being stroked :)
Yes. I was just wondering if they were in Australia too. It is nice to find another 'crazy person' out there!
Hi Heidi,
Pleased your poorly kitty is on the mend and your giving him a second chance at a happier life, I used to look after poorly cats for my local rescue when they where full, I saw some terrible cruelty cases of neglect some where so bad they died under the antiseptic.
Sandra
Normally cats can get on by themselves quite well, at least in the countryside. But neglect can be everywhere, Here around me I have witnessed how, in time, the farmers became more warmhearted and began to take care for their dogs and cats, too. For them, they were animals which didn't produce anything, so no money for a vet in case they were ill. Or they made it, or not.
Thanks, Heidi, for the update on the cat.
I guess, I would have done the same. I love cats to the max.
Unfortunately, my husband is totally against it and for years I don't have a pet anymore.
In Germany, when I was still single I had two cats. :
To your question, when you upload the picture and you have cropped it, there is the picture size visible.
When it is over 400 I will resize it by changing the number I want.
It always works. :)
My husband thought he didn't like cats but agreed for me. Now we realize he just never knew a nice one before. He is in love with our kitties and adores them now. I am so sorry you don't have them anymore.
Jessica, my cats reached their age and passed away, many years ago. I just can have any new cat, even though I would love to, but it isn't worth the stress coming with it.
My husband won't change in this matter.
Thank you for your kind works. What a shame that you cannot have another cat! I am happy that my present husband loves cats and dogs, maybe even more than myself!
Re picture upload: You mean you just change the number in the box? I will try. I saw it get bigger again after setting it, but I guess it was BEFORE cropping. Thanks for the advice!
A short update on the black&white; cat. The vet has taken out 5 teeth, she gave him medication for fleas and worms as he was really bad off in that regard and he should be fine - with tons of antibiotics. She is a little preoccupied as the inflammation seems to have entered the bones of the jaw which can be difficult to heal.
He got liquified food - and he ate a whole bag, hungry as he was.
So now you can pray for a good recovery!
Thank you
Heidi
I will update you next Tuesday when I go to get him. We are going to see some places south of Naples this weekend and so I didn't want to get him home and then leave him alone here with the other cats. The integration needs time and some help from us, I think.
Thank you, Phil and Gerlinde for your being with me and this creature who has now the chance to LIVE.
Hey, I've had cats, I know what you mean when have to do with your best friend living or dyeing. Sometimes it's no choice, and it's time to let our "MOST-HIGH" handle it, like we we're to in the beginning. I had to let go because I found at a young age of 6 I had a severe allergic reaction from me being around them. Now I've grown older that allergy is like 75% cured, letting me have a few of my own, still they went on with different master as they grew, wow how I would like to tell you about how they the three came about, but I really can't stand to type at this moment, but we'll speak or text soon,"YEH!" HOLA!
Hey, David! Please DO tell me about your cats! I will publish it as guest post on my website. I would love to have special stories there about our beloved kitties!
I would have done anything I could to help him too. I am so glad you were there to help him. Also I know you will give him a good home. We are so blessed that we were given animals to love and to cherish just like family. Thank you so much for getting that precious cat help. Have a great week.
Thanks for your kind words. This cat probably will be part of the "inner" family. Every now and then we notice other stray cats hanging around and eating from our outside feeding place. I actually hope that they stay healthy!!!!
I once took in a stray that was starving. HardLuck was the family pet for roughly 20 years. I had no idea cats could live that long. Eventually she had lost all her teeth and ability to control her body functions so we finally had to put her down. We all do what we can for animals but there does come a time when we can no longer deal with the reality.
Yes, LowellAnn,they can live long when they are save. "Outside" cats normally don't make it so long. The oldest one I had was 17 and I also had to put her down when her cancer opened on her side and life wasn't good any more. I still have to write about her. So many cat stories I could tell - and will tell. Creating the cat website is really fun and joy to talk about these beautiful creatures!
i think they know where to go to get help heidi - and you just can't help it, we would do the same. and the family grows along with the food bills - you will need to work a bit harder now! lol
resizing is a bit of a pain but as aid below in paint you go to the home tab click on resize and change it to pixels - i normally go for x= 480 and leave the aspect ratio set then save as jpg
good luck with the cat, i hope it all works out
phil
Thanks Phil for your kind words. We already feed several strays, because even when our cats sleep inside, the outside food bowls are normally empty.....
Do you mean "home", where? I saw with the upload window that there is a width choice, but when I chose the area for cropping the picture, it was always at max although I hadn't even taken half of the whole photo
hi heidi - sounds similar to alfie (on the left)
within paint you have the resize tool under the home tab at the top - see pic home
doesn't matter what size it is to start with if you set the x to 480 this is what you will get - you may need to mess with this value dependant on the final size you want on the site
you then select the file tab and hover over the save as and another menu comes up with the format types - see pic save
hope this sorts it
phil
Update:
The cat Oli was much better for a while, then he developed strange formations on his head. I brought him to the vet again yesterday. He is more seriously ill than we hoped. I cannot keep him together with my other pets, they would be infected. Although he was with us only 2 weeks or so I really entered into deep contact with him. Unless we find someone without pets to keep him until the end we need to put him down. SOOOOO sad.
I wrote 2 posts with pics and videos on my-cat.org so far, if you want to check it out.
Thank you for the update Heidi, was wondering what the outcome was for Oli, been following his progress, sorry to hear it's not good.
At least you tried your best for him.
Sandra
i feel for you. it is really frustrating that they cannot talk and say how they feel.
you have shown him kindness - which he would not get in the wild and already saved his life.
maybe he is a brief visitor in your life, but it is better to have known him and helped him than turned your back on him
i hope you are able to find him a new home
phil
Phil, yes, you are so right. At least he has known some good moments, kindness and love and being pain-free and lively. I am in contact with my lovely vet and we will see what can to be done.
Thank you Sandra, for your words and your big heart!
That's just sad. But you did well by him Heidi.
And if you have to put hi down at least he had some happy time with you.
Oh Heidi, that is heartbreaking! I am so very sorry.
Jessica