A Special Case: Paddlefoot
Little Paddlefoot was born in early December 2006 and became very sick with cat flu and gunky eyes. He only weighed 300 grams and it was a struggle to keep him surviving. An interesting note: Paddlefoot is a special kitten who has extra claws (the official term is polytactylism).
He was hand fed for three weeks with a small teat on a bottle and eye dropper, given antibiotics and eye medication. Despite this he was slow to thrive. His weight did not improve although he began to respond to voice and touch.
January 26th 2006: it was back to the vet. More antibiotics and eye medication, and the introduction of High Protein food that could be made into "slop".
January 31st 2006: We were glad to report that over the last week he improved dramatically. His weight was now 400 grams and he was having three meals a day with protein food and milk and another "night cap" of milk late evening.
He used his litter tray, but not all the time so his name is sometimes "Puddlefoot". We found that getting him playing on the lawn under supervision is a great muscle building exercise.
His most frustrating moments are when he gets tangled in the curtains. "Hey, I've got too many claws. Help!"
March 2006: He is now getting stronger, he now laps his food and milk from a saucer and weighs more than 500 grams. Paddlefoot is almost three months old, weighs more than a kilogram, and he has been discovered to be a she.
She had ringworm which was treated and now is cured, although a close check will have to be kept for a time to ensure she is on track.
Paddles loves her food, kitten crackers, Vitapet milk and whiskers kitten food. No more eye dropper feeding. She is still having her eyes "cleaned and creamed" and almost at the end of antibiotics for the cat flu. No more sneezing!
Her
older house mates have accepted her as one of the family and so she
has been adopted into the household. Patches in her hero and will
follow him everywhere if she could. Patches plays "chase up the
passage" but is very gentle with her. Spanners brings her back to the
back door if she wanders outside unaccompanied by a human.
It is such a wonderful outcome for a little one who was so sick.
Happy ending!
Miss Paddlefoot has been happily rehomed making this a very
happy ending indeed - she enjoys nothing more than playing with her
toys, chasing flies and relaxing in her cave bed after a meal.
She is pictured here looking outside from the comfort of her forever home. This is a great outcome to Paddlefoot's story.
It is cases such as this which are extremely satisfying for all involved helping a sickly little kitten grow to be a strong, healthy cat.
We are always looking for volunteers to help support our organisation and if you are interested in helping out or sponsoring one of our special trust cats, please email us for further information, or phone either +64-(09)-276-9960 or 027-426-4374.
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