150 days ago by Domino | 67 views | 4 meows

Update on the kitty

The abandoned kitty is eating a lot so her tummy is getting round, but she has hardly any muscle underneath her skin, so her skin is very baggy and pulls away when you pet her. The fleas haven't been eradicated yet, but they aren't as prevalent.

I think she was removed from her mom at a very early age because she has no idea what the litter box is for, in fact it freaks her out when I put her in it. She also pees in her bed. That makes me think she was removed from her mom before she could be taught to take care of that business in another place. Baby kitties always pee in their beds & their moms clean it up to keep the space clean & I think she was still doing that when she was taken from her mom, maybe just 4 weeks old?  It's been a while since I've had kittens around so I'm not sure.

Sometimes she will pee on the floor. She's on a concrete floor so it's not hurting anything and when she does I cover it with kitty litter. Sometime she will pee again next to the same spot, so maybe we can get her trained to the litter box.  When the fleas are all gone and I can put her with the other cats maybe that will help... I'm not sure how that might work. I wish I knew someone who had a momma cat with older kittens that I could put her with. That might be what she needs.

I put her food next to her bed and put her on the bed to eat it, since "normal" cats don't pee where they eat, but it didn't seem to make any difference. So I am washing a small load of raggedy towels for bedding at least once a day to keep clean bedding for her.

We also realized yesterday that she has been declawed!  I can't imagine someone doing that to a kitty and then abandoning her!  She is a friendly cat and that odd smell has gone away for the most part. I think it was related to her malnourished dehydrated state.

I feed her a 3 oz can of wet food morning and another one at night. Yesterday I gave her a bit of dry food too, but overnight she threw it up. I'm not sure what that's about but I won't give her anymore dry food for now. 

She has so many issues I'm not sure if she will ever become a "normal" cat, but we are giving it a try.

I'm still trying to get well from a massive tooth infection that led to a root canal. I missed 2 weeks of work and am still not 100%. The swelling in my jaw still keeps me from eating solid food, so I have lost nearly 15 pounds and I may still lose that tooth if this infection doesn't go away. I have to get healthy before I so can do more than just feed the kitty, but the feeding seems to be helping a lot, so we will just keep doing that for the time being

She seemed to be the only one of my pets that didn't freak out when the fireworks started last night and again tonight. I guess she's been through so much that not much phases her.

Thanks for all your good wishes and if anyone has any suggestions on how to litter train a kitten, I'm all ears! Hope everyone had a safe and glorious Fourth of July!