It is never easy to have to put down a rescued kitty. But that is exactly what needed to be done today. For the last month, I have been working to get a pretty calico kitty to become dependent on me for food and water because this kitty was abandoned when her people moved away and was not doing good on her own.
Most cats when abandoned are stressed out and do not trust other humans. When we tried to trap her we found that she ran and hid in the woods and instead of trapping a cat we got a raccoon and a possum. Two weeks ago we were able to get a hold of her long enough to get flea control on her. But at the last minute, she jumped from my arms and got away.
We finally made headway and this little kitty came to us and we put her in our garden shed where there were self-heating cat bed and a space heater to keep her warm and cozy on a cold winters night.
I checked on the kitty and the space heater many times during the night and noticed that she was not eating or drinking from her bowl. I figured it was stress so I plugged in a Feliway diffuser to aid in calming her since she was in a new area. By early morning I noticed that the rescued kitty was hiding, in a self-heated bed behind a storage container and that her eyes were draining and there was a discharge from her nose. I suspect a cat cold and planned on calling the veterinarian as soon as the office opened.
At 9:00 AM I noticed that her breathing had become labored and I called the veterinarian. They saw her at 2:00 in the afternoon and told us that she had Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis. An infection that had gone into her lungs and caused fluid to build up. He also suspects Feline Leukemia or cancer. Her teeth indicated that she was a very old cat and being abandoned and getting beat up by other cats put her at risk for cat disease.
There is no cure for Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, all you can do is provide your cat with comfort, keep your cat warm and treat the symptoms. Your veterinarian may give you a prescription for antiviral medication. But in our case the veterinarian recommended euthanasia.
We stayed with the little stray kitty throughout the entire procedure, I held her paw and kissed her head told her she was a good kitty. Even though I had not known this kitty for a long time I did feel attached to her. I had thought we could get her the medical treatment she needed, and give her good food and make her a healthy and happy kitty again. But I guess she was outdoors too long and had to too many cat fights, lack of food and shelter and the stress was too hard on her.
We buried her in our yard with all the other stray cats that we could not save.
Know that the only way To prevent your cat from getting infected with Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis or feline influenza is to get your cat vaccinated. The best way to prevent Feline Leukemia is to get your cat vaccinated and keep your cats indoors. A cat that is permitted to go outdoors may easily come in contact with a cat that has infections feline disease:
Learn more about Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis here
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