***chat*** BS Thread (For off-topic discussions)

Quote from akageorge : Much good info here and your next post. Thanks! I saw all the fish a/b stuff and wondered if I could use it. I had some doxycycline, but it was long expired and I saw the warnings about kidney problems from using old doxy. Will try to get out tomorrow and check on this. We have a Petco in my usual shopping area (20 miles) and PetSmart in the next area (40 miles).

The FishMox is Amoxi, so that's about as safe as you can get without a script.

Your best bet is a small pet shop or fish shop, perhaps call around.

How are they? Will they eat anything? I know how it is to have sick fur babies.

The cat signal went out. I was hoping you'd check here.

If they have fevers you can wipe their paw pads with alcohol swabs to bring down the fever.

Quote from stitchshopgirl : The FishMox is Amoxi, so that's about as safe as you can get without a script. Your best bet is a small pet shop or fish shop, perhaps call around. How are they? Will they eat anything? I know how it is to have sick fur babies. The cat signal went out. I was hoping you'd check here.

They're "resting comfortably," as they say at the human hospital. I have them isolated in a carrier in an upstairs room off my bedroom. They each had a couple of syringes of cat vitamins dissolved in warm water and tuna juice, and I wiped their faces with warm cloths. Their eyes look better but they're still stuffed up. At least they aren't out where it's 20 degrees before wind chill. I left a bowl of tuna in the carrier in case they do get an appetite.

These are two of the outdoor cats, sisters, second litter of the mama we had spayed a couple of months ago. They're very small for their age. We had their brother neutered and he is huge.

Sweetie Pie is all white except for a calico tail and eyebrows, and Pooky is all black with random single white hairs all over.

Quote from akageorge : They're "resting comfortably," as they say at the human hospital. I have them isolated in a carrier in an upstairs room off my bedroom. They each had a couple of syringes of cat vitamins dissolved in warm water and tuna juice, and I wiped their faces with warm cloths. Their eyes look better but they're still stuffed up. At least they aren't out where it's 20 degrees before wind chill. I left a bowl of tuna in the carrier in case they do get an appetite. These are two of the outdoor cats, sisters, second litter of the mama we had spayed a couple of months ago. They're very small for their age. We had their brother neutered and he is huge. Sweetie Pie is all white except for a calico tail and eyebrows, and Pooky is all black with random single white hairs all over.

How are they doing?

Quote from akageorge : Much good info here and your next post. Thanks! I saw all the fish a/b stuff and wondered if I could use it. I had some doxycycline, but it was long expired and I saw the warnings about kidney problems from using old doxy. Will try to get out tomorrow and check on this. We have a Petco in my usual shopping area (20 miles) and PetSmart in the next area (40 miles).

I hope the cats are feeling better by now. I can verify that the fish pills are the same as human generics (at least the ones I've seen).

Both girls look a lot better and are stronger. One is eating from a bowl. I checked 3 pet shops and 2 farm stores and didn't find amoxy but picked up Duramycin 72-200 at Tractor Supply. Unfortunately, I can't find feline dosage instructions for 72-200, only 100, and have been too exhausted to figure it out.

I did find out they carry the 3-in-one vaccine for kittens, so I'm going to pick up four doses for the babies who will be 9 weeks this Friday. It's lots of fun keeping all the different cat groups quarantined from each other! The sick girls are in a carrier covered by a heavy towel in a closed room, and I bring them downstairs to the bathroom for steam and feeding. Then I sanitize the whole room, take a shower, and carry them back upstairs -- twice a day.

Glad to hear they are doing better.

I'm not familiar with Duramycin at all. Perhaps someone here has experience with that one. Most of the drugs that TSC has have a # that their employees can call and they can probably give you a correct dosage. I've had them call on other unrelated dosages of stuff labeled for other animals. The people fielding the questions are either vets/pharmacists so they have a computer of knowledge at their fingers and know how to use it.

Sometimes when I google I find so much conflicting info. it's just better to talk directly to the maker of the med.

I keep a bottle of the FishMox on hand because Amoxi is one of the safer antibiotics to use and I just guesstimate the dosages. I also have a jar of feline probiotics that I use with them, but plain Dannon yogurt works well also to keep the good bacteria in tact.

I know how worn down you can get with sick kitties while still taking care of the well kitties and tending to everyday business.

They can only sell amoxi by prescription, unless it's under the disguise of amoxi for fish. In the Drs Foster and Smith catalogs, I receive the cat edition and generally the FishMox is advertised in every issue. It's the only way to legally sell it in the states, yet you can go to Canada and purchase it, go figure.

Mom used to get a script from her dr. and we used to get it in dry form so it would be on hand to mix, but he's part of a bigger office now and they don't write cat scripts any longer. If you have a good reltionship with a dr., dentist, vet and they can write scritps or the amoxi most places you can get a huge bottle for $4 these days.

The FIshMox has worked well and it's only about $20 for 100 capsules, so it's fairly cheap, just not as cheap as a $4 script.

When Garfield was sick, I had him isolated in the bathroom and it was touch and go for over a month before I lost him. I was pretty worn down and many times I would wake up with my head on the tub from steaming or feeding him. Not the softest pillow around, but he needed round the clock care.

I ordered some Fish Flex (cephalexin). It seemed to have fewer side effects than amoxy. Both girls are now eating and drinking from bowls and both went into the litter box on their own today. They're feeling feisty enough to resist now when I do their eye drops, so that's a good thing. They'll run and hide under the bathtub unless I stop them, but once I have them close, they just want to snuggle.

Quote from akageorge : I ordered some Fish Flex (cephalexin). It seemed to have fewer side effects than amoxy. Both girls are now eating and drinking from bowls and both went into the litter box on their own today. They're feeling feisty enough to resist now when I do their eye drops, so that's a good thing. They'll run and hide under the bathtub unless I stop them, but once I have them close, they just want to snuggle.

Glad to hear they are doing so much better.

Another tip for very sick kitties that aren't able to use the litter box is to put a disposable bed liner under the blanket they are lying on or on top of the blanket/bed they are on and it absorbs an insane amount of the moisture and the blanket/bed can be washed.

The reason I generally won't put the bed liner on top of what they are laying on is if they are weak, technically they could suffocate due to the plastic bottom, if they can't lift their head on their own to breathe. I've actually had pretty good luck cutting them to fit an area or bed, as most of them are really huge because they are made for humans.

Fighting when taking medicine is indeed a good thing, in this case. Thanks for the update.

i just came back here for a recipe that i lost, but i knew came from the Wiki of this thread

Are the kitties 100% AkaGeorge?

Speaking of kitties, HI REG!!! I love your Christmas kitty avatar.

The girls are gaining weight and looking good. Both still wheezing a little when they eat, and occasional coughs or sneezes (also usually after they eat), but I had to separate them into 2 carriers because they were getting crowded in one! They are both affectionate and learning their names.

I have an appointment to get them spayed next Wednesday, along with a mama cat whose kittens are 10 weeks old tomorrow. My vet has a low-cost clinic. $82 for females, which includes a rabies shot. $37 for males, ditto. I'm hoping these are the last we'll be taking in. Although there are still some unneutered in the outdoor colony, I'd have to trap them because they're too wild to catch otherwise.

Hello there!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for the Kitty Avi applause, she HATED that thing...............the GF wants to dress her up all the time and it never ends well. She also pesters me to take the kitty to have a photo with Santa, but seriously, I'm not that crazy as the cat hates to be picked up, I'm about the only one who can do it and even that's 50/50 chance of success!

How are things going?