Princess
Poor Prinny
Wed, 10/17/2007 - 09:46 — KatjeGod, I feel bad. I've been so busy I didn't notice our Prinny being ill. When I got back from the clinic, I worked some more and when I was about to go to bed, I noticed our Prinny...acting all weird.
She had been a bit 'rusty', walking like an old lady the last day or so, but now..she was sitting in her basket without any motivation to come and cuddle. When given her favorite food, she did eat it but didn't gorge on it and left the rest to the rest of the colony, something she'd never do. And her third eyelid was halfway over the eye. When you petted her, she strained to stay upright and it made her uncomfortable. Her ear was redhot, and when I compared it to Lulu's, she felt like she was burning up.
I freaked. I checked her again, and after having drunk some water, she did come and cuddle. I went to bed with a pounding heart. In the morning, I prayed she was ok. I checked...no change. So off to the clinic we were.
My biggest fear was that her FIP had broken out. She had been found positive of that last year, but there is no sure way to diagnose FIP except with autopsy (FIP=deadly mutation of an 'innocent common diarrhea virus). She only has a couple of months to go before she is in the clear (they say that if it doesn't break out within a year of the diagnosis, they are clear, though this is also not certain). Another fear was that she had been poisoned by drinking the toilet water since sometimes products are added to the toilet bowl to clean it.
Plastic Bag attack
Mon, 10/08/2007 - 09:11 — KatjeWell, I've been away for the weekend and boy did I miss my kitties. I got home yesterday, got my cuddles, and my luggage and shoes got sniffed elaborately.
My boyfriend ordered himself some pizzahut yesterday, since he had no idea when I'd be home and left one of the bags they deliver the food in on the floor. This resulted in a bonkers Arwen, and a moody Prinny and Lulu. Arwen decided that attacking the bag was a good idea, but then when she did attack it, it made noise as plastic bags tend to do. That amped her up, up to the point where she was constantly moving her paws, the bag made a noise, and she attacked it again. She spooked herself, got in trouble with the Prinny because Prin was going bonkers at the erratic movements of the Arwen. Prinny then proceeded to take her hunting instincts out on Lulu, who then promptly did the same with Arwen.
And people ask me why I don't travel more... I have all the entertainment I need right here ;)
Prinnies nightly raids
Tue, 01/23/2007 - 20:16 — Katje Can you believe this is the face of a terrorist? Well, you better believe it. This is our Prinny, and this is the story of her dark side. You better be ready for some nightmares ;)
Food-motivated terrorists, the lot of them!
Tue, 01/23/2007 - 20:14 — KatjeRemember the days where food could lie undisturbed on the countertop? The times when, if you left out some food during the night, it was not a big deal? Those days are long gone in this household. Just about two years, to be exact.
You see, two years ago, I went out and brought home this lovely little blue-gray wonder. About a month later though, we learnt the harsh truth. When it came to food…we had brought home a monster! And the monster was a quick study. And had an accomplice to help her.
One night, the day before trash day, we left the lid of the trash open. It was simply too full and the next day we would be able to take it out anyways. And Prinny had always been good. She never even slashed open the bags.
The next morning we found that the bag had been raided. And I had just thrown out a bag of emmentaler that had gone bad…which was no where to be found. Our kitties were sitting like little angles in a corner, shunning us like mad. And the throw-up fest began. First Trini, where the amount was still reasonably ok. But Prin…once she started throwing up it never seemed to end. She had devoured the entire contents of the bag with cheese on her own (some of it was green with mildew), and her eyes had turned out to be too eager for her stomach to stomach. It took a full two days for her to stop vomiting. Luckily, I was to start my new job at the veterinary clinic that week, so I took her with me one day to have her checked. She was fine, thank god, though she got some light meals to spare her poor stomach somewhat.
However, everything changed after that night. The next day we found the garbage bag slashed open. She had figured out that the bag could contain treasures, she might enjoy. My mom was kind enough to bring over one of those bag holders that is completely closed. Sure enough, that did the trick.
Orders of the vet
Sat, 12/30/2006 - 10:42 — KatjeWell, I started carrying out the orders of the vet today: Arwen gets special food from now on. She has had ongoing diarrhea for a while now and since nothing so far has helped, it is believed she has foodallergies.
It just so happens that one of the bags of food which treats foodallergies (Hills D/D Feline), was given to me at the clinic recently because it was about to expire and they could not sell it anymore (and that food does not go bad overnight, thats why they give it to us then). So for once luck was on my side. These bags are kind of expensive you see. Of course, if she responds well to the treatment, it will become a very expensive kitten indeed, foodwise, but it is better than letting her suffer.
But that also means I have to keep her from eating what the other cats are eating. So last night I took away their food, and gave it back in the morning, with Arwen having her own on the scratching post (she is used to this kind of feeding, since when she was a kitten she got her extra vitamins and stuff fed there). Now I still have to teach them that food will not always be available and they better come and eat when it does come out, so this is gonna be fun. We' ll see if it pays off now.
The vet also told me she checked several sources on FIP, including the specialist at the lab and they all tell me not to worry about Prinny and that virus. They are convinced she is not FIP+. So that did reassure me a bit. We are still waiting to hear from one source (their institute is closed during the christmas holidays), but he will probably tell us the same.
So, that is good news I would say. That means my plans for foster parenting kittens can go forth again. I also told the 'shelter' I am going to work with about my FIP-situation, and they sent me a reply from their vet, which was pretty much the same as the opinion of the specialist at the lab. So things are looking good so far for 2007 :)
Nail-biting once more *sigh*
Wed, 12/20/2006 - 21:04 — KatjeI took Prinny with me again on Monday, and had blood drawn. The doctor from the lab had told us to wait three weeks and then draw blood to then see if the 'titer' was higher or lower or the same. Last time she had 320, and if it rises the chance that she has FIP is very real. If it stays the same or even better, decreases, chances are it was a virus of a passing nature.
Today I finally got the results: 320 again. So we are still scratching our heads. It is a good result, I guess. But the titer is reacting to something, so something is still present in her body, and I am no closer to figuring out what I am to expect or if my other cats are seriously at risk. It is frustrating really, but I guess I should just count my blessings for now. To be continued, I am sure.
The final test-results
Tue, 12/05/2006 - 20:51 — KatjeThey came in today...Lulu was already negative, Arwen is negative, Trinity negative, and Princess...positive. FIP positive, although only lightly. It is not as black and white as it seems though. Apparently FIP is a probable mutation of a very innocent virus, which causes only vomitting and diarrhea. A fluke of nature. Unfortunately, this means that if you test for FIP and your cat had the innocent little brother, she tests positive as well. So where does that leave us? In Limbo. Nobody can tell me if my cat is really carrying the virus, not until she get sick and dies. Or she could have recovered from a mild virus without ever getting FIP. 
The doctors at the clinic are also gonna do some research to see what the best course is. What about my plans to help the shelter? They have been ruined, at least for now. If we can get a house that has a big enough room I can seal off of the rest of the house, I could still do it. As long as there is quarantaine, I can still help stray cats. But we are still looking for a house like that..
Lulu vs Prinny: the long story
Tue, 11/28/2006 - 10:12 — KatjeWell, here it is, the story that will tell you WHY Prinny and Lulu arent exactly a match made in heaven.
It involves a lot of fur flying, hissing and unfortunately for me:Prinny stressing. And how do cats most often stress? Riiiight, they use their bodily fluids!
