Annie's Story
As posted on Lucy's Lounge
August 20, 2011 - Annie Needs a Home by September 1
Annie's present owners are moving 9/1 and they can't take her with them. She lives at our apartments and will be relinquished to a shelter if a home can't be found. The owner said that all the no-kill shelters are full and aren't taking any animals.
I have two kitties in a two-bedroom apartment that only allows one kitty. Simba has CRF and Lucy seems to have the beginning of possible thyroid issues (she's going to the vet on Monday). I'm saying this just to mention why we really can't take her.
She's a sweet, five-year-old with declawed front claws and comes with litter, food, flea meds and bowls. Transportation would be paid for.
Can anyone help or have any ideas?
August 26, 2011 - Annie Update
I posted about Annie last Saturday. If you missed it, she's a five-year-old kitty whose owners are moving and saying they can't take her with them.
Well, we decided to take Annie. I couldn't stand the thought of her going to a shelter even though I know there are tons and tons of kitties who are homeless or in shelters. Actually, we knew all along we were going to take her in, but I was hoping to find her a home. Two senior kitties in a small apartment makes it very difficult to bring in another kitty.
Last weekend we met Annie's owners. They are a young married couple and also have a dog. They are actually quite nice, and I didn't press them on why they insist they have to give up Annie. I don't understand that decision. It's just strange because they had all her vet records, took good care of her it seems, gave me all her belongings, took her to the vet earlier this week and bought us food and litter. It just seems like irresponsible people wouldn't do all that.
I picked her up today. She's never lived with other cats but she's very afraid of their dog. Unfortunately, I don't have a room for her to be separated from Lucy and Simba. She's afraid of them and they're afraid of her, so there has been some hissing, growling and swatting. Annie has been under the bed for the last few hours. We've shown her the litter box a few times and I'm just hoping she'll use it when the time comes. It's 9:30 in the evening right now and she hasn't used it since coming here at 2:30.
I hope I'll have better news about all this within the next few days. Right now, we're all stressed and crabby. I feel so sorry for the cats. Annie is so scared and spent the whole afternoon desperately trying to find a hiding place. She hasn't eaten or drank either. Well, at least she has a home. I just hope she'll be happy here. I also hope Lucy and Simba will be happy and content again. I remember when we brought Bucky home that they never felt comfortable with him.
September 2, 2011 - More on Annie
We brought her home last Thursday. Friday morning there was bloody urine in both bathtubs. The previous owner told me that she did the same thing once last year when they brought home a new dog. I called Annie’s vet. Since she just had a check-up two days before, they asked me to bring her in but they wouldn’t charge me for the exam.
Well $135 later, we found out she has a condition called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). Apparently, this is diagnosed once infection, blockage, etc. are ruled out. FIC is brought on by stress by things like moving, new cats, new home or all of the above! This is treated with pain medication, a canned-food-only diet and time. It supposed to clear up in about a week. Since then, she’s been peeing blood multiple times a day, every day. She goes to the litter box more times than I can count and does just little dribbles. It doesn’t help that she’s not drinking much water and only wants to bury the canned food.
It gets worse. When the vet took Annie's urine she also did an ultra-sound on her bladder. There was an unidentified mass on the ultra-sound. Back to the vet she went on Wednesday for an x-ray (and another $100). Annie has two stones. She’s going to need surgery. I’ve been waiting all day today for the vet to call me with an estimate for the surgery cost. I was awake most of the night last night anticipating how much this is going to cost.
Poor Annie has been in the car four times in the last five days and to the vet three times. We’re not supposed to exacerbate her stress, but that’s just we’re doing.
Some good news is she’s been coming out more and receiving pets from us. She still spends long periods of time under the bed, but she has also made some brave forays into the main part of our home. She seems to feel pretty well in spite of the stones and the bloody urine and the too-frequent trips to the litter box. She growls at Simba and Lucy, but they tend to ignore her most of the time. Lucy does hiss at her from time to time, but they’ve been pretty good overall.
Annie is a sweet, sweet girl. She has a waddle more than a walk and a tiny, squeaky meow. I still can't understand why her previous owners didn't want her.
September 5, 2011 - Miss Annie's Surgery
The vet called me last Friday with the estimate. It's going to cost $2,000 for the surgery to remove the stones. In my wildest worries about the price, I never thought it would be this much. I spoke with Trish at Katnip Lounge, who by the way, is wonderful and funny too, just like her blog. Her Grayce had this same procedure in Las Vegas for about $800. Plus, her surgery was laproscopic, which seems to have a considerable less recovery time. I've called three vets in this area. They all charge the same price, if not more, and none of them does the laproscopic surgery.
I've received several ideas and even some vets to call. I'll definitely be calling around starting Tuesday after the holiday weekend to try to find a cheaper vet. I really appreciate all the encouragement and info! I need to also look into somehow making some extra money but I'm not sure where to start.
Although the blood seems to have abated considerably, Annie is still going to the litter box constantly. Other than that, she seems to feel well. She loves to play. She's also spending a little less time under the bed and isn't growling quite as much. Lucy and Simba have been wonderful.
August 20, 2011 - Annie Needs a Home by September 1
Annie's present owners are moving 9/1 and they can't take her with them. She lives at our apartments and will be relinquished to a shelter if a home can't be found. The owner said that all the no-kill shelters are full and aren't taking any animals.
I have two kitties in a two-bedroom apartment that only allows one kitty. Simba has CRF and Lucy seems to have the beginning of possible thyroid issues (she's going to the vet on Monday). I'm saying this just to mention why we really can't take her.
She's a sweet, five-year-old with declawed front claws and comes with litter, food, flea meds and bowls. Transportation would be paid for.
Can anyone help or have any ideas?
August 26, 2011 - Annie Update
I posted about Annie last Saturday. If you missed it, she's a five-year-old kitty whose owners are moving and saying they can't take her with them.
Well, we decided to take Annie. I couldn't stand the thought of her going to a shelter even though I know there are tons and tons of kitties who are homeless or in shelters. Actually, we knew all along we were going to take her in, but I was hoping to find her a home. Two senior kitties in a small apartment makes it very difficult to bring in another kitty.
Last weekend we met Annie's owners. They are a young married couple and also have a dog. They are actually quite nice, and I didn't press them on why they insist they have to give up Annie. I don't understand that decision. It's just strange because they had all her vet records, took good care of her it seems, gave me all her belongings, took her to the vet earlier this week and bought us food and litter. It just seems like irresponsible people wouldn't do all that.
I picked her up today. She's never lived with other cats but she's very afraid of their dog. Unfortunately, I don't have a room for her to be separated from Lucy and Simba. She's afraid of them and they're afraid of her, so there has been some hissing, growling and swatting. Annie has been under the bed for the last few hours. We've shown her the litter box a few times and I'm just hoping she'll use it when the time comes. It's 9:30 in the evening right now and she hasn't used it since coming here at 2:30.
I hope I'll have better news about all this within the next few days. Right now, we're all stressed and crabby. I feel so sorry for the cats. Annie is so scared and spent the whole afternoon desperately trying to find a hiding place. She hasn't eaten or drank either. Well, at least she has a home. I just hope she'll be happy here. I also hope Lucy and Simba will be happy and content again. I remember when we brought Bucky home that they never felt comfortable with him.
September 2, 2011 - More on Annie
We brought her home last Thursday. Friday morning there was bloody urine in both bathtubs. The previous owner told me that she did the same thing once last year when they brought home a new dog. I called Annie’s vet. Since she just had a check-up two days before, they asked me to bring her in but they wouldn’t charge me for the exam.
Well $135 later, we found out she has a condition called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). Apparently, this is diagnosed once infection, blockage, etc. are ruled out. FIC is brought on by stress by things like moving, new cats, new home or all of the above! This is treated with pain medication, a canned-food-only diet and time. It supposed to clear up in about a week. Since then, she’s been peeing blood multiple times a day, every day. She goes to the litter box more times than I can count and does just little dribbles. It doesn’t help that she’s not drinking much water and only wants to bury the canned food.
It gets worse. When the vet took Annie's urine she also did an ultra-sound on her bladder. There was an unidentified mass on the ultra-sound. Back to the vet she went on Wednesday for an x-ray (and another $100). Annie has two stones. She’s going to need surgery. I’ve been waiting all day today for the vet to call me with an estimate for the surgery cost. I was awake most of the night last night anticipating how much this is going to cost.
Poor Annie has been in the car four times in the last five days and to the vet three times. We’re not supposed to exacerbate her stress, but that’s just we’re doing.
Some good news is she’s been coming out more and receiving pets from us. She still spends long periods of time under the bed, but she has also made some brave forays into the main part of our home. She seems to feel pretty well in spite of the stones and the bloody urine and the too-frequent trips to the litter box. She growls at Simba and Lucy, but they tend to ignore her most of the time. Lucy does hiss at her from time to time, but they’ve been pretty good overall.
Annie is a sweet, sweet girl. She has a waddle more than a walk and a tiny, squeaky meow. I still can't understand why her previous owners didn't want her.
September 5, 2011 - Miss Annie's Surgery
The vet called me last Friday with the estimate. It's going to cost $2,000 for the surgery to remove the stones. In my wildest worries about the price, I never thought it would be this much. I spoke with Trish at Katnip Lounge, who by the way, is wonderful and funny too, just like her blog. Her Grayce had this same procedure in Las Vegas for about $800. Plus, her surgery was laproscopic, which seems to have a considerable less recovery time. I've called three vets in this area. They all charge the same price, if not more, and none of them does the laproscopic surgery.
I've received several ideas and even some vets to call. I'll definitely be calling around starting Tuesday after the holiday weekend to try to find a cheaper vet. I really appreciate all the encouragement and info! I need to also look into somehow making some extra money but I'm not sure where to start.
Although the blood seems to have abated considerably, Annie is still going to the litter box constantly. Other than that, she seems to feel well. She loves to play. She's also spending a little less time under the bed and isn't growling quite as much. Lucy and Simba have been wonderful.
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