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Apr. 24th, 2008 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thekyttnA day of mixed blessings.
Yesterday my son took his cat to my vet (now former vet, you will see why) because of her pregnancy and a concern that she would have problems having the kittens. I had simply called in my credit card number to the vet and told my son to talk to the vet about the cat's safety and getting her shots soon, etc. The vet told my son that the cat was due in 2 weeks or less, and that he should have a spay-abort done because of the danger to Smokey (she's a tiny cat, 7.5 lbs when they weighed her) and essentially (according to what Garrett told me today) because my son and his girlfriend wouldn't be able to afford to give the kittens a good home, since they'd obviously fallen down on the job with Smokey, since she'd ended up pregnant and with no shots. He suggested Garrett take Smokey to the SPCA and have the procedure done there because of the difference in expense.
Garrett called me this evening on the way home from the SPCA, ranting and raving. When he went to pick up Smokey after her procedure, they told him that she wasn't pregnant, and hadn't been yesterday, though it looked like she might have been nursing. Garrett told them about the vet visit, but the lady insisted that it was impossible that there had been kittens yesterday. Another employee took Garrett aside and suggested that he search the house for kittens, just in case.
Garrett called me because he was furious that the vet had told him Smokey was pregnant when she wasn't. I talked to him at length, found out that Smokey had been out of sight for several hours last night, and convinced him that there might be babies at home. Then, of course, he worried on the way home about the little ones who had been without Mama all day. I, on the other hand, am angry that the vet pushed for a spay-abort and bullied the kids into it.
Sure enough, when they got home, Smokey disappeared, and he eventually found her with her two kittens. He was very very glad to have found the kittens, because he had really not wanted to do a spay-abort, but had only agreed to it because of pressure from the vet that it was the right thing to do for Smokey. I disturbed my sister-in-law several times to get advice on how to help the kittens and about what to do about Smokey who is obviously a little uncomfortable after today's procedure. Poor Carol, by the last call she sounded very frustrated! I do need to find a local resource to call about animal questions. I've instructed Garrett to call the SPCA or his grandparent's vet if they have any other questions or concerns. Smokey is doing ok with the kittens, though sore. We did attempt to supplement her nursing with some KMR, but the kittens didn't want it, and we were told it was a bad idea anyway, that we should stick with just the nursing, so Garrett and Kathy will be spending the night next to Smokey and helping the kittens nurse and distracting Smokey with petting and treats. I'm going to check at the bookstore tomorrow to see if we have any books with advice/information on raising kittens; I haven't dealt with them at all in my adult life.
I went over after work with the KMR, and spent a lot of time with the kittens (so very cute!) and Smokey, then talked a long time outside with Garrett and Kathy. We talked about Greg, we talked about some of the things I'm feeling now, we talked about my parents, we talked about Faeryn and her current love interest. Before I went home, I asked Garrett for a hug, and he gave me a nice long hug. I haven't been held in so long, I cried a little, and he held me, and I explained my tears, and he seemed to understand. I don't think I've been hugged since my birthday, except once half-heartedly by Faeryn when I hugged her.
Now I need to find a new vet, because I really don't like the way this one handled the situation. I had expected better of him; he had always been so kind with Max and Tyler. He also made Garrett and Kathy feel awful. Yes, they had done poorly by the cat by not getting her spayed earlier and not getting her vaccinated. They had managed to get Tiger, their other cat done, but the day that Smokey was scheduled to go for her procedure at the SPCA originally, she disappeared and they could not find her to take her. By the time they were able to make another appointment, it was obvious that she was pregnant, and they were afraid to tell me at first (because they'd get scolded) and didn't know what to do. When they finally told me, and I told them I would cover the cost, they agreed right away to take Smokey to the vet to be checked out and to get advice on the shots, spaying, etc (neither Garrett nor Kathy is working much right now). They were trying to do the right thing by their pet, and rather than getting encouraged to keep doing so, they were made to feel bad and essentially told that killing the kittens was the best way to keep their cat safe and that they shouldn't be bringing more kittens into the world anyway since they couldn't afford them. Yes, they should have had her spayed sooner, but killing the kittens wasn't necessary. We're all glad that the kittens were born between the vet visit and the SPCA visit!
Kittens are very good medicine, and a hug from my son was even better. I might even sleep tonight at a semi-reasonable hour (at least until my fellows wake me).
Yesterday my son took his cat to my vet (now former vet, you will see why) because of her pregnancy and a concern that she would have problems having the kittens. I had simply called in my credit card number to the vet and told my son to talk to the vet about the cat's safety and getting her shots soon, etc. The vet told my son that the cat was due in 2 weeks or less, and that he should have a spay-abort done because of the danger to Smokey (she's a tiny cat, 7.5 lbs when they weighed her) and essentially (according to what Garrett told me today) because my son and his girlfriend wouldn't be able to afford to give the kittens a good home, since they'd obviously fallen down on the job with Smokey, since she'd ended up pregnant and with no shots. He suggested Garrett take Smokey to the SPCA and have the procedure done there because of the difference in expense.
Garrett called me this evening on the way home from the SPCA, ranting and raving. When he went to pick up Smokey after her procedure, they told him that she wasn't pregnant, and hadn't been yesterday, though it looked like she might have been nursing. Garrett told them about the vet visit, but the lady insisted that it was impossible that there had been kittens yesterday. Another employee took Garrett aside and suggested that he search the house for kittens, just in case.
Garrett called me because he was furious that the vet had told him Smokey was pregnant when she wasn't. I talked to him at length, found out that Smokey had been out of sight for several hours last night, and convinced him that there might be babies at home. Then, of course, he worried on the way home about the little ones who had been without Mama all day. I, on the other hand, am angry that the vet pushed for a spay-abort and bullied the kids into it.
Sure enough, when they got home, Smokey disappeared, and he eventually found her with her two kittens. He was very very glad to have found the kittens, because he had really not wanted to do a spay-abort, but had only agreed to it because of pressure from the vet that it was the right thing to do for Smokey. I disturbed my sister-in-law several times to get advice on how to help the kittens and about what to do about Smokey who is obviously a little uncomfortable after today's procedure. Poor Carol, by the last call she sounded very frustrated! I do need to find a local resource to call about animal questions. I've instructed Garrett to call the SPCA or his grandparent's vet if they have any other questions or concerns. Smokey is doing ok with the kittens, though sore. We did attempt to supplement her nursing with some KMR, but the kittens didn't want it, and we were told it was a bad idea anyway, that we should stick with just the nursing, so Garrett and Kathy will be spending the night next to Smokey and helping the kittens nurse and distracting Smokey with petting and treats. I'm going to check at the bookstore tomorrow to see if we have any books with advice/information on raising kittens; I haven't dealt with them at all in my adult life.
I went over after work with the KMR, and spent a lot of time with the kittens (so very cute!) and Smokey, then talked a long time outside with Garrett and Kathy. We talked about Greg, we talked about some of the things I'm feeling now, we talked about my parents, we talked about Faeryn and her current love interest. Before I went home, I asked Garrett for a hug, and he gave me a nice long hug. I haven't been held in so long, I cried a little, and he held me, and I explained my tears, and he seemed to understand. I don't think I've been hugged since my birthday, except once half-heartedly by Faeryn when I hugged her.
Now I need to find a new vet, because I really don't like the way this one handled the situation. I had expected better of him; he had always been so kind with Max and Tyler. He also made Garrett and Kathy feel awful. Yes, they had done poorly by the cat by not getting her spayed earlier and not getting her vaccinated. They had managed to get Tiger, their other cat done, but the day that Smokey was scheduled to go for her procedure at the SPCA originally, she disappeared and they could not find her to take her. By the time they were able to make another appointment, it was obvious that she was pregnant, and they were afraid to tell me at first (because they'd get scolded) and didn't know what to do. When they finally told me, and I told them I would cover the cost, they agreed right away to take Smokey to the vet to be checked out and to get advice on the shots, spaying, etc (neither Garrett nor Kathy is working much right now). They were trying to do the right thing by their pet, and rather than getting encouraged to keep doing so, they were made to feel bad and essentially told that killing the kittens was the best way to keep their cat safe and that they shouldn't be bringing more kittens into the world anyway since they couldn't afford them. Yes, they should have had her spayed sooner, but killing the kittens wasn't necessary. We're all glad that the kittens were born between the vet visit and the SPCA visit!
Kittens are very good medicine, and a hug from my son was even better. I might even sleep tonight at a semi-reasonable hour (at least until my fellows wake me).
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Date: 2008-04-24 08:05 am (UTC)Also I'm glad that your relationship with son & his girlfriend seems to be really quite good these days & you're helping & supporting each other. Yay hug!
*hugs*
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Date: 2008-04-24 11:56 am (UTC)K, I bet you could also contact
And I look forward to kitten pictures. :)
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Date: 2008-04-24 10:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 11:34 am (UTC)Don't worry about calling us for animal advice; we live and breathe it. It's a good thing we're so far from your vet... hell hath no fury like an animal-rescue woman dealing with a bad vet.
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Date: 2008-04-24 03:58 pm (UTC)I like to keep a small jar of the powdered KMR around "just in case". It's also a good supplement for nursing mom-cats. Adult cats usually LOVE how rich it is. Ours learned quite quickly that me prepping kitten milk in the kitchen would shortly mean THEY would get some leftovers to lap up :)
There are some cute kitten pictures on this page for when you feel like more aaaawwwwwww in your life:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/variousstufffc/sets/72157594437990840/
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Date: 2008-04-25 04:47 am (UTC)*shakes head some more*
Some vets ... don't have a "bedside" manner to speak of, do they? (nor do some docs, for that matter)
(not to mention he was off just a bit on the dates, wasn't he?)
Good thing is that the spaying won't affect her milk supply to speak of, and recovery time is generally pretty quick for cats. If the kittens claws are picking at the incision, you can use some small bandaids to cover the incision itself (without covering the nipples), to help protect the incision. Hopefully, the SPCA used internal sutures and surgical glue to close the incision (nothing on the outside to be picked at).
Oh, and 7.5 pounds is plenty big enough to have kittens without problems (as Smokey has proved!)
(my general rule of thumb re: pregnant spays is to make sure that the owners absolutely don't want kittens, that they know the kittens will not survive the procedure , and that is exactly what they want. It's not my place to make their decision. I really would rather not do 'em, myself, but it can be really hard to catch a female cat NOT in heat or pregnant at the time of the spay at this time of the year. Yet another reason I prefer to do 'em as young as possible - 12 weeks is just fine, if you're used to doing them at that age, and the youngest one I've spayed was probably about 6 weeks old, in hindsight)