Cats And Kittens

[eek]

Looking for some advice please.

I recently found a Wat nearby that has a LOT of cats and kittens. Ive been visiting everyday since as I adore cats and they are very friendly with me.

I have noticed a number are quite thin (although could be natural) and most seem to have fleas (but realise this is to be expected). Plus today I noticed a VERY small kitten's eyes were near shut and filled with a LOT of yellowy-white mucus. I didnt have my camera with me today sadly. Could it be that the kitten is just very very young and this is normal?(ie: newly 'opened' eyes) Or does it require some kind of treatment?

I would also like to know if you can recommend things i could take to the Wat maybe? Do you think would be ok to bring some food (or should i ask the Monks first, or leave the cats be?). What about getting some kind of flea treatment? (Although there is a lot of mutual grooming going on so is there some kind of natural/herbal product that could be used that wouldnt cause harm if digested?).

Just wondering if there is anything practical I can do whilst enjoying their company and any tips would be great. (Plus would like to know if it is ok to just go ahead and do it without permission. Or, would it be best I ask the Monks first before hand? I generally just smile and stay away from the Monks incase i mess up and do something im not suppose to! )

Edited November 2, 2007 by eek

[jcgodber]

I take care of about 25 cats and kittens at the Wat near me. Everyday I take 4 large scoops of Whiskas dry cat food and a ½ can of Whiskas.

People who don’t want cats or kittens know that if they go and leave them at the Wat the monks will take care of them.

I go every single day at 3 P.M. and I have a whole pack of cats come racing to great me everyday just as soon a one of them spots me coming. If my wife would let me I would adopt many of them.

[eek]

Very cute!

Would certainly be easy for me to take along dry cat food for them.

..Still concerned to know about the kittens eyes, if anyone can help. I resisted the urge to wipe them clean incase i made the problem worse or gave her an infection of some kind. If it is a simple case of clean cotton wool and sterile water then ill take that along with me, but wish to make sure that i cannot cause the kitty any infection or aggravate the condition.

[swain]

Looking for some advice please.

I recently found a Wat nearby that has a LOT of cats and kittens. Ive been visiting everyday since as I adore cats and they are very friendly with me.

I have noticed a number are quite thin (although could be natural) and most seem to have fleas (but realise this is to be expected). Plus today I noticed a VERY small kitten's eyes were near shut and filled with a LOT of yellowy-white mucus. I didnt have my camera with me today sadly. Could it be that the kitten is just very very young and this is normal?(ie: newly 'opened' eyes) Or does it require some kind of treatment?

I would also like to know if you can recommend things i could take to the Wat maybe? Do you think would be ok to bring some food (or should i ask the Monks first, or leave the cats be?). What about getting some kind of flea treatment? (Although there is a lot of mutual grooming going on so is there some kind of natural/herbal product that could be used that wouldnt cause harm if digested?).

Just wondering if there is anything practical I can do whilst enjoying their company and any tips would be great. (Plus would like to know if it is ok to just go ahead and do it without permission. Or, would it be best I ask the Monks first before hand? I generally just smile and stay away from the Monks incase i mess up and do something im not suppose to! )

Where is this Wat... would love to come with food as well... I love cats and have 8 myself... we would love to help if its up close to Chiang Mai.

[eek]

Wat PaPao on Maninopharat Road. (North moat area. Drive down the road as if going to the west moat area and you will see the small entrance on the left near the end of Maninopharat Road. It isnt easy to spot as the entrance is small. As it isnt a more popular Wat, it is lovely and quiet.) (sorry cant find map location but some images here, if that helps : http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/153/features.shtml#hd1 )

The kitties main hang out is left after the entrance, up the small step area. They seem to materialise like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. I see one, then blink, and see many more! When i sit down on the step area or just up from it i usually get a cat or two gently creep up onto my lap and around my feet. Very sweet. The kittens are very playful too.

If you go along to help out as well, then i think these kitty cats will get plump little bellies in no time!

[Nienke]

Wat Papao is gorgeous beautiful, methinks

I'm afraid that the kitten with the sticky eyes has one of the contagious diseases and needs veterinary care. The danger also exists that the other kittens are already or will be soon infected as well.

If you consult CareforDogs (Sarah: 0861855218, www.carefordogs.org), they can tell you in detail how to approach the monks and how to take of the cats concerning fleas etc. as they go to several tempels where they help to take care of the stray animals. You can also PM Ally (i think her nickname is Allyt). She has been working very closely with CareforDogs.

Nienke

[eek]

thank you Nienke.

Although not the news i was hoping to hear. (Also one young kitty was sneezing quite a bit too today).

Fingers crossed I can get them some help.

[elfe]

hi how nice you want to help and take care a bit of the kitties at the wat!!

eye discharge and infection/close glued eyes is common in kitties which are not taken care well of and is usually a sign of weakness/undernourishment and/or some infectious disease. you can wipe the eyes with dry tissue and apply some eye drops or better creme/ointment and give rich food like kitty whiskas. maybe this does the trick already, if not antibiotics for kitties (virbac doxy paste) should help. but it has to be given for some days. ask a vet about that.

good luck with that and happy kitty petting

[eek]

They are so cute its no effort to help!

Yes, I dont wish to touch the kitten's eyes without seeking vet advice first. Ive just emailed CareForDogs for advice, and will give them a call tomorrow early afternoon if they havent had a chance to get back to me. I dont mind applying any ointment/eyedrops, so long as im sure its the right thing (and hopefully i wont be hated/scratched/hissed at in the process )

[eek]

Ok, havent heard back from carefordogs yet.

Couldnt see the cats about the other day, so took a walk round the back of the Wat and found the majority all in a cage area (very good cage area btw. Old barbie dolls dangling from strings as toys. Some comfy soft areas for sleeping. Large dirt area for toilet. Food and water. So they are being treated well Not sure why they were in there though)

The older cats look healthy but noticed one or two with watery eyes and looking lack-luster. Blinking slowly, responding slowly, etc.

Couldnt see any of the kittens, but after a short walk I heard some kitten meows and noticed them looking out from a building. I didnt go up to them as I wasnt sure if this area was off limits so took a pic from where i was. Their eyes looked very watery with discharge. Sorry the pic of them isnt too clear. What i would like is to have some clarification if this is in fact normal for such young kittens or if it really could be as nienke suggests a contagious disease. Would be very very sad if this spreads! Would like to find a way to prevent that.

I will send "Ally" a pm now, but in case carefordogs dont get back to me, or cannot help, does anyone know of an alternative?

Thank you

Caged area:

Well & happy looking kitties for the most part:

This is one of the cats who looked a bit sorry for himself. Not a great pic and his eyes not so bad really. Just looked weary and slow to react:

A couple of the Kittens (pic taken at a distance, sorry). There seemed to be quite a lot of kittens in that building:

[Nienke]

Hi Eek,

Great what you are trying to do for those kittens.

Probable reason why Care for Dogs hasn't reacted is that Karin (the founder) is in Germany and Sarah is working her guts out. If I understood her well she needed to collect (or to take care of) from/in different places at least 19! puppies. (I'll PM you her mobile number)

I certainly would try to take the kittens form the last pic to the vet as it doesn't look good. I think the Monks will welcome your help. Another option is to PM Bambina, the forum vet (plus she has a clinic in BKK) and ask her advice.

I do fear that it is a contagious disease as you write that the older cats also have problems with infected eyes.

Nienke

[eek]

Appreciate the pm Nienke, thank you. Sounds like a hectic time at Care for Dogs!! Not surprised I havent received a reply considering.

Yes, sadly there seems to be a lot of kittens, all with similar looking eyes. I wonder if it is possible to get a vet to go there rather than try to get all of them to a vet...

Well, will pm Bambina and phone the number(s) you kindly provided for advice.

edit: just recieved a wonderful pm from Ally, giving advice. Most appreciated!

Edited November 6, 2007 by eek

[Allyt]

Hi there eek & thanks Nienke for putting folks in touch with me. I feel honoured that someone as knowledgeable and experienced as you, refer people to a me, who after all just got the bug of caring for these poor creatures only a year ago this last August.

Anyway, I have pm'd with the eek and hopefully been of some assistance.

I want to add here however, that I am so pleased that anyone who feeds any dog or cat on a street or around a temple should be praised highly for their ability to identify the plight that cats & dogs suffer.

Well done eek!

Ally

ps.. spoke at length to the Abbot of a temple who complained so much about the dumping of pups at his temple. They have no regular incoming food spare for the dogs, they don't get help from any sources to feed or care for the dogs. Now the dogs at this temple (Wat Pha Gee) are lucky, the Abbot & a few young monks actually like dogs and that is not always the case. Shame more folks like eek aren't around to help them.

[BambinA]

Looking for some advice please.

I have noticed a number are quite thin (although could be natural) and most seem to have fleas (but realise this is to be expected). Plus today I noticed a VERY small kitten's eyes were near shut and filled with a LOT of yellowy-white mucus.

Hiya

1) about flea, buy "frontline spot on" for dog but adjust the dosage for a cat , u can buy even 20-40 kgs (dog's size) It's not practical i know, but it is the same chemical substance, when u calculate the exact dosage, use tuberculin syringe to draw it up and drop at the back of neck's side.

2)About the infection of eyes, it's "cat flu" mostly of kitties response to enrofloxacin injection. Clean the eyes with clean water or normal saline and paste Chlorampenicol ointment(eye) 2 times a day

[eek]

Ty Bambi,

Didnt get a chance to pm you!

Tnx to all for helping me know where on earth to start, for i dont have a clue!

[BambinA]

Oh i forget to tell you, flea is a carrier of tapeworm. You have to give deworming drug as praziquantel to cats

[eek]

Oh heck..that quite a lot of cats and kittens that are going to hate me....

[eek]

Well here is an update for those interested:

My thanks to you all, especially to Ally who provided so much information for me. She recommended i go to BMM vets (Ban Maa Kap Meow) on Mahidol Road for advice and glad i did for I got more advice/help than i bargained for.

The staff were brilliant and after finding out what on earth i was trying to get across they went to sort out the recommended medication (a de-worming liquid solution and Frontline(note:ty for the advice reg frontline Bambi, saved me a small fortune). At the moment I have been told just to clean the eyes with warm water and wait for a while to see how they respond). Whilst waiting I met a lady who was on my Thai language course. Turns out she works with Care For Dogs and will talk over with Sarah about trying to set up a neutering programme. Small world eh! SO that is fantastic. Then when the staff member returned and began explaining what to do (weighing all the cats for correct dosage etc..) she stopped what she was saying (probably at my worried expression haha!) and asked if i would like some help administering the treatment. Grateful for any help, I of course said yes, and so she will meet me at the Wat on Saturday Morning. Very happy about this! (I suspect I even saw Nienke with a friendly Labrador (i think it was a labrador anyway), but felt a bit silly trying to strike up a conversation, and she was obviously busy).

Sadly, today, the cats were looking a bit worse than they did two days ago. Hopefully things will improve after their treatment. Just hope that by Saturday things have not gone too much down hill. Nice thing i noticed though, was a line of cat biscuits pushed under the caged area, so looks like someone else is feeding them.

I tried speaking Thai with the young Monk boys at the Wat as they do not speak English, but what little Thai I know does not stretch to what i wanted to try say. I wished to try explain that I have medicine for the cats and that I will come on Saturday with a friend to treat them, but, wanted to ask if they could round up the cats and put them in the caged area ready for us. If anyone knows how i can get this across, that would be brilliant ty. But, i have Thai class on Friday, so can ask my teacher in any case.

Now I have to buy some scales......

Edited November 7, 2007 by eek

[Nienke]

OH my Gawd, that was you!!!!

You SHOULD have said something, I'd like that. And, yep, that was a little lab I had with me, and a Ban Keaw.

Poor lab has HD already at age 5 months. And with the Ban Keaw I was everyday at the vet for the last 7 days. He got into a fight just before the owners brought him to me. The whole thing got complicated as it turned out he has (very much) lowered platelets, causing bleeding, due to tick disease. Something he was treated for already two months ago, but at another clinic they thought one months antibiotics was enough. NOT! Gggrrrrrr. I think the owners will stick to BMKM now. They just collected him. Big laugh, as while they hyper-enthusiastic greeted each other the dog got a huge erection. and the owners are Thai Luckily they can take a joke.

Hope to meet you one day Eek. Keep on the good work

Nienke

[eek]

Funnyyyy story Nienke!

Yes, im sorry that i didnt say anything, I really wanted to, just the opportunity seemed to pass. At first when i sat down I had a friendly nuzzle from the lab and looked up and saw you. I hadnt noticed you before this point. It was then I noticed the LuckyDogs logo on your jacket so dawned on me who you were. But you were talking to the ladies at the desk and then afterwards you walked around the side, so I figured it wasnt really an appropriate time for me to introduce myself. *sigh* Oh well. Hopefully another time!

(It IS funny though. They say if you stay in one place long enough you will bump into others you know (something like that anyway). First i saw you, then I saw the lady from my Thai class, who happens to be involved with Care For Dogs (which I had no idea about till then). All within the rather short time of me being there. Made me smile!)

Edited November 7, 2007 by eek

[elfe]

nice to see there are some wonderful animal lovers up there in chiang mai!! thanks and keep up the good spirit

[Sheryl]

It is wonderful to feed stray cats, but please be sure that you also attend to their neutering.

otherwise you'll just make matters worse in the long run.

Nature's system is that they reproduce like c razy and then starvation kills off the excess numbers, maintaining balance in the population. It's cruel but effective.

When you bring in food, you tamper with Nature's death control on population growth. Which is fine as long as you compensate for it by bringing in birth control: neutering or at least contraceptive injections.

With cats, the injections are really not good for them and it is better to have them operated on, but if that is not possible then the injections are the lesser of the evils.

Otherwise this temple will be overrun by cats before you know it.

"millions of catrs, billuions of cats, trillions and zillionz of cats..."(?Dr Seuss?)

[Nienke]

"millions of catrs, billuions of cats, trillions and zillionz of cats..."

BREAKING NEWS! Chiang Mai invaded and ruled by cats. And NO dog, mouse or rat should even think of entering Ooooorrrrrrr

Only cat servants allowed.

[Sheryl]

"millions of catrs, billuions of cats, trillions and zillionz of cats..."

BREAKING NEWS! Chiang Mai invaded and ruled by cats. And NO dog, mouse or rat should even think of entering Ooooorrrrrrr

Only cat servants allowed.

Well, that lets me in.....

[Nienke]

"millions of catrs, billuions of cats, trillions and zillionz of cats..."

BREAKING NEWS! Chiang Mai invaded and ruled by cats. And NO dog, mouse or rat should even think of entering Ooooorrrrrrr

Only cat servants allowed.

Well, that lets me in.....

[eek]

Update:

On Saturday, about 30 or so kitties treated for worms and fleas. Thank goodness for the Vet at BMM who came to help and the young monks helped out too.

We only found one kitten who required a trip to the vets (although i was positive there were others somewhere), and i took her along on Sunday, where she was unhappy about getting pushed and prodded and having a thermometer stuck up her botty! Anyway, medicine-wise she has to have antibiotic eye drops (twice daily) and liquid oral antibiotic (twice daily). She is being very good about it and purring and enjoying pets afterwards.

This morning I went along to the Wat to treat her and found 3 other kittens MUCH smaller than her with same sore eyes. Now...im wondering if it is possible to treat these kittens with the same medicine? Or, is that very irresponsible? Bambi, can you offer advice on this? Should i just take all 3 kittens along to BMM instead? Obviously I dont wish to cause harm....

[BambinA]

Update:

This morning I went along to the Wat to treat her and found 3 other kittens MUCH smaller than her with same sore eyes. Now...im wondering if it is possible to treat these kittens with the same medicine? Or, is that very irresponsible? Bambi, can you offer advice on this? Should i just take all 3 kittens along to BMM instead? Obviously I dont wish to cause harm....

Yes, you can use the ATB syrup for other kitties ;however, you may have to adjust the dosage because of thier weight.

I have no idea what is the kind of ATB you are using. Anyway, if you use the dried form that you have to mix it with water, you have to keep this ATB in the fridge and it will be expired after you mixed it with water in 10 days later.

If you use the pink one ( look alike strawberry milk), it's Sulfa-trimethoprim. Cats hat the taste of this ABO, they may split the drug off . Anyhow, this syrup need not to keep in the fridge.

90% of ABO syrup is used 1 cc / 1kg cat.

[eek]

Oh ty. i didnt know i needed to keep it in the fridge.

The oral treatment is called "Sporidin. Suspension 125mg/5ml" It was in powder form and i added water to it. It has an Orangy colour and also smells a bit like Oranges.

I will take along the scales again and weigh them. TY! Edit: To clarify, the1cc/1kg cat applies to this medicine too?

The eye treatment is Terramycin.

Can i use the eye treatment on the other kittens too?

Ty so much Bambi!

Edited November 12, 2007 by eek

[Nienke]

Great job, Eek! Careful for not falling in love and ending up with 10 cats

Nienke

[BambinA]

Oh ty. i didnt know i needed to keep it in the fridge.

The oral treatment is called "Sporidin. Suspension 125mg/5ml" It was in powder form and i added water to it. It has an Orangy colour and also smells a bit like Oranges.

I will take along the scales again and weigh them. TY! Edit: To clarify, the1cc/1kg cat applies to this medicine too?

The eye treatment is Terramycin.

Can i use the eye treatment on the other kittens too?

Ty so much Bambi!

Sorry, I have never heard the brand name, Sporidin. However, I think it may be the cephalosporin group such as Cephalexin . Could you please chack the common name please?

If it is Cephalexin, the dosage is 20-40 mg /kg so let's say 1cc /kg

NOTE!! .. you have to trow that bottle away, it's expired by inappropriated storage..

Terramycin ointment is perfect !! (for eyes)..yes you can use it with others

Edited November 12, 2007 by BambinA