I have been receiving comments in my blog that I am not approving for personal reasons. I just want to clarify something- I am NOT a vet. I do not medicate any feral, stray, or kitten without it first being approved by a vet either by phone, email or in an actual visit. Those of you asking me to diagnose your cat’s illnesses- I will not do this. I am not qualified to do that- heck, you would be hard pressed to find a vet over the Internet that will do this!

When I talk about email- it is with a specific vet in the area who has given me her email address for use during emergencies only (after hours) Most of the time she has seen the cat or kitten before, and I am careful with weighing the kitten, explaining in great detail what is going on and I don’t self-medicate any of my crew- EVER! Self-medicating is a dangerous practice especially with strays and kittens. Your best bet is to see a vet in your area and go with his/her recommendation. Please don’t expect to find the “magic cure” on some Internet site, especially mine!

Now all that being said, I took barn kitty to the vet this morning because she was sneezing multiple times, she has clear drainage from her eyes and nose and she sounds like a washing machine. Ben looked her over carefully and thankfully proclaimed her lungs clear, and just said she has a massive URI mostly concentrated in the sinuses. She has been put on a heavy duty antibiotic twice a day, and she is now moved downstairs into the bedroom where she lives with Guinevere and Fiona. He agrees she needs to be spayed, and if I can successfully keep the kittens off her for then next 10 days, she should be dried up enough to get spayed. He won’t spay a lactating queen because it causes the female to be in great pain depending on the size of her mammary glands. He agrees with me that four litters in her short life with multiple kitten deaths is unacceptable and she needs to be spayed quickly. I haven’t contacted her owner about her illness because quite frankly, I don’t want to hear her tell me she will “care for the family.” I have seen how she cares for this family and her schedule is just to busy to accomodate this feline family’s needs.