There will be no “shelter to the rescue” for these kittens. The shelters are unable to take the kittens not because they have the feline herpesvirus which can kill 50% of kittens affected with it, but they can’t take the kittens because of the ringworm. Ringworm is not fatal, it is persistent, highly contagious to cats, kittens, people, dogs and it can last as long as 5 months.
I did get some verbal help and the phone number of a vet in a neighboring town who is the leading vet when it comes to feline herpevirus. Of course right now, she is closed for the holidays but I hope to call her on Monday and see if she will see three of the kittens and work with us regarding payments to get these eyes on the road to healing.
I made an executive decision today about Badger’s eye. Her third eyelid is so swollen that when the eye is “opened” she is getting all sorts of debris in her eye. I have decided to stop trying to get the eye open and keep it sealed so further problems don’t occur. I’ve already seen that her eye is non-existent because of the corneal ulcer and now the blood clot. Poor baby girl. It may be the wrong decision for the experts but it feels like the right thing to do, especially when I just spent 20 minutes trying to get kitty litter out of her eyelid.
You know best regarding Badger’s eye. It’s a bad loss but she needs freedom from discomfort right now. How long do you think the ringworm will persist? Will the shelter take the cats after it is cleared up?
They want the adorable young kittens (better chance of finding them a home) not kittens entering the teenager age stage. My biggest concern is Dickens. Last night while we sat through her steam treatment in the bathroom, she sneezed 32 times in a row! I counted. Blood came pouring out of her nose and when I went to help clear up the gunk- she bit me hard on my thumb. So both of us had blood pouring out of us! She is just miserable and I have been told the drugs given to help clear this virus is not the right one! So I have stopped giving it to her. All we can do is our best and hope she is strong enough to survive until I see this new vet. Time will tell.