I thought I was done (for a good while) in asking for monies for the cats here, but apparently not. Bentley crashed earlier and I rushed him to the vet fully expecting him to be given a pass to the Bridge.

Instead, he will be spending three days in isolation with supportive care; continuous IV drip of not only subcu fluids, but they have him on a morphine drip and an antibiotic serelina? I think he said.

It will cost $312.00 for these measures and although I don’t usually go the distance for one cat- Bentley is just different. I can’t explain it. Some cats are just special and he is worth breaking the bank in order to save him.

The vet does understand that if at any time in this three day period that Bentley starts spiraling downward, he is to be euthanized so he won’t suffer.

The vet said he can’t guarantee that Bentley can kick this- but there is a good enough chance to risk it. He is older than the other kittens and he does have one vaccine onboard.

So if anyone can help with the Bentley Crusade that would be wonderful. I have to admit leaving him in their hands is a mixed bag of emotions. One that I feel I am letting him down by throwing in the towel, and then also a big sigh of relief that he isn’t under my care right now. Like I said, hard to explain- but he is worth the risk we are taking-

Maybe I should call this the distemper journal for awhile, because I will be concentrating solely on keeping these cats as healthy as possible.

I have to operate on the premise that my home is invaded with the virus. It isn’t “contained” upstairs as I had hoped. It is everywhere. I feel when I am walking around town like Typhoon Mary so contaminated. It’s not a good feeling.

Last night when I went to bed, it was with tears in my heart. I didn’t think that Bentley was going to be alive this morning. He was dispensing poo out his rear end like a poo faucet. It was a spigot, I couldn’t turn off.

I was lying on the couch early this morning. I have Bentley in the living room- elevated off the floor in a rather large cage. I heard him use the litter box! I smiled in the darkness, distemper kittens usually don’t make it to the litterpan in time. I flung myself off the couch and turned on the lights waking Mike in the process. I removed the blanket over the cage and saw some formed stool in the pan- not all the way formed- but there was some! I looked back into the end of the cage and Bentley was eating!

He is passing some blood which is expected in cases of distemper. It is bright red which is a good sign and there isn’t that much of it to raise the alarm bell. He seems to have that warrior in him.

I went out and bought every cat food (canned) known to man. I will give him some of each until I find the one that tempts his taste buds. Until then, he will get between 30-50 ml of subcu three times a day. he has a pet fountain in the cage, but has not touched any of the water. I wonder what it is about this virus that makes these cats so thirsty, yet they cannot drink?

I know the lesions adhere to the soft tissue of the lining of the stomach and start working their way through the tissue to gain access to other parts of his body. I can only do my best and hope it is good enough to keep this kitty of courage in this world and get him past this dreadful disease.

I did find out yesterday if I paint the upstairs- that will help to stop the virus because it is planted into the drywall. i need to see if I can come up with enough funds to do that although my fear is going upstairs will bring the virus back downstairs with me no matter how many bleach steps I set up on the stairs below..sigh…like I said, Typhoon Mary

First off, this special is still here with us. Does Bentley have distemper? The vet isn’t ruling it out. He did do a fecal float to see if it might be giardia, coccidia or something else but all he saw was a ton of bacteria in the poo- nothing easily identifiable.

Bentley is to animated to even consider putting him down. He is on cage rest with supportive fluids and we started him on Baytril. The vet is hoping the vaccines will give him a leg-up to fight this nasty virus. His fever at the time of visit is 104- it is 102.6 as of ten minutes ago.
I told the vet that this is the kitten I would fight to the ends of the earth to save UNLESS he was clearly suffering which he isn’t. He fights the subcu’s so fiercely. I wish I had four arms instead of just two. Mike can’t help me with him, so the subcu’s are delivered sporadically- in small spurts instead of all at once. We did not run a snap test. Vet said it would be a waste of money and like me, he doesn’t trust the results. All I can do is give Bentley the best I have and hope that God doesn’t need another kitten scampering off to heaven.

Marian, glad to read that Little Spot delivered the goods!

Sweet, wonderful Bentley is now sick with what I pray isn’t panleuk. This is the kitten that loves to headbump me on the chin so hard, he almost knocks my head back. He is always on me, purring, loving on me and now he can barely move. He will go to the vet in the morning- and I will pray so hard tonight that he isn’t just another victim of this horrid disease. I will let you know when I learn more.

Bentley

Apparently, telling the Mother that kittens bite wasn’t reassuring enough and Jazzy has been returned to me. She has been vaccinated and is with a friend of mine for about 30 days just to be safe. I guess the youngest went to pick her up and she bit her and the Mother had a tantrum and decided to contact me and tell me that if I didn’t come and get this kitten (Siamese) she was going to take her over to Greenhill Humane Society and turn her in! No way is this kitten who has been previously mistreated going to even spend an hour in a shelter- so she is back with us now (so to speak). She is not the same loving kitten I turned over to the family, so there is no telling what she has really been through.