BTW, thanks to everyone who had ideas about getting Bella to eat her Mega C. After syringing her with it, she no longer runs from the stuff and will eat it mixed into her food. Yay!
On another note, as I was getting ready to go to sleep, I heard a loud meowing sound on my porch. When I opened the door, there was a little black kitten, about 5 weeks old. He looks exactly like Pepper did at that age. (Pepper died one month ago, and he was neutered, so this kitten can't be his.) He was quite friendly and did not run from me, which makes me think that he's not feral. I brought him inside because I'm scared that one of the neighborhood loose dogs would get him.
Right now, he's in a cat carrier with some food. (He was ravenous and ate some moistened cat food and drank some water.) I do not know whether he is FeLV+ or - right now, so I'm keeping him and Bella
apart. I'll probably take him to the vet tomorrow and have him tested. I do have some concerns, though, and need some advice:
1. Bella tested FeLV+ on the SNAP test, but it was a very faint positive, and she is asymptomatic, so I'm hoping she'll fight it off. If the kitten is +, can that make Bella get worse off?
2. If the kitten tests -, I'd like to get him vaccinated for FeLV. What's the minimum age? And what if he's really + but it's not showing up on the test yet because he's too young?
3. We're still doing post-Katrina repairs and renovations, so Bella is locked up in a guest room (where I visit her for several hours a day). I don't want her getting out of getting into anything dangerous. It's going to be tough to keep Bella and Freddie (the new kitten) separate, but I can do it if necessary. How long should
they be separate? Do I need to get 2 - tests on the kitten before I consider him safe, and how soon after his vaccination will he be okay to come around Bella? I don't want him catching FeLV from her.
4. The kitten appears healthy right now. He's got a few fleas, but he isn't infested. (I had 2 specks of flea dirt on my chest after holding him for 1 hour.) Would it be safe to use a couple drops of Frontline on him, or should I wait? I do not have fleas in my house, and Bella has no fleas. (She stays on Frontline as a preventive measure.)
He's a real sweetheart and cries in the kennel. He likes me to hold him so he can crawl up on my chest and go to sleep. (It's uncanny, but that is EXACTLY what Pepper did as a kitten. The similarities between the two are amazing.) He's also got quite a motor on him.
~Ashleigh
P.S. Thanks for any advice. I've never dealt with FeLV until a month ago, so I'm not sure what my best course of action is. Even thought the kitten is making me sneeze a bit, he's a real sweetheart, and I'm not about to release him back to the wild where he must fend for himself. I'm not sure how he ended up on my porch, but he's obviously gotten separated from him mom and his littermates. He dosn't stop meowing until I put him on my warm chest, which probably feels like he's cozied up to his littermates and/or mom to him.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
