Survivor Shelter comes under our special provision for Medical Aid for Sponsored Animals in selected shelters for four animals, ie. WinWin, Cash, Milky and Fate, the newly-rescued kitten.
We have provided an aid of RM142.75 for the medical treatment of Fate and another RM142.75 is gifted by The Blondies. The total bill was RM285.50.
Backstory: Fate was rescued from the roadside yesterday by Ms Ong and her friend as they were travelling to the shelter in Semenyih. They took Fate to a vet yesterday. Fate has mange on both ears and flu. When they spotted Fate by the roadside, there was already a dog nearby. If you view yesterday’s video, you can probably see the dog. There were also some houses nearby.
Although Ms Ong and her friend had already taken Fate to a vet yesterday, Ms Ong felt that something was amiss. Fate was mewing a lot as though she was having some grave discomfort. So rather than take chances or wait until Tuesday (tomorrow is a public holiday), she agreed that another consultation was necessary. Fate is still a young kitten and kittens go down very fast.
So I helped Ms Ong make an appointment at our vet (slotted in as appointments were already full) and I personally fetched Ms Ong and Fate to the vet this morning.
Since I was there, I will write about this case.
Fate was diagnosed with severe flu. The mange isn’t severe and today’s vet felt that the Ivermectin jab given yesterday could be too harsh for a kitten this young. So as far as the mange is concerned, another visit in two weeks’ time is sufficient where perhaps a spot-on can be used for it.
The flu, however, is severe. The antibiotic given yesterday was also too strong, so the vet advised to stop using it. Instead, Fate was prescribed two antibiotics, ie. Curam liquid and Doxy paste, Bromhexizine (a mucolytic) and Cetirizine (an antihistamine). Fate was also given an immune booster, ie. Vetri DMG.
An ear-prick blood test showed an increase in the white blood cell count and anaemia. So, Fate was also given an iron supplement syrup.
Fate was found to be dehydrated as well so the vet gave her subcut by injection as she is still so small. A total of 6ml of fluids was injected slowly under the skin but this proved to be extremely challenging. It was supposed to be 10ml, but the vet only managed to give 6ml as Fate was putting up a struggle.
Nebulization was also done at the clinic as both Fate’s nostrils were congested.
The vet was very patient in teaching Ms Ong how to administer medication and food using a syringe. This is Ms Ong’s first experience in handling a small kitten. She was worried she might be too rough as she is so used to handling puppies and dogs.
I assured Ms Ong everything can be learnt as long as the heart wants to.
Fate was given a can of Recovery so that it can be syringed easily. The reason why Fate doesn’t feel like eating is that she has lost her sense of smell due to the severe flu.
Ms Ong thought Fate was constipated as well, but the vet palpated her and no, there were no stools.
The vet said it is very important that Fate eats, and if she doesn’t, then force feeding would be necessary.
The vet’s assistant fed one round of food and one round of medication while at the clinic, upon the request of Ms Ong.
Here are some photos from today’s check-up:
The subcut had to be done at three different sites and the needle was changed twice, each time to a smaller needle. Still, Fate put up a struggle due to the pain of the prolonged needle prick.
Ms Ong will be caring for Fate herself. According to Ms Ong, she fed Fate this evening and when she left for work, Fate was sleeping comfortably.
Get well soon, Fate!