Stephanie’s Story – A second chance at life with Cats Protection

I don’t really know what is happening to me I am only 18 months old, my fosterer is very concerned for my health after I left my owners 2 days ago. It has been decided I need to go to the vets urgently.

Sunday - I don’t really remember very much. I remember a lady stayed up all night holding my paw from what I can recall, and they said I had to have a chest drain in and there was only a 50/50 chance of me surviving the sedation to do it. The last thing I remember really until Monday afternoon is going to sleep.

I am told by Kath who is caring for me by Vets Now that they were really worried about me and I had a tube in for 6hrs to keep me breathing and they kept having to drain and flush my chest tubes to get rid of the pus that I had in my chest. I was on pretty strong pain relief so I don’t remember much. I remember Aunty Kath giving me a kiss before she left and whispering in my ear to make sure I was still there when she came back on Monday evening.

Monday – I was gradually starting to feel better during the day and the Cathcart and Winn veterinary staff took really good care of me, draining my chest and re-x-raying me and giving me the magical drugs that seem to keep the pain of the chest drains at a minimum. Aunty Kath came back on Monday night and though I was feeling pretty awful I managed to lift my head for her and even managed a little purr. They keep flushing this stuff into my what I now know are chest drains though and that’s quite uncomfortable Aunty Kath says it’s the only way I will get better so I am fighting and being a good girl mainly.

Overnight Monday I was slowly feeling better and didn’t mind my chest drains being flushed so much, they gave me some more magic drugs as they had to re-position one of the drains to make sure they were managing to flush my chest properly but I was only asleep for 15 minutes whereas Sunday I was pretty much asleep all night. I heard Aunty Kath tell one of the Cats Protection fosterers that I was doing better and I was a real fighter – well of course I am. One of the Cats Protection fosterers came to visit me, it’s such a shame he couldn’t see me the following morning as I was feeling so much better than I did on the Monday night when he came to visit.

Tuesday morning Aunty Kath is delighted – she was carrying a bowl of food round aimlessly – I don’t know what these night people are like I really don’t but she had been up with me all night again so I suppose I will let her off – and I was starving. I don’t know what it took to get through to her that I was really hungry and just because cats with chest drains in don’t normally eat – I am not like any other cat ! I was STARVING people I tell you !!! so she eventually *sigh* got the message and offered me a bowl of food which I tucked into and finished despite Cats Protection being told I was really fussy – I am so hungry I can eat anything.

Now this is where it gets a bit weird. Aunty Diane the Welfare Officer from Cats Protection came to see me and was really pleased to see me holding my head up and snuggling into aunty Kath and trying to purr. Then the weirdest thing happened I was removed from my incubator and put into a cat basket – I am telling you I was not impressed ! After all I have been through and someone puts me in a cat basket – shocking ! Anyway 1/2hr later I was at my temporary foster home with Aunty Kath so I got settled in my pen and she said she was going out to get me some nice things like a cosy bed and some yummy food and toys. She came back ½ hr later with a load of goodies and I am not a cat to ask for much but I loved my new bed straight away and got some toys. I am still a bit weak to play with my toys and Aunty Kath won’t let me wander around the room I am in yet as she says it will be too much for me.

At midnight I am a good girl I sit on Aunty Kath’s lap and have my dressings changed and my chest flushed –its sore people trust me they place 120ml fluid into my chest then remove it to dilute the pus in there but I am trusting they know what they are doing. I also have some stingy injections every 8hrs but I am feeling so much better Aunty Kath says I might be able to have my intra-venous line removed soon and have medications in my food. Yeah as if I am going to fall for that one!!!!

Anyway as a special treat for being such a good girl I get half a tin of PROPER human red salmon !!!!!!!! Bonus for me !!! if Aunty Kath thinks I am going to eat that cat food nonsense she can think again.
I will update you all tomorrow but at the moment I am doing well and I am feeling so much better thanks to the Cats Protection and their dedication and love for me. Aunty Kath says she loves me to and would really like to keep me but apparently there is someone called Colin I need to persuade as well as Pirate the other feline in the house who is apparently spoilt rotten. Well – I will work on them as I deserve to be a spoilt rotten kitten too. I am so loving and friendly I just need someone who loves me. Cats Protection have taken me in and already fallen for me and I am fairly sure that Aunty Kath has as well. Why else would a cat get proper human salmon!!!

Wednesday – another day of having my chest drains fiddled with – I can tell you now people I am getting a little fed up with this imagine having a weight on your chest for 1hr as they needed to place the fluid and dilute the pus before they could remove it. Afterwards though I had some more magic drugs which made me a lot more comfortable and happy again. Despite my earlier reluctance to eat “proper” cat food again Aunty Kath is one tough cookie!! She gave me cuddles decided that really there was nothing to stop me eating normal cat food and held out until I was so hungry I did. I got a special diet that was high in protein as Kath says I am very scrawny …. Well to be honest I found that a bit rude!!! All of the food I was eating was helping me fight the infection in my chest for goodness sake!! I gave in though – I was hungry and to be honest I am at this stage very scrawny only weighing 2.5kg so I will forgive the comment.

Thursday – I am not feeling so well today and Kath is very worried about me. We are still waiting for the info to come back from the Lab to tell them what antibiotics my infection is sensitive too apparently. I don’t really want to eat today even when offered fresh chicken and salmon and am generally feeling miserable. Kath is very worried about me today she has been phoning the Lab and is taking me in for X-rays and to have a look at the pus again. It seems to have gotten thicker again which is worrying apparently. All I know is I don’t feel much like eating or drinking and I have been hooked up back to my fluids and the pain killers although they are working so I am not in pain are making me feel worse rather than better

Friday – Aunty Kath has been popping in all night and is desperately waiting for the Laboratory to open so she can see if there is anything else we can do. I am not feeling well. I know she has been in touch with Cats Protection and they have said whatever we think is best and I am really not feeling very well today. I am not interested in food at all and getting very grumpy. Aunty Kath has nursed cats like me before but never one that was so sick to begin with and she is very, very worried. Anyway I don’t remember much of today I didn’t eat anything and am feeling a bit weak and miserable. Apparently I need to change antibiotics and go onto to some anti-inflammatories for my chest as the pus is being diluted and removed but the antibiotics I was having weren’t what the infection was sensitive too. My antibiotics have been changed and although I am still getting lots of cuddles from Aunty Kath she looks tearful and unhappy. I do my best to make her feel better by giving a little nip on the hand when she is flushing my chest drains and the occasional purr for her but she still doesn’t seem too happy with my progress. She knows of course these things take time but is worried now.

Saturday – this is a new day!!!!!! I feel soooooooooooo much better!!!! I have eaten ALL of the food I was left with overnight that’s 3 bowls of food people including salmon, chicken and some pate stuff to encourage me to eat. Kath is delighted when she comes back to check on me in the morning she has been dodging in and out every 2hrs overnight but in the last couple of hours with the change in antibiotics I feel so much better !!!! So again we carry on I get out and sit on Aunty Kath’s lap thinking she just wants a cuddle because I was so poorly yesterday but really she needs to flush my chest drains again. I am getting a little fed up of it now and playful nipping is taking place!!!! One of my tubes apparently is causing more issues than its solving so I have that one removed today. It was very uncomfortable and I am pleased it has gone not only because it is more comfortable but also it means less interference with me so I can show my loving true colours a little bit more to Kath.

Sunday – onwards and upwards – the secretions in the tube I have left is reduced – I am told by my foster mum this is a good thing and means my lungs should be working properly on their own. That sounds like a good thing to me. I am eating LOADS !!! Even the normal cat food is really tasty and I am eating making up for the time I was not feeling so well !! I still have to have my drain flushed 4 times a day but it’s not as uncomfortable anymore and I am a purry happy cat just now. I did have one slight issue today though. It appears Kath has another CAT in the house – how dare she!!!! I mean she had mentioned Pirate but I didn’t really think it was another cat !! After a 1/2hr staring contest where both of us stayed completely still we ended up pretending the other didn’t exist and he just lay outside my cage purring. I suspect he was just after my food!!! I am gaining weight but apparently still scrawny and underweight so if he thinks he is getting my food he can think again- I need it ALL !

Monday – finally Aunty Kath has decided that I am well enough to come out of my pen and have a wander around her spare room. It feels great to stretch my legs and have a little back roll. Aunty Kath took this as me wanting a tummy rub HA !! What cat really wants a tummy rub? I have been sharpening my claws and teeth over the last few days and they are ready to be used. I love having my face and neck and chin rubbed specially my ears but tummy is a no go area !!!! Why would a cat want a tummy rub? I have to say these new antibiotics have given me a new lease of life and apparently I get my other chest tube removed tomorrow if everything is OK. Then I can get rid of this ridiculous bandage covering my body and start doing proper cat things …. Don’t get me wrong aunty Kath has been grooming me 3-4 times a day and giving me bed baths to keep me clean but its just not the same …. Anyway she is coming back with my breakfast and I do believe ….. ARRRGHHH there are 2 four legged big hairy dogs with her. Whats that all about ??? One of them just ignores me the the other earns himself a biff around the nose for sticking his head too close to me …that’ll show him ! Now for breakfast …. Mmmmm appears I am being spoilt I have a gourmet pouch this morning yummy.

Tuesday – so yesterday I spent most of the day wandering the house, biffing a silly collie on the nose when he came to close and sleeping on the sofa downstairs. It was really comfy and I think I could get used to it but a human lap is much more comfortable. Aunty Kath says we are going off to the Vets tonight to have my chest re-scanned and x-rayed whatever that means and hopefully I will get this tube removed finally. It will be a relief to be able to groom myself and not have fluid in my chest every 4hrs.

MIAOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW – What on earth is going on I have not had food for 2hrs that’s just awful considering I am apparently so scrawny. Aunty Kath says it’s because she doesn’t think I will sit still to have everything done so might need a bit of sedation for them to do everything properly. I disagree: I am HUNGRY, people !

We are on our way to the vets now can you believe the cheek of this person she has taken really good care of me and now she is starving me it has been 4hrs without food how very dare she !!!

We have arrived at the vets and I am ashamed to say that Aunty Kath was right after all this messing around I am not going to sit still so they give me something into my vein which makes me sleepy. See you on the other side folks …

Wednesday – WOW what a relief my drain has gone, the bandage has gone everything has gone time for a good all over clean and some breakfast ! I got chicken apparently Aunty Kath was so pleased she thought I deserved it. I have no infection left in my chest so was allowed to have the other drain removed. She did say it may need to be replaced but at the moment I am drain and tube free.

So we are coming to the end of my story and I am going to a foster home for a few weeks before I am ready for adoption as I need a long course of antibiotics to make sure that the infection doesn’t come back. I stayed with Aunty Kath a few more days and because she only had to give me tablets she got to see my true colours. I am a loving affectionate and friendly cat who wishes for nothing more in the New Year than a home of my own and a lap to cuddle on, regular feeding and love and attention that I deserve. I have to be honest I have been to hell and back but I have survived to tell the tale … That wouldn’t be possible if Cats Protection hadn’t believed in me and given me a second chance at life. I am not the only one… there are many cats in their care who need loving homes many of them may have been there for a while. None of them are there due to their own fault.

It’s so easy isn’t it ? Go out, buy a kitten, get the toys, feed them, love them, but what about when something goes wrong? Can you look after them then? Or will they find themselves in the position I was …? Between life and death because although my human family loved me, I am sure they made no provision for what would happen if I was sick.

Cats Protection will never put a cat to sleep that has a good chance at recovering from their illness. They are always there – all volunteers giving up their own time to help cats like me. If it wasn’t for Cats Protection I wouldn’t be alive today and looking forward to 2012.