14 Coccidia Kittens

Just when you think it might work out ok, taking all those kittens in, backfire! The Gang of Four Tabbies were not that well, although they are negative on FIV/Felk. Diarrhea that did not go away even after I wormed them. Then, I saw the bright yellow dribble. It began with the brown tabbies, then one, then two of the little Bad Black Mom boys got it also. I took action immediately. All 14 kittens, including the Wrecking yard Crew, who may not be infected, and the Three Amigo SafeHaven fosters, are on Albon.

If I had space, I'd seperate the Poohcow seven kittens from the two mothers, from the Three Amigos and the Wrecking Yard Crew kittens. But I have no space. I have one spare room and that's where they all are. That's it. This reinforces my assessment of my own stupidity for taking them in. Dumbshit move on my part.

Will the coccidia spread to my own cats? Probably not. Some have had it before, back when I lived in the bad well rental that was always testing positive for fecal coliform.

In my garage, I have housed the BS colony male, under treatment for severe URI, that has gone on untreated out there, where he lives, for six months or more. If improvement was not seen, on Baytril, in six days, the vet thought it might be hopeless. He had bloody snot and was on death's door. But, with daily Baytril and steaming and good food, his snot is no longer bloody, not even green. He still snarfles but his improvement is significant. So his treatment has been extended for another ten days here. After that, for better or worse, he will return to the BS and those folks, with far too many animals to care for even one of them properly.

He is also getting an internal antifungal, to help his long term ringworm. They named him "Ringworm" in fact. They've had chronic outbreaks out there, in mold city, with too many animals crowded together and sleeping together in unclean conditions.

I am being as careful as is humanely possible with him and his ringworm, because having an outbreak of ringworm also, among the kittens, would be disasterous. I took him in, albeit in a garage cage, before I had any foster kittens here. I wear clothes I shed before coming back inside, after handling him and spray the area beneath the cage he is in, with clorox mix, and wash my hands and feet too before coming back inside. The spores, which are microscopic, can be airborne or attach anywhere on clothing or body and then shed anywhere again, like into the air or on the floor and picked up on the pad or nose of a curious kitten, whose immune system isn't fully formed until four months of age.

I have taken an aggressive step in hopes of keeping ringworm off the kitten crowd and that is I'm bathing them also once a week in antifungal shampoo, just as a precaution. Maybe that sounds extreme, but extreme would be trying to treat 14 kittens with ringworm for a month or two, bathing them three times a week---hell on earth.

I am restless and can't sleep tonight. Pain. It's too hot in here. Stress, too, is taking a toll on me. I have no life anymore at all and I need to get a life back. I have been trying to find a cheap rental in Corvallis again. It is so much healthier to live over there, than to live here. I got so much more exercise there, could get away into the woods. Here, I do nothing at all, unless I'm out trapping cats. I can't afford to go anywhere. With gas prices skyhigh, I am more worried than ever about getting stuck in this concrete town.

I don't walk, because it's just concrete, roaring cars and disgusting, no hills, nothing. I know it's killing me, too and I can't figure a way out except to try to find a rental back in Corvallis. I know I likely can't find one I can afford. But I want to move back home, so I am trying to find one.