Desperate Advice needed.

lilangel_2

Hi can I ask your advise please peeps

I have a 16 week old kitten who has been greatly fond of my babies teats from her bottles so much so he bites them off and eats them. 10 days ago he underwent a major op to remove 3 which had trapped in his bowel. He recovered really well.

I immediately took out Pet ins as I am so ditzy I hadn't thought of taking it out previous. Any how as I only took the ins out less than 14 days ago I'm not covered and prob wouldn't be covered as he's already had the same op but He's had another teat and its stuck again and this time if I went through the op its gonna cost £700 plus there's a big risk he could die whilst having the op cos he only had the other op 10days ago and even if he did get through the op he'll be at risk then cos he's already been operated on once the second op could cause recovery problems and the would might not heal properly which means it cud break down and then cause infection which cud kill him. With all this risk involved I dont want to put him through an operation with no guarentee he'll pull through. I feel so heartless but I cant put him or myself through this time after time I dont know what to do.

Thanks in advance xx

SnowyOwl_2

Allow your kitten a chance at life and go ahead with the operation. And put the teats in a drawer or in a cupboard - that will cure the problem forever. It's very unhygenic anyway to let your cat have access to something your baby will have in her mouth, so putting them out of reach of your cat will help with that too.

Why doesn't the rubber break down inside your kitten? Stomach acid is pretty strong stuff. Wouldn't the teats have been chewed to tiny pieces anyway?

lilangel_2

The teats are well out of his way believe it or not when not in use, this bottle that he's managed to have this time was on the highest shelf yet he still managed to get it within minutes of me being out of the room you really honestly don't think i leave them lying around for the cat to have then give them to my baby?? How bad a mother does that make me sound? The teats are silicone and don't break down in the stomach. And he swallows them whole don't ask me how but he does i got the evidence from the last op.

Elle7

You have to put your pet through the operation.

There is a chance that the kitten will die. There is a chance of recovery problems. However, your vet is likely making these out to be bigger then they are to try and get you to prevent if from happening again...kittens are strong little things, and as you've discovered, very good at getting what they want. Do you have a drawer or something you could put them in?

Is your kitten at the vet now?

SnowyOwl_2

OK sorry...of course you do the best for your baby and you want to do the best for your kitten too.

Really, the best thing is for your kitten to have the operation. I know that the cost is a nightmare, and that there may be complications afterwards. But what are the alternatives - either put to sleep or not have the operation. Neither of these is really a viable option for this temporary problem.

Now that you know how much of a climber your kitty is perhaps you could put the teats into a lidded box of some sort from now forward, even an old container or a lunch box would do. I don't see how you can make him change his mind about liking them, so prevention would be the best way to go. Or perhaps you could try rubber teats if you haven't already.

mutley_muppet

lilangel wrote: »

The teats are well out of his way believe it or not when not in use, this bottle that he's managed to have this time was on the highest shelf yet he still managed to get it within minutes of me being out of the room.

Cats & Kittens can be very agile so you need to keep these teats (and anything that resembles them) in a secure place like a closed drawer, sealed container. Putting them high up but in the open is not well out of the way.

In response to your original question, I think you owe it to your kitten to operate to save his life and then be very careful that it doesn't ever happen again. Good luck, I really hope he pulls through.

Buttonmoons

I can relate OP as one of my cats is obsessed (and I mean literally obsessesed) with the netting type material you get on clothes (fairy dresses/tutu/underskirt) type material. He scoffed a whole lot of my daughters fairy dress (multiple colours, he's not fussy) and it cost me around £600 at the vets (had no insurance) to get the blockage removed from his intestine. About 10 days after coming home from the vets - he ate a balloon (which THANKFULLY) passed through him.

I have insurance now, and apparently he would be covered if he ate anything else, but since his op, he has managed to get to netting so many times, my halloween costumes underskirt got scoffed, as did my petticoat, + numerous other things, and try as you might, he DOES find things and he WILL eat them.

No, I won't throw out all my clothes that have that material, nor will I throw out DD's, I make the best effort I can - He is HARD work, and I mean really hard work, it's getting to the point that I actually quite dislike this cat, because he has to be constantly watched, doors must be closed, he is needy and clingy and nervous, he's burst my nose before because he freaked out at something (probably a bag rustling) he flips out when the doorbell rings, runs into you when you try and feed him - its like - no one else will feed you if you break my neck.

He crys at my bedroom door and will ACTUALLY scratch and cry outside it for 8hours straight.

I would probably like him more, if he didn't try and eat other weird stuff too, tampons/balloons/carrier bags/rubber.......

I don't regret paying to have him saved, but jeez, he is a nightmare cat.

If you pay to get the OP done on your cat, you will have to constantly watch he doesn't get another one, I currently keep all my netting esque dresses in a drawer in my dressing table - he knows they are in there, and you constantly see him mooching around trying to paw the drawer open......

lilangel_2

Thanks for your advice,
The babies teats are always in a big box with a lid so he can't get to them and he goes for the whole bottle and half the time steals it from the baby when she got it the reason I had put it on a shelf was that I needed the loo, so even though a lot of you think I don't prevent this from happening I do. I never in a million years that he'd be able to get to this shelf but he did and it was gone in seconds. I'm blaming myself all the time just for going to the toilet, I got 3 kids to look after a nightmare kitten and a dog. My husband works all the hours god sends for nothing, and we are still paying for the last operation which was only 10 days ago. I feel for you Buttonmoons having to look evey second where he was what he was doing is hard work, don't think i actually sit down all day.

He's in Bridgend Vets Shepherds. Not that anyone would know where that was unless your from South Wales, I haven't had an ounce of sleep agonising over this, I'd put him through the op if I had a guarentee that he'd pull through and be ok, but then I don't want him to be in any more pain and I don't want to put him through any more stress, which is why I have already found him a new home if he does pull through. While some are quick to judge I do love my kitten and only want the best for him

krlyr

Doublecheck your insurance as some policies will treat accidents within the 14 days, just not chronic illness. An obstruction from eating something may class as an accident.
If you can't pay for treatment then consider approaching animal charities or rescues, either for help with the costs or perhaps to surrender the cat to them so it can get treatment. It'll be tough to give up your cat but if the other option is euthanasia then surely the kitten deserves a chance to live?

muddyl

If you are already thinking of passing him onto someone else after the op, then consider taking him to a shelter as has already been suggested. That yay you dont have to pay, and they sort out the new home too.