I really can't get over it. I mean, I think my daughter is 'prettier' since she's disturbingly pretty if you ask me, but my cousin Vanessa is also gorgeous and so awesomely unique looking. I know it might sound odd that I put her heritage in the title but I really think it's an awesome mix and she's stunning. Her mother is nearly all Irish and a tiny, tiny bit German. She is about 5'9" - 5'10" with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is a cop and works mainly at Coney Island in New York. Her father is Korean and Irish, and he is a Firefighter in New York! This is their baby, Vanessa. My cousin Denise also has two other sons and they are Columbian and Irish, so that's totally awesome, too. Such a wonderfully diverse family. ^_^

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watching: The News.
mood: Okie dokie olie.
Well, I know this journal is new here, so people wouldn't really know about this.. so I shall tell the story. Be prepared, for it is not a happy one... Well, when I was about five years old, I got a kitten, named Sparkle. My daddy got her for me. He brought her home one day and to this day, I have never seen a more beautiful cat than her. She was mostly grey, with patches of white and some stripes around her legs and the largest green eyes I have ever seen. She was wonderful. I loved her. She is a character in my book and everything. However, when I was like seven, I decided I wanted a kitten. It wasn't because I didn't appreciate my cat in any way, it was actually quite the contrary. I thought she might want a little kitten companion, and I really, really wanted a kitten... and this continue on for years because my mother said no and the like. When I was 18 I moved out and I moved in with my boyfriend, who had a black lab named Killian, so getting a kitten then was out of the question, too. Two years ago or so, Sparkle passed away, of old age. She was seventeen. She had lived with my parents and not with me, but still.... I loved her so much. Killian passed away about two months ago, so.. it was time to finally get a kitten, yay! So... we got one on Thanksgiving Day. She was black and white and absolutely adorable and we named her Tifa! I never got to name any of my kittens after Final Fantasy characters or anything I loved when I got older since I didn't have any pets to do that with, but now I did, so since she was black and white, like Tifa's outfit mostly black with some white, I had to name her that. As time passed we realized she's even more like Tifa than we could have ever imagined. She is hyper, jumps around like a maniac, kicks, climbs and is awesome. Yay for Tifa! Here are some pictures of Tifa!








Tifa with Tifa!

Well, continue on with the story now. You see, before we got Tifa and when we were talking about, my boyfriend said that he would want to get two kittens, not one because he had always had two or more cats and it was just better with two, so after he said that it sat festering in my mind for quite a long, long time, until we got Tifa and then I wanted another one. It's his fault.

So.. about a week or so later, Kell decided to go back to the NSAL (North Shore Animal League) which is where we got Tifa and was going to choose one on his own and bring it back as a surprise, but when he got there and after he chose one and filled out the paperwork they told him he couldn't adopt another one for three months, because that's just how it is. So... he ended up going to a pet shop up the block and picking up this tiny, tiny kitten - she looked, to me, like she was under six weeks of age, but she was absolutely adorable nonetheless and so tiny! We contemplated names for her for two days and then I decided on Yuri because I wanted to name her Yuri after Yuri from Shadow Hearts, but he's a guy.. however, I looked up Yuri to see what it meant.. besides the opposite of yaoi and I found that it meant 'Lily' and my real name also means 'Lily' so I had to name her Yuri... We had her for a week before she started to get sick. She stopped eating first, even though she had never eaten too much, but I figured it was because she was small. Then she started throwing up and she couldn't go to the bathroom. I mean.. within hours.. We brought her to the vet and they took her temperature, meaning they stuck it in her behind and after that.. she just never got back up. She wasn't dead... she just... was stressed, drained, that hurt her and she didn't have the energy to get back up again, I guess.. She passed away that night, heh. They gave us antibiotics but they didn't really matter since she was so sick, apparently. Oh, also, the vet also told us that she was definitely under six weeks old and she only weighed ONE pound.... So.. we figured out more or less that was weaned improperly before we bought her, so she wasn't eating well or digesting her food correctly and from there.... There was nothing we could do. I was heartbroken after this and I felt so bad - we had tried so hard to help her out, but they sold us... the wrong kind of kitten... Heh. We got our money back, but that didn't do much at all for the way I felt. She was so tiny. Kell said that he was looking around in the pet shop that night and there were a few and he looked down at her and she was playing and then she SQUEAKED at him. That was her meow. She squeaked. Then he got her.



That's Yuri....

Well... now.. the story doesn't get any better. Heh. You see, after that, I decided I would never get another kitten except from the North Shore Animal League, where we got Tifa... so we went and got another one from there, but we had my friend Jamie adopt it under her name. Kell didn't come in with us, but I knew when I saw the kitten.. that it was the one that Kell had wanted to choose, but they ended up saying he couldn't adopt it. It was still there two weeks later and if it wasn't it, it didn't matter. The kitten was absolutely adorable and I fell instantly in love with it. We adopted him and we named him Cloud. I fell for him quickly and hard and got attached extremely quickly. He was just amazing and absolutely gorgeous - grey and white, with an adorable face, fluffy fur and an all white stomach. He was wonderful! But.... heh........ a week later... he got sick, too... and I immediately wondered if he had caught something from Yuri and then I felt horrible, but then I got to thinking about how she had died... and why.. and it didn't make any sense and they were different. He stopped eating, too, but he could go to the bathroom and he was very... depressed, but not depressed like us, depressed from being ill.. Just laid around. We brought him to the vet next and the vet told us that they had an outbreak of the disease Panleukopenia and that a bunch of kittens had caught it... Now.... Panleukopenia is a very horrible disease in cats... The fatality rate in kittens is about 75-80%. They get vaccinated against it very young, but it requires one shot and then two boosters - he had gotten the first shot, but none of the boosters before he caught it, I guess. He had been harboring it but it didn't kick in until a week after we had him... She told me this and said that she wanted to put him in the animal hospital and I explained to her the things that I did with him to make him feel better. When he stopped eating, I gave him this nutri-cal stuff that they had given us for Yuri... it's for cats and dogs that don't eat; you put it on their paws or nose or in their mouths and they are forced to lick it off and it has all sorts of vitamins and nutrients that they need. I had given him some of that. I also used a syringe to make sure he got some water and every time he was laying down for too long, I picked him up and made him walk so he couldn't get too comfortable and slip away on me. But, yes, she told me she would want to put him into the animal hospital so they could treat him for his nausea, and make sure he got fluids and antibiotics.

Well... a few days passed and they called me on Christmas Eve morning and told me that he didn't make it and he had passed away. Heh.. They said that he had been stable, but he was very depressed from disease and he went peacefully, in his sleep. His white blood cell count had been nearly zero when we brought him in. Panleukopenia is kind of like cancer and AIDS as it destroys white blood cells and makes it so that you can't fight infection. So... he died from that. I can't tell you how... beyond traumatized I was and I couldn't show it because it was Christmas Eve morning and there were relatives here that I can't stand (or HATE, if you want to know) and we had to go visit family members and Santa was coming the next morning and all that jazz.... Here is information about Panleukopenia, also known as Distemper. It is vaccinated against with the FVRCP vaccinations.

Feline Panleukopenia (Distemper)

What is distemper?

Distemper is an old term that has been used for a feline disease, based on a somewhat similar disease in dogs. It is more properly known as Feline Panleukopenia. The word "panleukopenia" means a decrease in the number of all of the white blood cells. The feline disease, "Panleukopenia," is a disease that causes the white blood cell count to fall far below normal. Since white blood cells are important in defending a cat against infections and disease, this makes the cat very vulnerable to other infections. In addition to causing a low white blood cell count, this disease also causes severe damage to the lining of the stomach and intestines.

What is the cause?

Panleukopenia is caused by a virus of the Parvovirus family. It is related to the virus that causes Parvo in dogs, which also has similar clinical signs.

How is the infection transmitted?

The virus is shed in all body secretions, particularly feces, of infected cats. It can be ingested directly or transferred to a susceptible cat via contaminated water, feed bowls, or even on shoes. The incubation period from infection until clinical signs develop is typically 3 to 5 days, seldom longer than a week.

What are the clinical signs?

There is some variation, but typically cats experience a very deep depression or listlessness which may progress to collapse. Vomiting and diarrhea are frequent, and the diarrhea may be watery and contain blood. The hair coat quickly becomes dull and rough, and the skin loses it elasticity due to dehydration. Often cats with panleukopenia have other infections because their immune system is compromised.

Can the cat be treated?

As for most viral diseases, there is no specific treatment that kills the virus. The secondary infections that usually occur are treated with antibiotics. Dehydration and shock are life-threatening components of panleukopenia; intravenous fluid therapy and intense nursing is critical to control them. Drugs are also given to control vomiting and diarrhea. Some cats do not recover from this disease, but many will if aggressive supportive therapy is given.

How can I protect my cat against panleukopenia?

Fortunately excellent vaccines are available and are routinely recommended by veterinarians as part of a vaccination program. The immunity conferred by panleukopenia vaccine is generally strong and long-lasting, but it decreases with time. Annual boosters are highly recommended.

Is there any long-term consequences for the cat?

No. Once the virus runs its course, the lining of the stomach and intestines recovers quickly without scarring. In addition, the bone marrow produces new white blood cells to replace those that were lost. The cat recovers completely.

How do I disinfect my house?

Since the panleukopenia virus is difficult to kill, most disinfectants are not effective. Veterinarians, shelters, and rescue organizations recommend that disinfecting is best accomplished by cleaning food bowls, water bowls, and other contaminated items with a solution of one cup of chlorine bleach in a gallon of water (33 ml in 1 liter of water). It is important that chlorine bleach be used because most virucidal disinfectants will not kill the panleukopenia virus. Be careful not to bleach your furniture, carpet, or other flooring material with it.

Also, here is Cloud....








Tifa & Cloud.


Tifa & Cloud.

Now, some might be wondering why Tifa did not catch it because Panleukopenia is EXTREMELY contagious, but ironically enough... the day we got Tifa her booster shot for that vaccination set (2 of 3), was also the day that we got Cloud and that booster is what protects against Panleukopenia. It's so contagious that it can be passed if one crawls in a shoe and then another one does. It can be passed by hands. By breathing on cats. By feces, obviously since that's the most common way that cats pass diseases.... and it can only be truly killed with bleach - and you can't bleach everything... SO. They told us (or Jamie) that we would not be able to adopt another kitten for four months because the disease could live in the house in places where you can't kill it for a very long time, but the other option WAS the following..

Since it was an OUTBREAK, a bunch of kittens that had been both adopted and that were still there had gotten sick and treated and even though there was an extremely low recovery rate, there was A recovery rate and once a kitten recovers from the disease they can never get it again... so they told us that they would find us a recovered one and we could adopt that one sooner or wait months to adopt another one - obviously I chose to get a recovered one.... And that's Rinoa, our kitten that we got LAST Friday. She had nearly died from the Panleukopenia, but she survived and recovered and was eating and the disease was gone, but now she had a cold which was normal for recovered kittens, which makes sense since it destroys their immune system. They asked us if she was okay, but I love cats, so I doubt I would have said no to any of them, but she was very beautiful and purring the moment I held her. She is a sexy tabby with very nice fur - it looks brown and black stripes, kind of from a distance, but up close it's insane - grey and black and white and it's sooo pretty. She looks like an ocelot or a leopard from her fur and markings, hehe.

So, we picked her up last Friday and her temperament is much different from all the others as she is much more shy and likes to sleep under the couch away from people, but I can't really blame her after she almost died. She is much more warm now and sleeps on the bed at night and lays with Tifa and plays with her and it's a wonderful thing.

Anyway, her re-check was tonight. That's when we bring her in so they can just check up on her so they can make sure she is alright, as well as give her any vaccinations she may need and had missed because she was sick, which she did. She got the second booster and a dewormer which they give every time you go there, and that was that. They said she was healthy and good and weighed over three pounds! Oh. It's funny, I forgot to mention that when we got her, her stomach is half shaved and her front legs are, too because that's where they had to take blood from and they had the catheter I assume down there. Anyway. Yes. That's the story of the last month with kittens.... On top of that, like I said, had to deal with someone that I really, really hate. My Aunt also passed away from a brain tumor, but that's another story.... Well, enjoy reading if you did and let me show some pictures of Rinoa, too.








Tifa & Rinoa.

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