Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[HumphreyTheCat]

Hello,

 

I'm sorry to say that our lovely Boudica lost a battle with the neighbors dog who managed to dig a whole under our fence. The sad thing is, his owner came around right away and I was petting the dog just before his owner could leash him when all of a sudden he took off and Boudica was in his mouth. We took her straight to the vet but she didn't make it.

 

Her sister Isolde now is by herself in the garden. She is breathing a little heavy. Boudica was the one who did battle while Isolde ran away to the eglu. She is eating and scratching about in the garden. Isolde has been sneezine for months now. We took her to the vet when it first started and she had a course of penicilin but it didn't seem to help. Is there anything I should do now asides from a getting another chicken so she's not alone for long? Perhaps she could be in delayed shock but if so, I'm not sure there's anything I can do ...

 

Thank you,

Esther

[dancing cloud]

Nothing to suggest re Isolde, though I'm sure someone with more knowledge than me will be along very soon.

 

Just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about Boudica and send ((hugs)) to you and yours.

[HumphreyTheCat]

Thanks Dancing Cloud. I didn't have her for long but I can't believe how broken up I am about it. It happened so fast, I suppose there's a lesson in that somewhere, we're going to try and buy a chicken tomorow. I don't want poor Isolde to be lonely for long.

[Plum]

I expect she's still traumatised and missing her friend. Rescue remedy can help

[sgregson]

From what I've learnt on this forum is that if a chicken is suffering from shock then you're better to keep her warm - a lot of people bring the chook in and put her on a blanket with a hot water bottle underneath.

 

Sorry I can't offer you any other advice. I do hope Isolde is ok - keep us posted and I'm sorry to hear your sad news about Boudica - I bet you're in shock too

 

Sal

[HumphreyTheCat]

Thanks for the kind words. Isolde is in bed now, she did look kind of lost in the eglu by herself. I'm glad it's a warm night. She spent most of the evening pecking around the garden and seems fine but skittish.

 

Is this the rescue remedy being referred to? http://www.rescueremedy.co.uk/RESCUE-Products_Rescue-Remedy---dropper-and-spray_pg43.aspx I may buy some just in case anything bad happens again, thanks for the tip about the hot water bottle and blanket.

 

It was sad loosing Boudica as she really was quite a character like her Celtic namesake. In fact, she had helped her daddy paint our greenhouse blue so she even had some blue paint on her beak. I kept two of her feathers that had a bit of blue paint, sad I know ... hopefully we'll get lucky tomorow and buy a new chicken sister for Isolde.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

So sorry to hear about Boudica . I hope Isolde recovers soon .

[sgregson]

How's Isolde this morning?

[Egluntyne]

Sorry to hear it. Bach's Rescue Remedy is useful in cases like this.

[Budgies]

Hi Esther. So sorry to hear that your Boudica was taken by a dog, what a shame. These wee girls steal our hearts don't they?

 

With regards to Isolde, I think you're right to get her some company, but be prepared for her to be very territorial initially. There are some great threads on the forum about Introductions (ie introducing a new chicken to existing ones). One on one can be done, but it's best done slowly from what I've read.

 

As to her sneezing, as the antibiotics didn't stop it, I'm just wondering if you're using something for bedding or to fill the nest box with that she's allergic to? One of my girls sneezed when I used chopped straw.

 

Very good luck with finding Isolde a new play friend

[WitchHazel]

Hi Esther, I've only just read this.

 

I live in Old Windsor and I have a bottle of rescue remedy if you'd like some.

 

You are welcome to collect it, or pm me your address and I'll drop it round to you.

 

 

Hazel

[HumphreyTheCat]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I have some good news about Isolde, she laid an egg. She's also been quite active running around in the garden and louder than I've ever heard her so I think she's OK. We did manage to find her a friend. I think we might name her Helena, she's an 8 weeks old Gold Laced Wyandotte and quite small but quite taken with herself (http://club.omlet.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=212102). I do hope she is a she, they weren't entirely sure but she was so bright and inquisitive, we decided to take her home anyway.

 

Isolde is much larger than Helena but they don't seem to be fighting. I think Boudica was the leader though so hopefully there won't be too much trouble with the two of them getting on together. Helena has been locked into the run with Isolde for periods. I had to let Isolde out for the most part as she's used to run of the garden and after yesterday, I didn't want to stress her out too much (http://club.omlet.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=212109). They'll both be locked in together all day tomorow while I'm at work so I had to lock them both in the run for long periods to make sure Helena would be OK.

 

I suppose there's a lesson here about periodically checking fences and always being on guard. I hope people reading this can prevent the same thing happening to their girls.

 

(I'm sorry if the pictures don't work, I uploaded a gallery as HumphreyTheCat but am not sure the links will go through)

 

Thanks everyone again, it was really nice and helpful to read/post the messages here ...

 

Sincerely,

Esther

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I'm so glad you managed to find Isolde a friend already and that she's recovering well . Helena looks very sweet .

[Plum]

Bless her she looks so bewildered. Good luck with the introduction

[sgregson]

So pleased to hear that Isolde is fine and her new friend looks adorable.... and so small