Today, we are with the Ten Lives Vet Team in the Hospital wing of the Centre. The Hospital consists of 6 sections named A through to F. Each section contains about 10 kennels used for accomodating cats awaiting or recovering surgery, new intakes, or cats awaiting foster care.
It’s been a busy morning with over 20 surrenders. This means a lot of work for the Vet Team who are tasked with performing an initial exam on every cat that enters the shelter.
The wing is structured such that sections E and F accomodate our more infectious patients, with F reserved for ringworm cases.
Right now, the team are in section B, examining a litter and older kitten that were just brought in. The cats had been abandoned outside a vet clinic in Moonah before being transferred to Ten Lives.
This lot seem to be exceptionally friendly with the three kittens seeking out our interaction, though the older kitten is somewhat more apprehensive about the whole process.
The kittens appear to be about 7 weeks old and are all underweight and present with fleas. Their ears, eyes, and body and coat condition is examined. Their hearts are checked with the aid of a stethoscope.
No major problems are present, except for some fur loss on the black and white kitten. The usual culprit would be ringworm, a fungal infection. Because of this, a Wood’s Lamp test is conducted on each of the four cats. This is a device that emits a UV light which the vet can view under magnification to examine the cat. Any ringworm lesions will fluoresce, meaning they will glow under the light.
Fortunately, the test could not detect the presence of ringworm. For our little black and white friend, his fur loss is likely flea related, and will return to normal.
The older kitten is likely to be about 8 months old, and could actually be the kittens mother even though she is just a kitten herself. Cats can reach sexual maturity at only 4 months of age, which can mean colonies can form quickly.
Fortunately, these four have found their way into Ten Lives’ care, and no longer have to worry about life on the streets.
Looking around the wing, there are a lot of ‘Awaiting Foster’ signs up on the kennels. Currently, we have more cats than we do foster care placements. This means we are screaming out for new foster carers to join our family.
For these four, they may have to wait a few days in Hospital before a carer becomes available. But it won’t be long before they are in good health and ready to be placed in the adoption rooms.
As a V.E.T.S. Club member it is your subscription that allows the Ten Lives vet team to provide the much needed care that these cats received. So, thank you.
Words and images by Rich East, Ten Lives Creative Team
