I had my pet sitter take care of Leo this weekend. I asked her to bring Pill Pockets with her and see if Leo would eat the treat and take the pill before I actually bought them myself.
This thing is awesome. She had a very easy time giving him the treat and pill and wrote me a note about how he behaved and played with her and ate the treat easily. It was so good to learn of all this.
She left me a bag of the Pill Pocket treats and I used it for the first time myself, this morning. Leo LOVED this. I think this is going to make my life so much easier and Leo so much happier. He of course doesn't enjoy me throwing a pill down his throat...who would.
He has a new toy now too. It's one of those sparkling tickler toys. He and I can play forever with this. He LOVES to chase it and catch it and run after it.
Right now he is tuckered out from all the playing this morning and he is sleeping. :-)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Reporter From Helium.com Responds To My Query Re: FHS Article
I wrote to a writer/reporter at the following website: Helium.
Rens wrote an article on the syndrome and treatments of FHS:
Cats health: Rippling skin disease symptoms
Here is what he wrote back to me (posted with permission):
"Thanks for reading my article on FHS. I read the two most recent pages of your blog. It is very clear that Siobhan has treated you in a highly incorrect manner. From what I read I can draw the following conclusions:
- Siobhan has misinformed you in various ways.
- She changes her story so often that she clearly isn't trustworthy.
- You have facts that prove you're right and their (being the various organisations) wrong."
Rens wrote an article on the syndrome and treatments of FHS:
Cats health: Rippling skin disease symptoms
Here is what he wrote back to me (posted with permission):
"Thanks for reading my article on FHS. I read the two most recent pages of your blog. It is very clear that Siobhan has treated you in a highly incorrect manner. From what I read I can draw the following conclusions:
- Siobhan has misinformed you in various ways.
- She changes her story so often that she clearly isn't trustworthy.
- You have facts that prove you're right and their (being the various organisations) wrong."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Living with Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
I have heard the following from the rescue organizations that are now trying to build a case against me and blame me for Leo's symptoms: we never saw this while he was in our care, we never heard of FHS before, he was only sweet while in our care, you just want to drug a cat.
The following is information from catchannel.com
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) (also called “rolling skin syndrome”) is a condition that usually appears in cats between the ages of 1 and 4. Siamese and other Asian breeds have a higher prevalence of this syndrome. This would be one explaination of why no one from the rescue agencies saw these behaviors in Leo before he was in my care, where they have been clearly observed by me as well as visitors to my home and my Veterinarian. Another explaination would be that he lived in a tiny cage for three weeks so that symptoms such as meowing would be considered normal and a sign of simply wanting to be let out of his cage, he obviously couldn't run around or be aggressive with anyone while in a tiny cage either.
There is no test to diagnose FHS. A diagnosis of FHS is made after other causes of the clinical signs are excluded by diagnostic tests, and by a positive response to treatment. Blood tests and other diagnostic tests will likely be necessary to rule out medical causes that may be confused with FHS, including hyperthyroidism, parasitic skin infections, skin allergies, etc. Again, Leo has undergone a CAT scan, spinal tap, and full blood work and everything else has been ruled out.
No one knows exactly what causes FHS, but there are a few possible explanations. It may be a type of seizure activity, and the fact that some affected cats respond to anti-convulsant medication seems to support this explanation. Leo was on anti-seizure medication and it seemed to be helping him a lot. However there was so much accusation from the rescue agency about the possible damage this mediaction could do to his liver with this type of standard medication for this syndrome that I discussed with my Vet. stopping it and observing Leo over the course of the next few weeks to see if he can continue to progress without it. He is also on anti-obsessional medication. At this time he is no longer taking the anti-seizure medication.
Effective anti-obsessional drugs include clomipramine (clomicalm) and fluoxetine (Prozac). Be aware that it might take 3 or 4 weeks for an initial response to the drug. By 16 weeks, the full effect of the drug should be known. When anti-obsessional therapy is ineffective or only marginally effective, try anti-convulsants. The first drug to try in cats is usually Phenobarbital. Leo was on phenobarbital, but again I have been accussed over and over verbally by the rescue agency of putting Leo's liver in jeopardy and just medicating him to get the cat I want.
I have been thinking a lot about the condition Leo has. As an energy worker (reiki) I can scan his body with my hands and feel the areas that are out of balance. I often notice that his stomach is hot when I scan that area, as well as his extremities. I have since read from other people that their cats are very sensitive to touch in those areas as well. Leo is also very sensitive to being touched anywhere besides head and neck, which he loves to have scratched.
I believe that FHS is similar to Fibromyalgia in humans.
Please see the post directly below this as well.
The following is information from catchannel.com
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) (also called “rolling skin syndrome”) is a condition that usually appears in cats between the ages of 1 and 4. Siamese and other Asian breeds have a higher prevalence of this syndrome. This would be one explaination of why no one from the rescue agencies saw these behaviors in Leo before he was in my care, where they have been clearly observed by me as well as visitors to my home and my Veterinarian. Another explaination would be that he lived in a tiny cage for three weeks so that symptoms such as meowing would be considered normal and a sign of simply wanting to be let out of his cage, he obviously couldn't run around or be aggressive with anyone while in a tiny cage either.
There is no test to diagnose FHS. A diagnosis of FHS is made after other causes of the clinical signs are excluded by diagnostic tests, and by a positive response to treatment. Blood tests and other diagnostic tests will likely be necessary to rule out medical causes that may be confused with FHS, including hyperthyroidism, parasitic skin infections, skin allergies, etc. Again, Leo has undergone a CAT scan, spinal tap, and full blood work and everything else has been ruled out.
No one knows exactly what causes FHS, but there are a few possible explanations. It may be a type of seizure activity, and the fact that some affected cats respond to anti-convulsant medication seems to support this explanation. Leo was on anti-seizure medication and it seemed to be helping him a lot. However there was so much accusation from the rescue agency about the possible damage this mediaction could do to his liver with this type of standard medication for this syndrome that I discussed with my Vet. stopping it and observing Leo over the course of the next few weeks to see if he can continue to progress without it. He is also on anti-obsessional medication. At this time he is no longer taking the anti-seizure medication.
Effective anti-obsessional drugs include clomipramine (clomicalm) and fluoxetine (Prozac). Be aware that it might take 3 or 4 weeks for an initial response to the drug. By 16 weeks, the full effect of the drug should be known. When anti-obsessional therapy is ineffective or only marginally effective, try anti-convulsants. The first drug to try in cats is usually Phenobarbital. Leo was on phenobarbital, but again I have been accussed over and over verbally by the rescue agency of putting Leo's liver in jeopardy and just medicating him to get the cat I want.
I have been thinking a lot about the condition Leo has. As an energy worker (reiki) I can scan his body with my hands and feel the areas that are out of balance. I often notice that his stomach is hot when I scan that area, as well as his extremities. I have since read from other people that their cats are very sensitive to touch in those areas as well. Leo is also very sensitive to being touched anywhere besides head and neck, which he loves to have scratched.
I believe that FHS is similar to Fibromyalgia in humans.
Please see the post directly below this as well.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Kathie From Kitty Kind Called Me Tonight- Emergency Help Needed From My Blog Readers Please
I cannot believe the call I just receieved. After many days of receiving no contact from Mayor's Alliance nor Kitty Kind I thought they dropped the issue. Boy was I wrong.
Kathie informed me how Mayor's Allience wants the cat back from me and is trying to make a case of improper care of Leo from me. She said that they are concerned about him "being drugged" and that Siobhan has told Jane Hoffman only bad things about me and the care he is receiving while under my care.
The representatives of Mayor's Alliance seem to forget that they turned Leo over to Kitty Kind to have Leo adopted and that Leo was legally adopted to me.
Jane Hoffman has only heard one-side of the story from her employee who has been nothing but unfprofessional and innapropriate from the start.
Poor Leo. All THOSE people care about is that I have the facts behind me to show the negligence of his care while in their hands and that I can expose them. Therefore they want to go after me.
Here are the facts again:
Siobhan never disclosed to me that she worked for Murray Hill Hospital.
Siobhan never disclosed to me that before going to Kitty Kind Leo lived in a cage for three weeks at Murray Hill Hospital.
Murray Hill Hospital bungled and botched a standard procedure, his neutering. By the night I received him into my home his "scrotum" (now gone) was so swollen the area was the size of two golf balls full of BLOOD. The wound began to leak BLOOD so much so that it appeared it was coming from his rectum as well.
After only having Leo for one night I had to rush him to the emergency vet because Leo vomited all night and could not hold down food and the blood coming out of his botched neutering. The Vets told me that this was probably caused by him feeling so sick from the neutering that was done incorrectly.
Let's just stop here for a moment. Murray Hills Vets which incorrectly performed a stanadard and routine operation of neutering so badly that the cats "balls" were the size of golf balls went COMPLETELY UNOTICED. He went out for adoption in this manner.
Yet, I am being accussed of improper care and drugging a cat because THEY DID NOT OBSERVE THE BEHAVIOR I HAVE CLEARLY SHOWN THEM HE EXHIBITS DUE TO A MEDICAL CONDITION DIAGNOSED AFTER LEAVING THEIR CARE.
To me they only prove my point: It is they who have been negligent as they didn't observe their botched neutering, swollen wound and blood pooling up in the area and they who didn't properly observe him, test him and let him go undiagnosed for FHS.
I cannot believe that me, the person who was willing to take a cat "with a neurological tick" (since that is all that was disclosed to me) and who observed all I have, and who was BEGGED verbally on the phone on the way to the emergency Vet to please keep Leo and not give up on him are now from the very same people being accused of improper care and drugging a cat. This from the same people who could not see the physical signs of their BOTCHED neutering.
I cannot believe I am in the position of having to defend myself and the care I am giving to Leo. I cannot believe that the videos I took to show proof of the physical behaviors and signs of FHS is being used against me.
Why did I take those videos in the first place? Because I was being called a liar by Siobhan. I was verbally being accused of lying about the symptoms just to get medication to "get the kind of cat I wanted". So silly me! I thought that showing video proof of what was happening to Leo would obsolve me of being called a liar.
Instead the video is now being used against me and I am being accussed of causing the symptoms Leo has and being told he is behaving this way because he doesn't like me or my home.
So not only are licensed Vet's who have admitted they have not seen the behavior while in their care, trying to make a diagnosis, which is illegal to do, they are also trying to make a psychological diagnosis on Leo as well as me. The same people who couldn't see the MISTAKE THEY MADE WHEN THEY BOTCHED HIS NEUTERING AND SENT HIM OUT FOR ADOPTION ANYWAY!
Perhaps the Veterinary licensing board should look into the negligence of the doctors at Murray Hill and consider revoking their license to practice medicine. It seems clear to me that they are giving improper care and letting a lot of diagnosises go unchecked and animals leave their care without proper medications and care.
While under my care, Leo is exhibiting much progress. He is able to concentrate on playing with his toys, eat his Innova cat food, sleep in bed with me or on the couch which he loves. He has a favorite window that he can see for miles, with trees and birds to watch and listen to. His aggressive symptoms that are standard for cats with FHS have lessoned significantly.
As I posted earlier, I have witness the skin rippling now, which is extremely common with these cats and helps Vets to solidify their diagnosis of animals with this condition.
FHS is diagnosed when all other possible diseases such as cancer or viral diseases have been ruled out. Since Mayors Alliance paid for his CAT scan and spinal tap and the Vets released him to me stating he is cleared of all other possible diagnosis for his neurological condition it is entirely appropriate according to the medical literature on FHS to diagnose Leo with this condition.
From my call with Kathie of Kitty Kind tonight, it appears to me, and she has admitted verbally to her, that the Mayors Animal Alliance is trying to build a case against me and wants to try to remove Leo from my home and care.
So I am calling on you to please write letters on my behalf and on Leo's behalf about the improper care he received while under Murray Hill's and Siobhan's watch.
Leo is my little boy. I do not trust those organizations to take proper care of Leo. I have followed the orders of my Vet and he has received nothing but love and proper medical care from me. I am completely baffled that I am being put in this position.
I do not want to expend my energy fighting these people. But if forced to I will do it. I will win and they will lose.
What the representatives of Mayors Alliance is doing to me at this point constitutes harrassment. If they continue to move forward in this fashion I will present the FACTS and prove that they harrassed me. And I will win. And once I win I will then take them back to court and sue them for harrassment of me should they force me to take it this far.
Siobhan, none of this needed to happen and it is you who is hurting an animal by how you continue to push for a case against me. Shame on you! Leo was born with a mental illness in his brain. Under my diligence and care, he has been properly diagnosed and is on the proper protocal. Your vengence for me seems to be more imporant to you than the fact that he is happier and healthier today under my care.
All I ever asked of you Siobhan was to honor your word and committment to me to help pay for the medications which was your offer to me as you pleaded for me to please keep him. I never asked for the financial help. YOU OFFERED IT TO ME. It's time for you to put your ego in check and admit what you did was improper and that you are making this personal rather than providing the financial aid you offered me, to pay for the proper medical care, which your organization misdiagnosed under your watch.
Enough is enough.
To my blog readers: thank you for reading all the long posts. Please see the post below with the address to write to the Mayor about this situation. Please ask other animal lovers to write to the Mayor as well about this situation. Please tell them what you think about how Siobhan handled herself and represented the organation she works for. Please tell them how Leo should not be removed from my care and the only stable home he has ever known.
Thank you for all your help.
Kathie informed me how Mayor's Allience wants the cat back from me and is trying to make a case of improper care of Leo from me. She said that they are concerned about him "being drugged" and that Siobhan has told Jane Hoffman only bad things about me and the care he is receiving while under my care.
The representatives of Mayor's Alliance seem to forget that they turned Leo over to Kitty Kind to have Leo adopted and that Leo was legally adopted to me.
Jane Hoffman has only heard one-side of the story from her employee who has been nothing but unfprofessional and innapropriate from the start.
Poor Leo. All THOSE people care about is that I have the facts behind me to show the negligence of his care while in their hands and that I can expose them. Therefore they want to go after me.
Here are the facts again:
Siobhan never disclosed to me that she worked for Murray Hill Hospital.
Siobhan never disclosed to me that before going to Kitty Kind Leo lived in a cage for three weeks at Murray Hill Hospital.
Murray Hill Hospital bungled and botched a standard procedure, his neutering. By the night I received him into my home his "scrotum" (now gone) was so swollen the area was the size of two golf balls full of BLOOD. The wound began to leak BLOOD so much so that it appeared it was coming from his rectum as well.
After only having Leo for one night I had to rush him to the emergency vet because Leo vomited all night and could not hold down food and the blood coming out of his botched neutering. The Vets told me that this was probably caused by him feeling so sick from the neutering that was done incorrectly.
Let's just stop here for a moment. Murray Hills Vets which incorrectly performed a stanadard and routine operation of neutering so badly that the cats "balls" were the size of golf balls went COMPLETELY UNOTICED. He went out for adoption in this manner.
Yet, I am being accussed of improper care and drugging a cat because THEY DID NOT OBSERVE THE BEHAVIOR I HAVE CLEARLY SHOWN THEM HE EXHIBITS DUE TO A MEDICAL CONDITION DIAGNOSED AFTER LEAVING THEIR CARE.
To me they only prove my point: It is they who have been negligent as they didn't observe their botched neutering, swollen wound and blood pooling up in the area and they who didn't properly observe him, test him and let him go undiagnosed for FHS.
I cannot believe that me, the person who was willing to take a cat "with a neurological tick" (since that is all that was disclosed to me) and who observed all I have, and who was BEGGED verbally on the phone on the way to the emergency Vet to please keep Leo and not give up on him are now from the very same people being accused of improper care and drugging a cat. This from the same people who could not see the physical signs of their BOTCHED neutering.
I cannot believe I am in the position of having to defend myself and the care I am giving to Leo. I cannot believe that the videos I took to show proof of the physical behaviors and signs of FHS is being used against me.
Why did I take those videos in the first place? Because I was being called a liar by Siobhan. I was verbally being accused of lying about the symptoms just to get medication to "get the kind of cat I wanted". So silly me! I thought that showing video proof of what was happening to Leo would obsolve me of being called a liar.
Instead the video is now being used against me and I am being accussed of causing the symptoms Leo has and being told he is behaving this way because he doesn't like me or my home.
So not only are licensed Vet's who have admitted they have not seen the behavior while in their care, trying to make a diagnosis, which is illegal to do, they are also trying to make a psychological diagnosis on Leo as well as me. The same people who couldn't see the MISTAKE THEY MADE WHEN THEY BOTCHED HIS NEUTERING AND SENT HIM OUT FOR ADOPTION ANYWAY!
Perhaps the Veterinary licensing board should look into the negligence of the doctors at Murray Hill and consider revoking their license to practice medicine. It seems clear to me that they are giving improper care and letting a lot of diagnosises go unchecked and animals leave their care without proper medications and care.
While under my care, Leo is exhibiting much progress. He is able to concentrate on playing with his toys, eat his Innova cat food, sleep in bed with me or on the couch which he loves. He has a favorite window that he can see for miles, with trees and birds to watch and listen to. His aggressive symptoms that are standard for cats with FHS have lessoned significantly.
As I posted earlier, I have witness the skin rippling now, which is extremely common with these cats and helps Vets to solidify their diagnosis of animals with this condition.
FHS is diagnosed when all other possible diseases such as cancer or viral diseases have been ruled out. Since Mayors Alliance paid for his CAT scan and spinal tap and the Vets released him to me stating he is cleared of all other possible diagnosis for his neurological condition it is entirely appropriate according to the medical literature on FHS to diagnose Leo with this condition.
From my call with Kathie of Kitty Kind tonight, it appears to me, and she has admitted verbally to her, that the Mayors Animal Alliance is trying to build a case against me and wants to try to remove Leo from my home and care.
So I am calling on you to please write letters on my behalf and on Leo's behalf about the improper care he received while under Murray Hill's and Siobhan's watch.
Leo is my little boy. I do not trust those organizations to take proper care of Leo. I have followed the orders of my Vet and he has received nothing but love and proper medical care from me. I am completely baffled that I am being put in this position.
I do not want to expend my energy fighting these people. But if forced to I will do it. I will win and they will lose.
What the representatives of Mayors Alliance is doing to me at this point constitutes harrassment. If they continue to move forward in this fashion I will present the FACTS and prove that they harrassed me. And I will win. And once I win I will then take them back to court and sue them for harrassment of me should they force me to take it this far.
Siobhan, none of this needed to happen and it is you who is hurting an animal by how you continue to push for a case against me. Shame on you! Leo was born with a mental illness in his brain. Under my diligence and care, he has been properly diagnosed and is on the proper protocal. Your vengence for me seems to be more imporant to you than the fact that he is happier and healthier today under my care.
All I ever asked of you Siobhan was to honor your word and committment to me to help pay for the medications which was your offer to me as you pleaded for me to please keep him. I never asked for the financial help. YOU OFFERED IT TO ME. It's time for you to put your ego in check and admit what you did was improper and that you are making this personal rather than providing the financial aid you offered me, to pay for the proper medical care, which your organization misdiagnosed under your watch.
Enough is enough.
To my blog readers: thank you for reading all the long posts. Please see the post below with the address to write to the Mayor about this situation. Please ask other animal lovers to write to the Mayor as well about this situation. Please tell them what you think about how Siobhan handled herself and represented the organation she works for. Please tell them how Leo should not be removed from my care and the only stable home he has ever known.
Thank you for all your help.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Skin Ripple and FHS and Cute Photos
I finally saw the skin rippling happen to Leo tonight. I wasn't able to catch it on video. It happened so fast. He was laying on my bed and awake and it just happened to his entire body. If I can catch it soon on video I will post. It will be good evidence that his diagnosis is correct and make Siobhan and Mayor's Animal Alliance have to eat crow, apologize and offer the financial help they promised when begging me to keep him.
In the meantime I caught these photos of Leo the past two days. He is a silly little cat. He sleeps so funny sometimes. His tail is so long that he can do the following:
And he also puts himself in the following position to sleep:
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Please Write To Mayor Bloomberg On Behalf Of Leo
Here is the address to write letters on behalf of Leo and the situation with Siobhan:
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Please tell him what you think about the treatment Siobhan presented towards me and the unethical nature of the handling of monies going to Murray Hill where she is employed. Please list a copy of your letter on the comments section as well to keep a record of what was sent.
Update on Leo's condition:
While on medication Leo seems to be showing signs of improvement. He plays nicely with his toys and sleeps calmly. I have not witnessed any further destruction of property. He has had some episodes of agression around the times where his first pill of the day is wearing off and when his second pill of the day is waiting to take effect. At this time however, overall I am encouraged by the improvement I see. He still doesn't like to have his spine or belly touched at all as well as his extremities. He does like to be pet on the head and have his ears scratched. He has a favorite window sill to sit on and lots of toys to play with. I am learning what organic food brands he will eat and which ones he will not. He still has some stomach issues with loose BM's but has not vomitted since that first night and has not had diahreah.
Leo is now on Elavil two times a day and has been taken off phenobarbital for the time being.
I will post two videos soon. One shows Leo without his meds in him and one with him playing and having fun with his medications in him.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Please tell him what you think about the treatment Siobhan presented towards me and the unethical nature of the handling of monies going to Murray Hill where she is employed. Please list a copy of your letter on the comments section as well to keep a record of what was sent.
Update on Leo's condition:
While on medication Leo seems to be showing signs of improvement. He plays nicely with his toys and sleeps calmly. I have not witnessed any further destruction of property. He has had some episodes of agression around the times where his first pill of the day is wearing off and when his second pill of the day is waiting to take effect. At this time however, overall I am encouraged by the improvement I see. He still doesn't like to have his spine or belly touched at all as well as his extremities. He does like to be pet on the head and have his ears scratched. He has a favorite window sill to sit on and lots of toys to play with. I am learning what organic food brands he will eat and which ones he will not. He still has some stomach issues with loose BM's but has not vomitted since that first night and has not had diahreah.
Leo is now on Elavil two times a day and has been taken off phenobarbital for the time being.
I will post two videos soon. One shows Leo without his meds in him and one with him playing and having fun with his medications in him.
Passing The Buck
After this last email from Siobhan and a few calls she made to me that resulted in me asking for her supervisor whom she would NOT let me speak to and I never received a return call from her supervisor whom she told me was Jane, although I have no way to know if this is correct, I was passed off to Cathie from Kitty Kind.
Suddenly a phone call comes in from a number I do not recognize and Cathie is telling me to bring Leo back to her. She tries to convince me that it is in the best interest of Leo that I bring him to her so he can live in her home for two weeks, which is a one bedroom apartment with 4 cats of her own so she can observe Leo's behavior without medication in him.
So again a non-medical lay person is going to take the word of another non-medical person about me, the care my licensed Vet prescribed and try to make this about me rather than just doing the right thing.
I spent about 45 minutes on that call letting Cathie know the things that transpired between Siobhan and myself. According to Cathie she didn't even know I had Leo past the first night. She made claims that she didn't know Siobhan had called me and begged me to keep Leo and told me to speak with her from now on. But she was going to take the word about my character and demeanor from this woman without speaking with me first and get me to bring Leo to her.
And folks, I almost did this. Because Leo is very hard adjust to and help. And I never expected such a situation when adopting a baby cat. And after just losing Olivia whom I had for 17 years and greiving her I was not happy about being in this situation.
Cathie and I disgusted the diagnosis of FHS and separation anxiety. And Cathie told me that Siobhan never had Leo in her care. On this call I learned that Siobhan works for Murray Hill Veterinary as well as the Mayors Animal Alliance of NYC. On this call I learned that Leo lived at Murray Hill, NOT Siobhan's home for three weeks prior to being sent to Kitty Kind for adoption and that he lived in a cage for those three weeks, where he received his botched neutering and then was sent to another cage at Kitty Kind where I learned of him and adopted him. He lived in my home one night and was so sick, vomitting all night with food coming up 2.5 hours after each time he ate, and then blood coming out of his scrotum and what appeared his rectum as well the next morning, he had to go to a hospital as an in-patient and stay in another cage for three days.
Did any of these people really care about Leo's best interest then or now? NOPE! NO NO NO NO NO they did NOT! The only thing they cared about was covering their asses. The only thing they were concerned about was taking him out of my care because "I am on the ball", I ask a lot of questions, do a lot of research and I am a certified holistic healthcare practitioner who has the credentials to make assessments on the lack of proper care Leo received before coming into my care, thereby causing his condition to be exacerbated. I was deemed the problem because to these people I was THEIR problem, because they were scared I would OUT THEM!
And the ironic thing is that had these people just honored their word and helped with the medications as promised after begging me to keep a special needs kitty that they knew was a special needs kitty but purposely failed to disclose, and instead did everything to CYA, I would not have started this blog, nor written a letter to the Mayor of NYC regarding this organization's negligence. And that is exactly what this is: negligence of an animal.
If a civilian treated Leo as they did during his stay in their care, the ASPCA's police would have been called and that person would have been issued a summonds. And I suspect they are aware of this.
Here is what I emailed Cathie:
Hi Cathie,
There were MANY phone conversations where Siobhan verbally said things to me which were not written in emails. Before speaking with her on Thursday night I didn’t even know that there was something called a Sanctuary. It was Siobhan who mentioned that this was probably his only option upon hearing the situation as it was presenting. I called her as I was in my Vet’s office.
This is and has been Siobhan of Animal Alliance’s M.O. She will state certain things and offer certain options and then when I take her up on the offer for help, such as the sanctuary and then in this exchange the financial help for the medications so that I would keep him, she changes her story. I never asked for financial help. It was offered to me. I never heard of an animal sanctuary – she told me on the phone that was his only option and therefore I began writing directed in that way.
At first you will see what I highlighted is her admitting it is no one’s fault. As the days transpire I am slowly but surely verbally and in writing receiving attacks on my character and being accused of having a home environment that is the cause for Leo’s behavior. Rather than simply seeing the facts which are that he has a medical condition which my Vet has diagnosed as such and in the best interest of Leo, not myself who is not a proponent of medications as I am a holistic healthcare practitioner, I put him on the medications so that he can feel better. There is no way this little boy can feel well with the medical condition he has without medications. He was suffering and it was evident in his behavior. His behavior has everything to do with the neurological problems he was born with and nothing to do with the adoptive parent or the home of the adoptive parent.
To follow-up to our phone conversation, when you and I last spoke before today, I was bringing Leo to NYC Vet on West 55th Street and arrangements would be made for someone in your organization to pick him up. On my way to that Vet I received a call from Siobhan begging me to not give up on this cat, to see what the Vets have to say after running more test. She begged me and worked on every emotion of mine and I relented and agreed. It was implied that I was to contact her from that point forward and so I thought that Kitty Kind was no longer part of this equation.
I went EVERY DAY to visit Leo. The first day I went to see him I saw him in his cage. When Dr. Levitan came to speak to me he and I both observed an odd facial behavior from Leo, where he suddenly went from happy and friendly to almost dropping, but slightly conscious, and his mouth opened slightly. I mentioned to the doctor that I had seen him do that before and felt it was odd and that I was concerned. His response was that what we were seeing was the exact reason why he was asking Mayors Alliance to pay for a CAT scan and that he was concerned as well. He was not on medications at that time other than 2mgs of Pepcid.
After a few days Siobhan called me to say they wanted me to take him home. Since he was cleared of Cancer and any viral diseases to establish a cause for what was observed by their medical staff I agreed to continue with the adoption.
The following few days he had to live with a cone on to help him not bite the now fixed neutering job, that Murray Hill botched and NYC Vet fixed. At no time was I informed that Siobhan worked for Murray Hill which is a conflict of interest in my opinion. You are the first to tell me this. And so it only now makes sense that she started to defend her Vet’s opinions of Leo’s care while in my home, even though they have not seen him- she made claims to their assessment which to my knowledge from my Vet is illegal to do without seeing the animal.
Over the last two days I have been accused of being a liar about his condition “simply to medicate him to be the cat I want him to be”. I was told this verbally.
I have been told that it is due to my environment that he is acting out.
I have been told that I am over medicating him based on a person without a medical degree’s opinion and supposedly a Vet that has not seen him for this problem. And therefore my own licensed Vet is also being called a liar and incompetent and someone who would over medicate an animal.
I was told that my student who was petting him was at fault for being bit.
I was told verbally today that it was her fault for not seeing that he was moving his tail and upset and did not want to be pet. I was also told that what he did was completely normal because Siobhan has seen so many animals and she knows best.
I was told that he didn’t need medicine at all and that I could either do things as she has decided is best or that if this is too much of a stress to give him back.
When I stated that we would have to agree to disagree about the medications, she said, “There is no disagreement. I am right!”
This has been her way of dealing with things from the start…begging me to keep him and then demanding it be handled her way in my home and accusing me of lying and purposely over medicating him and killing his liver with the pheno and then making a medical dx about my mental state.
So if this is the case I would like to see her credentials to make this mental assessment not only for Leo but for me. Her opinions otherwise are not welcome.
Otherwise at this time I believe that an offer was made to pay for his medications so that he could get better and so that I would keep him. These medications were prescribed by a reputable Vet, who happens to be educated from Cornell University and who I have used for many years. If he believes along with me that this is necessary than it is and I do not need anyone else’s opinion, because that is exactly what it would be, an uneducated non-medically licensed nor certified opinion.
I have not only sought out the best medical care for this little boy, I have sought out the best holistic care. He is under the care of a well-respected Medical Intuitive and Animal Communicator as well.
My Vet feels he has separation anxiety as well as FHS.
I fail to see how bringing him to you now, after we both admittedly realize he has been tossed around from first a cage to another and then right to another at the Vet for tests and then finally to my home which has been the ONLY STABLE ENVIRONMENT he has known in his life thus far is going to make this better. In fact I feel it will make things worse and cause him more anxiety.
I would appreciate the financial help I was promised with the medications. If it will not be honored I will have to figure out a way to incorporate this into my budget at this time. Had I returned him from the start I would not feel this way. However since he started the PROPER MEDS, he is slowly starting to do better. And because of that he and I have begun to bond. So while I appreciate your offer to take him from me for two weeks etc…I will not be doing this with you.
I am asking for the financial assistance for his medications as offered. I know it wasn’t your organization that offered it however I am asking all the same.
He was suffering without the medications and is finally starting to feel better. I will not take that opportunity away from him. It is not in his best interest.
This has been a hard decision for me, one which I do not take lightly simply because it is a HUGE commitment I am making. Nonetheless it is made.
Suddenly a phone call comes in from a number I do not recognize and Cathie is telling me to bring Leo back to her. She tries to convince me that it is in the best interest of Leo that I bring him to her so he can live in her home for two weeks, which is a one bedroom apartment with 4 cats of her own so she can observe Leo's behavior without medication in him.
So again a non-medical lay person is going to take the word of another non-medical person about me, the care my licensed Vet prescribed and try to make this about me rather than just doing the right thing.
I spent about 45 minutes on that call letting Cathie know the things that transpired between Siobhan and myself. According to Cathie she didn't even know I had Leo past the first night. She made claims that she didn't know Siobhan had called me and begged me to keep Leo and told me to speak with her from now on. But she was going to take the word about my character and demeanor from this woman without speaking with me first and get me to bring Leo to her.
And folks, I almost did this. Because Leo is very hard adjust to and help. And I never expected such a situation when adopting a baby cat. And after just losing Olivia whom I had for 17 years and greiving her I was not happy about being in this situation.
Cathie and I disgusted the diagnosis of FHS and separation anxiety. And Cathie told me that Siobhan never had Leo in her care. On this call I learned that Siobhan works for Murray Hill Veterinary as well as the Mayors Animal Alliance of NYC. On this call I learned that Leo lived at Murray Hill, NOT Siobhan's home for three weeks prior to being sent to Kitty Kind for adoption and that he lived in a cage for those three weeks, where he received his botched neutering and then was sent to another cage at Kitty Kind where I learned of him and adopted him. He lived in my home one night and was so sick, vomitting all night with food coming up 2.5 hours after each time he ate, and then blood coming out of his scrotum and what appeared his rectum as well the next morning, he had to go to a hospital as an in-patient and stay in another cage for three days.
Did any of these people really care about Leo's best interest then or now? NOPE! NO NO NO NO NO they did NOT! The only thing they cared about was covering their asses. The only thing they were concerned about was taking him out of my care because "I am on the ball", I ask a lot of questions, do a lot of research and I am a certified holistic healthcare practitioner who has the credentials to make assessments on the lack of proper care Leo received before coming into my care, thereby causing his condition to be exacerbated. I was deemed the problem because to these people I was THEIR problem, because they were scared I would OUT THEM!
And the ironic thing is that had these people just honored their word and helped with the medications as promised after begging me to keep a special needs kitty that they knew was a special needs kitty but purposely failed to disclose, and instead did everything to CYA, I would not have started this blog, nor written a letter to the Mayor of NYC regarding this organization's negligence. And that is exactly what this is: negligence of an animal.
If a civilian treated Leo as they did during his stay in their care, the ASPCA's police would have been called and that person would have been issued a summonds. And I suspect they are aware of this.
Here is what I emailed Cathie:
Hi Cathie,
There were MANY phone conversations where Siobhan verbally said things to me which were not written in emails. Before speaking with her on Thursday night I didn’t even know that there was something called a Sanctuary. It was Siobhan who mentioned that this was probably his only option upon hearing the situation as it was presenting. I called her as I was in my Vet’s office.
This is and has been Siobhan of Animal Alliance’s M.O. She will state certain things and offer certain options and then when I take her up on the offer for help, such as the sanctuary and then in this exchange the financial help for the medications so that I would keep him, she changes her story. I never asked for financial help. It was offered to me. I never heard of an animal sanctuary – she told me on the phone that was his only option and therefore I began writing directed in that way.
At first you will see what I highlighted is her admitting it is no one’s fault. As the days transpire I am slowly but surely verbally and in writing receiving attacks on my character and being accused of having a home environment that is the cause for Leo’s behavior. Rather than simply seeing the facts which are that he has a medical condition which my Vet has diagnosed as such and in the best interest of Leo, not myself who is not a proponent of medications as I am a holistic healthcare practitioner, I put him on the medications so that he can feel better. There is no way this little boy can feel well with the medical condition he has without medications. He was suffering and it was evident in his behavior. His behavior has everything to do with the neurological problems he was born with and nothing to do with the adoptive parent or the home of the adoptive parent.
To follow-up to our phone conversation, when you and I last spoke before today, I was bringing Leo to NYC Vet on West 55th Street and arrangements would be made for someone in your organization to pick him up. On my way to that Vet I received a call from Siobhan begging me to not give up on this cat, to see what the Vets have to say after running more test. She begged me and worked on every emotion of mine and I relented and agreed. It was implied that I was to contact her from that point forward and so I thought that Kitty Kind was no longer part of this equation.
I went EVERY DAY to visit Leo. The first day I went to see him I saw him in his cage. When Dr. Levitan came to speak to me he and I both observed an odd facial behavior from Leo, where he suddenly went from happy and friendly to almost dropping, but slightly conscious, and his mouth opened slightly. I mentioned to the doctor that I had seen him do that before and felt it was odd and that I was concerned. His response was that what we were seeing was the exact reason why he was asking Mayors Alliance to pay for a CAT scan and that he was concerned as well. He was not on medications at that time other than 2mgs of Pepcid.
After a few days Siobhan called me to say they wanted me to take him home. Since he was cleared of Cancer and any viral diseases to establish a cause for what was observed by their medical staff I agreed to continue with the adoption.
The following few days he had to live with a cone on to help him not bite the now fixed neutering job, that Murray Hill botched and NYC Vet fixed. At no time was I informed that Siobhan worked for Murray Hill which is a conflict of interest in my opinion. You are the first to tell me this. And so it only now makes sense that she started to defend her Vet’s opinions of Leo’s care while in my home, even though they have not seen him- she made claims to their assessment which to my knowledge from my Vet is illegal to do without seeing the animal.
Over the last two days I have been accused of being a liar about his condition “simply to medicate him to be the cat I want him to be”. I was told this verbally.
I have been told that it is due to my environment that he is acting out.
I have been told that I am over medicating him based on a person without a medical degree’s opinion and supposedly a Vet that has not seen him for this problem. And therefore my own licensed Vet is also being called a liar and incompetent and someone who would over medicate an animal.
I was told that my student who was petting him was at fault for being bit.
I was told verbally today that it was her fault for not seeing that he was moving his tail and upset and did not want to be pet. I was also told that what he did was completely normal because Siobhan has seen so many animals and she knows best.
I was told that he didn’t need medicine at all and that I could either do things as she has decided is best or that if this is too much of a stress to give him back.
When I stated that we would have to agree to disagree about the medications, she said, “There is no disagreement. I am right!”
This has been her way of dealing with things from the start…begging me to keep him and then demanding it be handled her way in my home and accusing me of lying and purposely over medicating him and killing his liver with the pheno and then making a medical dx about my mental state.
So if this is the case I would like to see her credentials to make this mental assessment not only for Leo but for me. Her opinions otherwise are not welcome.
Otherwise at this time I believe that an offer was made to pay for his medications so that he could get better and so that I would keep him. These medications were prescribed by a reputable Vet, who happens to be educated from Cornell University and who I have used for many years. If he believes along with me that this is necessary than it is and I do not need anyone else’s opinion, because that is exactly what it would be, an uneducated non-medically licensed nor certified opinion.
I have not only sought out the best medical care for this little boy, I have sought out the best holistic care. He is under the care of a well-respected Medical Intuitive and Animal Communicator as well.
My Vet feels he has separation anxiety as well as FHS.
I fail to see how bringing him to you now, after we both admittedly realize he has been tossed around from first a cage to another and then right to another at the Vet for tests and then finally to my home which has been the ONLY STABLE ENVIRONMENT he has known in his life thus far is going to make this better. In fact I feel it will make things worse and cause him more anxiety.
I would appreciate the financial help I was promised with the medications. If it will not be honored I will have to figure out a way to incorporate this into my budget at this time. Had I returned him from the start I would not feel this way. However since he started the PROPER MEDS, he is slowly starting to do better. And because of that he and I have begun to bond. So while I appreciate your offer to take him from me for two weeks etc…I will not be doing this with you.
I am asking for the financial assistance for his medications as offered. I know it wasn’t your organization that offered it however I am asking all the same.
He was suffering without the medications and is finally starting to feel better. I will not take that opportunity away from him. It is not in his best interest.
This has been a hard decision for me, one which I do not take lightly simply because it is a HUGE commitment I am making. Nonetheless it is made.
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