Sweet Little Bit is Cat #1 of the 25 Persians in Crisis. When we posted this tiny girl's picture we had a zillion inquiries about her. She is so cute she hardly even looks real. Just look at that face and those beautiful eyes. Unfortunately when people found out she's had diarrhea no one really wanted to take her. Not that we blame you, it's not an easy thing to adopt a special needs cat. Thankfully, we have a great group of foster moms, and one of them wanted to take this challenging girl on.

When we got Little Bit she weighed only 3lbs 3 oz. Her foster mom followed our worming and diarrhea protocol, and watched over Lil Bit's diet carefully. Now she weighs between 4lbs 4 oz, and 4lbs 7 oz on any given day. She's had an extensive fecal study done by UC Davis VMTH, and all of her tests came back negative for internal parasites. Repeat: This cat has NO nasty bugs! They test for everything, even the most rare parasites, and she didn't have any of them. It seems Little Bit has Irritable Bowel Disorder (IBD) which could be caused by food allergies or a non-specific autoimmune issues. This means that we will need to work with Little Bit and try different foods and possibly some medications to help her feel better. Additionally, Little Bit has some skin issues that we are working to clear up for good. It is likely Little Bit will be a special needs kitty due to her bowel issues.

February 2009 Update

Thank you to everyone that has made donations in Little Bit's name and also to all those people who contacted us with advice. Little bit has now been seen by three vets, has had two ultrasounds of her bowels and kidneys, two urinalysis, and extensive blood work done. All tests have come back relatively normal. Her ultrasound showed slight to moderate thickening of the bowels, but nothing severe. The ultrasound of her kidneys showed what might be a slight abnormality in the folding of the kidneys but the size and texture of them are normal, urinalysis showed no infections, and blood work showed that nothing was off more than slightly and all diseases she was checked for were negative. We decided against the biopsy because it is so invasive and she is so fragile.

Unfortunately Little Bit still has some skin issues that were are working on clearing up. We are hoping that a supplement we started her on will boost her immune system and help her kick the skin problems. We also have started her on a supplement called Slippery Elm in hopes that it will help with her IBD. We are still working with her diet as well. We are still taking donations in Little Bit's name to help cover her ongoing care, expensive food, and supplements. We are hoping that some day she will be able to be adopted as a special needs kitty to someone that has the time to spend with her and has some experience with IBD. Please don't give up on her because we haven't.