06/23/2026
Lorcan is up *over* 100 grams since this time last week (from 426g at intake on 6/10, to 399g on 6/16 (mid-illness), to 545g today!)!
We're so relieved we could cry.
He looks a little leggy in this photo, which means despite the severity of his illness he's been GROWING, and peep the belly - it's coming back! Also, forgive the grubbiness around the edges - rule number one with sick cats: don't bathe them (water cools them, and young kittens can struggle to regulate their body temp - sick kittens really can't afford to be chilled)!
Lorcan has been happily bathing himself in his food as he eats it, but "better" isn't the same as "healthy", so we've been giving him wipe baths in lieu of a traditional water + soap submersion bath. But, as evidenced by this sticky photo, baby wipes β proper bath. We'll give him a proper one soon. π
Back to the tears of relief...we have no time for them! Now that Lorcan is out of the woods, while we heal his gut and let him eat his heart out on probiotics and easy-to-digest foods, we're tackling the area around his kennel enclosure with deep and thorough π«§disinfectingπ«§. We've done some research and found that coccidia needs nuclear-levels of detonation to get it out of the environment, and since coccidia bowel movements can be rather, erm...π©explosiveπ©... we want to make sure we eliminate any traces of coccidia oocysts.
Coccidia facts:
β οΈ cats can continue to shed coccidia oocysts (which means they can be *contagious*!) in their f***s for as long as two weeks after treatment
β οΈ can live in the environment for up to one year
β οΈ is resistant to common disinfectants
β οΈ research indicates it is becoming resistant to Rescue (pet-safe/pet-specific disinfectant that eliminates Panleukopenia aka Distemper)
β οΈ CAN be eliminated utilizing bleach, hot water, and steam
So while Lorcan continues to go to town on food (and playtime, and food/play comas in between), we'll be going to town with bleach and hot water!