Happy Goodbye

I had to say goodbye to Dove, the little lilac kitten from the LDS church yesterday.  She plumped up nicely and was ready to go to her new home... with one of my veterinarians!  So happy she got a good home, I know she'll be spoiled by the whole family, and I'll still be able to get regular updates on her as she grows up.

Her poor little brother is alone now.  He's still half the size he should be, but is in great health.  I still can't believe he survived.

One of my co-workers is going on vacation, so I've got her bottle babies while she's gone.  Unfortunately, one was quite sick and died today.  The other two look great, and I hope to have them weaned soon.  To top things off, I got another little bottle baby today.  The corner of my bedroom where I keep kitten cages is looking like some sort of trashy apartment complex.

Mr. Rogers in My Neighborhood

This is my latest special care kitty, Mr. Rogers. We're still not sure if his misshapen face is due entirely to infection, or if there's a tumor in there. It has responded to antibiotics, but he's still lumpy. He's spent the last couple days anxiously prowling a large dog crate, so I finally relented and have given him free run of the Hello Kitty room now that is face isn't draining quite so freely. Oddly, he is still anxiously prowling the perimeter of the room, always clockwise, always hugging the walls, always keeping his eyes straight on the floor in front of him. I fear his eyesight is gone or nearly so even in his good eye. And since he won't go up even the 6" onto the low bed, I'm going to have to figure out a snug comfy place that he can find but won't be an obstacle. But he is eating well and fights getting fluids to the point where I can no longer do it, so he must feel ok! It's sad though, I'll be surprised if he can ultimately be saved. I'm really pretty sure that's a tumor.

Transaction in a Dimly Lit Parking Lot

The phone rings RIGHT at closing time tonight.  It's a lady in a town an hour away.  Her daughter was driving into town with a friend and came across an injured cat.  She has it in her car, and wants to know if she can bring it in.  Well, nobody will be here, and all the vet clinics are closed.  I finally agree to meet her in the grocery store parking lot, as I have a couple errands to run before I head home, and groceries is one of them.  I'll collect the cat, take him home and stabilize him as much as possible, and decide what to do with him in the morning.  Nothing else I can really do that late anyway.  When I finally meet up with the young girl and cat, my first thought was the good news is I don't think it's head trauma. The bad news is, I think it's either a tumor or an infected eye that has ruptured through the sinuses and out below the cheekbone. I'll be stopping off at the vet clinic on the way to work tomorrow I guess.

Still Not Dead Yet!

So the little chocolate kitten is doing quite well. Eating on his own, peeing and pooping normally, maintaining his own body temperature, and interacting with his sister and me. I got all the nasty grass seeds that were packed into his eye sockets blasted out with syringes of saline. God, I've never seen anything like that. Eww. But he's now dehydrated to a normal level. Or a not scary level. I mean he's not a dry husk of a kitten with his eyeballs sunk clear into his skull. So as of now I'm bumping his survival odds to 70%. Not bad for a nearly dead, dried out, emaciated husk of a fleabag!

Only Mostly Dead II

Well, the two kittens from the LDS church are still with me. Both kittens have stabilized enough to be bathed, getting rid of most of the flea population. The female is eating on her own, though she really enjoys taking a turn at the syringe feeding I give her brother too. The boy... well, I'm still holding at 40% odds of survival for him, which is up dramatically from the 5% I gave him when he came in. He's happy to have his sister back, will sit up, move around a little, and change positions to cuddle with her. If I stand him on the counter, he will take a few steps, and he's acting almost neurological symptom free. I have gotten the clumps of grass seeds out of his eye sockets. He pees, but has not pooped, and still doesn't regulate his own body temperature. Only time will tell if his digestive system will function normally.

Only Mostly Dead

Two weeks ago, I was commenting on what a strange kitten season it's been, we've had a fraction the usual number in the shelter, and I've had only just a few litters of bottle babies. Last week a combined litter of 3 and 5 weeks olds comes in. They're nice and healthy, and we have a momma who recently weaned and is willing to care for them, though she doesn't have enough milk currently for all 7. So I've left the 3 bigger ones with her full time with a couple extra bottles of formula during the day for good measure, and throw the little ones in with her during the day but take them home at night. Works well enough.

Yesterday morning, a young woman calls, said she spotted a couple kittens under a bush behind the Mormon church day before, but left them there assuming they had a mom. Now one's dead, can she bring the remaining one in? When she arrives a short time later, she has a lovely 5 week old lilac female, skinny, dehydrated, anemic, and jumping with fleas. But she's strong and stable, and after she's had a chance to eat and settle in, I give her a flea bath. 

Wednesday is Ringworm Bath Day, so I spend most the afternoon bathing kittens. One litter of kittens is finally cleared for neutering and adoption, after 8 weeks of treatment! More are not cleared. One kitten in particular is very frustrating, her brothers have been clear for two weeks, she still has spots. I'm about to shave her down and take the advice of one crazy, now-out-of-business vet, and dip the poor kitten in bleach solution. I'm on the last litter of kittens, one of which has quite possibly the worst case I've ever seen. Poor little girl was nearly bald before her bath, and almost all the rest of her hair came out in the rinse. She looks like a crusty Sphynx now.

Anyway, while those guys are stewing in their shampoo, a guy calls and says he found some kittens, they're real little, and he thinks they're "not doing well," which he repeats several times. Again repeats "real little" and doesn't think the eyes are open. So I tell him to bring them in. He is very concerned and confused about having to bring them in himself. They're "not doing well." I say he'll be fine, just put them in a box, or even just wrapped in a towel. He arrives a short time later with a very nearly dead kitten in a shoebox. He apologizes, but the other one that was there this morning is gone, could only find this one. This kitten is chocolate, and jumping with fleas. "Hey, this wasn't near the Mormon church was it?" Turns out it was. So I assure him that the missing kitten came in earlier, she is with us, stable, de-flea'd and doing well. This one, however, is not likely to survive another hour. He is chilled, his tongue is blue, and he's doing that horrible agonal back-arching thing. Boys are distraught because kitten might not make it, I am KICKING myself for not telling the morning caller to bring the dead kitten too. Clearly, he wasn't dead, and 6 hours might have made the difference in being able to save him.

Regardless, I pack him in heat packs, squirt some subq fluids in him, rub some Karo syrup on his gums, and finish rinsing the last of the ringworm kittens. When I check on him later, he's responsive. So I give him a little Nutri-cal. An hour later, he's holding his head up, but acting neurological. Whatever, it's improvement!

Logic

Me: We're a no kill shelter. Her: Yay!
Me: We don't kill one cat to make room for another. Her: Yay!
Me: So I can't get your cat in until a cage opens up. Her: That's bullshit!
Some people have no concept of logic.