The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

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AnotherFairportfan
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The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

Post by AnotherFairportfan »

Requiem for a Tiny Black Kitty

It's the evening of May 7th, and Steve and Helen and the girls have just buried a pitifully tiny black kitten who just didn't make it.

Maybe if i'd acted sooner ...

But that's the sort of thing you tell yourself when it's too late to know.

When Twilight gave birth to her five kittens back in mid-March, one didn't make it through the night - it looked as if, perhaps, shed rolled on him and crushed him

And then there were four, and they all looked healthy and vigourous.

And, for a few weeks, they were.

And then i noticed something wrong with the left eye of one of the two black girls (their grey tabby siblings were the males of the litter).

Over time it grew worse, puffing and developing a white crust. I was pretty sure she had lost that eye, and i was afraid she might lose the other eye as well.

As time passed, she seemed to get weaker, and she wasn't growing like her sister and brother.

Finally, i couldn't stand it any more, and last Monday morning, i put her in a small box and took her to the vet.

The vet said she hadn't physically lost the eye, but that the cornea was ulcerated - possibly from an accidental scratch - and that the infection was worrisome.

She applied an antibiotic cream to her eyes and the area around them, administered oral antibiotics, and sent me home with more of the ointment and the oral medication, and a can of special food specifically intended for kittens and puppies.

She said to go by PetSmart and buy some formula, mix the canned food with it to a this paste, and then use a syringe to feed her five milliliters of the mixture four or more times a day, and to administer the antibiotics twice a day.

I went to PetSmart and bought a quart of "PetLac" formula, and we began the regime.

She was, by this time, perhaps half the size of her largest sibling, and the ridges of her spine and her ribs were painfully obvious to the touch.

We kept up the regime - it is HARD to open the mouth of a kitten that small, if she is determined you won't. {Sometimes i was afraid i was going to hurt her trying to save her life.}

For a while she seemed to regain energy - but then Thursday night, i went to feed her, and found her lying cold and limp on the floor. I thought she had died.

But when i picked her up, she moved a bit.

I fed her some formula, and the Kate told me to put the kitten insider her shirt as she was sleeping in her chair, to keep her warm. {And that was where she slept the next three nights, too.}

I fed her once or twice more in the next few hours, and she perked up some and began to be warm and not so limp.

We went on with the routine.

She seemed to be regaining some strength - she fought against the feedings with more energy and Friday night she bit me on the thumb and drew blood.

Through the weekend, much the same - some up, some down.

This morning, for the first time in so long, she seemed to actually be taking some small active part in her siblings' play.

And then, this evening, about six o'clock, while Kate was taking some air in her wheelchair in the garage and talking to Helen and Steve, Maggie came rushing in with such a tiny scrap of black fur in her hands and said "She's gone limp!"

I took her, and admitted that i didn't know what to do.

I told Maggie to take her to her {that is, Maggie's} mother. {Not that i believed Helen could do anything i couldn't or could do more thanb i could, but because i was pretty sure Maggie was going to need her mom.}

Maggie took her out to Helen. Helen took her, and tried to determine if she were still alive, then handed her to Steve ... and that was when she died.

They took her out and buried her.

When they came in, Natalie was sobbing.

I called her over to me, hugged her tight, and told her what i told myself when a black kitten i'd gotten from the Humane Society had to be euthanised three days after i'd gotten him, after a sudden high fever had apparently destroyed his brain.

"At least she had people who loved her. At least she had her mother and sister and brothers .At least she didn't die on the street, or in a cage at the pound. One little kitty had a family that cared for her."
Proof Positive the world is not flat: If it were, cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now.
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Dave
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Location: Mountain View, CA, USA

Re: The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

Post by Dave »

AnotherFairportfan wrote:"At least she had people who loved her. At least she had her mother and sister and brothers .At least she didn't die on the street, or in a cage at the pound. One little kitty had a family that cared for her."
And sometimes, that's all you can do, and the best you can offer... both to the kitty and to the child. :( Entropy has us outgunned and outnumbered.

Resisting it, as you did, is an honorable battle, and I thank you all for making your best effort.

Don't be stingy with the hugs (not that you would be, of course).
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TazManiac
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Re: The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

Post by TazManiac »

Yeah, I read this while traveling up the highway but ran out of signal until now.

I'm sorry, and esp when we try and help the young and just born. I hate that.

I'd have done what you did, and will continue to, so keep up the good fight.

Strength & Love, T.
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AnotherFairportfan
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 2:53 pm

Re: The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

Post by AnotherFairportfan »

I am never getting another black kitten.

I love black kittens/cats.

I've had three over the last forty years.

And i had to sign off on euthanasia for two and watch as this one weakened and finally lost the fight.

I'm not tempting fate again.
Proof Positive the world is not flat: If it were, cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now.
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lake_wrangler
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:16 am
Location: Laval, Québec, Canada

Re: The Tragedy of Death in Our Living Room.

Post by lake_wrangler »

I can say from experience that full-grown cats that need to be fed by dropper also do not always take kindly to it. (Ours bit the dropper and broke it!) In our case, we could not even afford a visit to the vet, so I don't think we ever knew what had happened to make our cat wither and die.

It's never easy.

*Sends a virtual hug*
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