Fighting the Good Fight

11:11 pm

I spent the summer (like so many others) as Cat Woman, the nurse for kittens supreme. I know this sounds immodest, but truly, I successfully reared some of the sickest, seemingly hopeless kittens yet.

One was found stuck to his brothers by the umbilical cord--there were flies beginning to take seige; there was the kitten who developed a urinary blockage at four weeks of age; the kitten born prematurely (as in almost no fur ) and whose mother was rescued from a now infamous "sanctuary" shut down by the authorities; and the hypothermic, dehydrated, emaciated kitten found wandering around in the woods near Mt. Hood. I took in 27 kittens in all (I think) and lost several.

The first fatalities were the two kittens joined by the umbilical cords to Bobby, who is now seven months old and a permanent member of our family. The second of the two boys to die really hit me hard because I had him for ten days, and grew very fond of him. Amanda and I travelled to the coast and brought the kittens with us, stopping frequently to warm up their heating pads and bottle feed them. Blackberry, who is also a family member (but legally a permanent foster kitten until the criminal case against the owners of the sanctuary is done) is nearsighted and small for her age, but considering the fact that she nearly died twice, here in my apartment--she is a miracle. The skinny kitten got fattened up and was promptly adopted. In August a small kitten was brought in by Animal Control--with no eyes!! Ironically I was lamenting the fact earlier that same day that we had discovered Blackberry had cataracts. It seemed like a "sign" when Iris came into our home. She too, is still with us, bringing the present feline population to eight. We go through a LOT of food and a LOT of cat litter.


The hardest loss was Dazzle. She lived to be about ten weeks old, and then was euthanized. It was one of the most agonizing decisions I have ever had to make as a foster mother and technician. She had chronic diarrhea, so severe that her body was quite literally scarred, both inside and out. We tried everything we could think of, and I went as far as keeping her here at home while on IV fluids. Nothing worked. I cried for days about that kitten. It still saddens me to think of her.

This kitten business kept me busy well into October--or was it November? Whew, whatever....then the holidays hit, and the rest is a blur.

Okay, time to watch some insipid television and sleep.

I will try not to let nine months pass before I write again.