Cat 4

[plonq]

The smallest kitten deteriorated badly overnight.  He caught the upper respiratory infection from his mom and sister, and with his compromised immune system it hit him hard.  This morning he was too weak to move, and he was gasping for breath.  atara found him face-down in his blanket, gasping for breath, with his face encrusted with snot and mucus.  He was in pretty rough shape last night when we tried to feed him, literally gagging on his food and spitting out more than he swallowed.  I don't think I need to tell you how heartbreaking it is to see a little creature suffering like that, so we did the only humane thing we could.  We dropped him back at the shelter this morning, where they agreed that he doesn't look like he's going to pull through.

It's not like we had him long enough to grow really attached, but it was still very hard giving him up.  The worst of it was that it was like reliving Bit all over again.  We did all that we could, but sometimes all that you can do simply isn't enough.  I guess this is something that we're going to have to get used to if we plan to foster cats for the shelter.  Many of the cats that they foster out are ones that need extra care to nurse them back to health, and sometimes they don't get better. 

Comments

[fuzzytoedcollie.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you had to give this one up, Plonq.
It's a wonderful thing atara and you are doing for these cats.
May the next one go better for you both.
*hugs*

[elynne.livejournal.com]

It's hard, but you did the best you could, and I like to believe that it does make a difference, somewhere, somehow. I'm so sorry. Thank you and Atara both for the work you do, even when it isn't easy.

[kfops.livejournal.com]

You folks did the best you could, and it's not something a lot of people would even try to take on in the first place.

So sorry that things didn't go better.