The mother was already distancing herself from the kittens, not running to their calls, not laying down to nurse but more in an upright position to the other side of the bed. She didn't go and fetch them if they happened to fall out.
The kittens...where to begin. They weren't gaining, for awhile I feared Blaze had actually passed away but he hadn't - assuming Blaze was a he from a brief glimpse. I tried feeding formula but he didn't seem to want it the rest were following in his tracks. No White had a badly infected eye. That combined with Blaze soon made me accept the fact that these guys needed to go see the vet first thing in the morning and I was 90% sure the outcome wouldn't be good.
The shelter manager got back to me early this morning after receiving my text from late last night. I didn't even bother inquiring what I could do. I just said they weren't going to make it until Tuesday. The absolute last thing I wanted was to wake up tomorrow before work and find a dead kitten.
If the kittens weren't sneezing they had blocked noses and that made nursing virtually impossible. They were struggling and I knew deep down the best thing for these little guys was to end the suffering.
I met a shelter worker out at the vets. The little bed I brought in with the kittens went into the back room and the vet returned looking sad. She shook her head. I felt relieved. I knew they were too far gone to save, that they'd fought hard but odds were against them and now they would be at peace.
The mother had the same thing only since she'd been vaccinated her symptoms weren't showing as badly. Rather than take a serious flu case back to the shelter to expose more cats to this horrible virus it was decided the mother too, would join the kittens in heaven.
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| Asher wanting pats |
They all crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
In the ideal world they would have recovered, grown up, thrived, found homes...but it was not meant to be.
I find peace that they had a humane ending, not a long drawn out death being left to die from exposure. I am glad someone who picked up the dumped kittens brought them to the shelter rather than leaving them there. I am grateful Asher adopted them so they did grow and nurse and have some quality of life, if only for awhile.
Some kittens are not meant for this world. From this group I have learned that no matter how hard you try not all of them will survive and its not a matter of where you failed them, its things out of your control that affect which way the see-saw tilts.
Goodbye my little angels. Your time was short with me but you left little paw prints all over my heart. May your journeys be much better in heaven, across that Rainbow Bridge....
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| Rest In Peace Little Angels |
It's very sad that not all of them get a happy ending. But you are doing a wonderful thing, you give up your time and shower those kittens with love and attention, no matter what they are destined for. You are doing a great job and you should be proud of yourself. And those kittens are no longer suffering, thanks to your love and care. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad. It is a blessing that they knew love and had a soft place to lay their head and someone to tend to them and weren't put down the moment they came into the shelter. It is not the ending we would have wished for them, but they got more out of life then they could have wished for considering their start.
ReplyDeleteYou were a blessing to them.
We're very sorry for the loss of the cat family.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry. Thank you for caring for them and helping make their journey across the Rainbow Bridge easier. You are a very special person.
ReplyDelete