Rest In Peace

Sad days at legends of the fur balls.

Amber and Violet made the journey across the rainbow bridge and out of their virus riddled bodies. I stopped taking pictures when it became quite clear that Amber's nose wasn't going to get less snotty looking and she wasn't going to look less thin. She was far from healthy looking.

Rest In Peace Amber & Violet

The longer they stayed in the room sneezing, the longer I cleaned them then cleaned the other two cages it was increasing the risk of spreading what they had to the others.

It is unknown if when I began fostering this group, Amber already had the virus or due to her frail body at the time she contracted it soon after coming home with me. She had a turn around and gained a whole bunch of weight then after her vaccination she went nowhere but down. Her highest point was around 630 grams...she toppled down to 475 grams in a matter of days.

It came to the point it was cruel to keep her alive. She couldn't breathe and she had chronic diarrhea. A cat or kitten relies on its sense of smell to tell if something is edible, with this clogged up she couldn't eat and even with me attempting to syringe feed her it just wasn't working out.

Violet. Poor Violet was wrong place wrong time. She got put in with Amber to gain weight since her much bigger weight siblings were bashing her up or shoving her out of the food line. When Amber's symptoms became a bit more serious Violet had been exposed long enough that moving her back with her siblings would risk them getting sick as well.

Violet didn't sneeze at first but in about three days began showing the signs that Amber had. Inconsistent weight, fussiness with food, sneezing. She appeared bright otherwise. When she began sneezing I became a clean freak. It meant what Amber had was contagious and therefore touching something of theirs and then moving to either of the other groups and touching theirs could leave some of the virus for the others to be exposed to.

So on Monday I made the decision that these two kittens needed to go. One to end Amber's suffering as it would only get worse and sacrificing Violet in effort to stop the spread and give the best possible outcome for my remaining five.

Violet was not vaccinated, she never reached the 600 gram mark. Amber was vaccinated and she looked horrible anyway. I would be absolutely horrified to imagine how much more severe the symptoms would have shown on Violet had I put off the inevitable.

Alas. It is done.

I take comfort that the kittens knew full tummies, knew cuddles, had room to run around in and most of all had someone to love them during the short time they were in this world. My heart breaks that I couldn't do more for them.

The deaths of kittens I foster is another reason I made this blog. To tell their story. To show people they are not just a statistic that got euthanize  They were a kitten, cat, dog, any animal that was a stray, surrendered, found, dumped....they found their way to the shelter where we tried our best to keep them healthy, happy and when the time came, a new home. Some animals are dealt a bad card from the beginning and despite best efforts just don't make it. That doesn't make them any less important.

I just returned from another shelter Vet check where I was hoping 3 kittens - Rose, Ranga and Squeak - would pass and join the sale rooms. Squeak decided she'd much rather stay with me and purposefully weighed 10 grams under weight. Rose and Ranga being past 800 but litter mates to Amber and Violet it was decided to give them another few days to watch for any signs of developing the same virus.

They have been separated from Amber for most of their time with me so I'm hoping since they're all vaccinated (Ruby included) that they all begin eating properly and pooping properly and can make the move out on Friday.

Squeak and Smokey. Smokey still hasn't made decided to become a big boy. He feels solid but he's not eating enough to make the 600 grams and get vaccinated. I can see I'll have this little pip squeak for quite awhile yet...such a hardship though with him being so darn cute.

Squeak. She should have moved out by now. She feels solid, she poops fine she just doesn't decide to eat all the time and therefore tip the scales upwards. She just hovers. Right on the brink of going back to the shelter then gets weighed there and she's under again so packs off back home with me. Anyone would think this little cutie doesn't want to leave.

Squeak, your siblings are waiting for you in sales! You can hang out in twice the space with kittens your own size! Please gain weight properly!

I shall return soon with new pictures of the remaining kittens but for today I thought I'd only put up pictures of Amber and Violet.

 The world missed out on some adorable kittens....