The Purr-Therapy Room: A Glimmer Of Hope In The Darkness

Events of 15th June 2015

Sunday morning I had a call from Leanne.

I called her back and got asked if I would consider taking on a sick kitten that already had a home but just needed some one on one TLC to get him on the road to recovery.

Needless to say that little kitten was Hugo.

I was in two minds for only a few seconds.

What if he ended up being put down as well? Could I handle another loss?

But then I thought I owed it to Leo to give Hugo a chance at his own family.

Leo had no proper quality of life looking forward to him. Hugo had just a glimmer of hope on the horizon that if he kicked this flu virus he had every possibility of living a long and healthy life.

I said yes.

I dragged in a cage, set it up in my bedroom since he couldn't go in with the foster kittens and risk exposing them to the nasty virus. I would be having to up the quarantine measures and my mother would have to step up and do most of the handling and care of the Moods and the Weenies.

My sister came down to visit that weekend. It was a surprise visit for my dads 60th Birthday so she missed seeing Leo that morning.

Hugo was a mess. Skinny, snotty, congested, inflamed eyes.

If possible to imagine worse than this...

Leanne said his only saving grace so far had been that he was already adopted and paid for. A vet had looked at him and wanted to put him down.

Gathering his items I pulled up my sleeves and got to work. I began syringe feeding every 2 hours. It didn't matter what time of day I even woke up at night to medicate him or shove a bit more food into him.

His breathing that first night was horrid. So began the steam baths. When I showered he came in his carrier and was put at a gap in the shower door so any steam escaping would get to him.

During the day I would fill a small cup with steaming water and put a blanket over him and the cup holding it under his nose so the steam would rise up at him. (Had my hand kind of covering the top so he didn't dip his face in it and held it far enough away that he didn't get burned).

Of a night I'd sit in the bathroom with him and let the shower run until the room was like a sauna.

I bathed his poor sore ulcerated eyes.

Even in the start of the second day of having him Hugo figured out the syringe = food. He happily ate his required two full syringes and even nibbled some food off a plate.

Still looking horrible but even now attempts to eat are a good sign

By the third day he was happily chowing down syringes and trying to stick his head in the bowl as I tried to fill the syringe again. He killed the very tip of numerous syringes in his excitement to get food.

Obviously majority of these early pics are from my temperamental camera but it is now milestones of progress and I'm so glad I took notes.

He looks horrible, He was sneezing more as the steam caused the mucus to begin shifting. He'd lost a lot of weight since I'd brought him home to look after for a few days. I weighed him and he was 810 grams when adopted and in the week or so he'd returned he'd declined enough to only be 719 grams.