The three cats trapped today do not have good stories to tell. I am making this short because I have my hands full at the moment. The crippled Tom had pillow paws which if you don’t know about that (thank your lucky stars) 7 years ago, I had a cat with this autoimmune disease and it eats the soft tissue of the pads of the cats infected with it. It is not curable, not really treatable and extremely painful. The tom has been euthanized by order of the vets.
The two girl kitties Lovey, and Little are both about 5 months old VERY pregnant and very close to having those babies. They are also too ill to put under (the vet said they would die) They have nasty URI’s they are not eating or drinking and snot is just pouring out of their noses. They are due within a week and it is the thinking that they won’t be well enough at that time to undergo the necessary spay and neuter. There is a chance the kittens being born won’t survive either. I have the kittens here now, they are on meds, fluids, saline drops, vaporizer, heating pads. I have them in the bedroom and will keep all the doors closed so no one of my cats get infected.
The problem is the people who are caring for these cats – and they do care and love these cats are upset with me. They didn’t want the tom euthanized- and only for right now, I have the kittens for 24 hours. They wanted me to leave them there- but I persuaded them to let me have them at least till tomorrow and get them started on everything they need. I don’t know if they trust me anymore, which makes me very sad, but I can understand their feelings. I didn’t know they were euthanizing the tom- in a colony situation that decision is made by a vet for the better of the group and of course to get the cats out of pain.
Please pray that the right decision is made tomorrow on the fate of these kittens. I have done all I can to state my case, but the bottom line is it their decision to make. I did tell them if they did (God forbid) decide to keep the kittens with them, I will do all I can to help them out but I won’t be there 24/7. And that is what these babies need right now, round the clock care. Don’t post anything negative or ugly about these two people. They really do love and care for their cats. Most people don’t even give a damn about them. I just know because I have been through so many high-risk cat/kitten pregnancies that things can go south in a hurry and if you don’t know what you can do to prevent some issues, it can all go bad quickly.
Please also pray for my actions with these two lovely kitties. I have given them clavamox, had to force feed them baby food because they can’t swallow well- their tonsils are inflamed (did you know cats have tonsils) I have given them fluids and they are probably calling me names right about now! They are warm, the vaporizer is going, drops have gone in their eyes and their noses- they didn’t ask for this. I don’t need this especially right now- looking at another vet visit in a few days maybe. But I’m in it for the long-haul because that is how it goes. I have set up multiple “nests” in the room- but with my luck, they will probably have their litter under my pillow!
Thanks for your prayers-
I feel a lot of love for them to take on a colony, but sometimes God lends a hand. I feel bad about the Tom and I am sure the vet made the best decision for him, if he was in so much pain and I assume that the pain would have gotten much worse as the disease progressed. I pray that the kits will be ok but I leave that up to God as well. They belong to him and I can only hope the caregivers of the colony will give them just about the only chance they have.
Nothing could have helped that tom cat. He would have suffered for the rest of his life. Good luck and best thoughts to the moms and their kittens, and to you.
I am sending lots of purrs to the pregnant kittens, and to you! It is very sad about the tom, but nothing could have been done. I so wish those people who were caring for the colony could understand this. 🙁
OK, I’ll abide by your wishes and not say anything ugly about the colony caregivers. I really, really, really want to though. 🙁
I had to take Quincy in to get his stitches out today, so I talked to MY vet about the kittens. He wants to take a look at them- first appointment I could get was Monday 3:00. He said it is rare for them (his clinic) to not spay cats due to illness. I did tell him that this morning, I discovered half a dozen small blood clots on the towel where Little had spent the night. This could mean that birth is imminent- although there is no development showing around any of her nipples, or it could mean something more ominous. He said he would reserve judgment until he had his hands on exam going.
The kittens are showing their first signs of appetite and not so much of a discharge flowing from their noses. Mischief is leaping around the room and getting into…well all sorts of mischief!
One final note about this colony. So much has been left unsaid about the events that have transpired. But at the end of it all, I find myself frustrated that for the first time in a long while, I have had to qualify my qualifications. I was deep in prayer about the whole situation this morning, when a small voice inside of me said: “If your pride had to be sacrificed so that a tomcat could travel out of pain, is not the humiliation you feel worth that? After all, larger sacrifices have been made for the greater good.” Yes, on my knees, I had to agree. This sacrifice was indeed worth it. The tom is in a much better place and no longer suffering. What two people now think of me pales in comparison to the end result.