Friday the 13th was a lucky day for a small gray Domestic Medium Hair in a shelter in Texas. That was her "Gotcha Day", the day that she was adopted from a place where "They check in, but they don't check out". Sadly, many animals who land in this shelter don't come out alive. Not unless they're redeemed by the families who lost their pet and happened to find them there. For the stray and the feral-born... it's often the last chapter.
But for one kitten, it was a new story.
About 6 weeks after saying goodbye to our beloved Gray Grimalkin, our home was missing her spark, and though we still have the steady love and presence of our 14 year old Tonkinese boy, it wasn't... right. Our hearts had a cat-sized void, and it was aching. So, the time was right. We began the search for a new member of our little clan. We applied to adopt several available cats, but we never received a response... except when the foster family decided to keep the cat. Or, the cat was already adopted. We turned to our big city shelter. There were many promising candidates, but also plenty of problems. For instance, we saw one lovely kitten listed, and she was in a foster home available for adoption, but when we inquired, we were connected to the wrong foster family. They didn't have the kitten. A shout back to the Animal Services department went unanswered, and we saw other candidates. But, they were either ill, or only available to certified rescue teams, or otherwise not available despite being shown as available for adoption.
Then, a response about the lovely kitten... she already had been adopted just the day before the response. We never got to meet her. A try at another town's shelter... another beautiful kitten shown as available, a trip out to where she was meeting the public. And a sign on her cage saying, "I've been adopted!" More heartbreak.
So, we checked with another shelter, one that had many cats. We saw a beautiful adult who was a ringer for our Gray Grimalkin. We were taken... her description seemed perfect, she was a foodie and loved to chase toys and treats. We made the trip to see her. She was as beautiful in person as she was in her photo. She looked almost exactly like Skye, Our Gray Grimalkin. We were ready to adopt this gorgeous lady. But one thing was not mentioned in the listing, and only discovered by way of a small almost unnoticeable tag on her cage: She was positive for FIV. No, that wouldn't work, with another cat in our home who is on immune suppressing medicines for an auto-immune disorder. But still, we wanted to at least visit with her in the visit room, to stroke her fur and show her some love and kindness. But we weren't allowed. She wasn't friendly, they told us. So, we left with tears stinging our eyes, the void in our heart aching tremendously.
So, on to Craigslist. We know, not the most savory way to adopt a pet, but what else were we to do, short of going to a breeder... not that we have anything against responsible and ethical breeders, but we had it in mind to rescue or adopt a shelter pet. After weeks of poring through ads, one stood out. It was a posting by a shelter volunteer. They needed help. There were kittens, too many kittens, and not enough space. These babies needed help, now. In the picture of a large clutch of various little babies was a little gray kitten. Her face peeking out, a sweet expression, my heart melted. I told my husband, and the next day, we made the long drive to the other edge of the county. We were rather expecting to be disappointed yet again. But when we got there, we told the worker that we were there to see the gray kitten in the Craigslist post... was she there? Yes, she was. He led us into a dark, dreary kennel area where the kittens and puppies were housed. It was noisy, smelly and rather dismal. The man opened a dark cage housing 2 kittens and brought out a small, fuzzy gray creature. She was quite scared, but trusting. And so tiny! She nestled into our arms for a bit, then tried to climb up our shoulders to get away from the cacophony of barking, howling canine kids. We were sold instantly. So, the harried but seemingly kind Animal Services worker placed her into our carrier, and we finalized the adoption.
As we brought her out to the Jeep to begin her Freedom Ride, she spoke up-- the tiniest, sweetest sounding little MEW... and again, I melted! She rode happily and quietly in her carrier all the way home, not a sound or attempt to hide under the towel. She was a boss! We brought her home, released her from her carrier into the bathroom which would become her introductory living quarters... and she immediately hid behind the toilet!
.
But, she didn't hide for too long. Within a few hours, and a few brief visits to check on her, she was venturing out to greet us with a tiny half-hearted hiss, then that sweet little mew. She had her bed, and her box, and a little bowl of dry food and water, and some toys. She was all set. Over the next few days, she warmed up and was soon pawing to be picked up and held on our laps, and purring like a little car. She was doing great, and before long, she was playing and venturing out into the hallway. Our boy was still separate, and not yet allowed contact.
All seemed great... until she began to limp one day, a week and half after she came home. Ah, probably missed a jump, or twisted a leg playing hard like kittens sometimes do. But let's be on the safe side and get her to the 24 hour vet. An X ray showed no break, but some inflammation. Just a sprain, we thought, so we brought her home, gave her the pain medicine that the vet prescribed, and put her to bed. But later, I noticed the baby was shivering and sleepy. Maybe she's just scared, sore and the medicine's got her drowsy. She should be better in the morning. So when her next dose was due, I gave her the dose and went to bed.
The next morning, she wasn't wanting to get up. She was still shivering, and she was lethargic. Wow, that medicine seems to be hitting her hard, I thought.
But then, my vet tech self chimed in... let me take her temperature just to be on the safe side. 105 degrees! This baby has a high fever! So, I got her in that morning to her regular vet, and as a thought, took in a stool sample. She had blood work, and all seemed fine. Maybe a little infection from her time at the shelter. So, she got some antibiotic, and we hoped for a quick recovery. Instead, her fever went up some more, and she was sick. Strangely, the pain began to affect her whole body, and she had problems walking. This was not good at all. So, back and forth to the vet, a take-home bag of subcutaneous fluids to help reduce the fever and maintain hydration, and more blood tests for things like Toxoplasmosis and Bartonella.
She spent one day in the hospital for fever therapy, and at that time the vet noticed some lesions on her tongue. Were we dealing with Calicivirus? The signs sure pointed in that direction! By now, the sample results were in... very heavy infection of Coccidia! But, that didn't explain her other symptoms. Nonetheless, we treated her for the protozoa, and the Calicivirus symptoms, and waited for the Bartonella and Toxo test results. Over the next few days, she slowly began to recover. After a week of being sore, sick and weak, she began to crawl out of the laundry basket where we had kept her in our cool bedroom, hoping to keep her fever from getting worse. She stood up and mewed for her breakfast, and even tried to play. So, I took her temp... 103.7, still a fever, but much better than the nearly 106 that she had been. By evening, she was down to 103.1, and the next day, a normal 102.5, and the fever was broken. The Toxo results came in, and were negative... but a few days later, the Bartonella came back 4+... very strongly positive! So, new antibiotics for several weeks, and hopefully a better result on the next test.
Now... she looks wonderful, and she's gaining weight nicely. She has gained 13.5 ounces in 3 weeks, and over 640 grams (22.5 oz.) from her lowest weight when she was ill one month ago.. she had bottomed out at 2 pounds, 7 ounces or 1104 grams! Today she weighs 3 pounds, 13.5 ounces and will be close to 4 pounds on her Spay Day on November 5... her "4 month birthday". Yes, we know that she will be on the petite side for her age, but considering the whopping load of illnesses and parasites and poor diet that she came home with, and her fantastic weight gain since she's been with us... we aren't too upset. We're just happy that she's doing SO much better now than she was a month ago, and her coat looks beautiful. These pics don't do justice to her eyes, a lovely amber-gold, though they look light yellow green here. They're not! They're actually almost orange!
Here is beautiful Rain now... frisky and doing just great!
And, she even is the star of 2 of her own YouTube videos... I feel kinda sorry for that toy mouse!
Random dose of kitten cuteness... playing with her Crazy Circle, right after her recovery from her illness!
That toy mouse doesn't stand a chance with her!
Welcome home, Rain. You are our sunshine.
But for one kitten, it was a new story.
About 6 weeks after saying goodbye to our beloved Gray Grimalkin, our home was missing her spark, and though we still have the steady love and presence of our 14 year old Tonkinese boy, it wasn't... right. Our hearts had a cat-sized void, and it was aching. So, the time was right. We began the search for a new member of our little clan. We applied to adopt several available cats, but we never received a response... except when the foster family decided to keep the cat. Or, the cat was already adopted. We turned to our big city shelter. There were many promising candidates, but also plenty of problems. For instance, we saw one lovely kitten listed, and she was in a foster home available for adoption, but when we inquired, we were connected to the wrong foster family. They didn't have the kitten. A shout back to the Animal Services department went unanswered, and we saw other candidates. But, they were either ill, or only available to certified rescue teams, or otherwise not available despite being shown as available for adoption.
Then, a response about the lovely kitten... she already had been adopted just the day before the response. We never got to meet her. A try at another town's shelter... another beautiful kitten shown as available, a trip out to where she was meeting the public. And a sign on her cage saying, "I've been adopted!" More heartbreak.
So, we checked with another shelter, one that had many cats. We saw a beautiful adult who was a ringer for our Gray Grimalkin. We were taken... her description seemed perfect, she was a foodie and loved to chase toys and treats. We made the trip to see her. She was as beautiful in person as she was in her photo. She looked almost exactly like Skye, Our Gray Grimalkin. We were ready to adopt this gorgeous lady. But one thing was not mentioned in the listing, and only discovered by way of a small almost unnoticeable tag on her cage: She was positive for FIV. No, that wouldn't work, with another cat in our home who is on immune suppressing medicines for an auto-immune disorder. But still, we wanted to at least visit with her in the visit room, to stroke her fur and show her some love and kindness. But we weren't allowed. She wasn't friendly, they told us. So, we left with tears stinging our eyes, the void in our heart aching tremendously.
So, on to Craigslist. We know, not the most savory way to adopt a pet, but what else were we to do, short of going to a breeder... not that we have anything against responsible and ethical breeders, but we had it in mind to rescue or adopt a shelter pet. After weeks of poring through ads, one stood out. It was a posting by a shelter volunteer. They needed help. There were kittens, too many kittens, and not enough space. These babies needed help, now. In the picture of a large clutch of various little babies was a little gray kitten. Her face peeking out, a sweet expression, my heart melted. I told my husband, and the next day, we made the long drive to the other edge of the county. We were rather expecting to be disappointed yet again. But when we got there, we told the worker that we were there to see the gray kitten in the Craigslist post... was she there? Yes, she was. He led us into a dark, dreary kennel area where the kittens and puppies were housed. It was noisy, smelly and rather dismal. The man opened a dark cage housing 2 kittens and brought out a small, fuzzy gray creature. She was quite scared, but trusting. And so tiny! She nestled into our arms for a bit, then tried to climb up our shoulders to get away from the cacophony of barking, howling canine kids. We were sold instantly. So, the harried but seemingly kind Animal Services worker placed her into our carrier, and we finalized the adoption.
As we brought her out to the Jeep to begin her Freedom Ride, she spoke up-- the tiniest, sweetest sounding little MEW... and again, I melted! She rode happily and quietly in her carrier all the way home, not a sound or attempt to hide under the towel. She was a boss! We brought her home, released her from her carrier into the bathroom which would become her introductory living quarters... and she immediately hid behind the toilet!
.
But, she didn't hide for too long. Within a few hours, and a few brief visits to check on her, she was venturing out to greet us with a tiny half-hearted hiss, then that sweet little mew. She had her bed, and her box, and a little bowl of dry food and water, and some toys. She was all set. Over the next few days, she warmed up and was soon pawing to be picked up and held on our laps, and purring like a little car. She was doing great, and before long, she was playing and venturing out into the hallway. Our boy was still separate, and not yet allowed contact.
All seemed great... until she began to limp one day, a week and half after she came home. Ah, probably missed a jump, or twisted a leg playing hard like kittens sometimes do. But let's be on the safe side and get her to the 24 hour vet. An X ray showed no break, but some inflammation. Just a sprain, we thought, so we brought her home, gave her the pain medicine that the vet prescribed, and put her to bed. But later, I noticed the baby was shivering and sleepy. Maybe she's just scared, sore and the medicine's got her drowsy. She should be better in the morning. So when her next dose was due, I gave her the dose and went to bed.
The next morning, she wasn't wanting to get up. She was still shivering, and she was lethargic. Wow, that medicine seems to be hitting her hard, I thought.
But then, my vet tech self chimed in... let me take her temperature just to be on the safe side. 105 degrees! This baby has a high fever! So, I got her in that morning to her regular vet, and as a thought, took in a stool sample. She had blood work, and all seemed fine. Maybe a little infection from her time at the shelter. So, she got some antibiotic, and we hoped for a quick recovery. Instead, her fever went up some more, and she was sick. Strangely, the pain began to affect her whole body, and she had problems walking. This was not good at all. So, back and forth to the vet, a take-home bag of subcutaneous fluids to help reduce the fever and maintain hydration, and more blood tests for things like Toxoplasmosis and Bartonella.
She spent one day in the hospital for fever therapy, and at that time the vet noticed some lesions on her tongue. Were we dealing with Calicivirus? The signs sure pointed in that direction! By now, the sample results were in... very heavy infection of Coccidia! But, that didn't explain her other symptoms. Nonetheless, we treated her for the protozoa, and the Calicivirus symptoms, and waited for the Bartonella and Toxo test results. Over the next few days, she slowly began to recover. After a week of being sore, sick and weak, she began to crawl out of the laundry basket where we had kept her in our cool bedroom, hoping to keep her fever from getting worse. She stood up and mewed for her breakfast, and even tried to play. So, I took her temp... 103.7, still a fever, but much better than the nearly 106 that she had been. By evening, she was down to 103.1, and the next day, a normal 102.5, and the fever was broken. The Toxo results came in, and were negative... but a few days later, the Bartonella came back 4+... very strongly positive! So, new antibiotics for several weeks, and hopefully a better result on the next test.
Now... she looks wonderful, and she's gaining weight nicely. She has gained 13.5 ounces in 3 weeks, and over 640 grams (22.5 oz.) from her lowest weight when she was ill one month ago.. she had bottomed out at 2 pounds, 7 ounces or 1104 grams! Today she weighs 3 pounds, 13.5 ounces and will be close to 4 pounds on her Spay Day on November 5... her "4 month birthday". Yes, we know that she will be on the petite side for her age, but considering the whopping load of illnesses and parasites and poor diet that she came home with, and her fantastic weight gain since she's been with us... we aren't too upset. We're just happy that she's doing SO much better now than she was a month ago, and her coat looks beautiful. These pics don't do justice to her eyes, a lovely amber-gold, though they look light yellow green here. They're not! They're actually almost orange!
Here is beautiful Rain now... frisky and doing just great!
And, she even is the star of 2 of her own YouTube videos... I feel kinda sorry for that toy mouse!
Random dose of kitten cuteness... playing with her Crazy Circle, right after her recovery from her illness!
That toy mouse doesn't stand a chance with her!
Welcome home, Rain. You are our sunshine.
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