3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: baby.
I recently swooped in on the opportunity to foster baby kittens. They came with a mama who was extremely ill with an upper respiratory infection when she was brought in. The shelter did not think she was going to make it, but they somehow managed to pull her back from the brink of death and I was able to swing in and pick up my new little foster family.
The staff at the shelter were definitely still concerned. They sent along plenty of meds for mama kitty to take twice a day and since one of the babies sneezed that morning, they also packed up meds for all of the kittens in hopes to ward off the infection that the mother might have passed down.
For 24 hours I diligently gave everyone their medications, but one by one the kittens began getting sicker. On the second afternoon I noticed one was breathing with a little more difficulty than the others. By dinnertime, it had passed away. Poor Laina and Kainoa found the kitten and all of us were completely traumatized.
I brought the mom and babies back to the shelter the next morning for closer medical attention and after two days at the shelter two more were lost. The shelter had stabilized the mother and the last remaining baby and sent them back with me, but the baby started struggling to breathe for me after the first night and I lost that one too.
Long story short, it was the most traumatic fostering experience ever. We lost all of the kittens. The professionals will say that lungs are not even fully developed on one-week old kittens yet, so their ability to fight off a respiratory virus is pretty slim. I do wonder if tube feeding might have helped or if we should have separated them from their sick mother earlier. Although, by the time mama kitty was getting medical attention, the babies had already been exposed.
Maybe the whole thing was inevitable. I did learn how to spot a struggling kitten a lot earlier and I can say with certainty that I don’t think I’ll ever agree to bring home sneezing kittens again. I get too attached. I need healthy kittens stat.
Kimberly says
Oh no! Those poor babes…and you too! You’re such a good person for doing that though. There was no way to know that they wouldn’t have survived that. UGH…it’s so hard being a pet parent. Seriously heartbreaking. Sigh. xoxox
Abby says
Wow, I can’t imagine how traumatic this was for all of you. Thanks for trying, but sounds like they were pretty doomed from the get go :(
John Holton says
Aw, Kat, I’m so sorry for you. We’ve taken home several kittens that died shortly after we got them home, and trust me, nothing is more disheartening. The first time it happened Mary cried for two days. Newborns are particularly fragile, and even if you do everything possible some will just fade away (they call it “fading kitten syndrome”).
I hope this doesn’t put you off wanting to foster again. You’re too good at it. I can tell.