Kitten Update

The Volunteer Couple arrived and showed me how to feed the baby kitty. They judge her to be about 3 weeks old. Unfortunately, the baby didn't much want to eat, despite being nothing but skin and bones. Also, once I figured out what Tamnonlinear actually meant about checking for dehydration, I could tell that the baby girl was very dehydrated. Also, she just wasn't being very feisty for a kitten of her age (even allowing for her recent troubles.)

So, about quarter after eleven, I gathered up my stuff, and the emergency vet information that The Volunteer had provided, and off I drove. I was shaking so badly (out of, I imagine, fear and adrenaline) that I had a hard time filling out all the necessary paperwork. Then they took the kitten away from me and I had to sit in the waiting area. I was a twitchy being. When I was taken back to the kitten they told me that they had gotten some high-calorie food into her (just a very little, and frankly there seemed to be a lot in the box and on the kitten). [This is also when I was informed that the kitten is a girl.] But when the kitten then didn't seem to be able to hold up her head, the vet tech took her away again to find the vet.

The vet was busy with critical cases, but while the vet tech had the kitten, the kitten had diarrhea on her. Which sucks for the vet tech. But it meant that it could be looked at under the microscope. The vet tech returned to the kitten to me and said the vet would be in when she could.

I wrapped the kitten in one of the baby blankets and curled up with her on the bench in the exam room. I was dozing off when the vet finally came in.

The kitten has coccidia, which is common but dangerous for kittens. She's dehydrated, too, of course, and probably has an upper respiratory infection. None of this is particularly surprising, I guess. The course of treatment that the vet suggested was keeping her overnight for observation (and to be kept in an incubator. The kitten's temperature was fine according to the vet tech, but still), be given subcutaneous fluids, and antibiotics and such.

I said yes. I'm not exactly flush with my own cash, but I figure this falls under the realm of the Feral Colony, even though this kitten, if she survives, won't be feral. (And the donation button, to the left, is still there.) So another receptionist type came in to explain the costs. While waiting for her I took the above picture with my phone (not a great picture, but whatever. She was asleep in my arms). Then after signing off on that, I waited for another vet tech to come and get the baby. By then it was 1am.

They'll call me if anything happens. Otherwise, I'll call in the morning (which is to say in about 6hours) and find out when I can bring her back here. Once her health seems stable and she's well on her way to recovery, I'll start looking for a forever-home for her. [Anyone want a kitten? She'll be healthy and spayed.]