Saving Kitten Liz
Liz came to us in crisis - she was a terribly sick kitten fighting for her life. I met her for the first time when my husband parked and handed me a kitten through the truck window. It was too dark to see her well but in my hands I could feel that she was an okay weight. Her ribs were noticeable - tiny, delicate ridges under my fingers - but she wasn’t emaciated and that was good news.
It was August 2020 and we were in the depths of the covid pandemic. Earlier in the day, my husband found this kitten at his friend’s house. She clearly wasn’t doing well.
Her eyes and nose were runny; her whole face was caked in dirt. He was afraid she’d die if he left her behind.
We already had a dog and a cat and the little one might have something contagious. I dragged a large spare dog crate down the stairs to the garage along with food, water, litter, a bed, and old towels. Now, I carried the little purring creature to the garage. I had been afraid she’d try to scramble out of my hands but she barely had the energy to lift her head. I got a better look in the light of the garage.
The little one’s eyes, ears, and nose were full of gunk. The dirt that stuck to the gunk gave her a very tattered look. She was indeed a tad on the thin side but not dramatically underweight. I guessed between six and eight weeks old. Sometimes sick kittens aren’t interested in food, but this one ate voraciously! The spoonful of canned food was gone almost instantly and she had a drink of water too. Eating was an absolutely fantastic sign. She had a fighting chance. We stayed with her for a while then tucked her in for the night. We gave her a stuffed animal to snuggle with. I remember just hoping she would survive the night. We washed our hands and changed our clothes so we wouldn’t spread anything to our own animals. The next morning, I was relieved - she made the night! We got her to the vet and they confirmed she had an upper respiratory infection, eye infections, and ear infections plus ear mites and roundworms. The vet couldn't get a good listen to her lungs because she was purring too loud. We went home with eye drops, ear drops, and an oral antibiotic for her various infections.
Liz made the most incredible transformation. Day by day her eyes got brighter and clearer. After several days, she was strong enough for us to give her a bath. We introduced her to toys and she learned to play. She ate like crazy and healed and grew.
We had planned to only foster this little kitten until she was healthy enough to find a home. But… we changed our minds, and we decided she had already found a home with us. We introduced her to our animals when the vet gave the all clear, and Liz has been part of our family ever since!
