September 4, 2018
The days passed in a blur as they usually do when I foster baby kittens. The days blend into the nights as I become sleep deprived and possibly crabby. Ok, maybe down right bitchy at times if I am going to keep this honest. Over the course of the next seven days both kittens had developed full blown URI’s and are still not heavy enough to administer medicine. At this point in time Boogerz weighs 6 oz and Talon 8 oz. Not all fostering is this hard, I just happened to get the two who are fighting the odds every second of every minute, of every hour, of every day and need special attention. The dehumidifier seems to help them breathe a little easier but both are still having a hard time latching onto the buppie nipple. Its a hit or miss at this point, syringes are always ready to push the formula into them. They definately have gained an ounce or two since they got here. They can only come out of their cubbie and the heated blankets for short periods of time due to the fact that they can not keep their body heat regulated and get cold rather quickly, but when they do come out they go into the play pen area and play. Their eyes are finally open but still in bad shape. Vet visit scheduled for tomorrow.
Boogerz is definately the kitten with the most problems, his left eye although open shows signs of a struggle, a severe infection is showing its ugly face. Boogerz went to the vet as scheduled and now is on amoxicillan, both kittens now on anitbiotics Over the course of the next couple of weeks Talon showed great improvement but my Booger Boys health showed deterioration, especially his eye. Another phone call to my vet and another appointment made. In the interim, both kittens appetite have increased by leaps and bounds since they both learned to latch on to the nipple and visible weight was gained. The nighttime alarm now goes off every 4 hours instead of 2 hours.
I pray a lot. I constantly talk to God as if he is up with me during the night and sitting right beside me. I think maybe its because when I look into these little faces I know that my love just isn’t enough, that my little babies need divine intervention.
On the morning of the vet visit, it was obvious that something terrible was going on with my Booger Boy, his eye was definately not healing, in fact it regressed rapidly over night: The vet visit showed that Boogerz has the herpes virus, special salve is given and the antibiotic changed to Clavamox. Both kittens must be treated since they are from the same litter and more than like carry the same virus. This poor little baby is fighting for every day of his life in this world. I had to take a moment out and weigh the decision for the course of this kittens life, and it was like he knew what I was contemplating, and although sight was next to gone for right now for him he found me, and crawled into my lap, raised his face to me and gave a mew. Not a low weak mew but a solid mew, I mew that said hey, I can do this for now give me a chance. It was one of those moments that will stay in my head for the rest of my life, and I told my Booger Boy, as long as he was willing to fight I would never give up on him. A promise I intend to keep no matter what the cost, no matter how sleep deprived I get and no matter what other people think. I know my babies, I know when the fight is doable and when the time to make the hard decision is evident. For today…..we fight!!!