Meet kitten Scamp! This 10 month old boy was transferred to the shelter a few weeks ago with his brother. He was blind and somewhat skinny with a mild sneeze. His brother got better on antibiotics, but Scamp continued to struggle. Suddenly he was brought in by his foster to see our clinic yesterday with a host of medical issues: anemia, jaundice, lack of appetite, anorexia, lethargy, and seizures.
I took him home so that he wouldn’t have to sit in the shelter condos for treatment. The red mark on his fur is from blood being drawn for testing. No FIV, no FeLV, and no liver disease. He has anemia with an unknown cause so he is starting on steroids, a strong antibiotic, and an appetite stimulant.
The good news, he ate a big breakfast today! The bad new, we aren’t 100% sure what’s causing his symptoms. Please understand that everything is being considered from severe infection to FIP to autoimmune disorders. He’s got a vet team working on a diagnosis.
Send “the meds will kick in and he will feel all better soon” thoughts.♥️
View this post on Instagram
Happy Sunday! kitten Scamp doesn’t really have a super great or a super bad update for you today. His skin is still very yellow and he doesn’t have a great appetite despite his appetite stimulant. I’ve been assist feeding him. He really likes treats, but that isn’t enough calories for his body.
Good news? No seizures yesterday or today (so far)! And he is still active and alert. And super sweet.♥️
View this post on Instagram
This is not the type of update I ever want to share. We chose to euthanize kitten Scamp today.
Since bringing kitten Scamp home, I had notice a slow decline in his functioning. He began to lose his ability to eat normally, to drink water, to use the litter box, to walk normally, to meow, to seek affection, and to exist and be present in the moment. He would respond to my voice but all other moments he spent looking lost and confused.
This morning at 6:30am he began having seizures every few hours. Not minor seizures, but violent seizures that put him at risk of injury. His medication wasn’t working.
There were a lot of possible diagnoses that came up…bacterial infection, IMHA, neuro FIP…but the truth was that no treatment would bring back his quality of life. The only tool we had to end his suffering and offer the kindest end was euthanasia.
It sucks. It freakin’ sucks that he spent his whole life in a cage and only got to spend a couple weeks in a home. He deserved so much more.
Special thank you to @russellingup_kittens who drove him up to Chicagoland to give him a chance at a good life, @kittensofthunderandmischief who fostered him and his brother for a few weeks while they were treated for a URI, and the vet team at @andersonhumane for throwing everything they had at him.
Goodnight Scamp.♥️🌈 #restinpeacekitten
