This is a story I’ve told before. Stray cat gets surrendered to shelter, cat is heavily pregnant and gives birth but isn’t a good mom because she doesn’t know what to do. Only one kitten survives. Kitten stops wanting to eat and starts to fade so I get a call.
This 1 week old kitten is named “Molly1” in the shelter system, Molly is his mom’s name. This boy dropped 10 grams, has bloody stool, no appetite, and has a URI so he struggles to breath. We are going to talk to the vet tomorrow about antibiotics, but tonight he’s getting everything I have—tube feeding, glucose and B12 supplements, fluids, oxygen, a cozy spot in the incubator, and a stuffed heartbeat kitty. He’s got *a lot* stacked against him but he’s already made it through so much, I’m hoping he can pull through this hurdle as well. Wish us luck. @themarigoldkittencrew said.
PS the photo is tinted yellow because of the incubator light
Molly1, who is now named Chocolate Chip, made it through the night. He saw the vet today and she thinks she heard some crackling in his lungs indicating pneumonia. Pneumonia is hard for an adult to fight, so you can imagine how much my heart sank when I heard this. This either developed when he was being syringe fed by his previous foster or his URI took a bad turn. He’s now on antibiotics, medicated nebulization, oxygen, fluids, B12, and being tube fed. He did gain some weight last night. He’s a fighter. @themarigoldkittencrew said.
Side note—never mistake my being realistic as giving up. Yes, his prognosis is grim. Yes, my heart hurts for him. Yes, I will still fight like hell to save him.
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I don’t have much of an update on Chocolate Chip other than he’s still here and he isn’t crashing. So that’s good. The vet checked him out again, said his lungs sounded the same as yesterday. That’s better than worse, right?
I’ve also learned that his mom isn’t doing so well either. She’s losing weight and not eating. I imagine birth was traumatic for her. Spay and neuter your pets and TNR your ferals, please. @themarigoldkittencrew said.
This photo was taken early this morning. Unfortunately this afternoon, Chocolate Chip passed away. His pneumonia and his traumatic birth was too much for his body to handle. Thank you to those who offered well wishes, donations, and advice. The shelter vet team, his previous foster, and I all gave him a chance and for that ability I am grateful. Rest In Peace, CC.💔 @themarigoldkittencrew said.
