Feline panleukopenia.
Ever heard of it? Yeah. Me either. But it is out there. Waiting. Waiting...............
I love cats. It has been many years since I went out and found a kitten and brought it home to be my squishy.
Oh I have barn cats. And I love them dearly. But in the past 27 years, I have only had ONE house cat that I actually walked out of my home, saw someone giving away kittens, looked in that box and fell instantly in love, picked that kitten up and brought it home to be part of my family. The other cats just happened..........someone threw them out of a car as they passed my barn. Someone had cats they could not keep so would I take them? Cats from a horse show that someone was taking to the pound if they could not find a home. The cat that just shows up in your feed room and keeps coming back because he knows you will feed him and take care of him. You know. My favorite breed of cat.........a rescue cat.
I lost my Toto cat in 2005. I had to have her put down because she was old and sick and hurting. I used to fall asleep to the sound of her purring in my ear, because she felt it was her job to tuck me in and purr me to sleep. To this day? I MISS that kind of love. I MISS that kind of bond. And I haven't had the heart to go find someone, another kitten, to take up where Toto left off.
Until November 19th. And then it happened all over again.
I looked in that dirty cat carrier and there she was. A tiny little wee kitten. Hungry. Scared. Dirty. And in a cat carrier with 2 other kittens, one that was almost dead, laying on his side and not able to move, but gasping and another less active kitten. She was absolutely the most precious thing I have ever seen. And so I brought her home. I did NOT want her to end up like that poor little kitten on the floor of that carrier.
After food, water and a bath, (she cleaned up pretty well), I called the vet and made an appointment for her to go in and have her shots. I estimated her to be about 3 weeks old. WAY too young to be away from mama! It was decided to wait a couple of weeks because she was too young for shots.
In the meantime, my little family welcomed this wee one and loved her. She was precocious and lively! Sweeter than the day was long and my heart was soon captivated as she climbed up to sleep in my lap each time I sat in my evening chair.
She loved Maximoose best of all and when it came to curling up to take a comfortable nap, no place was as wonderful as Maximooses' fluffy hair!
Max took her for HIS kitten and loved her right back!
Everyone loved little Scooter...
Rhett and Scooter
Scarlett and Scooter
Scooter loved playing and wrestling with Scarlett and Rhett's toys and a neighbor gave her a toy her own size to wrestle with too....
It happened so quickly. One day, Scoots was wrestling and the next she began to have diarrhea...she couldn't make it to the potty box. I isolated her to the hall bathroom, where it was easiest to clean her and the mess up. I kept the other animals away. I thought that first day that maybe it was just the change in diet that had her little system upset, but in the next day, the diarrhea got worse and on the 3rd, it became bloody. Worms...parasites, is what I and the neighbor thought.
So off to the vet we went. By the time I got her to the vet, her condition had worsened to the point that I hardly recognized the kitten as my little playful one. She looked and acted just like that kitten in the bottom of that dirty animal carrier that first day. And I knew. I KNEW, but I did not know what.
Feline panleukopenia................. it is also called Feline infectious enteritis. In layman's terms? Otherwise known as kitty parvovirus.
Here is what I know now.
It is FAST. It happens so quickly, that it is stunning and paralyzing in its quickness. Once contracted, it is highly contagious and can be fatal to the affected cat, or kitten, as the case may be.
The virus primarily attacks the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, causing internal and, ultimately, total sloughing of the intestinal epithelium. This results in profuse and usually bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, malnutrition, anemia, and most often, death.
It causes a decrease in the cat's white blood cells, thus compromising its immune system. This predisposes them to secondary infections, especially bacterial and fungal, though secondary viral infections also occur with some frequency.
And my little Scooter had it. The prognosis was even worse.
Of affected kittens that are two months or less of age, 95% die regardless of treatment. Even WITH aggressive treatment that would include IV fluids for dehydration and antibiotics, she had only a 5% chance of survival. As Scooter's body temperature continued to drop, she could not stand up unsupported and clung to me, cuddling and seeking reassurance. Her chances were, as my vet told me, slim to none.
I HATE that. I HATE THAT!!! It isn't right! It isn't fair! She doesn't deserve this! And as I held her in my arms, she was hurting and fading, unable to hold her tiny head up, leaning on me for support.
And why?
Because some IDIOT didn't vaccinate or spay their female cat? Because even if this kitten didn't have it from her mother, he put her in the carrier with an affected kitten? WHY SCOOTER? Why the little one that we all loved?
Sometimes there are not answers. Simply hard decisions.
Our home is so quiet tonight. I have spent the last 24 hours, crying and cursing in turn, going through all the 'what ifs' and 'maybe if I had done THIS'.........
but the truth is, I and my family have been so blessed by this little one coming into our lives. And it occurred to me, as I questioned in my prayers last night, WHY.............for what reason did this happen?
But what would have happened to her, had I not taken her home?
Scooter was with us for such a short time, but in that time, she was fed. She was clean. She was warm and had toys and friends and most of all? SHE WAS LOVED. She had a family that adored her. She left this world, knowing that she was loved beyond anything she had ever known in those first 3 weeks of life.
Our lives and our hearts, although bereft just now, hold a treasure chest of memories of a tiny, wee, little kitten that totally captivated our hearts. And for that I am, and will always be, grateful. I am glad that I could be there for her, that I could hold her as she passed over and to assure her that she was not alone.
I miss her. There is a huge hole where my heart used to be.
