Little Kitties' Big Problems

Taking care of a sick kitty isn’t a walk in the park, but taking care of many sick kitties is much, much worse. It means feeling drained, emotionally fragile and exhausted. It signifies sleepless nights, general misery, fear, hope and helplessness but it's also the anticipation of

huge expenses (not that bills are on your mind at the moment). Sick kitties need a high quality food and adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals. Gasoline has to also be purchased for everyday trips to the vet, a lot of medications need to be acquired for

continuing treatment at home and vet bills are piling up at a dizzying pace.
I am guessing that all of you can remember when Alethe and her babies found a safe haven in my shelter after their horrible ordeal. Despite all of my efforts to provide them with

everything they needed, they paid a price for the miserable life they had until they arrived here – all of them have a fungal infection. I bathe them in an anti-fungal shampoo, but they must be kept separated from the other cats, so as not to spread the

infection. With all of these repairs and the upheaval that seems to last forever, a fungal infection threatening to spread throughout the entire cat population of my shelter is the last thing I need.

My beautiful Kai, so gentle, so tender and

so special, has been sick on and off for two months now and no one could determine what was wrong with him, until he’s been finally diagnosed with feline babesiosis. Consequently, he now has severe hemolytic anemia, shows signs of jaundice and

has kidney sand. He is terribly skinny and extremely weak, I’ve been force feeding him for days now.His chances of recovery are rather slim, yet he might pull through if his exhausted little body allows him to continue fighting. I won’t give up on him; on the other hand, it’s

questionable if he is strong enough to carry on. Again, I’m hoping for a miracle…

And that’s not all.... Billy is my brand new little kitten that has been picked up from the street. He was allegedly freed of external parasites, yet he arrived here full of

fleas, worms and with a fungal infection. In addition, he’s bone skinny and therefore his immune system might not work properly. In this case, he may become susceptible to a myriad of viruses. He’s doing fine at the moment but he’s not out of the woods yet. He’s sweet and super cuddly; he’s purring all of the time, poor baby. It’s never easy to have sick cats, but it’s truly heartbreaking to watch the little ones suffer. Kittens should be running around and having fun instead of receiving drugs and infusions while fighting for their lives… It seems there’s no justice in this world.

I’m perfectly aware that people are pretty strapped for cash these days and that there are many, many animals in need, but I must ask you all to help these wonderful, innocent and lovely creatures, if only a little bit. They are my hope, my strength, and my reason to wake up in the morning. They need you, all of you! Is there any better reward than a sparkling and mischievous look in healthy kitties’ eyes?