Those of you that have followed my blog might remember that my daughter’s cat of 16 years died in September. She waited a while then finally got a new kitten at the shelter in mid October. We have all fallen in love with the kitten. He is an orange Tabby named Naranja (orange in Spanish, named by the staff at the shelter).
He was doing great but had diarrhea. We took him to the vet last week. He checked out fine. They gave us a flea treatment for him and a kitten de-wormer. That was last Wednesday. Late Sunday night my daughter came home from work and went into her room then I heard her start yelling to me that there was something wrong with the kitten. When I got to the room, he was at the food dish trying to eat but he was so weak that he couldn’t stand up. He kept flopping over to the side. We took him to the 24 Hour Vet Hospital. They said they weren’t sure he’d make it. His temperature was two full degrees lower than normal and his head was flopping side to side. He couldn’t track movement with his eyes. They put him on an IV to hydrate him and took some blood work. We left him there. Within the hour the vet called and said she thought she had found the problem. Naranja is anemic. So they gave him a blood transfusion and started him on medication.
We visited him this morning and were told that his stomach is distended and they aren’t sure why. He is stronger but he is still weak. It wasn’t wise to bring him home yet. So they kept him another day and did a full blood panel to see if he might have some liver or kidney disease/defect/damage/dysfunction. So tomorrow we’ll find out if he’d be okay or if he has something that we can’t help with medical treatment.
My daughter was moving out this week. Now she has spent the moving money on the kitten. We know that so far the bill is about $800. Tomorrow will get another update and we may have to make some hard decisions.
I feel horrible for the kitten. He is the sweetest thing. He sleeps with me. I’ve gotten quite attached to him even though I told myself I wouldn’t. Then I feel even worse for my daughter. She’s been through an awful lot since August. Roommate problems, her cat dying, ending up having to move back home, car problems that cost an unexpected $560 less than a month ago, then this. I don’t know how much more my daughter can take. She’s kind of at the breaking point.
Pictures show Naranja on his first day home, then sleeping with Spartacus on Sunday afternoon, and then today at the hospital.
I hope the news on Naranja comes back good – for you and for your daughter. He is adorable!
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Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Corina. I hope they can help the little guy. He looks like such a sweetheart (I’m a sucker for orange kitties).
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Oh,the sweet little darling. I hope everything turns out OK … it’s so awful when a pet is ill. Hugs to you and your daughter, and purrs to precious kitten.
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Adorable! There is something about the innocent kitty face…
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I haven’t read this carefully yet. This note is to remind me to come back here.
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Poor kitty!
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That totally bites.
We had a thing like that with one of our cats. It ended up costing $1000 and money was tight at the time. More than ten years later though…last night that cat climbed under the covers with me and snuggled up under my chin and purred and purred and purred. I still feel it was worth it.
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well i am an animal lover,, and i have spent that and more… i cannot help myself… if i call them mine,, they are .. till death do us part.. which is more than i can say for any of their human counterparts…..
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Poor little love. I hope the news is good. Hug your daughter for me.
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Kitty cat gets to come home today!!! I am picking him up in an hour!
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I am so glad the kitty gets to come home. Did they say what caused the problems?
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Yippie! Give him a chin scratch from me.
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Oh good! A happy ending. May little Naranja have a long and happy life filled with lots of love.
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