Dreams of a Kitten

Today’s post has nothing to do with weight  loss, or healthy anything.  But fostering dogs and cats, especially kittens, it is a huge part of my life.  I had planned to be working my my guestroom tonight to get it ready for my Dad’s visit THE DAY AFTER I get back from BlogHer- and doing some blogging planning, but I’m not.  I’m sitting around snuggling my kitten and  cats and dogs all kinds of sad and weepy.

My foster kittens have died, are dying, or are likely to die.

First to go, the ginger.  Poor little one was ok, and then he wasn’t.  See the little gray tabby? She and her little tortorishell sister with the big orange spot on her head were going to be adopted together, by two young kids (and their lovely parents) who were SO excited!  These kittens loved to climb up in my lap every night, actually, every time I would sit down and snuggle in my lap. The little gray  nearly died in my arms at the vet today.  I held her close, stoked her little  face as she looked straight into my eyes and I crooned a little song to her.  I wanted her to pass being loved, knowing love. She was so, so weak. Even thought I woke every hour to dribble a few drops of pedialyte into her to hopefully rehydrate her, and spoon fed her some pureed chicken, it wasn’t enough. She was just too weak.   As I sang (Dream a little dream of me, of all things) and tears ran down my face, she stared at me and then she purred. As if to say, it’s ok, I know you loved me, thanks for taking care of me.   Finally I passed her and her siblings to the vet tech and left.  There was nothing really to do.  They were not all gone yet, but the vet was sure it was going to happen.  Fading Kitten Syndrome.  Nothing to be done – and nearly impossible to stop once started.

The kittens may have been stays from our local shelter. But I worked hard  finding homes for them. as I do all my fosters, and they all had people waiting for them – waiting for them to get old enough to be spayed or neutered and go to their forever homes.

These kittens should never have been born. Their mother should have been spayed and then these little lives wouldn’t have been wasted.   People need to be more responsible for their pets.  Thee little purr-pots, these little babies that I fostered and loved and trained and showed how to be great pets for their new owners will never get a chance. My house feels empty- not at all the same way it feels when my litters go on to their forever homes- that’s a satisfied kind of empty leaving me a little sad but more excited for the kittens (or dogs) and their new owners.  This is a heartbroken, they haven’t had a change to live emptiness.

Please, please spay or neuter your animals. If for some reason you’ve had a litter and need to home it, have the animals altered first. Almost every county has a place to get low cost spay/neuter services.  And if you are looking for a new pet, please consider looking at your local shelter. They are FULL of animals just waiting for the right person to look into a cage and fall in love.

Goodnight, kittens. Dream a little dream of the homes that were waiting for you, the families that were waiting to love you,  and know that at least while you were in my home, you were part of family,and loved.