What a Worrisome Week!

The beginning of my week was heart wrenching. Itty Bitty (the little calico that bit me and who I had to quarantine to be sure she didn't have rabies) was still at the vet recovering from her spay, so that was fine. Little Bear decided to wreak havoc and eat something she shouldn't have...I found out Sunday evening. She had something long hanging out of her butt. It was light yellow. She would whimper and then try to lick at it. She didn't seem herself. I finally got her to calm down and let me trim whatever it was....and, it was those dangling things from the decorative scarecrows that are sold at the craft stores....the dogs must have pulled on them in the fall and the remnants stayed scattered behind the bushes all winter. Little Bear loves to dig behind the bushes!

I took Little Bear to Dr. Dyer, a different vet than Itty Bitty's. They took a picture of her intestines and she won an award. In all the years they have practiced, they have never seen as much gas inside a dog's colon as what was in LB's colon! I might have contributed to that gas since I called ER Sunday night and they suggested to give her some canned pumpkin which offers moist fiber and will help move the bowel. So, I gave her about 1/2 cup along with some wet food...no dry kibble. The strands did naturally come out but they kept her overnight while we waited for her CBC (complete blood count) results. There were some issues but nothing too worrisome and she is on amoxicillin and metronidazole Both are antibiotics but the metronidazole is specific for the colon. Little Bear seems fine, is willing for me to open her mouth and accept a bitter pill down her throat, and is now barking at deer as I write! Thank heavens!

That same Monday I thought I might visit Itty Bitty. She was very lethargic, had cat litter stuck on the side of her mouth (did she try to eat it?) and had no water in her bowl so the tech filled the bowl. Itty Bitty got up and immediately drank....and drank, and drank for 5 minutes straight! This is not normal! The tech wrote a note on the cage and since the vets were on lunch break until 3, she promised they would call me. Itty Bitty allowed me to pet her thin bony back. I got to see her little 'pine tree' tail, and why it was so small. Poor baby cat, the fur was off the end and exposed a strange curling of bone covered by skin...she has had a hard life. She was on antibiotics since they found an ulcer in her mouth and this was the third day after her spay. I went home waiting for the call.

The vet said that Itty Bitty needed a blood test to see what was going on. I should have done one prior but after spaying and neutering 20-30 stray cats, and nothing showing up, this time I did not. She had kidney failure. After a surgery, the signs can accumulate and worsen. I was wondering why this excessive water drinking and puking didn't occur during her quarantine. The neighbor did say she lost a litter of kittens... I was told that three days of I.V. fluids would help. The costs were astronomical at this office! My total bill would have reached way over $500 and there was no guarantee that she would come through and she would need testing afterwards. Supposedly kidney failure is a forever disease. With her being partially wild, I wasn't sure how this would be done but I could have kept her in a separate bedroom at the house. After many conversations with the vets, several with my precious friend Sharon whom I trust explicitly, and through a heavy heart and hot tears, I reluctantly agreed to have her put down only after a meal of wet food and while someone is holding her and giving her love and petting her and she was to be given a sedative first which is standard at that office. (ALWAYS give the sedative first if you must put down a pet). I couldn't go back. Maybe I should have...I wanted her to be back in the woods or at the neighbor's place but maybe she didn't want to have to constantly watch her back, search for food, protect herself, and become flea ridden again, etc.


I spoke with Dr. Dyer when I picked up Little Bear and now shake my head. Why did I spay her if I knew she lost kittens? Where too many meds given to her with her being so thin? Why did I not get that blood test? Why didn't I take her to another vet for another opinion? Why did I play God?

Then my friends, husband and all the vets gave me their answers. I did the right thing, she had a hard life, she had this disease for some time, etc. Still, it doesn't sit right with me. She might have had a few months of happiness inside our home. I could of insisted with the good husband and kept her in a room by herself. We have 4 cats in the house and 3 at the barn. Each of our animals needed a good and loving home.

I still shake my head and cry when I think of Itty Bitty. She looks so much like Callie who is now 4 years old. Maybe she was Callie's Mom? I hugged Callie extra long that night.