Meeting Daisy Duck, the Mighty Thor, Dewey the Librarian and their guardian-angel

Last night, the fosterer (who requested anonymity AND is doing a marvelous job) wrote to say Daisy had taken a turn for the worst. We were all so worried because we know sometimes, kittens just take a turn for the worst and go down very, very fast and there is nothing much we can do.

I know exactly how the fosterer was feeling because I have experienced that before, too, with Jelly, who despite all my efforts, including 3am trips to vet’s (under emergency call-back) for sub-cut fluids, she went down in a matter of a few days and she passed on. Her siblings, Peanut and Butter survived and have been adopted to a loving home.

So, back to Daisy Duck. I shared with the fosterer that holding a sickly or weak animal close to one’s heart can be very healing and also I suggested that she brings all three of them to our vet for a second opinion today.

So, at 12noon today, I met the fosterer (we have communicated for sometime now) and Daisy, Thor and Dewey! The fosterer came in a taxi (so for those who claim to have “no transport”, I’d urged you to please search harder and try harder if rescuing is what we want to do).

Daisy, Thor and Dewey were making a healthy racket and that was a big relief, both to me as well as to our vet, whom I’d briefed earlier (“Daisy is in bad shape, please, we need your help, Dr!”, I’d said).

The vet took a look at them and said, “What bad shape? Look at how healthy and active they are!!”

Now, that’s a relief…really! But Daisy was really down last night. The vet said it’s highly possible as kittens turn around (for the better or worse) very quickly.

 Weighing Daisy Duck

 Gee…she is so, so tiny!

 That’s Daisy beside my shoe. Isn’t she tiny?
But she sure is a powerhouse of energy and voice!

 Hail all ye readers…it’s the Mighty Thor’s turn now.

 Dewey is the hassle-free one, according to the fosterer. Well, people who read don’t usually give problems, I think?

By the way, Dewey is the heaviest of them all.

 All three back into the cage as our vet took down their history in detail.
Dewey, the learned one, was the spokesperson (“We want out!! We want out!! It is our right to be free!”)

 The racket continues while we discuss the kittens’ condition.

 

 

 

 The racket came from Dewey, actually.

 To stop him from further complaining (Daisy and Thor were already having a nap), I took Dewey out, cloaked him and held him tight. He was quiet after that.

The vet gave very detailed advice and information on caring for rescued kittens. I wish I took down notes, but here’s a little bit of what I remembered:

1. We were worried about worms and diseases, but what actually kills a kitten at this stage is not worms or diseases per se, but DIARRHOEA. So, at all costs, arrest the diarrhoea.

2. The diet must be right, in this case, the milk. There is no BEST milk on the market, just the RIGHT milk for these kittens. Currently, they are on Milkodog, and if this works for them, it’s best to continue. Switching any form of food must be done gradually and for a purpose. Incompatible milk can cause diarrhoea. As a rule of thumb, we must always give kitten milk, not milk meant for humans.

3. Hypoglycemia can also kill, and this would be due to lack of glucose. We adults have glycogen or fat, which can convert to energy, and we can probably go without food for 2 weeks, but not baby animals. They rely totally on fresh supply of glucose. This would be from the milk or worse case scenario, glucose water, if the animal cannot tolerate milk.

4. What really helps at this point in time is the kittens’ own immune system. While parasites can cause diseases that can kill and medicines can help arrest this, ultimately the kittens’ survival very much depends on their own immune system.

5. One of the greatest “enemy” to the immune system is STRESS. What stresses the kittens? It could be anything under the sun – change of environment, change of diet, feeling of being insecure, etc.

6. A very pertinent factor that can stress or even kill a young animal is COLD (change in temperature). Kittens, especially, need a lot of warmth (See, that is why holding a sick kitten close to our heart helps). I remember our vet always reminding me two things that we must do for young animals – WARMTH and proper nutrition.

There was a lot more storehouse of knowledge and advice given by the vet (you could compile it all into a little booklet, if only I had taken down notes), so if I remember more, I’ll write it all down here.

 

 

 All three were dewormed.

The vet said they are strong enough to be dewormed, looking at how active they are. All three had a very intensely healthy pink colour and the vet said the fosterer must be doing something very right (yes, that, I absolutely and totally agree).

Some vets use the “6 weeks” protocol for deworming but our vet prefers to go by the clinical condition of the animal and the circumstances in which it is in. If it’s rescued from the streets, it is very likely that there would be infestation of worms and deworming earlier than the accepted protocol might well save the animal’s life. However, we cannot make this decision. Only a vet can.

Most of my rescues were dewormed very early because I’ve seen animals dying of hookworms when it was brought in far too late. It is really very sad watching them go down just because the deworming was not done.

I introduced the fosterer to Vetri DMG, as a supplement for Thor because he was sneezing quite a bit.

Time to go home now….bye!

I helped carry their box into their waiting taxi, and saw them off – Daisy Ducky, the Mighty Thor, Dewey the Librarian and their very dedicated, committed and responsible guardian-angel whom I consider my privilege and honour to have finally met.

This is what rescue and caregiving work is all about – EFFORT and LOVE. We need both and we can’t do a good job without the other.

So, to all rescuers and caregivers, we are here to help with a subsidy for your rescue cases, please do NOT delay sending them to a vet should they need treatment.

Today’s treatment was paid by the fosterer. We offered our subsidy, but she insisted on paying it herself.

Yes, guardian angels do exist.