I hesitated to post that last entry about Mouse. I thought, “What if he doesn’t make it?” Especially since I knew the odds were stacked against him. But, I also knew that we need to celebrate life. All life. Even if it just graces us for a short time. So, tonight we celebrate the brief, sweet time we had with Mouse.
He was born with some physical defects. Some he could have overcome. But, some he could not. We’ve had some cats with neurological problems who walked very unsteadily. And, although we haven’t yet had any in our rescue, we all know 3-legged cats who never seem to miss that “extra” leg. But, as Mouse grew, it became clear that he had serious problems with all four legs. So serious the vet thought he would never be able to walk at all. I don’t give up easily, but his vet - with 30 years experience - and his foster - with 15 years as a vet tech - and I discussed all the options we could think up and came up with nothing workable. In addition, he was only 3/4 the size he should have been at this age. And, he still wasn’t sucking on the bottle. It’s likely he had even more birth defects that we couldn’t yet see, and, both felt it was kindest to let him go now.
Later I was talking with a friend about the whole situation.
“Are you mad at her?” she asked.
“Good God No! She, both of them, advocated for what they believed was best for the cat. I can’t ask for more than that from a foster. No, I’m just mad at a world where this kind of stuff happens!”
Goodbye Mouse. We enjoyed meeting you.
Tags: bottle-fed kitten, Cats, kitten, neonatal kitten, rescue cats
