Little Kitten Wasn't Going to Make It

The latest little Hate Thy Neighbor colony kitten I found last night, cold, starving and lost looking, isn't going to make it. She was dribbling diarrhea, yellow diarrhea. This is likely cocchidia, but could be giardia and is a prime kitten killer in such over run colonies. Diarrhea robs the kitten of fluids, strength and nutrition. They become ghost kittens. Dead kittens walking.

An adult cat might overcome giardia or coccidia. Some of the adults I've trapped there have had yucky diarrhea. I have been worming them, defleaing them, the whole bit. This has immediately improved their lot in life, but for a kitten, often help comes too late. The other three kittens had been getting much more food and care, because they were up at the porch of the caretakers trailer and because I intervened quickly when I saw them. Their stools were normal. They were flea and worm infested but improved immediately with treatment and more food suitable to kittens. This one and the one I found barely alive two days ago--too late for them.

D, the Corvallis woman who helped pay for Hope's care, took the little kitten up to Countryside this morning where her struggles will finally end. She had stopped by to pick up the money the cat blogospherees raised to help defray costs for Hope's vet care. So she stepped in again, to help, and took this kitten up to Countryside. She brought me food, too. Thank god for angels, for this woman, for the cat blogosphere folks, the Portland couple, and my CA friend, because otherwise, I don't know if I could take all this, day in and day out. Most of these folks, who provide encouragement also, I've never even met.

This is one sad colony. Three deaths already, in one week. I know the two kittens I couldn't catch, siblings of the tux who I found nearly dead in the berry vines, are dead now also.

I'm taking the living back in a few minutes. The living six, fixed now, who now won't go on to produce more ghost kittens. You people out there, you don't know the truth of what's going on for cats, the sad horrible truth of feline overpopulation. You have no idea. And if you are one of those people breeding your cat, for your own indulgence----STOP!