Ampersand and his mother, Caramel

A year ago I had rescued four kittens and their mother before hurricane Sandy. After a few months I was able to get the babies adopted. I trapped the mother and had her spayed. She was found to have cancer, was surgically treated and stayed at the vet until I could find a sanctuary that would take her–for a fee.

My own rescues from 2004 were not a problem but as they aged their systems began changing:

Play

Up until now, kitty issues have been about Play. He’s the one with the bowel impactions, diabetes and cancer. He’s the one who gets two shots of insulin a day and who has had a leg amputated. The other two have had nothing major. Ampersand was at the vet recently with the same kind of tummy trouble.

Ampersand

Last week one eye began to tear. Then it got mucky. The other eye followed suit. The membranes became inflamed. I was able to lure him into a carrier and was told by one vet that this was very serious, might be Herpes, could be conjunctivitis, could lose an eye if left untreated. I was sent home with eye ointment to be administered three times a day and a container of an enzyme paste to fight viruses; I was able to give the oral med in the food, but forget the eye ointment. This guy broke out of confinement and could not be contained in a room nor could he be lured back into the carrier to be treated at the vet; until this morning.

But he wasn’t the only one who seemed to need attention: his mother, who always had a small limp which I called the “vogue walk” was now displaying it more pronounced and it was making me nervous. These cats, since their rescue, were converted to an indoor life, were basically well and had not gone to a vet since their initial visit. Looks like we are making up for lost time.

Caramel and Ampersand

The verdict: Caramel: some teeth found to be missing, no breaks or issues causing the limp. I was given a pack of pills that are not steroid, for three days, in hopes of alleviating any inflammation. The cat got home and ran out of the carrier and is recuperating from the trip somewhere in the house.

Ampersand: It looks like a case of dry eye syndrome. (I have it too!) His eyes were not producing any tears, and strangely he was drinking more than usual. He is staying at the vet for two days.

That’s three kitties on meds.

I could have taken a beautiful cruise or vacation for the amount of money spent on animals over the last fourteen months or so. But, I know I did the right thing. And I know the memories of these sweet animals are as dear as any memory I’d have of a nice vacation.

At the vet