This lucky kitten was rescued from an appliance store Sept 7th, where the employees had found him under a car and were going to leave him in a box to be 'picked up later' by the SPCA. On a day of +100F heat. Of course we couldn't leave him.
His eyes were so swollen and incrusted with pus and infection, he was so emaciated his bones were sharp through his skin and he was crawling with fleas.
We immediately rushed him to the closest Vet, where his eyes were drained (which was so horrible), he was given subcutaneous fluids for the extreme dehydration, and we got an expensive bag full of goodies to try and nurse him back to health.
The last week has been full of anxiety and short on sleep. His eyes need to be swabbed and cleaned every few hours, with medicated drops instilled. He's on oral antibiotics, which apparently taste awful because he sure does fight against every mouthful. He's (thankfully!) quite litter-trained, so while it's a bit of a fight to get him to eat enough, his body is starting to work like it should.
rescue kitten, a set on Flickr.
A few days ago we took him for a 2nd checkup after his eyes appeared to be getting worse. It wasn't all bad news, though... He had gained weight, going from 0.6lbs to 1.2lbs, we had gotten rid of the fleas without any medications that would hurt his little body, and the ulcers from malnourishment on his tongue had healed.His eyes, however, are still infected. The antibiotics have cleared up the initial infection... but now it seems he's got either the herpes virus or Calici's virus which is causing ocular trauma and inflammation.
It's been a tough journey for this little fellow. Even with a week of meds, he's still almost completely blind.
There's a chance he might be able to see again, someday, but we're not there yet. Despite everything, he is, without a doubt, the most sweetly affectionate little kitten. He's trusting and sweet, calling out in his squeaky little mew if he's left alone too long. All he wants is to be close to a heartbeat and cuddle up to a warm body. And chow down on mushy gushy kitten food.
The biggest battle left to fight is to find him a loving permanent home. We can't keep him, though I've fallen utterly in love with his tender little personality. Finding a forever home for a potentially handicapped kitten, even one as cute as he is, isn't proving an easy task.
