DECEMBER PET CORNER

If you have been following the council meetings in the paper you will know that in October the Animal control went before the city to ask for extra monies to put a holding tank out at the impound facility.  This holding tank is necessary to be able to wash away the waste produced by the animals held at the facility.  Thanks to a lot of hard work by Dennis Braton and Todd Meyer the tank is in place and we feel this will be a big asset to the clean and safe holding of animals.  Thanks Dennis and Todd.

I would like to share with you the story of ?lucky? rightly named for the circumstances of his birth.  Lucky came into the Animal Control Department, held in the arms of a concerned citizen and her friend, he was found on Main Street, half dead. I don?t use that phrase lightly as the kitten looked about 10 weeks old and did not look well at all.  After taking possession of the kitten, I looked it over, and in my opinion it had numerous problems, it looked like it had a spinal injury, it?s eyes moved constantly from side to side, and it was so weak it could barely keep it?s head up.  I took a picture of the kitten and posted it on the bulletin board on the outside of the police department.

As it was after hours, the vet clinic?s were closed, so at that point my only option was to impound it and try to keep it alive long enough to get it to a veterinarian for euthanization.

I Took the kitten to the impound facility and put in food and water and some nice warm bedding. The kitten ate the food as though it were the first meal he had eaten.  It could not even stand up to eat so the food was placed in easy reach.  After letting him eat a hefty amount of food and water I picked the kitten up to further examine him.  He was purring really loud and was trying to look where the food dish was.  His eyes could not focus and both eyes twitched from side to side and he shivered the whole time, I tried to stand him up but he fell over to the side!  I then proceeded to cover him with a towel a settle him down in the bedding in his cage (of course not too far away from the food dish).

I finished off the impound paperwork and informed everyone about having the kitten impounded.  Both Julie and myself were horrified by the condition of the kitten.   Words cannot explain to you how pathetic he looked.

Later that evening I again went out to the impound facility to check on him, I felt really distressed that he did not look any better.  I tried to take him out of the cage and have him stand up, when I tried his back legs rose in the air and he fell over?  My guess was some kind of spinal injury, maybe a hit by a car or a kick? but this kitten definitely had some major problems.  Now came the dilemma, as we could not get the kitten to a veterinarian how to keep him alive?

The next day when I got into town I spoke to Julie who had been caring for him all day, we both discussed our concerns that the kitten appeared to be at deaths door, but when you picked him up he would purr so loudly that you could hardly hear yourself think, and he was eating and drinking.

The next morning I went out to the impound facility fully expecting to find him dead, I had found a note from Julie stating that he would not even raise his head this morning and would not or could not eat or drink.  My heart sank as I looked at this little black and white fuzz ball lying in the bedding.  I reached into the cage expecting to say my goodbyes, when he raised his head and tried to focus his eyes, and then came the loud Purr. I wrapped him in the towel and took him out of the cage and placed him by the can of cat food and he started eating.

Any animal owner knows how easy it is to have a conversation with a pet (or at least I hope other people do!)  So I explained to the kitten that if he started getting better I would make sure we found him a home and that I would not have him euthanized as soon as the Veterinarians office opened on Monday.  I then brought him home so that I could give him constant care, and for the next 24 hours we were inseparable.  Slowly over the next 24 hours he improved, his shaking was down to a minimum, and he could use the litter box if I held him. He would also stand a little, and it seemed that as the day progressed it was a little longer each time.

The next day it was off to the Veterinarians office we went, I explained my situation and that now this kittens life was my responsibility as I had promised not to put him to sleep.  I had hoped that my pleadings with my vet would ensure that I not get bad news.  The veterinarian explained that the kitten was actually about 4 months old and that due to very poor nutrition, he looked a lot younger.  She then showed me how because of this, he had very underdeveloped muscles in his back legs and explained that this was why he was not good on his feet, and why could not focus his eyes. She gave him a distemper vaccination and we opted to worm him at this time and I was given instructions to continue giving him lots of T.L.C.

Well that has been over one month ago and every day you can see him grow stronger, his coat has a beautiful sheen to it, he has no problems now walking or jumping, his eyes are focusing much better although my personal opinion is that he is cross eyed from his experience. He will never miss a meal and as he has watched all his foster brothers and sisters, he is now learning to meow! It is definitely not pretty (it sounds as though someone has stepped on his tail) but he has found that when he makes this high pitched squealing sound everyone comes running.

So at this time ?Lucky? is a Lapos and is thriving, you be the judge?.

Please if you have an un spayed or neutered animal prevent unwanted kittens. Get them de sexed, and as winter approaches if you have stray cats or kittens at your residence contact the animal control department so that they can be trapped and disposed of, rather than the animal suffering through the winter.

Thought for the week:

? Millions of unwanted and homeless cats are born in our country each year. During the peak of the kitten season from late April to September- Pounds and humane shelters kill unwanted and abandoned cats at a rate of over ONE PER MINUTE. Others less fortunate are left to wander- easy prey for larger animals, easy targets for automobiles and easy marks for cruel pranksters and fanatics.  If they do survive these hazards and the elements, they soon attain maturity and bring forth five or six kittens, mostly females to continue this vicious cycle. Every cat owner whose pet is unspayed or unneutered, and allowed to roam, must bear the guilt for the terrible over- population- Remember ?one female cat?s cumulative offspring in 10 years could be over 80 million!