Kitten scare

First, I will tell you everyone is OK now.

But one of the difficult things about being a kitten foster mom is health scares.  I've had to put down two kittens in my care in the last year.  Both events were things I could not have prevented or foreseen.  Kittens are tiny.  And they have health problems sometimes.  And so, I do the best I can...and hope for the best as well.

Two days ago, Violet (our little Siamese/white kitten), started limping and favoring a front paw.  We weren't sure if she twisted an ankle, slept on it funny, or endured a bite from a little friend.  We decided to keep an eye on her until the morning.

Well, yesterday morning, she felt warm, and she was kind of groggy, but maybe putting more weight on her foot, and I just wasn't sure.  So, I went to work and told Graham to check on Violet throughout the day and give me updates.  

By two o'clock, he said she seemed really out of it, and I rushed home.  Graham and I took her to the vet who said she was a little dehydrated and constipated and running a fever.  And her leg joint was tender.  What she figured had happened to Violet was a not-uncommon joint infection (these can come in from the belly button at birth and hang out for a while...and then go for the joints.)  The infection made her run a little fever.  The fever made her dehydrated.  And the dehydration made it tough for her to go number two.

They gave that little girl a tiny kitten enema, some vitamins, some oral lubricant/laxative stuff, and an antibiotic.  And I am happy to report that today, she is doing much better, eating well, getting around better, and seeming more like her old self.

Life is precious!