I wish I could say every story has a happy ending. However if that was so, there wouldn’t be a need for rescue.

We were contacted about a mama cat and a baby around 4 weeks old. They had been taking care of the mama cat and created a hut for her outdoors. About a week and a half ago they noticed that the mama was not making any milk and took the baby cat indoors. Thinking for one reason or another that he wouldn’t survive if they took him to a shelter, they decided they would intervene.

Babies this small are so fragile, taking on one is time consuming but worth it. They have to be fed often, every 3-4 hours at 2 weeks and 4-6 hours at 3 weeks. That means feeding at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am, and 7am and continuing throughout the day. Not stopping while at work or at school. Not a couple times a day. It’s hard, it’s physically and mentally draining, but it’s NECESSARY. If you only feed them when you can, their blood sugar can become low and they can become very weak. You have to be available. Sometimes even when you do EVERYTHING right…they still fail. Think of a newborn baby.

The kitten who been taken indoors had already started to walk but after a week or so he started to use the bathroom on himself and began eating very little. He was failing to thrive and they didn’t have money to take care of either the mom or the baby. He had fleas and his body temp was so low. Then, not sure why…but he was given a bath.  When he was brought to us he could no longer walk.

Please, for whatever reason…never give a sick kitten a bath!

When they came to surrender them yesterday evening, we thought the kitten was no longer alive. The poor mama kitty would pick him up and try to make him nurse but it was clear he was struggling. He couldn’t stay awake. His breaths were shallow. His body wouldn’t even register a temperature.

Within less than an hour of being with us we had already jumped in the car and sped away calling every emergency vet in the area. One was so backed up with a 6 hour wait. The next closest one was a hour from us but we drove there knowing he would be seen right away. We wrapped him in warm blankets and turned the heat on as high as it would go to try and get his body temperature up, it was so very hot on that ride but it didn’t matter. We tried desperately to get his blood sugar up. He rallied in the car and he attempted to try to walk! He tried moving around and lifting his head. He even tried crawling out of his blankets! He started meowing often. His cry was strong-so we had hope.

The vet at Veterinary Emergency Services took him in and started treating him right away. They put him in a incubator and continued to do everything they could. They also were hopeful as he even started walking around inside of the incubator and meowing more and more. However we all knew he was still not out of danger so we decided to give him the best possible chance at life and have him continue to be treated there overnight. The vet and all the staff there were so very thorough and kind and we are so very grateful for all they did to help little “Asher” in his fight. About 40 minutes after we left around 10:30pm, we received a phone call that little “Asher” had passed, around 4 hours after he was originally dropped off to us.

We wish someone could have intervened sooner. We wish help was gotten over a week ago when he first started declining. His little body could still have failed just the same, but at least we would have had more time to help him. However, wishing doesn’t change what has already happened.

He deserved a name. He deserved a burial. They all deserve someone to fight for them, and in the few hours we had him, we did just that. His life mattered.

We don’t leave animals behind, so we brought him here and gave him the burial he deserved. Two very special little ladies even made a sign for him.

The silver lining at the end of the rainbow is that mama cat is currently in our care. Mama cat who we have now named “Luna”-is missing her baby. She did the best she could to take care of him and now it is her turn to be taken care of. Our job is to make sure that she gets all the TLC possible.

She acts like every bit of food is going to be taken away from her so she gobbles it down as fast as she can. She is being treated for her fleas and we will not hesitate to continue in her care and getting her what she needs. Her life also matters. She wants love and this time it is about her. She is so very sweet and reaches out to you to be pet and comforted and loved on. If you would like to contribute in her care, we would be so very grateful.