Last friday, I went to a shelter for horses. I was looking to volunteer. When I got there, they had not only horses, but also a couple of dogs, some birds and a kitten. Kittens weren't their specialty though, and the kitten was very much dehydrated and hypothermic.

I decided to take him home and give him the care I could. The people of the shelter dropped me off at my old clinic to have a look at him. He had Feline Influenza, but from what I could tell, he was way too weak for the symptoms he was showing. The vet confirmed my suspicions. She also warned me I might not be able to help this one because it was so weak. It was possible he had Leucosis or FIV. She gave him an warm IV in an effort to try and warm him up. I went home, hoping he'd pull through.

Once home, he refused to eat. I forcefed him some food and water, and went to bed after desinfecting myself. The next day, I checked up on him. He was ok, and even purred at me when I held him, till I forcefed him some more. He started squirming, and meowing. His tummy was clearly hurting. Some time later, he was just lying there, breathing through his mouth, NOT a good sign. So I called the on-call vet. He told me the kitten wouldn't last the weekend with those symptoms. So I went to the clinic, scared I'd have to leave him behind.

Once there, the vet told me he still responded quite good, and he gave him some anti-worming medication, some de-licing, and the IV treatment again. He also told me to take the IV home and do it several times again during the weekend, to get him hydrated and warm. He was still severely hypothermic. I also got some food that was easier to forcefeed and especially made for these kinda circumstances. The vet told me the kitten still had a shot. So I went home reassured.