A hard day as a foster Mom. :( *Long winded*

As many of you know I have been fostering a beautiful girl, Angel Marie, who came to me very sick with her 5 newborn kittens. They ALL had the URI common in shelters. One by one, the kittens passed away, all except 1. As sick as Angel Marie was, she had very little interest in caring for the kittens. She would not clean them, so we would have to wipe them down and stimulate them. Now with this last one, who is also very sick but obviously stronger than the others, Angel Marie has completely rejected her, growling and hissing if the kitten is anywhere near her. Now she has gotten to the point where if I try to get near her or pet her, she will hiss and growl at me as well, trying to bite me. She also hasn't been eatting. I think her health problems go much deeper than the URI and unfortunately after conversing with the shelter manager, she believes the best thing would be to have them both put down at this point.

I tried to bottle feed AND syringe feed the kitten, to no avail. She wants no part of it. The shelter does not have the money to provide vet care, so if an animal is quite ill, they have no choice but to put it down. I would love to be able to provide her with vet care myself, but my funds have to be kept for if anything ever happens to my OWN cats. It breaks my heart, but I know I can't save them all. I don't want them to suffer, and at this point, I know that they are.

We will be bringing them in to the shelter after work. Shelley, the shelter manager, then told me about another girl they have there who needs a foster home. Her name is Lefty, where she only has 1 eye due to what they believe is a birth defect. She is young, pregnant and very much in need of a safe place to have her babies. She was featured in the local newspaper here recently and still no one stepped up to foster her. So maybe the bright side to this, if there is any at all, is that I will now have the room to foster Lefty so that she doesn't have her babies in the shelter? Here is the pic that was in the paper, with a girl who works at the shelter.

Im so sorry about the kittens and outcome of momma and remaining kitten

and good luck with Lefty she is gorgeous

I am so sorry about this bad turn. We take them into our home and heart with the hope of helping them live a long life, but sometimes the best we can do is love them enough to let them go.

Thank you hun... It's all so rough.

The shelter is completely over run at the moment with cats/kittens. The only time they euthanize is due to health problems OR if they are full to the brim. That's why we brought the 6 "death row" kittens home to foster, because they started to show a bit of the URI signs and were going to be put to sleep by end of day. They're 4-5 months old though and have bounced back very well because they have the strength to do so. If a kitten is born with it, it is VERY hard to get them through it. At least if they get into a home environment with healthy food and constant monitoring, they at least stand a chance, where if they stay at the shelter, they have next to NO chance. I have lots many kittens because of this, however I have also SAVED many, and it is the ones that pull through and find forever homes that make it all worth it.

The shelter has in the works a plan to build a NEW shelter within the next 3 years. The one we have now is ancient, not well ventilated, and not very large. Hopefully when the new one is built there will be a lot of improvements made to the health of the cats. They have no funding at all other than the fundraising they do on their own and the generosity of the public.

I've been there many times - I've been the one choosing who dies & who lives.

I'm sending your way - if only people would S/N.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I'm sending

your way - if only people would S/N.

Click to expand...

And that is EXACTLY it. I find myself getting so jaded with the stupidity of people who refuse to s/n and all irresponsible pet owners. The education is out there! There's no excuse anymore!

Lefty is settling in nicely and eats like a little piggy. I don't like that name though...a little degrading. Suggestions?

Here is the article the shelter recently had in our local news paper with that pic of Lefty in case anyone is interested.
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.c...rticle/1137476

Bless you for the courage and love to muster on, in caring for "Lefty". Maybe they could call her Lucy instead (from the 'lefty-loosie, rightsie-tightsie' saying, when instructing on how to use bolts & screws)
Lucy is truly beautiful and in very great need. It sounds like AngelMarie was asking to be let go; now she is reunited with all her kittens, and all those little spirits who are beyond this world's troubles, and playing happily over RB. I truly believe Heaven knows, and Heaven made room for Lucy. Again, bless you for caring!

Originally Posted by Kailie

And that is EXACTLY it.

I find myself getting so jaded with the stupidity of people who refuse to s/n and all irresponsible pet owners. The education is out there! There's no excuse anymore!

Click to expand...

Keep promoting low cost s/n clinics as convenient, cheap safe, clean environments (and make sure they are!!) places to get pets altered !!!

Because I think most owners DO spay/neuter already and the ones that don't (maybe 40%??) it's usually because of the cost, they think their pet is too young (dog has to have a litter first, families joy of live birthing, blah blah blah), it's confined indoors, or they are still thinking about it. The key is working with these people, instead of against them. Easy for me to say, though, managing a feral colony but not being on the front lines...

Thank goodness for the humane society, SPCA, rescue organizations and hardworking, dedicated animal shelter volunteers! Without them, there is no telling how many more dogs and cats would die each year.

Originally Posted by elayman

Keep promoting low cost s/n clinics as convenient, cheap safe, clean environments (and make sure they are!!) places to get pets altered !!!

Click to expand...

I would absolutely do so, IF we had any. We do not have ANY lost cost spay/neuter clinics in our city. I wish to God we did because I think that would severely combat the problem. Prices here are quite high, especially since the cats need to be vaccinated before vets will s/n, which also increases the cost. The shelter does have vets who offer discounts when adopting through them, so it is cheaper when adopting through the shelter.

Originally Posted by catsknowme

Bless you for the courage and love to muster on, in caring for "Lefty". Maybe they could call her Lucy instead (from the 'lefty-loosie, rightsie-tightsie' saying, when instructing on how to use bolts & screws)

Lucy is truly beautiful and in very great need. It sounds like AngelMarie was asking to be let go; now she is reunited with all her kittens, and all those little spirits who are beyond this world's troubles, and playing happily over RB. I truly believe Heaven knows, and Heaven made room for Lucy. Again, bless you for caring!

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your kind words. I LOVE the name Lucy. Lucy it is.