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- Sep 19, 2016
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Hello there!
This is a bit of a strange situation and a long post, so I guess I'll just jump right into it.
Last week, I discovered a nursing mother cat with five kittens; Mom was very friendly, but felt pretty emaciated when I pet her, and the whole family looked rather dirty with lots of eye discharge. The people in the neighborhood informed me that animal control was contacted, but they just would not come out for cats, and the cats do not belong to anyone. So yesterday, I picked them up and brought them to the Connecticut Humane Society.
They accepted the mother and four of the five kittens, who are about five weeks old. But the last kitten they could not accept, because he has a bite wound of (relatively) unknown origin. Neighbors reported that a skunk tried to take the kitten, but someone killed the skunk (I didn't speak the language so I could not understand everything they were saying and my account may be inaccurate, but there definitely seemed to be a skunk conflict). Because we do not know whether the skunk had rabies, this kitten is considered a rabies risk.
The humane society advised me that I had to call animal control, and animal control might insist that it be euthanized right away, but if they did not tell me to euthanize it immediately, I could try taking the kitten home and looking for another shelter where the kitten could be housed for a long enough time to effectively quarantine it.
When I asked whether they thought the kitten had a realistic chance of being allowed to survive, they were somewhat evasive; I explained that I did not want to put it through the ordeal of being kept in limbo for so long if it was only going to have to be euthanized. They pushed me toward taking it home and seemed to think someone else would be able to handle it.
I did call animal control. They told me that they do not keep cats, only dogs, and they would euthanize him if I brought him in, but offered that if I was careful, I could "quarantine" him at home by keeping him in relative isolation.
Unfortunately, I cannot just take in a kitten. I already have a cat, and not only would it be psychologically disruptive to her, but I would be afraid of her contracting parasites or some other illness. I plan to call the veterinarian to see if they will help clean him up, but am not confident that they will even handle an animal with a bite wound. Additionally, what we have is a one-bedroom apartment - it is really not enough space for my current cat and a total newcomer.
I have been cautious in handling the kitten. I do not touch inside the carrier without gloves, and wear extra-thick gloves if I need to pick him up myself. So far, the kitten has cried and has tried to get out, but has never attempted to bite or scratch. It has a small bowl of litter and a small animal water bottle. I am feeding Science Diet because that was the brand the humane society sent me home with. For about 36 hours now, the kitten has been living in a carrier in my car, because I have nowhere else for him. I check on him often and fortunately the weather is extremely mild for now, but this is obviously an unsustainable situation.
It seems like an absolute shame to euthanize this kitten without letting him go through a period of quarantine, but at the same time, I am not equipped to provide him with what he needs. I don't even know if keeping a small baby alone for that long would damage him irreversibly anyway; it's a crucial time for kitty social development. There are so many issues around it that I'm completely overwhelmed. I don't want to give up on this little baby, don't want to punish him for being in an already-traumatic situation that resulted in his injury, and I feel horrible listening to him cry and knowing that he's sleeping alone for the first time before he's ready...but I don't want to project too many of my own hangups onto him, either.
Obviously, I'm writing to ask if anyone has advice or has had a similar experience. I'm looking for additional help for the kitten but I don't know when it will come, if at all - shelters are all overwhelmed. I don't know how to make this decision alone. I'm willing to accept that sometimes, cats have to be put to sleep, and "life at all costs" isn't the kindest philosophy. But the fact that we just don't know whether there's any rabies going on makes it seem far less clear-cut. It seems like putting down an innocent kitten just because the loser who happened to find him is low on resources. Is it realistic to think that there are shelters that exist that would take him? If not, is there a way I can safely keep him at home? If I keep him away from carpets and soft surfaces, how likely are fleas to jump from the carrier to the rest of the apartment? What about the issues with socialization?
Anyway, if you have thoughts about any of the above, let me know. Thank you so much for your time in reading this.
This is a bit of a strange situation and a long post, so I guess I'll just jump right into it.
Last week, I discovered a nursing mother cat with five kittens; Mom was very friendly, but felt pretty emaciated when I pet her, and the whole family looked rather dirty with lots of eye discharge. The people in the neighborhood informed me that animal control was contacted, but they just would not come out for cats, and the cats do not belong to anyone. So yesterday, I picked them up and brought them to the Connecticut Humane Society.
They accepted the mother and four of the five kittens, who are about five weeks old. But the last kitten they could not accept, because he has a bite wound of (relatively) unknown origin. Neighbors reported that a skunk tried to take the kitten, but someone killed the skunk (I didn't speak the language so I could not understand everything they were saying and my account may be inaccurate, but there definitely seemed to be a skunk conflict). Because we do not know whether the skunk had rabies, this kitten is considered a rabies risk.
The humane society advised me that I had to call animal control, and animal control might insist that it be euthanized right away, but if they did not tell me to euthanize it immediately, I could try taking the kitten home and looking for another shelter where the kitten could be housed for a long enough time to effectively quarantine it.
When I asked whether they thought the kitten had a realistic chance of being allowed to survive, they were somewhat evasive; I explained that I did not want to put it through the ordeal of being kept in limbo for so long if it was only going to have to be euthanized. They pushed me toward taking it home and seemed to think someone else would be able to handle it.
I did call animal control. They told me that they do not keep cats, only dogs, and they would euthanize him if I brought him in, but offered that if I was careful, I could "quarantine" him at home by keeping him in relative isolation.
Unfortunately, I cannot just take in a kitten. I already have a cat, and not only would it be psychologically disruptive to her, but I would be afraid of her contracting parasites or some other illness. I plan to call the veterinarian to see if they will help clean him up, but am not confident that they will even handle an animal with a bite wound. Additionally, what we have is a one-bedroom apartment - it is really not enough space for my current cat and a total newcomer.
I have been cautious in handling the kitten. I do not touch inside the carrier without gloves, and wear extra-thick gloves if I need to pick him up myself. So far, the kitten has cried and has tried to get out, but has never attempted to bite or scratch. It has a small bowl of litter and a small animal water bottle. I am feeding Science Diet because that was the brand the humane society sent me home with. For about 36 hours now, the kitten has been living in a carrier in my car, because I have nowhere else for him. I check on him often and fortunately the weather is extremely mild for now, but this is obviously an unsustainable situation.
It seems like an absolute shame to euthanize this kitten without letting him go through a period of quarantine, but at the same time, I am not equipped to provide him with what he needs. I don't even know if keeping a small baby alone for that long would damage him irreversibly anyway; it's a crucial time for kitty social development. There are so many issues around it that I'm completely overwhelmed. I don't want to give up on this little baby, don't want to punish him for being in an already-traumatic situation that resulted in his injury, and I feel horrible listening to him cry and knowing that he's sleeping alone for the first time before he's ready...but I don't want to project too many of my own hangups onto him, either.
Obviously, I'm writing to ask if anyone has advice or has had a similar experience. I'm looking for additional help for the kitten but I don't know when it will come, if at all - shelters are all overwhelmed. I don't know how to make this decision alone. I'm willing to accept that sometimes, cats have to be put to sleep, and "life at all costs" isn't the kindest philosophy. But the fact that we just don't know whether there's any rabies going on makes it seem far less clear-cut. It seems like putting down an innocent kitten just because the loser who happened to find him is low on resources. Is it realistic to think that there are shelters that exist that would take him? If not, is there a way I can safely keep him at home? If I keep him away from carpets and soft surfaces, how likely are fleas to jump from the carrier to the rest of the apartment? What about the issues with socialization?
Anyway, if you have thoughts about any of the above, let me know. Thank you so much for your time in reading this.
