I just needed to tell you guys about this to get it off my chest.
A vet nurse called me today and asked if I could take 3 kittens that she had. I only have two at the moment and I said yes. She then told me where the vet is and it's in Mandurah, which is about a 1 hour and 25 minute drive from here. I asked if she could bring the kittens to me and she said no, but she'll be in my area on Wednesday so she'll bring the little ones then. I asked her how old the kittens were and she said about 2 to 3 weeks. Now to me, this is like saying, Oh that baby is about 6-12 months old. Even someone who doesn't know a whole lot about children would be able to tell if the child is closer to 6 or 12 months old. Well, it's the same with kittens. I don't expect someone who hasn't seen or worked with very young kittens to know how old they are but she is a vet nurse and has cared for kittens before. To someone who knows, there is a big difference between a 2 and 3 week old kitten.
Then she said that she is only feeding them about every 8 hours and I asked why as she should be feeding them every four hours. She said that she can't take them home so she's feeding them when she finishes work and then getting to work a bit early and feeding them again. She can't feed them while she's at work because she's too busy. Now I understand that it's hard having a full time job and taking care of tiny kittens, but that's just not on. Why the h*** did she take them on if she can only give them this inadequate amount of care??? She could have given them to a friend or family member to take care of and then taught them how, taken them to another vet practise in her area, or, at worst, have them PTS. At the moment, I feel they are suffering because she's feeding, toiletting and touching them so little.
So I arranged with my housemate to borrow her car tomorrow (she was a work today) and go down and get these kittens. An almost 3 hour round trip just to go and pick up some kittens seems a lot to me (who doesn't get out that much) but I really had to do something. So I called the vet nurse back and let her know that I'd be coming to pick them up. She was happy about that and then told me that one of the kittens has stopped eating and has diahorreah (sp). In a 2-3 week old kitten, this can be deadly so I asked her if she was doing anything for the kitten. She said no. I made some suggestions about giving the kit some electrolyte solution or giving it some subcutaneous fluids. She said that she couldn't do any of these as she was too busy. So I said can you at least tube-feed this kitten some formula or glucose , are you okay with doing that? She said no.
I wanted to go and get the kittens right then. I couldn't because I don't have my own car and the buses here don't allow animals. So I'm sitting here, fretting for them, especially the sick one, hoping they'll be OK until I can drive down there tomorrow morning.
Grrrr.
A vet nurse called me today and asked if I could take 3 kittens that she had. I only have two at the moment and I said yes. She then told me where the vet is and it's in Mandurah, which is about a 1 hour and 25 minute drive from here. I asked if she could bring the kittens to me and she said no, but she'll be in my area on Wednesday so she'll bring the little ones then. I asked her how old the kittens were and she said about 2 to 3 weeks. Now to me, this is like saying, Oh that baby is about 6-12 months old. Even someone who doesn't know a whole lot about children would be able to tell if the child is closer to 6 or 12 months old. Well, it's the same with kittens. I don't expect someone who hasn't seen or worked with very young kittens to know how old they are but she is a vet nurse and has cared for kittens before. To someone who knows, there is a big difference between a 2 and 3 week old kitten.
Then she said that she is only feeding them about every 8 hours and I asked why as she should be feeding them every four hours. She said that she can't take them home so she's feeding them when she finishes work and then getting to work a bit early and feeding them again. She can't feed them while she's at work because she's too busy. Now I understand that it's hard having a full time job and taking care of tiny kittens, but that's just not on. Why the h*** did she take them on if she can only give them this inadequate amount of care??? She could have given them to a friend or family member to take care of and then taught them how, taken them to another vet practise in her area, or, at worst, have them PTS. At the moment, I feel they are suffering because she's feeding, toiletting and touching them so little.
So I arranged with my housemate to borrow her car tomorrow (she was a work today) and go down and get these kittens. An almost 3 hour round trip just to go and pick up some kittens seems a lot to me (who doesn't get out that much) but I really had to do something. So I called the vet nurse back and let her know that I'd be coming to pick them up. She was happy about that and then told me that one of the kittens has stopped eating and has diahorreah (sp). In a 2-3 week old kitten, this can be deadly so I asked her if she was doing anything for the kitten. She said no. I made some suggestions about giving the kit some electrolyte solution or giving it some subcutaneous fluids. She said that she couldn't do any of these as she was too busy. So I said can you at least tube-feed this kitten some formula or glucose , are you okay with doing that? She said no.
I wanted to go and get the kittens right then. I couldn't because I don't have my own car and the buses here don't allow animals. So I'm sitting here, fretting for them, especially the sick one, hoping they'll be OK until I can drive down there tomorrow morning.
Grrrr.
