A Facebook message from a neighbor popped up on my computer. She found a kitten chasing her chickens. Yup...a kitten. And he was sick. I walked up to her place in order to check for more. Where one kitten was dumped, others might be as well, but I didn't see or hear any others. She met me at the bottom of her driveway and she drove us both home.
The poor little guy had runny eyes and some serious chest congestion. I had two days to get him a bit better before I set off on work travel, or I would have to hospitalize him while I was gone. Luckily he rebounded quickly, except for an ulcer on his eye. I've had kittens with cloudy eyes before and they usually slowly clear up or reduce in size. Sometimes they entirely disappear, but often a cloud remains.
I named him "TMK" (too many kittens) or "Timmick." He was hale and healthy by the time my next neuter date to haul kittens off to the SPCA of Tompkins County came around. Since he was so friendly, I had him done instead of a more shy kitten--even though he had arrived more recently--because I figured Timmick would be ready for adoption more quickly than the shy guy.
I'm including invoices as I'll add this as a GoFundMe update for those who gave (both on and offline) for this summer's kittens. This record is for four male kittens, although Timmick is the top record so his is the only name visible. A deal!
But that eye ulcer wasn't looking so great. On Friday I noticed it was getting thicker, so it was time to haul him off to Cornerstone. He needed a FeLV/FIV test anyway.
His combo test was negative (YAY) but the eye diagnosis was dire for a kitten looking for a new home. Either "wait and see" (will the eye rupture , get better or stay the same?) or remove the eye. "Wait and see" doesn't bode well for an average cute little black kitten who will shortly be a gangly black teen. So they will call with a date to remove the eye, after checking with another veterinarian at the hospital who has done quite a few.
Timmick also had some odd white specks stuck on the end of his fur. Lice? The vet looked at them under the microscope and showed me as well. We were flummoxed. Whatever they were, they didn't appear to be eggs, but they definitely were adhered to the hairs, not just laying on them.
So after getting poked and prodded, poor Timmick came home for a bath, "just in case" he was infested with creepy crawlies.
You may be able to see the bulb of an ulcer on his left eye (the eye on your right in the photo). Its the shadow all the way at the right corner of the eye in the photo.
He purred all the while. He's a sweet little guy, and sadly he'll probably be more adoptable, rather than less, with one eye.
His rescuer stopped by with much-appreciated help for both the bank account and my larder:
One more invoice for the summer Kitten Flurry library of bills:
My invoices always indicate a credit card number, but that is actually a debit card. I'm using real dollars (donated by many of you!) to pay these bills. Thank you!!!
