I just got a call from my sister. She and her partner foster tiny kittens
and hand-raise them. They had a litter of 3 that they had raised from 3
weeks of age. At 8 weeks, they were all taken in to be neutered, chipped,
get their shots, etc, and then to be put up for adoption.

When they got back from the hospital, they all seemed fine. Then one of
them started throwing up and stopped eating. My sister took him in to
be checked out, and it turned out he had contracted panleukopenia, a
very deadly disease among kittens. They had received their shots that
same day, but it was still too late because it takes time for the
immunity to build up. Apparently they were exposed to it in the hospital.

That first kitten died shortly after being diagnosed. A second
kitten is sick and is currently in the hospital. She's stable, but her
white cell count is dropping. So that's uncertain. The third kitten
seems fine so far, but he almost certainly has gotten the virus, too,
since it's very contagious.

My sister is devastated. She was calling me mostly just to cry on my
shoulder about it. She and her partner had gotten extremely attached
to these kittens, particularly the one who died, whose name was "Mr.
Softie." They thought this litter was one of the best they'd ever had,
they were cute, friendly, and healthy. And Mr. Softie had already been
claimed by one of their neighbors, who have a 7-year-old girl. The
girl was so excited about getting a kitten and she really liked this
kitten a lot. The family is currently on vacation and are unreachable,
so they don't know what's happened. That really breaks my heart, for
that little girl.

So, any purrs any of you would like to offer for Mr. Softie, for the
girl kitty who's fighting for her life, and for the still healthy
kitten, for my sister, and for the poor family who think they're coming
home to a new kitten - they would be gratefully accepted!

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)