Good-bye, Kittens! / La revedere, pisicuti!

The last photo I have with all three kittens
[Ultima fotografie pe care o am cu toti cei trei pui]

ENGLISH:

(For the original post - click on this link)

Update of my 2012-08-24 post "The Three Newborn Kittens Might Be Euthanized Tomorrow Afternoon / Cei trei pisici nou nascuti - posibila eutanasiere maine dupa-masa": sadly, all the kittens passed away last week.

After all my attempts to catch Saya - the presumed mother cat - had failed, although I knew that with only two meals a day the kittens would almost certainly die, I could not bring myself to have them euthanized in a mercy killing, as it was suggested, so I decided to keep feeding them as long as they would survive. Unfortunately, the kittens  began loosing weight immediately: they got very skinny and I could feel their ribs. Then as luck would have it, a friend - Timea, saw me on one of my feeding trips and was so moved especially by the kitten with the open fracture (I called him Leggy), that she began helping me, providing extra meals for the kittens and finally taking over the entire feeding process.

However, despite all our efforts, the situation took a turn for worse.

Leggy's open fracture aggravated really bad over the week-end because of his constant crawling in the box: the wound got bigger and the end of the upper bone got completely exposed, jutting out 2-3 mm. The kitten kept crawling on the exposed bone stump (which just wouldn't stay isolated in a bandage); the latter got dry as a result. The veterinarian decided to attempt amputation on Monday, if the kitten were still alive, and gave me an antibiotic to administer to Leggy twice a day. Not only did Leggy survive the week-end, but he was also the kitten who ate the most and seemed to have the best chance of survival if not for his leg. Unfortunately, he passed away the following Monday, after having been administered the anesthesia for the amputation (he was just too young for such a major procedure).

His other two siblings missed him: they began fussing and eating less. The kitten with white spots ate less and less and then died the following night. The last kitten began crying after his siblings: he only got soothed when my friend took him in her hands and talked to him. He liked it so much that he now wanted to be cuddled by both my friend and her mum as often as possible. Feeling warmth and love, he began eating very well again, so we all hoped he would survive. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly a couple of days later.

We were very sorry that none of the kittens survived in the end. We knew that when kittens are so young, humans cannot replace the mother cat, but we tried to do all we could. I still don't know if the kittens had been abandoned by their mother (I understand that cats may abandon their youngs early on if the latter are to die) or snatched from her by a human, but what I hope for the future is not to have any similar experiences and of course that no animal (whatever his age) be abandoned any more.

Posted by Anca M. Dragan

ROMANA:

(Pentru postarea originala faceti click pe acest link)

Actualizare la postarea mea din 2012-08-24 "The Three Newborn Kittens Might Be Euthanized Tomorrow Afternoon / Cei trei pisici nou nascuti - posibila eutanasiere maine dupa-masa": din pacate toti pisicii au murit in cursul saptamanii trecute.

Dupa ce toate incercarile mele de a o prinde pe Saya - presupusa pisica mama - au esuat, chiar stiind ca pe baza a doar doua mese pe zi puii vor muri aproape cu siguranta, nu am putut sa ii duc la eutanasiat (pentru a le scurta suferinta), dupa cum mi-a fost sugerat, ci am decis sa ii hranesc atata timp cat vor supravietui. Din pacate au inceput sa piarda in greutate imediat: au slabit foarte mult, iar eu le puteam simti deja coastele. Norocul a facut atunci ca Timea - o prietena, sa ma vada in una din deplasarile mele pentru a-i hrani si sa i se faca mila de pui (mai ales de cel cu fractura deschisa, pe care l-am numit Leggy), astfel ca a inceput sa ma ajute, furnizandu-le mai multe mese pe zi si in final preluand tot procesul de hranire.

Cu toate acestea, in ciuda tuturor eforturilor noastre, situatia s-a inrautatit.

Fractura deschisa a lui Leggy s-a agravat mult peste week-end din cauza taratului continuu in cutie: rana s-a marit, iar capatul osului de sus a devenit expus, iesind complet in afara 2-3 mm. Puiul continua sa se tarasca cu ciotul expus de os (care numai nu statea izolat in bandaj); acesta a ajuns sa se usce complet.  Veterinarul a decis sa incerce sa-l amputeze luni, daca puiul mai traia pana atunci, si mi-a dat un antibiotic sa i-l administrez lui Leggy de doua ori pe zi. Nu doar ca a suprevietuit Leggy week-end-ului, dar era si pisicul care manca cel mai bine dintre toti si ar fi avut cele mai bune sanse de supravietuire daca nu ar fi fost problema cu piciorul. Din pacate Leggy a murit lunea urmatoare, dupa administrarea anesteziei pentru amputare (era prea micut pentru a rezista la o astfel de procedura majora).  

Ceilalti doi fratiori i-au simtit imediat lipsa: au inceput sa planga mai mult, sa se agite si sa manance mai putin. Pisicul cu pete albe a mancat din ce in ce mai putin si a murit in noaptea urmatoare. Ultimul pisic ramas plangea dupa ceilalti doi si se linistea doar cand Timea il lua in palme si ii vorbea - aceste momente i-au placut atat de mult incat cerea sa fie dragalit atat de Timea cat si de mama ei cat mai des. Cum a inceput sa simta caldura si faptul ca e iubit, a inceput sa manance din nou bine, astfel ca am sperat cu totii ca va supravietui. Din pacate insa a murit pe neasteptate cateva zile mai tarziu.

Ne-a parut tuturor foarte rau ca nici unul dintre pui nu a supravietuit in final. Stiam ca in cazul pisicilor atat de mici, oamenii nu pot inlocui cu succes pisica mama, dar am incercat sa facem tot posibilul. Tot nu stiu daca puii fusesera abandonati de mama lor (inteleg ca pisicile isi pot abandona puii daca simt ca urmeaza sa moara) sau au fost separati de aceasta de catre un om, insa sper ca pe viitor sa nu mai am parte de o experienta similara si desigur sper ca nici un alt animal, indiferent de varsta, sa nu mai fie abandonat.

Postat de Anca M. Dragan