Letting go...

I finally was able to pet this stray long-haired kitty who I've been giving food and water for a week and a half. He was terribly sick, which I could see before, and he quit eating several days ago.... Nothing prepared me for this morning.  This sweet baby, who I could tell was once a beautiful companion, this morning was sitting in the sun. He let me pet him. Speaking softly, I felt the bones sticking out of his back as I petted him. He looked up at me and I could tell he was terribly weak. The bones were even obvious on the top of his head, he was so emaciated. One eye was covered with infection so that it was impossible to tell if the eye was still there and the infected discharge from his nose made it difficult for him to breath.  His body reeked of excrement and rotting. I can still smell this now.  It was like he was necrosing alive. But he was barely alive.  I picked him up easily, part of him wanting to push away instinctively, but lacking the energy, he just looked up at me with the one eye he could barely see with. Holding him like an infant, I could feel the entire length of this long-haired kitty's spine.  His paws and belly and bottom were covered with excrement. I carried him gently, speaking softly, to Dr. Graf's office at the Fountain Creek Veterinary Clinic, where I had spoken to someone last week as I looked for ideas of how to get this little kitty to help.

This little gray, long-haired kitty was NOT a feral.  Ferals can survive, generally, off their environment and generally are street-wise and won't let anyone near them.  This little graybie was someone's pet, someone's companion, once.  I don't know if he was abandoned or  got loose, but this precious baby could not survive on his own, which is not uncommon with pets that have had food provided their entire lives by humans. This little baby was so sickly and so alone...

I had just come upon another cat that had just been hit by a car about 2 weeks ago on Commanche Village while I was out for a walk. His body was still warm, so the accident had just happened. He was also a pet, a companion animal, in terrific condition, well-fed, full of youth.  I moved his body from the street onto the side by the sidewalk, and looked around at houses to see if anyone would realize their baby had been hit and come running.  Not abandoned, but allowed to roam in dangerous places. 

I refute the belief  that we can't change the world. On the contrary, we can change the world. Not over night. Not instantly. But in changing the world for one creature or one person, we're changing the world a little bit at a time, starting in our little corner of the world.

Thank you to Dr.Graf and his staff for advising on and doing what needed to be done for this suffering baby.. and thank you for helping to find the humans of loose pets I find around Fountain.  Collars with tags and microchips can be so critical. 

Fountain Creek Veterinary Clinic