Twenty-four hours came and went and Little Gray Kitten showed no signs of improvement. The vet at the emergency clinic said at that point, our options were in-hospital care (which I simply cannot afford) or putting the animal down. She didn’t mince words. By the time the Dork Lord got home from the office, I was in pieces. Eyes red and swollen, snot running down my upper lip, head aching. Ending a life because I don’t have enough money to save it is, undeniably, one of the cruelest realities there is. All the while, the kitten is crying for its mother and that I have failed to make it well means I have only succeeded in making its last hours lonely and frightening. The Dork Lord held me while I cried.
“What about taking him to Dr. Jim?”
There’s a reason our vet is Dallas’ favorite vet year after year. He’s wise. I mean, he offers really practical solutions to situations that other vets will only offer to solve with costly procedures. He probably fixes a lot of stuff around the house with duct tape and Legos like my dad does. If only he were available in the evenings when stupid pet emergencies tend to take place.
So, this morning, I snatched up the kitten (who has been living in my Vera Bradley tote and fuh-reaks out if you offer to swap it out for a bed of towels and blankets) and headed to Dr. Jim. He did not see our options as so limited. He gave Little Gray Kitten a cortisone shot and and sent me away with the following shopping list:
A steam humidifier
Vicks Vaporizer liquid
Little Noses decongestant
The smelliest, nastiest cheapest kitten food out there. Something fishy.
My homework, he said, was to get Little Gray Kitten to eat. On her own (this syringe business was not working). Problem was, he said, if she can’t smell it, she can’t eat it. Wait, did you catch that? Despite everyone at the EAC calling Little Gray Kitten “he,” she’s most definitely a she.
“We don’t charge much for the visit,” Dr. Jim said. “But that sex change operation’s gonna cost you.”
And right now she is living in our bathroom, with two humidifiers and the world’s nastiest smelling seafood kitten chow, which she has, most miraculously, begun to eat all by herself.
As for me, once it’s quitting time, I’m taking a long, long nap. Maybe into next week. I have one hell of an empathy hangover.
Cheers to you and Dr. Jim! Thank goodness for miracle workers like you both.
Dr. Jim sounds like a Godsend! How wonderful your husband came up with that brilliant idea! My fingers and toes are crossed that your little grey kitty has already turned the tide.
Oh, I was so scared as I started out reading this post! Thank goodness ya’ll thought to take him to Dr. Jim. Maybe if vet bills get too expensive, you can take up a collection from your readers. I’m sure a lot of us would be happy to pitch in for HER!
Thank goodness for Dr. Jim! And WTF’s wrong with the emergency clinic for not having such a simple and probably life saving idea themselves? I swear everything’s about money.
I am not a cat person. But, you make me want to be one. You have officially sucked me into this cat story business, and I’m now rooting for a kitten. Which I guess makes me a cat person on the make. Miss you pretty girl.
I’m so impressed by you. So thoroughly impressed. If I could love and care for something one tenth as much as these kittens you keep stumbling upon, I’d be up to my eye balls in stray kittens.
Yay for Little Gray! I SO did want to scroll down after seeing the first 2 (misguided and just WRONG) options…definitely pulling for a quick and inexpensive recovery
i have tears in my eyes reading this. first, after the first paragraph, feeling so much empathy for YOU having to go through such a hard thing, and then after reading the end of the story, that there is hope! just goes to show that second opinions (for pets too!) are so klutch. best of luck to new GIRL kitty!
Ditto.
You are such a good kitty mommy! Hang in there! These little fur balls are lucky that they wandered into your yard!
I want to high five Dr. Jim! And if I lived in Texas I would be applying to adopt Little Gray Kitten. I have a little black kitten (okay, not so little anymore) who could be her best friend.
Oh man. I had to put down my beautiful fluffy nutjob Marley a few years ago after he was hit by a car…the cost to reinsert his eyeball (no kidding) and repair his jaw would have come to just under seven THOUSAND dollars. The vet didn’t even suggest euthanasia…I had to bring it up considering I don’t have even half that much to spend on my own health. It was the most excruciating, devastating experience and it still brings me to tears thinking about it. Wish I’d had a Dr. Jim to at least walk me through the process.
Best of luck to Little Gray…my own LG refused the bottle/syringe too and nasty crap worked! Who’da thunk…
Immodium AD saved our cat’s life once upon a time. Good luck with your little bundle of fur. She’s lucky to have you.
During my short stint as a dog mom, said dog now lives with his grandfather, I learned one thing: emergency animal clinics are expensive, incompetent and assholes.
Empathy Hangover… Yeah, I get those.
Yay for Dr Jim!
How’s the feral mama and other siblings? Also, do we need to start a kitty vet fund? Please, all you have to do is ask. Happy to donate.
Yeah to Dr. Jim! I hope Little Gray is (still) improving. The cheap, stinky kitten food trick works. The stinkier the better. Hope you get some rest.
Could you post Dr. Jim’s full name? I’m in Dallas and have a new rescue dog. I wasn’t really happy with my last vet and less so with his partner. Fortunately, I’ve got a couple of months before I need routine things, but it’s been on my mind lately.
Dr Murray at the Royal Abrams Animal clinic. He’s awesome.
I am SO glad to hear this!!
))))) (That’s how many smiles!) When I started reading this, I only got through the first paragraph on my screen, and I thought, “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” Reading on, I felt much better – relieved for you, and a little puzzled at the vet you started with. Every animal lover should have a Dr. Jim!
i want to hug dr jim. and you of course.
I love Dr. Jim. And you and the Dork Lord. This week’s a bit tight, but I will donate something next week. I know how $$$ kitties are, especially sick ones.
So happy the little kitten is eating. You are so amazing to do everything you can for that little one. So glad Dr Jim was there for you with a solution that seems to be working. Keep your head up.
This kitten wandered into the right yard. I think I would start calling her This Fish on account of the smelly cat food and her ability to find you.
I’m so glad to hear the little girl is doing better, thanks to you and Dr. Jim. You are awesome for taking care of her. I’m not sure after all you’ve gone through I’d be able to give her up. Maybe the Dork Lord will change his mind?
Dr. Jim sounds a lot like Dr. Liz. So YAY for Dr. Jim but also an even bigger YAY for the Dork Lord. We need these men that even though they may tell us things like “that’s how natural selection works” they are still great big softies and will have the clear headedness in an emotional moment to give us another option. YAY!
You are the sweetest person ever! I’m so glad to hear that kitty is eating. Oh, and now I have Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat” song in my head because of the fishy food, ha ha!
Fish,
You and your husband have a heart of gold.
Last summer I raised an orphan kitten who was one day old–he still had his umbilical cord attached. He made it, and he was touch and go at different times. Now he runs through the house being naughty.
From my experience I found mixing kitten formula (powdered mixed with water) with the wet food (to make a gruel) really helped the kitten nutrition wise.
There is also a product called Benebac that you will want to buy and give to the kitten to help his immune system. The Benebac is normally carried at PetCo and PetSmart. IF you can’t find it let me know, via e-mail and I will mail it to you. The Benebac really helps them grow stronger because it helps them not to get diarrhea.
I found this website last year to be very helpful: http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15#Orphan
Best of luck to you!
Rachel from Philadelphia
Saying prayers for the kitten. You are so awesome!
Yay for the Little Gray Kitten, Dr. Jim, your husband, and, last but not least, you! I’ve found a Dr. Jim here in Southern California, and he’s meant all the difference to my fur baby Sofia, who was diagnosed by my earlier vet with a life-threatening condition requiring super expensive treatment. Dr. Mabley — my Dr. Jim — shook his head at all that, and now Sofia is doing swimmingly! I have one question, though: After all this, are you going to be able to let LGK go?
Yay for Dr Jim! And yay for you!
Would volunteer to adopt but a) just recently made my own rescue of 2 kittens and b) live more than 1000 miles from you!
Good luck to Little Gray Kitten.
God bless you, Dr. Jim.
I would not have pegged you for a Vera Bradley owner.
It was a gift