Tonight's Adventure
Bo took Beans out for her nighttime walk around 9:30. While walking down our street, Beans noticed something and expressed interest.
That something was a kitten, laying on the ground next to a tree and clearly in trouble of some sort.
He came back to the house and got me; I had a look at the kitten and we decided we couldn't just leave her there. So, we took the dog back home, grabbed a towel, picked the kitten up and drove to the emergency vet.
The kitten was dirty and skinny. She's a light orange tabby with white patches. She had stitches in her belly, clearly from a recent spaying, but no collar. She was shaking and doing this weird thing with her front leg. We thought for sure she was hurt in some way: hit by a car, or attacked by a dog or alley cat. She didn't seem to be able to move. That said, there was no blood or anything on her.
We got her to the emergency vet clinic. They took her temperature and it was so low it was below what would register on the thermometer. They concluded she was not injured - she was just hypothermic and also probably had very low blood sugar from lack of food.
She's now staying overnight in an incubator, getting warm fluids and Caro syrup and whatever other things she needs. We just got home and took the dog out to finish her abbreviated walk and put up signs in the neighborhood. She must belong to someone but was not microchipped so we have no idea where she came from.
As we were leaving, we were allowed in back to see her. She was no longer shaking and her temp was up to 98.4. However, when you lifted her up her head just hung limp like a rag doll. The vet was concerned about this - it could be that she's just too weak or low on potassium. Or it could mean she got into something toxic while trying to find food. She was also still very dehydrated.
Anyway, we're not sure what happens next: if she'll survive, if we'll find her owners, what we'll do if we don't.
The emergency vet won't be cheap - $450-$650, it looks like. And she may need further daytime care at a regular vet tomorrow morning. But we couldn't just have left her there, could we?
That something was a kitten, laying on the ground next to a tree and clearly in trouble of some sort.
He came back to the house and got me; I had a look at the kitten and we decided we couldn't just leave her there. So, we took the dog back home, grabbed a towel, picked the kitten up and drove to the emergency vet.
The kitten was dirty and skinny. She's a light orange tabby with white patches. She had stitches in her belly, clearly from a recent spaying, but no collar. She was shaking and doing this weird thing with her front leg. We thought for sure she was hurt in some way: hit by a car, or attacked by a dog or alley cat. She didn't seem to be able to move. That said, there was no blood or anything on her.
We got her to the emergency vet clinic. They took her temperature and it was so low it was below what would register on the thermometer. They concluded she was not injured - she was just hypothermic and also probably had very low blood sugar from lack of food.
She's now staying overnight in an incubator, getting warm fluids and Caro syrup and whatever other things she needs. We just got home and took the dog out to finish her abbreviated walk and put up signs in the neighborhood. She must belong to someone but was not microchipped so we have no idea where she came from.
As we were leaving, we were allowed in back to see her. She was no longer shaking and her temp was up to 98.4. However, when you lifted her up her head just hung limp like a rag doll. The vet was concerned about this - it could be that she's just too weak or low on potassium. Or it could mean she got into something toxic while trying to find food. She was also still very dehydrated.
Anyway, we're not sure what happens next: if she'll survive, if we'll find her owners, what we'll do if we don't.
The emergency vet won't be cheap - $450-$650, it looks like. And she may need further daytime care at a regular vet tomorrow morning. But we couldn't just have left her there, could we?