Wednesday, May 8, 2013

A heartbreaking loss

Yesterday morning I noticed that River's left eye was a cloudy reddish color and her pupil was at pinpoint dilation whereas her right eye was open wide. After a frantic call to the Humane Society, I took her down to visit the vet. By the time I got there, her eye was looking a bit better. The vet diagnosed her with an inner eye infection and sent me home with eye drops for her. They also administered a vaccine she was due for. Back home she went.

She seemed quite subdued in the afternoon, but I've had cats respond to vaccines with sleepiness before. However, by the evening she was breathing rapidly. I called the Cat Program Manager and spoke to her. She said that several kittens had responded unusually to a vaccine, but usually perked up after 12 hours or so. I put on the humidifier for River and hung out with her for a while.

By 9:30, her respiration was very labored (72-84 breaths per minute). I phoned Juli again, and she said she would call the vet for more advice. I was extremely nervous; the last time I had seen this kind of respiration was when Tag died. Juli finally got back to me and said the vet said hang tight, and if she was the same or worse in the morning to bring her in.

When I awoke at 6am, she was gone.

RIP River Serenity. For your short life you were loved and cherished. Feb 18th, 2013 - May 7th, 2013.

1 comment:

  1. Never easy to see a youngster pass. I was worried about Virago when she had her paw problem.

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