Last time I wrote, a little more than a week ago, Lila had just turned the corner after a week of more of heavy nursing and supportive care. She's a tough little cookie, and still doing well thankfully.
But this last Saturday things got pretty difficult. One of my favorite kittens, Biscuit, had not been well for a few days, and on Saturday he looked truly awful, so we went to the emergency vet. (Thankfully a new one opened up just about 10 minutes from my house, a real blessing.) Sadly, Biscuit was diagnosed with panleukopenia, a deadly visit for kittens especially who haven't been fully vaccinated yet. We had to euthanize the poor sweet little kitten as he was much too far gone. Panleuk hits quickly and hard, and is very often fatal. Poor Biscuit never had a chance, and I hope if he really does have nine lives that the next one is better. RIP sweet boy.
Panleuk is also very contagious, and by later Saturday evening Pearl was looking pretty awful as well. Back to emergency we went, and she was admitted to the hospital. Her fever was over 105, and she was vomiting, with diarrhea, not eating, and in pretty poor shape. Her blood work was absolutely devastating. One of our fosters, a retired vet, and now our medical manager for the fosters, looked at the report. She can always see the positive in things, but all she had to says was that it really wasn't at all good.
If you're not familiar with Panleuk think Parvo (which dogs get) for cats. If you catch it very early and provide a whole sh*t load of supportive care, you might get through it...maybe.
Got home from the ER about 11 Saturday night, slept a little, and by the morning Spot wasn't looking good either. The vet from the ER called about 7 to tell me about Pearl's blood work, and with Spot looking just as bad, suggested I bring him up too. He, too, had a fever above 105. (Normal for cats, at the top end, is 102.5.) Spot, however, wouldn't tolerate being hospitalized, and turned wild there, with the little energy he had, so they suggested I take him home and provide much the same supportive care that Pearl was getting: lots of sub Q fluids, force feedings, two antibiotics. The antibiotics don't do squat for the virus but they help the cat ward off opportunistic infections when they're already down. Spot's blood work was a mirror image of Pearl's.
And then there was the problem Saturday of trying to contain the contagion, with a virus that is notoriously hard to kill. The ferret cages all got cleaned and sanitized and Jill, Lila, and Goose each got their own cage, their own litter box with individual scoops since Panleuk is spread in fecal matter. And protective clothing is worn for each cage, so constant changes of gown and gloves while cleaning, feeding, etc. for each cage. The three kittens (Boots, Pearl and Spot) had already been in one ferret cage for two weeks, and there was no point in separating them now.
Lots of stuff from the cat room was thrown out. Any linens with poop went right in the garbage. Other linens got washed with Clorox. Food dishes were sanitized, and so much else. Saturday was a cleaning frenzy, with not a moment to mourn poor Biscuit. There is a lot more to do to sanitize the room as a whole, and in truth from all I've learned from others, it probably can't hold foster kittens for nine months to a year, so I will truly be getting a break from fostering after these kittens have gone to their homes.
Sunday and Monday were very difficult, though Pearl came home Monday morning looking much better for her hospitalization, and her blood work was much improved, much to our surprise. Spot has recovered more slowly since he wasn't getting IV fluids and the things Pearl got in the hospital, but today (Tuesday) he finally started eating on his own, and is looking much brighter. Boots' bloodwork was good throughout - he hasn't come down with it yet, but was put on the antibiotics like his siblings to help prevent that. These three had only had their first vaccine a few days before Biscuit showed signs of illness (he was probably sick when he arrived and just didn't show it for a little bit), so they really had no way to fight the virus.
The other three kittens in the room had had their first vaccines a few weeks before and now they've all had their second distemper shot as well, which gives them some protection. I'm hoping no one contracts this, but we need to just keep doing what we're doing for a couple weeks and keep our paws crossed.
From nearly losing Lila, and then actually losing Biscuit, and not being at all sure we weren't going to lose Pearl and Spot, it has been a really tough road lately. I'm exhausted, but glad that 3/4 of the kittens seem to be doing well now. I'm still learning lots about this miserable virus, and I'm not sure when we can declare this stint with it over, but it is probably still a week or two away. The kittens aren't happy being caged individually - the three of them - and I feel very badly for them, but it is better than potentially sharing the virus. I'll provide what comfort I can in the meantime. Our medical manager and the other fosters have been incredibly helpful and supportive during this time, and I'm very grateful.
The foster room will need a few very deep cleanings and no kittens in attendance for quite awhile when these ones depart for their homes. The room needs new walls and paint anyway, so we'll take the opportunity over the winter to do that. We may switch Ember over when it is clean so that she has a bigger room, and then use her smaller bedroom for fosters starting maybe next spring or so. With all the work I do a one of the program coordinators I need to reduce my foster load significantly, and having only a smaller room at my disposal - one that hasn't had a panleuk infection in it - will help keep me in check.
That's my story of the last crazy week or two. Here's hoping that the upcoming weeks are calmer, and that no one else succumbs to this miserable virus.
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