Life and Death

Yesterday we had to put one of our new kittens, Severus Snape, to sleep.

The litter came from a stray, Hermione. She showed up on our deck already three weeks pregnant. We couldn't turn her away, even though we already had enough pets. A little over four weeks ago, she had four kittens and all were apparently healthy. Hermione was dumped (I'm sure) but at least she was well socialized. She bonded with us so well that she gave birth on Dave's lap!

All the kittens were healthy, so we thought. We named them all after Harry Potter characters. Hugo was a little delayed in walking, and Lily had a little eye infection, but those have been working out fine. Rose was first to do everything. Snape was the runt of the litter, but appeared to be okay.

All were doing so well and thriving. That is, they were doing well till Sunday night. Snape was breathing very heavy and looked exhausted, just out of no where. He was panting, but he did eat a little and nursed. I was hoping it was something simple. Animals only get sick in my house on weekends for some reason. By Monday morning he was completely lethargic and cried when he moved or when touched.

After calling a few vets (none were open that early in the morning), Athens Animal Clinic took him in. By the time we got there, he was already near death. He was cold and just laying there. The vet said his heart sounded like he had a congenital heart defect and it just caught up with him. His heart couldn't support his growing body anymore. We put him down and took him home and buried him next to Sweet Pea and Quaba.

The girls were really good about it. They were sad, but they understood why we had to put him down. We did all we could. While he was here, we gave him a great life. He was played with, loved on, cuddled and snuggled. He learned to use the litter box and was able to eat solid food. Even though he was young, he had a good life for a kitten.

The girls learned a lot these 24 hours. Not everything learned in life is academic.