Hello kittens... and goodbye Tacoma

The kittens were 3-weeks old yesterday. These are the "V" kittens although I think Jill and Dan are waiting a bit to name them. They are doing well and their foster mom posted new pictures of them on her Facebook page. I saw the pictures today and they made me smile.

The pictures made me realize this "rescue stuff" is worth it even on the worst days -- with today and tomorrow being horrible days.

We took Tacoma, a 7-month old kitten, to one of our vets to have a full blood panel done. Tacoma is one of only two siblings remaining from a litter we rescued from a car repair shop this summer. Each of those kittens died soon after we got them and the necropsy results were inconclusive. Tacoma and Tanner were doing great (Tanner still is doing great, but we're getting full blood workup to be safe), but Tacoma just started rapidly losing weight. Tacoma's bloodwork shows renal disease among a list of other major health issues which are highly unusual in a young kitten. Our vet said it's possible it's heredity or congenital that's just now manifesting. After speaking with the vet, we've decided it's time to help Tacoma cross the rainbow bridge. It is unlikely we can save her even with aggressive medical treatment and part of rescue is knowing when it's time to let them go -- because it's the most humane thing to do for Tacoma. I'm sorry Tacoma, I wish we could do more. But you will be free from suffering and will soon be chasing mice in kitty heaven. We love you little Tacoma, rest in peace my sweet baby.