LICORICE & GUMDROP

LICORICE & GUMDROP

8 July 2001 - A stray cat was lurking around my bird feeder but appeared to tired to even catch a bird. Took her to the vet a few days after arrival. She is barely more than a kitten herself - guestimation of 14/18 months old & may be pregnant. She has already had one litter of kittens - the doctor could tell by the size of her breasts/nipples. The pregnancy exam wasn't conclusive - only time will tell. There is a bone protrusion on her right front leg. The doctor said it might be a birth defect but more than likely she was hit by something & her broken leg healed improperly. She has worms & ear mites & a bare spot with a scab in the middle of it on the right side of her face from some kind of injury & another bare spot below her left eye next to her nose & another large scratch below her right ear. Plus last night I found two buckshot pellets in her left hind leg. They've been there for awhile as there is no open wound - it's all healed over. And she is sooooo thin - 2 pounds underweight - not only can you count her ribs & every knot in her spine but her little hip bones really stick out a lot. Doc would like to see her up to 9 pounds. We named her Licorice because of her black color & because she is soooooo sweet & affectionate.

Sun., 22 July - Licorice gave birth to one tiny kitten today!

23 July - Took Licorice & kitten to vet & doc says the new born kitten looks premature.

24 July - So far the kitten is doing ok. Licorice is a very good mommie. We decided to name the kitten Gumdrop. We got a digital postal scale from Office Max & he weighed in at 3 ounces this afternoon & 3.2oz. tonight. We think/hope it's a he (not sure yet) then that way Gene wouldn't be the only male in the house!

Gumdrop.jpg (15580 bytes)

29 July - Haven't been on the computer for a few days. Have been very busy taking care of our "grandbaby". Feedings every 3 hours round-the-clock. After struggling we would manage to get some forumla down him ( yes, he is definitely a "he") each time but not nearly enough as he is an obstinate little thing & just did not want to eat from a bottle or syringe. He only wanted his mommie. His mother, Licorice, wasn't able to produce very much milk from the start & she finally just dried up. So we started making phone calls to vets & animal shelters to locate someone who could bottle feed him better than we could. A local vet was already caring for 4 orphaned kittens who aren't much bigger than he is so she agreed to take him. When we took him to her she managed to get 2 whole cc's of formula down him & got him to go pee-pee. She put him in the box with the other kittens & they immediately accepted him into their group. When we left Gumdrop was snoozing contentedly draped across one of his foster brothers & his other foster brothers (yes they are all males) were draped over him napping peacefully away! Dr. Lawson called last night & said so far Gumdrop is doing just fine. So please continue the kitty prayers for our precious little Gumdrop so we can eventually bring him back home healthy & happy.

30 July - Took Licorice to the vet for the remainder of her shots. She still had some ear mites so got her ears washed & treated. Plus she has developed mastitus in one of her breasts & we will be giving her antibiotics for that twice a day & put warm compresses on it. Also got her wormed. She's gained over a pound from when she was first weighed. The first time at Farmington she weighed 7 pounds & today at Dr. Lawson's she weighed 8.2 Now that her worms are treated maybe she will gain even more. We also visited little Gumdrop & his foster brothers while we were there. I was hoping to see that he had made some progress but he hasn't grown any & still weighed 3.8 the same as when we took him there 2 days ago. But she says he is eating good & pottying. He is starting to get his eyes open. The other kittens are doing ok & she has been caring for them longer than Gumdrop so we are still hoping that he will snap out of it & start gaining weight & growing. Being the monumental worry-wart that I am though I am still very concerned about him so please continue the kitty prayers for him & all kittens everywhere. Thanks

31 July - At right is a picture of Gumdrop & his foster brothers. Gumdrop is the tiny one with the bald-looking spot on his head in the left middle of the picture.

1 Aug - visited Gumdrop again today at the vet's office but didn't get to hold him. All the kittens were in a cluster sound asleep & we didn't want to disturb them.

2 Aug - Gumdrop died this morning. We are devastated.

To our friends & acquaintances: All of your thoughts & prayers & support during the brief life of our precious little Gumdrop really means a lot to us. And thank you to everyone who sent their condolences upon his death. We miss him & will always remember our little Gumdrop.

We thought of Gumdrop as our adorable little grandbaby. Even though he was only with us for a brief time we loved him dearly. And we were thinking about when we could bring him home again - strong & healthy, & then pamper him & spoil him. Instead, we brought him home & buried him in our pet cemetery.

As long as I live I will never understand why things like this have to happen. He was so tiny, innocent & helpless. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be but that doesn’t make the pain any less. And the guilt that often accompanies a loss of this kind – maybe if I would have done this or that differently……………..

THE RAINBOW BRIDGE - - I would like to think that this is where Gumdrop is now - happy, frolicking & playing with our other beloved past pets while they wait for our arrival.