This diary is in part mourning for a young kitten that didn't have to die, in part a tribute to my children, and in part a rant at someone cruel enough to cause his death, from neglect. For the kitten's view, please read my daughter's story about Euclid and Euripides. There's a couple of later entries in her journal as well, from her perspective. Warning, if you are sentimental, reading that story and the aftermath may be too much for you.
We went to a local park on Sunday for the annual joint parish picnic with another Episcopal church this past Sunday. While the musicians were setting up, a small, gray and black patterned kitten strolled out of the woods and started begging. A young man from our church tried to pick him up without making friends first, and got a swipe of the kitten's claws for his trouble. My son also approached the kitten, reached out a hand to get sniffed first, and after a while, the kitten ws curling up against his hand. My son shoed away the younger kids, and kept the kitten company throughout the service. He was a Bengal mix, with black and gray oval to square rings on both sides. My son named him Euclid, for the geometry of his fur.
Once the food was served, my youngest daughter brought over a piece of chicken, stripped it off of the bone and gave it to the kitten. he took it a few feet away, took a bite or two, then gave out a lowd "mew". Another gray and black Bengal mix bounded out of the woods to share in the feast. he had less distictive markings, but the longest, fluffiest tail we had ever seen - in spite of the dirt. We thought of Eurydyce as a name, but when we discovered he too was a boy, he got named Euripedes, to keep with the Greek theme.
We concluded that both of them were feral, or abandoned, and both were too skinny and malnourished to have a long life. My family members are "pootie people" and currently have an eight-year old stray we adopted, but we were not planning on adopting again. We decided to take the kittens and send them off to a no kill shelter. So we captured them, loaded them into some boxes and took them home, where we dropped off my wife and disabled daughter. Then my son and youngest daughter and I headed off.
Problem. The local chapter of SICSA doesn't accept stray kittens. The Humane Society dwouldn't open until Tuesday. The county animal shelter wouldn't open until Monday, and advertizes that stray cats would only be helf from 0 to 3 days before a decision to euthanize them was made. So the kittens were taken home, placed in a downstairs room with food, water and a litter box. They cuddled up with us, purred up a storm and cuddled with each other. They were obviously littermates, and very devoted to each other. That or a committed gay couple, but they were too young to know what their boy equipment was used for.
Through Monday and Tuesday, both responded well to cuddles and petting, and both made up for lost time eating and drinking. Even though we papered the room with newspapers to save on 'accidents", they used the litter box right from the start. We concluded that they must have been raised by a mother, taught to use the litter box and to trust people, and then got abandoned in the park by the previous "owner". Euripedes kept trying to escape and explore the rest of the house, but Euclid was content to curl up on a sofa, and wait for one of us to come down, cuddle him and let him curl up in our laps.
Yesterday afternoon, my daughter heard piteous mewing. She went into the room where the kittens were living and found Euclid in distress. My wife called our vet, and was told to go to the emergency veterinarian hospital. My son drove my daughter and the kitten down. By that time, his breath stank of decay. The vet concluded he had eaten something toxic or rotten before we found him, and he was in end-stage renal failure. he said hat treatment would cost $700 to $1,000, and the prognosis was still very poor. My children made the decision to let him go, and both of them stroked and cuddle him while the euthanasia drugs were administered. The vet let them take his body home. We buried him last night in our back yard, near three other strays we had adopted as kittens who each lived for over seventeen years.
Euripedes is till in the basement room, lest he has a disease that might affect our older cat. We still spend as much time as we can with him, hoping that our attention will distract him from the fact that last night, he couldn't sleep curled up with his brother for the first time. We're taking him to our vet tomorrow.
As sad as we are about losing this little kitten, I'm eqully proud of my children, and the fine young adults they have become. They were moved to pity by the plight of a couple of tiny kittens. They couldn't let them stay behind at the park. And they loved the kitten enough to let him go, and to comfort him as he died, and shed tears at his funeral, as my wife and I did as well. Euclid, is three days in our family enough to admit you to the Rainbow Bridge?
As for the person who abandoned them in the park, maybe hoping that someone else would take care of your problem, what were you thinking. You have a female cat who gave birth. Please have her spayed, so that this tragedy doesn't repeat itself. You dropped off two adorable kittens and got rid of your problem. We can't really afford the vet bills for two kittens, but because my children are more compassionate than you are, my daughter paid for an emergency veterinarian visit, IVs while the evaluated the kitten, and the euthanasia drugs. Tomorrow, we will pay for the vet visit for his brother. By your lack of compassion, you transferreed the costs to us. We are paying for your indifference.
Rest in peace Euclid. And Euripedes, you have a home with us.