Perm shelter fights for abandoned kittens
The kittens are undergoing treatment, after which the search for adoptive homes will begin.
In mid-September, a box with five kittens was left outside the Schastlivy Khvostik Animal Aid Center («Schastlivy Khvostik», “Happy Little Tail”) in Perm . The little ones, suffering from an infection, were no more than a month old. Although the shelter specializes in helping homeless dogs, the kittens were not left without assistance. Their curator at the shelter, Sofya Shmakova, told 59.RU what is happening with the whiskered-and-tailed ones now and whether new owners have been found.
It turned out the kittens tested positive for panleukopenia (this viral disease is often called distemper in colloquial speech). One of the babies — Teddy — could not overcome the illness and died.
«We hovered over the others at night, running IV drips until five in the morning. We waited desperately for a spot at the vet clinic, went without sleep for days, and force-fed the kittens, — said Sofya Shmakova. — Sima was also at death’s door; we were even advised to put her to sleep, but we chose to fight. In less than a day we obtained a cancer drug that boosts leukocytes, which is almost unavailable anywhere in Russia, in another city 15 thousand kilometers away. The next day a spot opened in the intensive care ward at Chigayeva Clinic — we admitted Sima there.»
Sima’s condition remained consistently poor, and specialists offered no comforting forecasts. Then another kitten, Vodoley, suddenly took a turn for the worse and had to be taken to the same veterinary clinic to join Sima.
«Vodoley has stabilized; I’m bringing him home, — clarified Sofya Shmakova. — And we just got a call about Sima: her numbers have improved. She even ate on her own after five days of forced feeding. There’s a strong chance she can be discharged from the ward soon.»
Before the brother and sister’s illness sharply worsened, one of the kittens — Pauchok — had already been placed with a family. He received a course of antibiotics in his new home. Pauchok is feeling well now, as is his sister Dana, who is living with the second curator.
Pauchok was the first to move into a new home.
«They all switch on their purring engines at a touch. Playful and people-oriented, — is how Sofya Shmakova described the fluffy little ones. — We’ve been messaged about many of the kittens [potential new owners]. People wrote about Teddy on the day he died. They asked about Sima. But for now we can’t place the kittens: the remaining ones need to stabilize fully (so there aren’t situations like with kittens being sold in an underpass. — Editor’s note).»
As soon as the kittens complete treatment, the search for new homes will resume.
More than 60 thousand rubles (over $600) has been transferred to Schastlivy Khvostik for the kittens’ recovery, Sofya Shmakova said. For example, her classmate’s mother paid for that rare drug for Sima and also sent additional funds. An anonymous benefactor contributed 30 thousand rubles ($300). But treatment is ongoing, and a day in the inpatient ward, even with a discount, costs 14.8 thousand rubles ($148). Therefore, funds are still needed. How to help the kittens can be found in the post by Schastlivy Khvostik on VKontakte (VK).
Earlier we reported on pensioners from Prikamye (Perm Krai, Russia) who adopted a puppy resembling their deceased pet.
