Four days ago, Turner started acting off. He was vomiting and straining when he used the litter pan and he just looked off-kilter. I took his temp, it was 103.8 so I whisked him off to isolation. He refused to eat, became dehydrated and so I stared assist feeding him and giving him supportive fluids. Alcohol rubs didn’t diminish the fever and it held at 103 for several days. Antibiotics failed to work-and a shot of penicillian caused the fever to esculate to 105.8. He started pooping pure blood early this morning and began to slip away in earnest not soon after.

I called my feline specialist and although she had told me that she wanted to give him 48 hours after the last shot he recieved, when I told her the other symptoms; vomiting bile and pooping blood, she agreed with me it was time. When I asked her if this was distemper- she replied that she was afraid it was worse than distemper. My thought when she said this- How can anything be worse than distemper?”

She met Mike and the truck, took the carrier and the kitty and her husband returned minutes later with an empty carrier. Mike was instructed to tell me to sterilize the room completely, throw away anything that the kitty had laid on and keep all cats out of the room for a long while.

I am so heartsick for Turner. He was in such pain that the minute I walked into the room, he would start to purr. Mike said when he took him and put him in the carrier, he was as limp as a wet noodle (I was at work when all this went down.) It was clearly over for him. I feel like a kitty serial killer.

I am shutting it down completely and honestly, if I ran into that other kitten rescuer right now, I think I would pound her into sand.