A Waste of a Purrfectly Good Purr

By Linda Spurlin

This morning my grown daughter dug a grave for one of my foster kitties. Such a sweet and loving cat; although formerly neglected and underfed, he had taken quickly to the idea of a loving home where food was plentiful. He had upper respiratory infections aplenty, goopy eyes that alternately drained or sealed shut. He was a real featherweight. But in between meals and medications, he purred. He snuggled into me and gave contented sighs, happy to finally be safe and warm, well fed and loved.

Here in modern day America, where almost every town seems to have a vet or two, this poor creature had never known the most basic of care. All he would have needed would have been a couple of vaccinations to protect him from the illness that finally claimed his life. Unfortunately, by the time he and many others like him, came to live with us, his disease had already taken up residence in his young body. The all too late vaccinations, dewormings, antibiotics, eye drops, and neutering may not have saved his life, but I like to think that at least his last months were happier and more comfortable.

Towards the end, he wouldn’t eat or drink. When cats can hardly breathe, they cannot smell their food to recognize it as such. So I made his last days more miserable by forcing nutrition down him with a syringe. He didn’t appreciate my last ditch efforts, but he purred between doses of sugar water and chicken soup. What a brave little creature. When I held him for the final injection that would send him on his way to kitty heaven where he would both see and smell his food again and chase mice on legs that would no longer fail him, I thought again of what a waste this loss of furry life was. Simple vaccinations that any vet could have administered, or any feed store could have sold his previous owners to administer themselves, would have kept him safe. He could be purring still, had anyone before me cared enough to show concern about his future. But they didn’t, and now his purr is forever silenced.

Please spay or neuter your pets. If you do allow your pets to breed, please be responsible enough to vaccinate them and give them food, water, and shelter. We humans are the only animals able to drive somewhere to get our own food and medical care. Please use that ability to help those that cannot help themselves. To foster, adopt, or sponsor a homeless pet, contact the Colville Pet Refuge (509) 732-4126, Becky’s Best Buddies (509) 935-6635, or Stevens County Cat Care at (509) 935-MEOW.