conuly

So here it is for youse guys:

Several years running, I've been taking care of kittens, mostly from strays or near strays. Some of them were abandoned, some of them died, it's not pretty. Note one, fix your pets. Critical. I should've done that myself, but I didn't, and it was wrong.

Kittens die. Kittens get abandoned by mothers who were never socialized properly, or who have their babies too young, or who just aren't good mothers. I actually lost quite a few kittens to chronic respiriatory infections... I just found out recently that the cats in this neighborhood have a tendancy to congenital deformities of the respiratory tract. I should've suspected that sooner, of course, as many of the cats I raised have had trouble speaking (very high pitched voice, scratchy) and constant respiratory problems. Note two, definitely get your pet fixed if there's a genetic problem or if they already abandoned one litter.

However, the big killer of kittens is FLEAS. Fleas. Kill. Your kitten has fleas, your kitten promptly becomes anemic because the fleas drink blood (iron). Fleas carry tapeworm eggs. Fleas cause your kitten to scratch, causing infections. Fleas can carry the plague. Most commonly, though, fleas cause anemia. Fleas. Kill.

I know people think fleas, not a big deal, just an annoyance. That is a myth. Fleas are, in fact, deadly. I'm at the point where if I find a kitten (I don't go looking anymore, I really can't take care of them properly right now) the first thing I do is check the gums. Half the time, the gums are white. And white gums mean fleas.

So. Just to summarize: Fix your cat, and remember that fleas kill.

This has been a public service announcement.