A new family member

Thursday morning I receive a random text:



As far as I know Mike is at work. I reply, "Where are you?", he responds, "At work." I respond back, "Where is that picture from?" Mike goes on to explain that he found a kitten at the gas station next to his work cowering in fear under a cement barricade. Being the animal lover that he is, he went back to his office, grabbed his sandwich and coerced Kitty out of her hiding spot. As luck would have it Mike's coworker had borrowed Kira's cat carrier a few weeks ago and still had it in her car. This would be Kitty's home for the afternoon.

Mike and I chatted throughout the afternoon trying to decide what to do. We made some calls to a few no kill shelters without much luck. Mike headed out of work early to take Kitty to our vet. On the way Kitty did not look good, she was laying on her face, not moving. Mike panicked. When he got to the vet he ran in with Kitty, they immediately rushed her into the back and administered fluids. Mike waited nervously, as I received text updates, while the vet worked on Kitty. About 30 minutes later we had an update, "Much longer and Kitty would not have made it." Weighing a measly 1.3 lbs she was severely dehydrated and malnourished. The vet estimated she was about 6 weeks old.

With her condition stabilized for the time being, the vet put together a treatment plan to get Kitty healthy. Mike and I knew we wanted to help Kitty, who was now Purrl, but we weren't sure how. See, we already have 3 pets of our own, 2 dogs and a cat. Mike decided to take Kitty to PAWS, a no kill shelter in Chicago, along with her recommended treatment plan. PAWS rehabilitates strays and abandoned animals and helps adopt them into good homes. When Mike arrived, PAWS could not take Purrl, they were too full and told Mike of some other shelters. They also said that because the shelters are overloaded right now, Purrl would probably be put down because she is sick.

That made our decision very easy. Mike headed back up to our vet to begin Purrl's treatment. Poor little girl was poked and prodded for hours. Afterwards, the vet asked Mike if he would like to hospitalize her or take her home. At this point, costs were really weighing in, so with a 40% survival rate, Purrl came home.

In the meantime, I was out buying Purrl a bed, litter box, toys and food to help her feel safe and comfortable in her new home. Due to her having a respiratory virus, the vet said she must be quarantined for 10 days at least, 30 to be safe. I set up her new digs in our spare bedroom and distracted Dixie, Finn and Kira while Mike snuck her in.

So here we are, day 5. We had a rough couple of moments and a few scares but Purrl seems to be coming around! The others know something is up in that back room, but they are unsure of what. Dixie is especially suspicious because Purrl's room used to be hers and she is now sleeping in the living room.

We are hoping to find Purrl a good home eventually(maybe). For now, we are just so glad we were able to help little Purrl.

Here are some pictures of her journey.