Midgey Small and Mighty PSS

08/26/2022

In the weeks that followed momma cat's untimely death, we learned that she had an enlarged heart but otherwise, it was not clear what happened to her. We had to move forward with placing the babies in their new homes. We thought the sister, Luisa, would go first. She was destined to be a lap cat for a newly retired couple. But fate intervened. They decided not to adopt her 😿 We started searching for a new home for her while arranging delivery of the two boys to their forever home. At least that was working out. It was scary having to take them to be neutered, knowing what happened to momma, but their family was anxiously waiting for them. So they were neutered and did amazingly well! What a relief!! Their new home was ready. We delivered them and it was a match made in heaven for them!! They had another kitty there to look after them and a family who loved them. It was a bit sad for us to see them go. But it also made us happy knowing how much love they would be getting there. Hopefully soon, it would be Luisa's turn. We had some interest. We needed to see who might want her. Later that week, our efforts got put on hold when Midgey lapsed into a significant episode of drooling and lethargy. Since she was worse than we'd ever seen her, we made the decision to take her to the emergency vet. We were so worried about her. After many long hours in emergency, we were asked to leave her overnight for monitoring. We were told we would get a call in the morning with some test results. So we came home without our little baby, which is never easy to do. Early the next morning, we got the call from the vet. She would need further testing to confirm, but they believed Midgey had a malformed liver, likely congenital. They called it a Porto-Systemic Shunt. We would need to see a specialist but the condition overall is not common in cats. It is typically something that is medically managed with a poor prognosis. At best, they gave her maybe two years. Our little baby was in bad shape and we were being told there wasn't much we could do. We got out of bed and went to get her and bring her home. We had no idea how long she would survive. Or how we were going to get through it. That day changed our lives forever.

08/07/2022

We made arrangements to get momma cat spayed. The nice lady from the rescue came to help get her out from under the bed. It wasn't easy because momma was scared but we were able to do it and she seemed okay in the roomy carrier. She would need to be in there for at least the next 24-36 hours to prepare for, and then recover from, her surgery so we wanted to make sure she had room to be comfortable. A new life was coming for her! We decided to let her have a peaceful night alone in her room and kept her babies with us. I spoke to the lady who was going to be adopting Midgey's brothers. It was wonderful to know that they were going to their new home together! Their new family couldn't wait to get them! It would be just a few more weeks for them to be treated for their diarrhea and then to be neutered. Everyone was excited about their impending adoption. Early the next morning momma went off to the vet for her procedure. Little Midgey seemed to be drooling a lot so I called our local vet to see if they could see her. I took Midgey's sister, Luisa, with me so that they could see the difference in size and look at them to be sure they seemed healthy. Plus, they had all developed a little diarrhea after being wormed so we wanted to make sure they were okay. Everything seemed to be good. The vet felt the excessive drooling was due to her teething. I questioned that none of the other kittens were doing it but they are all different so I was told not to worry. We came home with metronidazole to treat the diarrhea for the four of them and waited for word on momma. I grew anxious all day wondering how I would manage her post-op if she wouldn't let me touch her? I didn't want her to be afraid of me. I wanted her to know I wasn't going to harm her and that I was there to help her. We had planned to keep the little ones in our room again that night so that momma could rest and sleep off the anesthesia. It was getting late. I figured the lady from the rescue must have gotten hung up. Then the phone rang. Momma cat wasn't coming home. She didn't survive the procedure. Wait! What happened? I was devastated! I was on the phone with the nice lady from the rescue and we were both in tears 😿😿 How could this happen? We didn't know. The anesthesia may have been too much for her, she said. They were going to run some tests to see if it might be something that could harm the littles so we needed to know. At that moment, I had to step up and be a momma. Those babes needed someone looking out for them. They were never going to see their momma again. It was a very sad day for us. And we had no idea what was still to come.

07/28/2022

Here are some pics of Midgey from those early days when she first came to stay at our house. The last one is with her and her three siblings. 🥰🥰

07/28/2022

This little family kept us busy! Momma cat was so small so we started mixing KMR with canned kitten food to help supplement her milk. We couldn't tell how much she was eating since she hid from us all the time but with four little ones, we feared it wasn't enough. Little Midgey was the runt. Very small at half the weight of her siblings. She got attached to me right away. Every time I entered the room to check on them, she would run up my leg to be with me. I knew I didn't want another female cat so hoped she would grow out of this phase. I started staying in the room to watch the littles interact with momma. She would come out from under the bed, not realizing I was sitting on it. She would move cautiously once she saw me but never hissing or growling. She knew I was looking out for her babies and I think she appreciated it. We quickly developed a routine in which I would enter the room with food to find her waiting with the littles to eat. If I tried to approach, she would crawl back under the bed. So I stood by and watched them gobble down the food. I also noted that, after eating, three little kittens would go to momma cat for a clean-up. Little Midgey always came to me. I wondered if Midgey was really part of that litter? When the rescues were removing these cat families from the hoarding house, did they grab an extra kitten? The nice lady from the rescue wondered the same thing. Did she really belong to this family? Their features were all similar. She was just so tiny. But momma cat was small herself so maybe Midgey was destined to be a little cat? We kept up on our feeding and kept watching them grow. We had to get some weight on them so they could be weaned and we could get momma spayed. Momma was going to have a good life with no more babies to worry about. We were so close. Only a week or two to go!

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07/22/2022

Midgey and her family settled in well. We had them set up in a spare bedroom where they could decompress and have a normal life. The babies were only three or four weeks old. Momma cat looked to be no more than a babe herself. But she was elusive and skittish. She hid from us. She was afraid to come out from under the bed. Not aggressive but rather scared, like she didn't know human interaction. This is one of the few photos I managed to take of her. The nice lady from the rescue said that this little cat family, along with several others, was pulled from a hoarding situation. They came from a house that had taken on a number of cats who were not receiving proper vet care. These cats started breeding with one another, having kittens, and then breeding some more. The situation quickly spiraled out of control. I was glad the rescue could pull some of the families and get them to safety where they could be vaccinated and altered to prevent more offspring. The environment from which this family originated played a vital roll in their lives. We just didn't know it at the time.

07/16/2022

Midgey and her family came to us on that fateful day in January 2022. I had been working from home for nearly two years and kept seeing desperate posts from local rescues needing help. Fostering. Did I want to do that? I had taken the plunge once before, years ago, and still have my beautiful and senior queen, Cleo! Did I want to try again? I wasn't sure. But I made a spur of the moment decision and reached out to the rescue. Within hours, the cutest little family had been delivered to us. In the spare bedroom they went and I stayed with them to be sure they felt welcomed. We already had four "lions" in our midst who were living their best lives so I knew I didn't really want to add to our crew. And certainly not another female since our Cleo and Lucy only "tolerated" each other. So I told myself, at best, I'd keep one of the little boys but only if we weren't able to find him a home. Period. Little did we know that the delivery of that little family on January 25 would change our lives forever.

07/14/2022

Hello everyone! This page was set up to help tell the story of Midgey. Midgey is a little kitty baby who was born with a congenital condition called a Porto-Systemic Shunt. When she was in the womb, her liver wasn't formed properly so her little body is unable to filter toxins from her blood. As a result, the toxins slowly attack her brain and other organs. I'm using this forum in the hopes that others will see her page and help to provide information and support for her condition. There is not much known about this condition. While very common in dogs, cats born with this condition are less fortunate. They have lower survival rates and don't usually live for very long. We are committed to providing Midgey with everything she needs for a good life! We hope everyone joins us on her journey and that through sharing we may find other ways to improve her condition through treatment and possible surgery. Thank you!! 🥰🥰