02/17/2025
CINDER UPDATE!!!! (AND A PHOENIX AROSE)
Here is the update you all have been waiting for. As you all are aware CINDER is a miracle. But this story is not hers alone. There were 3 kittens. 2 miracles and 1 very preventable loss.
Starting with the intake of SPARK & EMBER. Upon arrival, SPARK & EMBER were smaller than what we were told by their finder. As our bottle feeder was already full, we placed a post looking for an "experienced" bottle feeder as we were told the kittens were weaned ( but we're not fully only partially). Our post was answered and we interviewed the "experienced" bottle feeder who worked from home (perfect situation or so we thought).
I personally assessed, weighed & fed SPARK & EMBER for 2-3 days prior to giving them to the bottle feeder.
We provided all supplies, food, syringes, wet & dry food, scale, heating pad & anything that was needed. We explained they were weaning & required syringe fed 3x a day but were also eating wet food.
We were in daily contact with the Foster to ensure the appropriate weight gain should be an ounce a day was being achieved. For 21 days we were told this was happening. We sent dewormers based on weights we were told & we advised the Foster to keep them kenneled away from other pets so their food intake was being monitored.
On intake, SPARK & EMBER weighed 8 & 9 oz respectively (6 weeks old). When they left me 2 days later they were 10 oz & 11 oz. 1 week later, we got a call about CINDER who was a solo at 9 oz & about 5 weeks old. It made sense to give her to the same bottle feeder as they were about the same age & weight on the same feeding schedule.
2 weeks after the feeder took CINDER we got a call stating she was limp and lifeless. We had the foster bring CINDER immediately. She weighed 5 oz with a body temperature of 90.7° & gasping. This temp is about 9° too low. We immediately took action to warm her slowly although, we truly thought she had less than an hour of life. 3 hours later, when her body temp came up, she picked up her head & gave us a solid "Meow". We then gave Sub-Q fluids, a heating pad, started a very strict heavy calorie syringe feeding schedule while praying she would pull through. It took 2 days for her to p**p so we knew she had not been fed. We were not informed that there were any issues with SPARK or EMBER. 7 days later we got a call that EMBER was limp & cold with labored breathing.
Even though CINDER required 100% of our attention we had EMBER brought here. Her body temp was also 90.9° & she weighed only 11 oz which was only a gain of 1 oz in nearly 3 weeks. Keep in mind we were told she was eating wet dry & drinking water the entire time & gaining weight.
It took ONLY 24 hours for us to get 4 oz of weight gain which confirmed that the foster was not monitoring the food, weighing or syringe feeding as we were told was happening. If SPARK had been returned at the same time we could have saved him.
Within 24 hours EMBER had shown amazing progress & was doing very well with syringe feeds every 4 hours. She was climbing & couldn't get enough food so our focus was able to be on CINDER. 2 days later, we got another call that SPARK was in the same poor condition as EMBER. We thought that with CINDER & EMBER's condition being so bad, the foster would have had the time to focus on SPARK. Especially with the daily calls, texts, photos & instructions. We should have asked for his return also. WE will ALWAYS regret the decision to not do that. At this point, all Fosters were completely filled & my husband and I were personally drained with CINDER & EMBER'S round the clock feeding, sub-q, temperature monitoring & the other 14 we were currently fostering here.
In the first week, EMBER gained a full pound however CINDER had only gained 4 oz putting her back to her initial intake weight but still in critical condition. She was being syringed a very high calorie syringe mix on a heating pad with Sub-Q daily & then we noticed a swollen right front paw.
We diagnosed this as Limping Paw Syndrome (calici virus variant) which turned into large abscesses & pockets under her arm. She also still had constant diarrhea, low body temp & her fur started flaking & falling out all over her body. We treated with antibiotics, medicated shampoos, treated her tail & a**l burns, multiple vet visits, tested her for FIV/FeLv, FIP, full CBC chem & eliminated all the other possibilities. We now had an 11 oz kitten who was 9 to 10 weeks old. We ran all fecals 3x's with all neg results. We kept going as exhausted as we were. She finally made the 1lb mark at 12 weeks, her fur was growing back & she kept escaping her crate to be with EMBER.
At 14 weeks old, we miraculously got a clean bill of health from our vet. From 12 to 15 weeks she gained a full pound plus! At 17 weeks she weighed a full 3 lbs! Our vet said she will make a full recovery & she has!! He agrees she's truly a miracle kitten that without intervention, a true fighting spirit & willingness to live probably would not have.
SPARK will always be in our hearts. It started with a SPARK & an EMBER. Even though SPARK sadly faded away, (RIP) EMBER gave a CINDER. When CINDER was nearly an ASH arose (in glory) a PHOENIX!!
Thank you to all of our supporters who donated to Cinder & Ember's care. Without our supporters, we cannot continue to help these miracle babies.
A special shout out to the Ryan family who came to us looking for a bonded pair. They adopted our trio but could not leave Ember behind as she was raised with the trio. They followed CINDER's story.
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THEY HAVE ADOPTED PHOENIX TO THEIR FAMILY. ❤️
Without our donors, we can not continue to help more like Cinder. Our donation link is below.
Please look and enjoy the photos of cinder rising to PHOENIX!! The photos did not load to this post so I made 2 posts with photos!
https://linktr.ee/PurrfectHearts?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0K1cbCH_FPROroLKHvdcP9tsWnJwuMScfohy7H59LLyRnoGGzRT8xBckA_aem_yGI02XEpXvvWL-wk4WSWlw
Young kittens/cats friendly or needing socialization & finding 4ever homes. Vet tech/taming exp 501NP
