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Groundhog

Litter number: 43
Kitten number: 174
Gender: m
Color: brown tabby

Siblings: unknown

was a three-month-old brown tabby with a prospective adopted already lined up when he came to 50K along with his older pal LB to try to get healthy. Groundhog and LB had come from the same West Virginia shelter as a large litter of Siamese kittens, seven of whom died from panleukopenia. We took Groundhog to the vet and he got the same diagnosis. Luckily he was big and strong enough to survive the infection, with the help of subcutaneous fluids, injectable antibiotics, and a few days of syringe-feeding.

Groundhog was emaciated and lethargic when we met him – we guessed he'd lost 25-30% of his body weight. But we knew he was feeling better when he started greeting us at the villa door with a series of 10-second "where's my second lunch?" yowls. Groundhog was one of the most comically vocal kittens we've fostered.

In his attempt to regain weight, he'd hop down from our laps to snack every few minutes when we spent time in the villa. Most kittens gain about a pound a month, and LB may have only gained half that during his stay with us, but Groundhog gained two pounds in two weeks. That's a 50K record that may stand for a while.

Groundhog went to live with his prospective adopter once he was back to full speed and her other two kits were safely vaccinated against panleukopenia.

Arrival date: 2/26/2012
Departure date: 3/15/2012