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Alex

Litter number: 36
Kitten number: 141
Gender: m
Color: orange tabby

Siblings: Ovi, Nick, Tamara

a little orange kitten who weighed 7.7oz and was indistinguishable from his brother Ovi when they and their siblings arrived at 50K with mom Georgia Ann. GA and three of her four kittens had severe URI symptoms that caused them to stop eating (or nursing) and made breathing difficult. On arrival, Alex also had eye inflammation that made it impossible for him to open his eyes without assistance.

His brothers Nick and Ovi died on their second and third days at 50K respectively, and when Alex turned floppy and started opening his mouth to breathe, it seemed inevitable that he would perish soon as well.

Instead, Alex fought hard and survived for a full week longer than his brothers. We tube-fed and then syringe-fed him every 3-4 hours, and expected that every meal would be his last. While his eyes and breathing improved, and we occasionally thought he might recover, our optimism was undermined by his weakness and inability to gain weight. On his 10th day at 50K, he grew noticeably weaker, so we made him comfortable in the bunkhouse nest with his mom and sister, and he finally slipped away.

Arrival date: 3/24/2011
Departure date: 4/2/2011