Regis

Litter number: 25
Kitten number: 104
Gender: m
Color: orange

Siblings: Raleigh, Risa, Ryder

Regis was the smallest and weakest of a scraggly foursome we called the Ragtops. Only 2-3 weeks old when he arrived at 50K, Regis managed to drink from a bottle and gain weight for three days. Our first worry was constipation that left his belly severely distended. But when the dam broke on day four, he suffered from relentless diarrhea that he never overcame in the remaining four days of his life.

We tried every medication we could think of – Clavamox, Metronidazole, Albon, Baytril – but nothing helped. We added pumpkin to his slurry for fiber and gave him subcutaneous fluids to try to keep him hydrated. When he fought the bottle, we syringe-fed him slurry, Pedialyte, and Nutrical. His symptoms suggested possible panleukopenia, but he tested negative when we took him to the vet. He spiked a fever, so we cooled him with fluids. But then his temperature started dropping, and when we added heated snuggle-safe heated disks to the nest, he started wandering off to sit by himself on the tile floor.

In the end, we just tried to keep him warm and comfortable. He slipped into a coma on his tenth day with us and died overnight. We felt very sad that we weren’t able to save Regis, but were relieved that his three siblings remained unusually healthy until they found their forever homes ten weeks later.

Arrival date: 10/30/2009
Departure date: 11/7/2009