It has always been my belief that every animal born into this world should live a happy healthy life. It should have access to vet care, food and water, shelter and humans to love them. Sadly, this is not always the case and this was certainly not the case for a little tiger kitten whom we have named Claire.
Claire was brought to us at about 7 weeks old. While her circumstances are not clear to us — exactly where she had come from and who she belonged to — one thing was very clear she desperately needed medical attention or she would not survive.
The phone call came saying there was a kitten in really bad shape and asked if we could help. We said yes without hesitation and within a few minutes we had her in our arms. She was emaciated, had an upper respiratory infection and her head was tilting to the left. Fortunately we were able to get her right into the vet.
Claire tested positive for feline AIDS, she had ear infections in both ears, one was so bad they couldn’t even see her eardrum. The upper respiratory had affected one eye, so that eye wasn’t working properly. Claire was sent home on antibiotics and eye drops with a re-check scheduled for three weeks.
Once back at the Sanctuary Claire started to improve. She started gaining weight and her eye started to look much better. She still has a slight head tilt, but we are hoping that will go away. Claire will be re-tested in a few weeks. The reasoning is that she was so compromised that her first test could have been a false positive. It is standard procedure to test again. Claire goes back to the vet on Nov. 19 for her re-check and we are hoping for good news.
While it sounds like Claire is on the road to recovery, imagine if she had not been found? In her short life of 7 weeks, look at the pain she had to endure. Are there others out there? Where was her mom? Claire was too young to be away from her mom. There are so many questions we will never have the answers to.
We are grateful that we have gotten the chance to be a part of Claire’s journey to recovery. She is the sweetest kitten who loves to snuggle and can never get close enough to her humans. She has the loudest motor and it runs 24/7. Despite her circumstances she fought hard and will live to tell her story through us.
We believe that every animals life is meaningful and worth saving. We believe in neutering and spaying so sick kittens are not left on their own to die. We believe in educating the public on these issues and we believe that we can make a difference. Looking at the world through Claire’s eyes we see that we are their voice and we see how grateful they are when humans step in and help them get the care they need.
Thank you for you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
The Ark Animal Sanctuary is located on 101 Old Woodstock Road. To contact Lorraine Monfils call 532-7387 or check out their Facebook page.
