Very Hard Day at the ASPCA

Today a kitten aspirated while I was bottle feeding him, and he is now in the hospital. I googled aspiration to see what his chances are of survival and it’s not good. I am a wreck, but I have to say, all the people at the ASPCA really rallied around me to assure me that it wasn’t my fault. My coach sat with me, she sent various people to me throughout the day to confirm it wasn’t my fault. AND, the fellow Nursery Caregivers kept stopping by and asking if I needed help, and I totally did.

I was just freaked out and off my game for the rest of the day and if they hadn’t stepped up to the plate and helped me feed my kittens and clean their cages I don’t think I would have gotten everything done.

AND, an hour or two later they gave me three new bottle babies who were born last night! I had to immediately start feeding them, these tiny, tiny things. I’m guessing it was a getting-back-on-the-horse thing, and my coach was with me the whole time.

A lot of people helped me, but I have to thank Colleen, Jess and Giselle in particular. I’m pretty sure none of them know I blog, and I’ve already thanked them in person of course. What else can I do? I should bring donuts tomorrow for everyone or something. Except I don’t know if they will all be there tomorrow. But they were all so professional and caring.

The kitten, Bodhi, was still alive when I left work, it’s just that I now know that if it got into his lungs he will likely develop pneumonia, and he won’t make it. So, yeah. He was one the first kittens I successfully bottle fed, so this will kill me if I killed him.

Another picture of Finney. His pain meds have arrived and I will be giving him his first dose in a half an hour (backstory: one of my cat’s cancer returned).