I considered my options - I could take her to the Humane Society, or I could take her home and care for her while checking Craigslist for a lost kitten ad, watch the neighborhood for lost kitty flyers. I called my husband and asked him to stop by the office on the way home from work - I have something for him to bring home. He shows up, sees me with kitten in hand and shakes his head, but he takes her for me. That was my second mistake.
I watched for a week but there were no ads or flyers to claim the little one so we visited the local veterinarian who announced that we were the parents of a 4 month, 4 lb kitten. We decided to keep her so she needed a name. Since she's black and white and makes us sneeze ... we named her Pepper.
Our cat, Senor Gato, took to her immediately and taught her the basic kitty skills. What a bundle of energy she was! They would chase each other through the backyard, pounce on each other and climb the trees. After a while she'd tucker out and fall asleep in a box by the window, with Senor Gato curled up around her.
Gato taught her how to stand up to our two runty hounds - Jackie Chan and Xena. Jackie tolerated the cats being in the same room and vice versa, but Xena was a little hellhound. When Xena and the cats were in the same room there was always lots of hissing and barking. But Pepper would stand her ground.
Last week, Pepper disappeared late one afternoon and we were sick with worry, looking for her well into dark. She didn't show up. It was going to be cold and we hoped that she had found a warm place to hold up for the night - like a neighbor's house. After all, Senor Gato had been known to do the same. When she didn't show up the next day, we distributed flyers to our neighbors. It was 9pm and we had just started to eat dinner when Xena ran outside and started barking. I opened the door to call her in and who was sitting at the doorstep but little Pepper. She was just sitting there looking at Xena. I gently picked her up and brought her in. My husband and I examined her. No puncture wounds, but there was a huge lump on her side, her claws were frayed and one nail was broken. Her head seemed swollen and she appeared dazed. I took her to the pet emergency hospital and for the next two hours waited for some news. She's in shock and suffering from hypothermia they said, but we're stablizing her. The x-ray shows that her intestines are pushed towards one side, but she didn't appear to have a hernia. The lump I felt? It could be body fat, or blood that would eventually reabsorb back into her body. All the evidence pointed to being hit by a car. She'll have to spend the night so we can monitor her progress, they said. Go home and we'll call you in the morning.
8:15am. The emergency hospital called to say that Pepper appeared to be feeling better. She looks more alert, they said. She spiked a fever during the night but her temperature is back to normal. She won't let us probe her abdomen - she's fiesty. That sounded more like my little girl. They kept her thoughout the day and wanted to keep her another night, but I couldn't afford a $1,000 bill. I said I would administer her medication and keep watch over her, so that night we went home. We got her all set up in the bathroom where she could rest quietly. I checked on her throughout the night and she seemed to be fine.
By morning, she had peed three times and had eaten a little food. But she had that dazed look again. She also looked a lot more swollen. We gave her some medication and left her to rest. I checked in on her a few hours later and readjusted her bedding. When she stood up I cried - her belly was hanging nearly to the floor. It seemed that her muscles had been torn couldn't support her internal organs. And her fever was back. We went to her regular vet - to hell with the cost.
But I had to be realistic. I wanted her to have the best quality of life. I wanted the whole kitten, one who was carefree and happy, free of pain, not a lame, lump of fur for the rest of her life. I asked the doctor - about operating on her. He reviewed the findings made by the emergency hospital, the prognosis was not good. Her liver count was high, indicating that it might have been damaged. There might be more internal damage that the ex-ray shows, but he wouldn't know until she was cut open. I couldn't see putting her through all that on the small chance that she might come out of it less than good. She'd been through so much already that we decided it would be best to let her rest in peace and remember her as she was.
We brought her back home that night and she joined two of our old dogs, Suzee and Adda in the garden. As we wrapped her body and laid her to rest, Senor Gato and the little hounds and watched. We lit three incense sticks, one for each pet who had crossed over the rainbow, and said a little prayer:
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be liberated from misery.
May all beings walk the path of joy, love and happiness.
May all beings be liberated from misery.
May all beings walk the path of joy, love and happiness.
Shortly after we cleaned up, there was a knock at the door. A couple from down the hill asking if we sent out the flyer about the kitten. I said yes, she came home injured and we took her to the vet. The vet thought she'd been hit by a car. No, this couple said, it wasn't a car - it was a dog. The woman was walking from her car and saw Pepper in the dog's mouth and was shaking the kitten back and forth like a ragdoll. She ran inside and came out with her husband. He hit the dog with a shovel so it would drop the kitten. The dog ran off and Pepper crawled away underneath a vehicle. They could see her lying on her side. They ran back inside to get a flashlight but when they returned Pepper had disappeared. Where she hid for a day and a half we'll never know, but somehow she made it home.
Pepper brought a lot of spice into my life. Now that she is gone, that spice will be missed.
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