We Are Spared (But Not In A Good Way)

Kitten Update: August 18, 2025

I wrote the previous post on Sunday and set it to post on a schedule. At the moment that it was going live, though, things got worse in a few ways.

First, Meep went all rag-doll again – same type of atonic head limpness, reflexive rear feet kicking, but still responsive pupils. I rushed her to the vet and we went through a lot of tests and scenarios and options. One of the techs thought it might be rabies since the mother wasn’t vaccinated (!!!), but the symptoms weren’t overall consistent with that; there would be no ups and downs, only downs, and that’s not what we were observing.

What we did observe was seizure-like activity and some indications of possible brain damage from those seizures.

Maaaaan, I’ve never dealt with that before…

I have totally dealt with that before and every day, and I could not see making this poor little slip of a thing suffer through that every day of her life. While she kept rallying, it was just a matter of time before she’d fail her last saving throw and end up with the max number of Dying conditions. (Most people think that’s nine for cats, but that’s only for adult cats. Level 0 Kittens only have three, maybe four chances to save, max. They don’t even hit Level 1 until they’ve weaned completely from their mum.)

So, we made the compassionate choice and escorted the tiniest little bitty over the Rainbow Bridge. There was never going to be any reasonable quality of life for her.

Thus, Meep the Merciless has spared our planet from her tiny fury, but her unbounded rage and fierceness will live in our hearts forever.

The other thing that was not great was that I found out 1) that the mother had never been vaccinated for rabies and 2) was still alive.

I was told she had cancer – a massive tumor – that they knew about, and they just… let it be? “Didn’t know it was that bad”? Like, how the fuck do you not realize cancer is bad, and that the younger the cells, the more aggressive the cancer?!?

So, I had to deal with some Big Mad in addition to Big Sad, and I’m still not all the way through it.

Interment

Services for Meep the Merciless’ interment will be later on this afternoon after it gets cool enough to finish digging an appropriately sized hole. She will be laid to rest next to the Venerable AEIOU, our bearded dragon, under the Right Leaning Elm (as opposed to the Left Leaning Elm) and under the loving gaze of the Gnomaste.

Please send donations to your local animal shelter in lieu of flowers. (She wouldn’t have known what do to with them anyway.)