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Kama'aina Kritters
These are just a few of the many furry friends that have come into our homes and hearts through the years.
My dad found Little Missie the Tuesday after Labor day 2003 early in the morning at his Barbers Point work site. The other coworkers almost stepped on her thinking she was a rat. She was starving, anemic, full of fleas and scabs, tiny, and had a stick in her eye. She was held all day by my dad till he could get her to the vet.
The vet had very little hope for this tiny 12oz kitten and just gave some salve to keep the now dead eye moist. Well off to work she went with us the next day and that night to a new vet who treated her for her many illnesses and infections. She was found to have a chemical burn on over half her body, coxcidia, anemia, dehydrated, ringworm, malnutrition, and her eye continued to get worse.
The eye needed to come out but she was too tiny for anesthesia. Two days later, back to the vet because she had started to pull off the skin on her tummy from the chemical burn. Shaved, salved, and cleaner she went back home with us that night.
A week goes by, more visits to the vet and finally the decision is made to take the eye out. It had come out of the socket and finally ruptured and was bleeding. So even thought she was too tiny and not expected to make it, into surgery she went with little chance of coming out. But two hours later she was out and looking a little like Quasimodo with half her head shaven and very swollen. I refused to leave her alone over night so home she went with me.
We had a banquet that night which I was willing to miss but off she went with us to our Jewelers Banquet, discretely kept in a black bag under the table between my feet and constantly being checked. She made it through the night and was trying to play the next morning. She was on her way to a quick recovery.
Fast forward to a very healthy disease free 11-week old kitten that comes to work everyday with us and greets the customers when she is called on. She is now four pounds, has a very healthy coat and is all kitten. She looks great and except for the occasional misjudgment on the right side where she doesn't see everything she is doing quite well. When she visits Dr. Yasuda she always makes a point to growl when touched but we all know it is only her complaining and she means no harm by it, in fact her growling makes the Dr. laugh! When at the office she loves to come out and see what everyone is up to and is quite persistent when she wants attention. She will continue to come to work with us till she decides she would rather stay home and play with the other eight siblings at home. But until then she will be our Kama'aina Metals Mascot.
We found this little abandoned kitten in a parking lot in 2004. He was very friendly and obviously not a feral kitten. He was hesitant at first but then allowed me to pick him up and when I did the loudest purr I have ever heard came roaring out of this little body! I instantly thought of a great Harley Davidson engine and the name stuck. Harley was about 5-6 weeks old, very affectionate, muted gray tabby with grayish green eyes. He is a sweetheart and loves to play and be held. Being that we had six kitties of our own I was hoping to find this little fella a home with a deserving family. I took him to the vet to get him checked out and he passed with flying colors. But soon after I posted a request to my customers to open their homes to him he fell ill and was taken to the vet again. It turned out that he had a herniated spleen and needed surgery. While in the doctors care all the vet techs fell in love with Harley and he became famous for his “Harley hugs” which he would shower on anyone who held him. He took a long time to recover and after he was well again we had fallen in love with this furry little motor, he had cast a wonderful spell on us and we could not stand to part with him. Flash forward a couple of months and when the next batch of foster kittens were taken home to be cared for Harley decided to make himself the babysitter. He was very good with all the little ones that we cared for and seemed to enjoy his new job.
Harley is now a big and healthy kitty and still very loving. He is a little shy because of some construction that was done around the house and scared him. But he will still come out and demand his attention and he is still a sweetheart.
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Teddie - In Loving Memory, October 2005
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Teddie, aka Teddy Bear was a darling long haired very fluffy and well marbled Tortoise and was a special kitty. I rescued her from a woman that found her in the back yard and didn’t want to take care of her because she already had two cats and she was going to turn her into the Humane Society. Well seeing that she was barely two weeks I knew that she didn’t have a chance so I took her in and started to bottle feed her. When I got her she had an infected eye but seemed well fed. I went to Wal-Mart and got the required bottle-feeding & care necessities and off to the office we went. The traditional cotton ball potty and two hour feeding cycle is nothing new to me so I eagerly took on the task of getting this kitten off to a great start. Well she didn’t really take to the bottle right away and seemed ok with me putting the nipple in the corner of her cheek and squeezing while she swallowed. She had only really suckled about 4-5 times and we were getting very worried. But she didn't mind the small meals and seemed very content with rolling around on her heating pad and being held, which allowed her time to practice her chewing technique on any available fingers, lips, or noses. What a life, sign me up! Well you can imagine the shock I got when she actually gulped down a piece of mac n cheese one night at work! She gummed it a little then down the hatch it went! So I tried to see if she would give a repeat performance and sure enough she obliged me quite eagerly! Not to get her stomach upset I only allowed her one more noodle and then cut her off, I am after all a responsible parent and know when to say when. Well fast forward to 10pm that night with me and mom sitting on the couch, me with kitten and she with a chicken sandwich. Well mom was giving Babae, our oldest cat, some of her sandwich and she had a little piece on her finger so she offered it to Teddie. Presto! Teddie The Magical Kitten made it disappear without even a blink of the eye, these kids get better and better younger and younger! So we tried another piece and once again gone, who said miracles can't happen twice. So Teddie was given the last piece of chicken in very tiny chewable pieces. I don't know where I got the idea that she chews anything, I think she just inhales at lightning speed. And when she was finished she chased it with a swig from the ole bottle and was off to mom's shoulder to take her dessert in the form of a kitten nap. Well time for bed and Teddie retires to her incubator of a very large storage bin with towels and heating pad, again may I say what a life! She settled right down, of course she did because of her deluxe first meal, and off to dream of chasing chicken sandwiches and possibly an occasional burger in there just for fun. Fast forward a couple weeks later to a very sad day. Teddie had been sick with a upper respiratory infection and when she didn't get any better she was taken into the doctor to see what might be going on. After a couple of visits her blood was tested and she was found to be anemic & have FIV. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, also commonly known as Kitty Aids. I was told that there are cats that can live a long life with the disease and that with care she could live a long time. The bad side was that she had a really bad case of kitty cold and her immune system was not very good. So they put her on some medicine and we kept an eye one her. Some days she was better and other days she really had me worried. In the last couple of days she became more lethargic, vomiting, diarrhea, and sneezing & wheezing. Every day we went to the doctors to check her blood cell level and give her shots and fluids under the skin. Well on Friday she stayed at the doctors and was watched, they thought she may be improving a little and we made an appointment for her to come in on Sunday for another blood cell count. Saturday night she wasn't looking very good and she slept most of the day. But when she woke up she was still having trouble breathing and started to throw up again. So I called our beloved Dr. Yasuda and she said she would probably need to admit her and run more tests, so I kissed Teddie and sadly watched her go as mom took her to the doctor. Mom called me two hours later to let me talk to Dr. Yasuda who didn't have good news. Dr. Yasuda said that she had thought Teddie would have started getting better with all the good care we give to our furry family and she couldn't think of why she wasn't getting better other then the fact that her poor little body couldn't fight anymore because she was too little and out of energy. I told her I was on my way and I left work. When I got there I found mom in the room holding Teddie all bundled up and she just didn't look good. I knew I needed to let her go peacefully but I couldn't help but wonder if we had done enough? I held her for a while and Dr. Yasuda came in and explained that there wasn't much left we could do and asked if I wanted to be present. I did and she said she would need to put a catheter in and being that she was so tiny it may prove difficult. I sat there with her a little longer and said my goodbyes, I told her she was going to go be with our other cat Chow Ling and chase butterflies. It was so hard to let her go but I just knew I had to let her be at peace and be rid of the pain. My mom said I should say goodbye and then go outside and she would be with Teddie. Against my feelings I went out to the waiting room and cried my heart out. When the Dr. and mom came out I saw the tears in their eye and I cried some more. Dr. Yasuda consoled me and I thanked her then we went to the counter to pay the bill and as I drove home I cried some more, I am still crying. My dad said we can't save them all but it still hurts and although young Teddie was such a sweet kitty. I will miss her and I really hope she knows that she was so very loved and touched our hearts deeply. For now my favorite memory of her was her running with those furry tiny legs and her big bright eyes full of life. Goodnight sweet Teddie, We love you.
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