January 16, 2026

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟔: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞

Today we lost another senior, and my team is devastated.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

In rescue, we call it the "new kitty, kitty cold." It's what happens when a cat goes from the controlled environment of a single home to the open shelter setting, where they're suddenly exposed to cat dander and pathogens they've never encountered before. Their immune system, especially in senior cats, just isn't prepared.

I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish there was another option. But there isn't. This is the reality of open-admission rescue.

This sweet senior lady came to us from a home. She contracted calicivirus so severe that it essentially started destroying the inside of her mouth. We treated her. We tried. But today, we had to make that awful decision—the one where we choose dignity and peace over prolonged suffering.

My team has not had a good last two days.

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬

Today we took in three more: ages 18, 14, and 11.

It never ceases to amaze me how little veterinary history accompanies these cats when they arrive. The things we diagnose on intake day would shock you. These are cats who lived in homes, presumably loved, and yet the medical issues we uncover immediately tell a different story.

The 11-year-old arrived with elevated kidney values. The 14-year-old and 18-year-old—from the same household—both came in with urinary stones.

The 18-year-old has a large, spikey bladder stone visible on radiographs. The 14-year-old has at least four clearly visible stones in her bladder (I think I see a fifth) and possibly two kidney stones as well.

We'll try dietary management first to see if we can shrink them. I would hate for our doctor to have to perform surgery on an 18-year-old cat to remove a bladder stone. If it's not causing her active issues, we'll likely just monitor it. But this changes everything. These cats were supposed to go into a specific room, but the room for cats with urinary issues is full. They'll likely need to go straight to foster instead.

This is why it's so hard to plan for intakes. You never really know what you're getting until they're here.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐈 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐝

The owner had recently gotten married. The new wife brought two dogs into the household. The cats—these three seniors who had lived their entire lives in this home—were not protected from the dogs.

The 18-year-old was bitten by one of the dogs. The bite fractured her jaw.

To their credit, they took her to the vet and had a procedure done to assess the damage. But they weren't willing to have her full dental performed, so she was left with some horrific teeth still in her mouth.

I worry for these two lovely ladies—the 18-year-old and the 14-year-old—who lost their home, lost their security, and are now dealing with painful medical conditions that went undiagnosed for who knows how long.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬

We also took in a litter of five 2-month-old kittens today. They're super cute and we're happy to have more little ones in the house. Kittens are easier. Kittens are hopeful. Kittens remind us why we do this.

We had three kitten adoptions today. Three families went home with new family members, and somewhere in the chaos of medical emergencies and heartbreak, that matters.

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐈𝐬 𝐌𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲

Saturdays at the shelter are always interesting. The rhythm is different, the volunteers are different, the energy is different.

Tomorrow I'm anxious to meet all of our new friends, including the mom and babies that came in on Thursday. New faces, new stories, new challenges.

But tonight, I'm thinking about the senior we lost to calicivirus. I'm thinking about my team, who gave everything they had to try to save her. I'm thinking about the 18-year-old with the fractured jaw and the bladder stone, and how she deserved better from the life she had before she came to us.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮

The "new kitty, kitty cold" isn't just sneezing. Sometimes it's deadly. Sometimes a cat's immune system, already compromised by age or stress or neglect, just can't handle the transition. And there's nothing we can do except provide the best medical care possible and make humane decisions when treatment isn't enough.

People see the adoption photos. They don't see the losses. They don't see us standing in the treatment room, making the call that ends suffering but breaks our hearts.

This is day 16. We've lost two seniors in two days. We've taken in three more with complex medical needs. We've adopted out three kittens and taken in five more.

The math of rescue is brutal and beautiful and relentless.