A Story of Two Kittens: Midge & Owie

My husband and I have a soft spot for animals, especially cats. We live on a farm. Need I say more? When people decide that a cat is too much bother to take care of anymore, or their female cat has delivered one too many litters, they dump the cats/kittens. We feel sorry for the cats because they are cold, hungry, and sometimes ill. That's also how my sister, who lives right down the road, ended up with eight cats. One of her stray female cats gave birth to two litters in one spring, then disappeared. One of the kittens needed a lot of care. My sister, not able to get around very well due to knee surgery, asked if I would care for him.

So, I took him home. He howled most of the night. The next day, I stopped at my sister's and picked up a sibling to keep him company. The sickly grey kitten, named Midget as he fit in the palm of her hand, I renamed Midge. His brother, not yet named, I named OW (short for Orange White). It also seemed appropriate because when OW meowed he accentuated the last syllables. "MeOW, MeOW, MeOW," he would demand when he smelled canned food. Midge tried to keep up with OW but couldn't. For the first three days, when I cleaned Midge's matted eyes with a warm wash cloth, green pus rolled out like tears.

Midge didn't let his small size keep him from trying. He loved to tackle OWie. Soon they were scampering back and forth through the house. Fall came and they began eating crickets and throwing up their food-now laced with black specks from the crickets. We sprayed the house with insecticide, safe for humans and animals.

Then Midge caught a head cold. When I took him to the vet, I could hear the mucus rattling as he breathed through it, and see yellow stuff crusting around his nose. The vet gave me an antibiotic, some salve for his eyes, and Viralysis, a lysine gel. I also ordered Respo-K, good for supporting the respiratory system of cats. Five months later Midge is almost as big as OWie in size, but still has problems from time to time with his respiratory system. From the research I have done and after observing what causes him to become ill again, I believe he has asthma.

The plan was to give him back to my sister after he became well, and he would continue to live outside in her barn. Now, however, because of his asthma, he will be a permanent resident in my household. I've justified this to my husband by telling him that Midge keeps me from staying on the computer too long. When I don't pay attention to him, he sits on my keyboard.