This is old info for those of you whove been following Cloud for a while, but a lot of people are new to this page. Cloud was born on March 16, 2014. At about four weeks old, Cloud and her sister Cotton (another all-white kitten) ended up in the San Diego County Department of Animal Services system, where, as underage kittens, they were transferred to San Diego Humane Societys kitten nursery, a 24/7 kitten care facility where I volunteer. We take in over 1500 underage kittens from a day old to 7=8 weeks. If small enough, they are bottle fed, all are given vet exams, and continuing medical care and we have a great survival and adoption rate, despite some very challenged kittens coming in. When Cloud and Cotton came in, Cotton was a healthy little girl, but her sister Cloud had a misshapen, compressed ribcage. When the medical staff checked her heart, they heard a very strong heart murmur. She was referred to an outsource imaging specialist for ultrasound, where she was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot. Her medical info was unmistakeable, and Tetralogy of Fallot has a distinct, unique acoustic signature. It is a complex of four related structural defects in the heart, resulting from a single error in gene expression. There is a hole between the left and right ventricles allowing blood to pass directly from the left to the right. (this is called a Ventricular Septal Defect or VSD), There is a narrowing of the pulmonary artery from the heart to the lungs (Pulmonary Artery Stenosis), To make things worse, the Aorta is misplaced (Overarching Aorta) and often branched so that it draws from both right and left sides of the heart. The final blow is that the result of these three cause the right ventricle to do most of the work in the heart, so it enlarges and the heart wall thickens. The combination of these defects means that deoxygenated blood from her body is recirculated out, bypassing the lungs, while some of her oxygenated blood just loops around between heart and lungs and never reaches her body. Tetralogy of Fallot is not curable in animals. It is inevitably fatal, and animals can drop dead suddenly from heart failure at any time. If that doesnt happen, there are all sorts of other risks - polycythemia (thickening of the blood due to excess red blood cell production), organ damage or failure (including brain damage) from chronic low oxygen. Animals (and people) often become exercise intolerant, and can barely tolerate any physical activity. In humans, it can be cured or minimized in most cases by open heart surgery when the patient is an infant. It used to be known as blue baby syndrome and I had a cousin born with it in 1964. She died at 21 months of age, before the open heart surgical techniques had been developed. Due to the severity of Clouds condition, impossibility of a cure, and poor prognosis, she was a candidate for humane euthanasia, and the approval process was started on May 16, her second month birthday. That evening, I went to do a volunteer shift at the nursery, and a friend there told me about Cloud and her situation. One thing about San Diego Humane Society - they are not quick to euthanize any animals, and go to great lengths to try to achieve the best outcome. In Clouds case, she was not suffering and a lovable sweet kitten, but with a horrendous medical condition and no chance of a cure. As such, she was eligible for hospice adoption - someone knowing that her time was likely short, that she could die any time, but who would give her a home. The survival rate to a year old in cats is less than 10%. When I met Cloud, she was sweet, a little purring love machine, but with her tiny chest recently shaved from her ultrasound. She could be active like a normal kitten, but only for a few minutes, with her little chest heaving for air. I fell for her instantly, and told my friend whod told me about Cloud what to I have to do? So the journey began. A week later, on May 23rd, all the medical approvals were done, and I took my new baby home. I hoped for a week or two together before she went to the bridge. First stop was to get a large dog crate to create a habitat she lived in, where she would be comfortable, but not be able to overexert herself. This was very hard for me to do - I wanted her to be free, to do what she wanted, but she has no way of understanding that she had to manage her activity to have a chance of surviving. Her second day home, she was out playing for a little less than an hour and a half, then collapsed, very pale, almost colorless, and exhausted. She was in a deep sleep, almost unconscious, for seven hours before she started to recover. Ive rescued animals since shortly after I could walk - Id find them, and my parents would (sometimes reluctantly) help me, Ive never stopped since, with over 150 individual rescues in my life, including companion animals and wildlife. Ive had successes and failures, and dealt with a lot of serious injury cases, but that first weekend really scared me. So I spent a lot of time observing her, researching veterinary school and scientific literature about her condition, and managing her free time out of the crate. Over time, she could do a little more, then a little more. Nobody who saw her initially thought shed make it a month. But, her ribcage grew out to normal volume for her age and weight - a huge, huge, help. She grew steadily - shes still small for her age, but much closer to normal. My other two cats, Sweet Pea and Punkin, are bonded sisters who were 4th of July orphans in 2013 - I met them in the kitten nursery, saw how bonded they were to each other, and determined to keep them together for their lives. They are very sweet and loving, and after some initial hissing, they both switched into stepmommy mode and nurtured and loved Cloud. Almost six months later, Cloud is continuing to beat the odds, and is a feisty, funny, loving, annoying, very active and headstrong kitten. The dog crate has long been folded up and put away, to await another medical needs animal. Cloud sometimes tires out, but for the most part, is a normal, playful kitten. Most importantly, she is happy, loved and has a forever home. The heart murmur is still there, unmistakable (you dont need a stethoscope to hear it, its strong enough that you just hold Clouds chest close to your ear). She is very heat intolerant and collapsed and nearly died one day this summer - I found her in time and was able to cool her down and monitor her very closely. Ultimately, her condition will be fatal. The longest documented lifespan Ive found in veterinary literature for cats with ToF is a little over three and a half years. Most cats and dogs born with ToF die very early in life without ever being diagnosed. Cloud has beaten the odds so many times, in so many ways - first surviving initially, then being brought into a county shelter system which actively seeks fosters and transfers for animals beyond their capabilities and staffing, then being in a county with the first 24 hour shelter kitten nursery in the United States. That nursery being part of an organization that would pay for ultrasound diagnosis of an underage kitten in poor condition with an obvious major cardiac issue. Then that organization seeking an alternative to euthanasia. One important thing I want to acknowledge - like a lot of animal rescue people, I can be a pushy, obstinate pain in the butt when it comes to animals. Those of us connected with San Diego Humane Society are very lucky to have our CEO, Dr. Gary Weitzman. I met Gary in the back halls of SDHS main campus last Christmas eve. Since Clouds adoption (as a hospice adoption) was unusual, and not commonly done with volunteers, I decided to be a bit pushy, and emailed Gary directly. Gary is the kind of CEO, who, with about 300 employees, over a thousand volunteers, thousands of animals, donors, and major expansion plans in the works, took the time at 10:30 on a Saturday night, when traveling on business, to respond to an email from a single volunteer about a single sick animal. It was not just a pro forma response - he had checked with SDHS staff about Clouds adoption, and confirmed that is was going through and that there should be no problems. That kind of responsiveness, from anyone, let alone a CEO with major responsibilities and a huge workload, is something that is all too rare nowadays, but it is a reflection of Garys dedication to animals. Now, Cloud has two feral cousins, who are gradually becoming a little less feral. She is a loving sister to Sweet Pea and Punkin, giving them baths when she wants. Each happy, healthy day is its own small miracle, and she continues to beat the odds for her condition.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 06:34:37 +0000
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