Stray Kitten in ICU Care

November 17

It’s moments like these that we are in awe of our compassionate staff. The amount of care they have for animals seems to know no bounds.

Early in the morning of Thursday, November 17, one of our hospital staff members found herself bringing a 6-8 week old stray kitten in to Angell. With the cold November nights, the dangers of outside, and a kitten who was growing increasingly weaker, there is no doubt that our staff member saved her life right then and there. When she arrived at the hospital, she was lethargic and we immediately placed her into the capable hands of our Emergency & Critical Care staff.

The kitten, who we’ve affectionately named Butternut, was severely dehydrated and is now resting in an incubator in Angell’s ICU. We are all emotionally invested in Butternut’s recovery and are putting our full effort into helping her make it.

We will post updates here as we have them, so check back here to follow along with her story!

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November 18

We are so relieved to share that Butternut made it through the night last night. She is still on the lethargic side, but after receiving round-the-clock care and fluids, she is more alert today than she was yesterday and she ate some kitten food this morning on her own. She still has a recovery journey ahead of her, but we are optimistic about her prognosis today.

November 19

We didn’t expect to give you a second update so quickly, but we got some great news and couldn’t wait to share. Butternut woke up this morning looking so much more active and alert! She is moving around in the cage and meowing a ton, and still eating with gusto. She still has some recovery to do, but if all continues to go well we will be discontinuing IV fluids and blood sugar supplementation later today!

November 20

We got the best update about Butternut this morning! But first, I have to confess something to you all: Butternut… Butternut is a “he!” Either way, he is 100% sweet and feeling much better this morning!

Anyway, he is looking great and is officially off of all IV medications. He is eating fantastically on his own, walking around in his cage, meowing, and purring non-stop. The plan is that he will be transferred tomorrow out of the ICU and into the care of our Boston shelter veterinarians now that he no longer needs round-the-clock support.

If you get a chance to thank an Angell Veterinarian for their dedication, please do!! The Emergency & Critical Care team have had a particularly stressful year, with staffing issues we have been facing, diversions, and an increased case load in general. Even with these challenges they went above and beyond and truly saved Butternut’s life and deserve all of the props for that!

November 19

We didn’t expect to give you a second update so quickly, but we got some great news and couldn’t wait to share. Butternut woke up this morning looking so much more active and alert! She is moving around in the cage and meowing a ton, and still eating with gusto. She still has some recovery to do, but if all continues to go well we will be discontinuing IV fluids and blood sugar supplementation later today!

November 22

Yesterday afternoon, Butternut was transferred out of the hospital and into the Boston Shelter. He is doing great and is heading out to a foster family until he is old enough to be adopted!