I was running yesterday (funny how a lot of my blogs start out with 'I was running') and I came across a kitten on the sidewalk. It was the puniest kitten i have ever seen. It was so skinny that you could see the bones moving in the main part of the body when it moved. There was gunk in its eyes (I later learned that this was due to respiratory problems) and it looked like something had ripped out a patch of fur from its side. Every time it tried to meow, no sound came out, but you could tell it was trying. It looked frail but was still walking around and came up to sniff my shoes. When I looked closer though, I realized that not only was fur ripped out, but there was an internal organ sticking out of the wound. It looked like it had dried out and wasn't bleeding anymore, but it looked bad. So here is my dilemma: let nature take its course and probably let the kitten die, or take it to the shelter or vet. Well there was a plastic bag on the street so I tried to put the kitty in there. Didn't work, plus it would have been kind of awkward to carry no?
Ikeptrunningbutdon'tworry i. came. back! This time with a cardboard box, yellow rubber gloves, and an address that would hopefully save this little sweetie's life. I was so scared that the kitten would be gone when I got back, but he was hiding out in an overturned trash can to avoid the intense heat. His wound was bleeding because he had chewed and torn and licked it. So here I was trying to coax this kitten out of the trash can with my head practically in the trash can, and out pulls a car from the house that these trash cans belong to. I must have been quite a sight...a crazy lady talking into a seemingly empty trash can. Luckily I explained the situation to her, so we both stuck our heads into the trash can to get the kitten in the box. Well I ended up carrying her and putting her in the box, which I hated doing because I didn't want to injure him further and also because I could feel every bone in his body as I lifted him up. I took him to the shelter and when the lady looked into the box and saw the wound, she said that he was dying and might not make it. They took it to the vet in an animal ambulance, and I said I would call back the next day to find out what happened.
I called today. they told me they had to put him down because it was too involved. Basically fixing up the kitty would have cost more than they were ready to pay. How much would it have cost? Would I be willing to pay the price? I can't say that I would. But what if the cat had been a person? A stranger? What would the price be then, and would I pay it? How far would I be willing to go to help or love someone? How deep does that capacity go?
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