The cat is permanently blind in one eye. The eyedrops received at the first trip to the vet worked for his right eye, which is now normal, but the left eyeball has burst like a rotting grape. Eeew. Poor Yoda (now his official name since we are very unlikely to find a home for him with someone else) is in pain when his eye needs to get flushed with sodium wash. We have to hold his little kitty paws as he mews in pain. Absolutely heartbreaking I tell you. At this point I have stopped hating society as a whole for abandoning this little baby (the vet says he was a month old when we found him), and have merely become indifferent. I was so intent on hating, it was probably giving me an ulcer. Which I found kind of self-defeating. Even though this latest Osaka pervert bullshit with my sister drove me to the edge again. Man, fuck civilization. Whatever, I just need to let it go. Like it says in the song Nada Cambia, it’s like hating necrophiliacs for fucking the dead. Indeed. If I ever find the pervert lurking around my sister’s place, I’ll pummel him into bloody meat and feed his eyes to the kitten. But I’ll be indifferent about it (think of a kung-fu movie showdown scene set to Debussy).
Well, I have to concentrate my thinking on the kitten now. What do I do with him? I really do not have the time to keep him, because he needs to go to the vet all the time. We can’t give him away in this condition… Today I spoke to the vet, and we discussed euthanasia as an option… But the cat is doing so much better than when we found him! The problem is, the eye infection could spread to his brain at any time, which the vet did not discuss in great detail, but I suspect will end much like Alzheimer’s. I guess I am in a moral paradox between putting Yoda out of his misery quickly, or letting him live a possibly painful existence. Shit. Well, for the meantime we will be thinking about this… No reason to rush at this point. The vet says that if the busted eyeball seals itself and stops leaking vitreous humor, the cat will have a better chance of survival. Shit, even if he suevives I’m gonna have to leave him in Japan when I leave in a year or so… I’ll have saved him only to abandon him again. Maybe at that time somebody will take him, though. Goddamn what am I thinking? I’m not even supposed to have him in my house now… BOY, LIFE REALLY SUCKS!
I hold the life of a kitten in my hands. Ultimately, it is my decision. But I would appreciate any guidance or feedback you have for me in the comments below. Is it better to put him down humanely, or give him a chance at life, however painful it may be?
Raising a family in Thailand // Documenting Issan food, culture, music, and people
A motherly perspective: “Life Sucks” can be looked at as “Life is Wunnerful” for the wee black Yoda. You and Mer saved him from drowning in the wet gutters, nursed him back to mostly great health(I am kitty; hear me roar!)and have shown Yoda how to use the sandbox, climb a shoulder, chew on wires, wake you up way too early (pretty loud voice for such a little thing!) and purr your to sleep! Whatever happens, he’s having Heaven on earth! Kudos to you, Mer and Nam.
J,
Our family’s cat, Mozart, had to have an eye surgically removed after it got injured in a catfight. The docs were able to remove the eye; the cat had to wear one of those plastic collars that prevented the cat from scratching the stitches, and after a couple weeks of adjustment, Mozart grew accustomed to living life with only one eye. Years have gone by; we’ve gotten used to the sight of our one-eyed cat (he’s old now), and he still chases birds and rabbits around the yard and elsewhere.
If you can float the cash to pay for surgery to “do it right” and get the eye removed (if the vets haven’t done that yet, and if there’s nothing left to remove), the cat will eventually recover and won’t be in such pain. Seems like it’d be a waste for the cat to be put down, especially after all the care you’ve invested in him. And I get the impression that you all like the little critter. Youth in Asia shouldn’t be an option.
Pharoah, let my kittees run FREE!
Kevin
re: “nothing left to remove”
Whoops– “nothing” should read “anything.”
I forgot to add that, ever since Mozart had his eye removed, he LOVES it when you stick your finger in his eye socket. I guess it’s an itch he can’t scratch. You can feel his facial muscles twitching around your finger when you stick it in there. Pretty cool.
Our cat also likes human ear wax: he went nuts over a fallen used Q-tip once. Never fails to gross my mother out.
Good luck,
Kevin
If the remnants of the eye have been successfully removed (by a vet) I would suggest declawing only because the poor thing might reinjure itself. Then I would put a patch on and take him to the mall. You’ll find lots of willing adopters, and perhaps a date or two.
I had a friend who had a cat that was blind in both eyes. His eyes had never fully developed from birth and had to have drops put in them. He lived to be about fifteen or so I’d say — and he was a pretty hefty cat, and went outdoors as well as inside. Died of old age, heading across the kitchen floor to his food bowl.
It’s a very tough decision. As a Buddhist, I would have a problem with killing an animal if it had a chance of a life (a decision I had to face two years ago when a kitten I found was diagnosed with the feline leukemia virus; the vet advised me to kill her, I said no, and two years later she’s big, healthy and happy). But you also have other complications to deal with – how busy you are, the fact that you have to leave in a year (could you take the cat with you when you leave?)…
I’m just glad you were there to take care of him.
Thanks all for your support. I needed some perspective. For the time being, I am going to try to keep him hidden at my apartment until he’s old enough for surgery or the eye heals itself. I’ve pretty much given up on finding him another home. The sad truth of the matter is that there are so many kittens up for adoption right now, perspective owners can pick and choose at their leisure. Nobody wants a sick kitten. Nobody wants a kitten with a grotesque eye that sticks out.
But it’s hard not to think of this in terms of karma or destiny or God’s will, even if I don’t really believe in all that. He was put in my hands. I guess I’ve started to think it must be for a good reason.
However.
If at any point the eye infection spreads to his brain, I will put him down. Even the girl who mailed to tell me what an asshole I am should understand that (then again, maybe not). The overwhelming opinion seems to be that a chance to live, no matter how small, should be respected. I agree in theory, but it’s hard to watch the little one suffer. He’s doing a lot better though.
We took him on a road trip this weekend, and I confirmed what Velociman said above. He’s a girl magnet, even when my sister or girlfriend is holding him. It’s sad to see some of them run when they see his face, but most people are polite about it at least. We all love the little guy even though we are not really “cat people.”
Anyway, hopefully things will work out. Thanks again for your input.
Oh, also, his depth perception is getting better so he doesn’t fall on his head so much anymore… I’m hoping everything else will work out as well.
If you make themed eye patches for Yoda (ex. Elle Driver red cross, One Eyed Willie, Nick Shield, etc…) I guarantee that someone will be willing to adopt him.
Actually, I’ll be stoked when he’s old enough to get the eye removal operation because I want to pick out a nice marble to stick in there. His good eye is blue-gray so I think I might choose yellow or orange to trip people out. Or maybe a pachinko ball…
I don’t like putting animals to sleep either, but unfortunately I have had to have it done a few times. It was that or see them suffer horribly before they die. What’s better? Who knows.
That little kitten is a FIGHTER! He’s srong! He will survive!
Love him, care for him, as best you can. I just know that he’s a scrappy little devil who will pull through and do great.
Please keep up updated, and give us some more pictures of the little tyke!
See how one wee kitty can attract so many good-hearted, helpful and insightful people? I like the eye-patch idea; creating a cache, a mystic persona for your fuzzball can be cool tool…what do you think about raising $$$ (yes, I will help out) to send him here?That is, if you can get a health certificate for him and want him to live over here with Adam’s dememted blue-eyed devil cat, Boo. One pure white crazy half-siamese and your pure black so-ugly-he’s-cute, one-eyed devil kitty? Neat.
Aww, you’re a mensch to rescue a poor bad-eyed kitty. If you need some help with the vet bills you should put a paypal button or something. Heck, I’d chip in.
Wow, thanks for the offer RP. I’ll think it over when I find out how much the vets bills will be. I really appreciate your support!
Look out Felix, Sylvester, Hello, and all you other in-crowd felines out there. There’s a new
pussy in town, and Yoda’s lookin for y’all to re-
lenquish your crown.Beginning with t-shirts and
desktop calendars (multi-colored interchangeable
marble-eyes to depict the months and days of the
week while little frog-shaped numbers held in the
itty paws depict the day of the month) the near-
infinite possibilities combined with his unlimited
potential just boggles the mind. Fame and fortune
can be J’s if the patent is right! YODA FOR PRES.