Things like this should never happen to a dog (or in this case, a little kitten) ...

We had someone come by our veterinary practice this morning.  The person was carrying a small box, carefully, as if the box contained something precious and rare.  Inside was a teeny tiny kitten, no more than eight weeks old at the most.

It was obvious that the kitten had been seriously neglected.  It was ill and very weakened.  It's eyes were so crusted with slime that it couldn't even open its eyes more than a crack, plus the eyes themselves were bright red with infection.  The kitten was in obvious pain: when we checked its eyes it struggled to get away and mewed piteously.

We don't know where the kitten, a baby Ragdoll, came from.  We only knew that someone cared enough about its welfare to bring it to our attention.  We are glad that the person did because it was obvious that this kitten was neglected, maybe even abused somehow.  It was scrawny, and its fur was dull, lifeless, and it smelled like disease or illness.  It was clearly suffering.

As we tended to the little guy (we discovered that the kitten was a male), I or my co-workers couldn't stop thinking whether this little kitten had any brothers or sisters or if any of them had been treated just as shabbily.  We also couldn't stop thinking that unless we did something fast, this kitten would probably end up losing its sight ... or worse, both eyes, due to overwhelming infection.

All we could do was try to help the kitten and pray that we could save it before it was too late, or if it did end up blind or eyeless, someone could find it in their heart to adopt it and give it the love it obviously needed.

*End of part one*