A little flower

She hung in there.  She suffered and she refused food and she lost weight every day.  But she fought valiantly and just didn't give up.

In the end, we had to make the decision for her.  The wound seemed to be closing, only to reveal on closer inspection that fly grubs had started invading.  I tried to get them out with tweezers (I know, that's disgusting) but they wiggled away deeper into her body.  This is going to haunt my dreams for a long time.  There was no way she would survive this, only maybe another day, or two, and there would be much pain.  We didn't think she deserved that.

I named her Sakura, Cherry Blossom.  We will bury her next to her brother.

We really tried.

[LATER]

We buried her, together with the kids.  Alan was inconsolable and convinced he could wish the kitten back to life.  David asked many "why" questions.  I didn't have any good answers to any of them.  We said a little verse, and I am going to plant some flowers on the two little graves when we come back.  That's the way of life, no?  It doesn't make it easier to understand for little boys.

A little hole, a little pat,
A little wish, and that was that.
A little sun, a little shower,
A little while, and then - a flower.

Comments

[Christine]

How sad. But you deserve more than a pat on the back for trying and for all of your yucky efforts to keep those kittens alive.

[Diane]

I agree with Christine. You did everything you could, Claudia. The poor little things had the best chance they could with the care you gave to them. It is hard to explain death to children, and it's not easy for adults to understand or accept either!