Pria is the little girl, all black except for a few white spots on her belly that you only get to see if she is playing. Pria has intense green eyes and a curious, adventurous personality. Her name means 'beloved' or 'adored' and is just as unique as this little survivor. Pria is 5 days younger than her brother and was likely fathered by a different male. (I just learned that it is possible for a momma cat to get pregnant by several different fathers on different days, but despite this all the kittens are born at the same time in one litter.) When my friend found the kittens in the trash heap, little Pria's eyes were still closed but her brother's were already open.
Parceiro is the gray kitten and his name means 'partner' in portuguese. He is very dark on top, but as you go near his paws and face his fur turns a lighter gray. Parceiro has a beautiful belly spotted that reminds me of a snow leopard. He is a bit calmer than his sister, but when he gets in the mood for some playing around he will take much bigger risks than she will. Parceiro is especially fond of ledges - the top edge of our sofa, the back of Rico's neck, the edge of our work desks. He is also especially fond of Rico, and vice-versa.
Today we had our first scare as new cat parents. We had to take Parceiro to the vet because there has been quite a bit of fresh blood in his stool since we brought him home. This is a common symptom when cats have worms (95% of all kittens are born with worms that they get from their mother), so at first I wasn't too worried. Both Parceiro and Pria were de-wormed last Monday so it would make sense that the medicine would still be taking effect. However, when I woke up this morning not only was poor Parceiro still passing blood, his poo had turned much runnier than usual. He was still acting like a happy, healthy cat - running around, biting his sister on the head, eating well, cleaning himself - but bloody, runny stools are a sign for concern in my book, especially with a kitten still so young.
So off Rico and I went to the vet. I was happy to find out that there is a clinic not far from our house that keeps limited hours both Saturdays and Sundays. We put Parceiro in a laundry basket, I collected some "samples" from the litter box and put them in a tupperware, and we set of in a taxi to go to the vet. After a quick exam, a somewhat cold but very professional Indian vet determined that Parceiro's body temperature was low and that he was slightly dehydrated. He also said that the stool sample I'd brought along was useless because it was contaminated by cat litter. Damn! All that gagging back at home for nothing. But old Parceiro pulled through and pooped on the exam table as if on command. The vet got a prime sample, ran it under the microscope, and sent us to wait for the diagnosis. I sat in the waiting room with Rico and Parceiro and prayed, "Please let it be worms. Please let it be worms." After a while the vet came out and gave us the news - unconclusive diagnosis. Nothing out of the ordinary showed up in the poo he looked at under the slide, except for a bit of fresh blood. He gave Parceiro a shot of antibiotics and told us to come back tomorrow for another dose. All things considered, Parceiro was pretty calm about the whole thing - an observation I unfortunately cannot make about myself.
There's something about taking a sick or scared animal to the vet that stresses me out beyond belief. It's like I internalize the animal's fear and pain, feel responsible for a good part of it, and desperately want to let the animal know that everything will be okay. I go about this in different ways depending on the situation. I'll do things like talk to the animal out loud, or meditate and visualize sending rays of light from my hands and heart to shroud the animal in warmth. Sometimes I send silent messages to the animal in my head, letting them know I'm here and that everything will be okay. I am convinced that these things make a difference. If nothing else, they sure make me feel better.
It's sobering to realize how attached I am to Pria and Parceiro after just a few days together. I cried a few hidden tears in the vet's office just thinking about the "what if's". What if Parceiro has something really wrong with him? What if he's suffering? What if he's going to die on us? How will his sister react? How will we react??? I let my mind run away with me a bit...
I honestly think Parceiro will be okay. He's not really acting like a sick cat, and already in his short little life he's proven to be quite the trooper. But it makes me so sad to realize that ultimately I have no control over the situation. If he's sick he's sick, and if he's well he's well and regardless one day I will lose both him and Pria. It's one of the big lessons I've gotten here in Africa - the impermanence of EVERYTHING in life. It makes me feel like I have a stone in my stomach to think about these things, but at the same time it reminds me to take advantage of the people and things we do have.
That said, I think I'm going to give Ricardo a massage and cuddle with our wonderful kittens, Pria and Parceiro. And God help me when I actually have this type of experience with my own children! I can't even imagine what it must feel like.
Have a lovely night everyone, sending you (and the cats) light and love.
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