In week two, my foster kitten, Mufasa, got an U.R.I. (Upper Respiratory Infection). An URI to a kitten is like the flu to a human.  It is airborne in transmission and highly contagious to other cats living in the same space.  Mufasa started sneezing, having a runny nose, and watery eyes.  Although I’ve been isolating him from my resident cats since he came to my house, I let one of my cats, Tora, into Mufasa’s room briefly in week one.  I thought it was good for Mufasa to have some socialization with another cat while he’s here.  Well, I didn’t know that Mufasa was under the weather at that time.  He looked just fine.

I borrowed a treatment box from the shelter to nebulize Mufasa.  It is a plastic box with a fine mist of medication flowing in.  At first, I felt bad about confining him to the box for 15 minutes, but he did just fine.  He had to do the treatment twice a day.

Within five days of treatment, he seemed much better: no more watery eyes or sneezing.  Meanwhile, my house cat, Tora, who had groomed and played with Mufasa for several days, came down with URI symptoms …  Tora started sneezing and then didn’t eat for three days.  Some adult cats actually fast instinctively to get rid of a virus or bacteria.  After about a week, Tora was fully recovered.  Whew!  I’ve learned a lesson.

Week three for Mufasa was just lots of fun and full of adventures!  My husband and I set up Mufasa’s room like a kitten’s retreat with lots of toys and a cat condo, yeah!  While Mufasa was awake, he was playing like a maniac, eating like a lion, or using the litter box like a mature adult cat.  He gained weight and now he’s over two pounds!

The greatest news is that Mufasa was adopted last weekend by a colleague of my husband’s, a wonderful lady who lives with a dog.  Mufasa will have a big sister!  I’m sure he will do great in the family because he is very friendly and he has no fear.  🙂

Although there is a lot of work involved in fostering a kitten, it is so rewarding to see the cat get adopted to a forever loving home.  Bye, Mufasa!  You will have a wonderful life with your family.