Newsletter Winter 1999
We watched her so carefully. I even took her to New York City with me to visit a dear family, the Santini's, Summer was still bottle feeding, eating some solids.She did wonderfully on the trip. Her little feet never touching any germs!! Loved and cherished by all that met and knew her. We had been home a couple weeks, Summer had even done some of the exhibits on the weekends, briefly....carefully, ever so carefully, and always we were so watchful over her. Yet, she was at an age, where she was too young for the shot for FDRC/ which is for distemper/ upper respiratory problems in cats, and just at that limbo age where she was old enough for the virus. The virus is airborne. All she had to do was breathe. We can do all we know to do, but we can not protect them from the air they breathe although those of you who know me personally, know that I try!!! With the best virusides known to man, sprayed at 15 min intervals in the air!
Summer dropped in a matter of hrs without warning, she went off her feed, which , she was surely a ms. piggy in the making!! So for her to be off her feed, something was wrong, she had a high fever. We did all we could to get her through the night and to the vet first thing in the am. We have all the necessary emergency equipment here that they have at our vets, short of an oxygen tank. Which upon arrival of our vets that morning, they immediately made a chamber to place her tiny little body in. My vet worked all day to save her. I never left her. That afternoon, as he was going to insert a feeding tube, little Summer took her last breath in my arms. Her spirit went free......little Spirit Summer Warrior joined her lynx family across the bridge of forever. She died from Distemper. In less than 8 hrs from the time she showed any symptom.