Val’s life went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows all within a month.
The year-old kitty had just escaped the overcrowded Los Angeles shelter system. The only thing standing between her and the pursuit of a forever home, was Helen Woodward Animal Center’s routine intake exam. It’s during this exam that our medical team checks all of an animals’ vitals to make sure they have no health concerns before being made available for adoption.
Normally, orphan pets are in and out. Almost all of them pass their health inspection and are either sent to foster care to finish growing – if they’re kittens – or moved to the adoption floor – if they’re cats. However, our vet assistants discovered Val had two little complications preventing her from seeking permanent people. She was pregnant!
Our adoptions staff sent the expecting mama to foster care where she could rest in a low stress environment while her babies developed.
Throughout the month of March, everything seemed to be going well for Val. With every exam her kittens grew larger and Val’s body prepared itself to nurse and care for them in their first weeks. All of her vitals indicated she would be a healthy mother giving birth to healthy kittens.
But then, at the end of the month, tragedy struck. When she came in for what was intended to be her last checkup before giving birth, Val showed signs that she lost her litter. The medical team didn’t want to give up on the kittens, so they kept Val in their version of the ICU. Days of observation and frequent testing confirmed the worst. Val’s babies never made it.
Now bereaved, Val spent several days recovering in the peace and quiet of her foster home.
After about a week, Val came back to the Center for a final checkup. The Center’s Veterinarian determined she was healthy and ready to begin the search for her forever home.
Val got a lot of attention on the floor. Her striking grey coat and suave feline grace won the hearts of many a potential adopter. But one family was so moved by her story, they knew they had to give her the life she deserved.
So along with Val, the family adopted Satin, a two-month-old kitten.
“They wanted to give Val the chance at being a mother that nature took away,” Senior Veterinary Assistant Sophia Abdelwahed said.
Now, Val enjoys a loving home with her very own kitten that she can love and protect forever and ever.
