Miracle Kitten?

Three weeks ago we drove across the city and visited the Ugandan SPCA (Society for the Protection and Care of Animals). It was a rather impulsive outing... but once we got there, we found ourselves unable to resist the charms of this friendly little creature in the cattery, as she ran forward and perched on Andrew's shoe:

She came home with us about an hour after we walked into the SPCA centre! Esther named her "Sylvie" for her silver coat.

Unfortunately, we soon discovered that Sylvie was not very healthy. Everything we gave her to eat or drink simply came out, one end or another, in a pretty disgusting format! She was losing weight and looking very unhappy.

Esther's eyes filled with tears as she looked at our tiny new kitten and saw Sylvie wasting away before our very eyes. The kitten's bones were poking through her skin and she seemed to lose her appetite completely. It was time to call in the vet before my daughter's heart was broken!

It is a real novelty to us to now be living in an African city where we can call a vet out! A luxury we did not have in Juba or Dodoma. Olivia The Vet came with her bag full of pills and potions:

After two visits on consecutive days, Sylvie had undergone some rigorous treatment... including a drip to rehydrate her! Ben cuddled Sylvie close as she faced needles almost bigger than her own body, de-worming treatment and intravenous rehydration!

Olivia left us with bags of pills to force down the kitten's throat twice a day for 17 days. We tried to keep up with the regime- but instead of getting better, the tiny cat seemed to be getting thinner and more and more miserable. I feared the worst and tried to prepare the children for the sad possibility of losing this little bundle of fluff.
With Andrew away in South Sudan and no contact with him, I turned for support to the MAF ladies of Kampala- and they rallied round and prayed for this cat! This cat must be the most prayed-for feline ever! I gave up the medicine completely after the third day- and we waited to see what would happen.
We then went away for a few days and left her in the capable hands of a MAF neighbour. Amazingly, on our return, we discovered a happy, healthy, tubby little kitten, full of energy and with an appetite to rival a tiger! Our own little Miracle Cat!