Remembering Kitten Dante: A Eulogy

Little kitten Dante’s life story is the story of a kitten no one wanted and in the end everyone cared for. Dante was an only kitten when someone turned him into Toronto Animal Services. How he ended up at Toronto Animals Services or what happened to his mother and litter mates we do not know. Dante arrived with a lot of health problems and Toronto Animal Services took care of him.

When his health improved he was taken into the care of Toronto Cat Rescue where he did his two week quarantine period. After his two weeks he was transferred to the Toronto Cat Rescue Adoption Centre at a local pet store. While he was there the little guy lived up to his namesake and became a hell raiser and tore the place up. Just as he was adjusting he suddenly got very ill and was taken to a veterinarian for care.

Dante when he first arrived

He bounced back really quickly at the vet and he bounced back just as quickly as he got sick. The adoption centre was not really a good fit for Dante’s personality and he was moved back into foster care which is how I ended up caring for him. Dante loved his new home as it offered lots of toys, places to climb and most importantly two new feline friends. Dante had some trust issues with humans when he first arrived and the first few days he was with me I had to endure some wicked bites and scratches. After a few days as he began to trust me the scratches and bites stopped.

Kitten Dante Standing Tall

Kenny and Spencer never showed any hostility towards Dante and were nothing but gracious and hospitable to him. They watched his antics and even played with him which he loved. Dante watched the boys and learned to copy them. The boys loved to climb in and play in the bathtub so Dante learned to love it too. Kenny loves to climb and sit on top of the kitty condo so Dante to climbed the condo and sat on top of it.

Dante got this idea from Spencer

Dante being the impressionable kitten he was learned to love everything the boys did. The boys loved to sit on the edge of the bathtub when I was taking a shower so Dante did that too. Either through misadventure or bad choices Dante liked to join me in the shower. He knew if he stood at the end of the bathtub he really would not get wet. However he always tried to get out and he would get wet in the process.

Having Coffee with Dante

This is a lesson he never quite learned and fell in numerous times. Feeding Dante was actually dangerous as he got really excited when he knew it was wet food time. If I opened the fridge to get out leftovers he jumped into the fridge and several times he tried to climb my bare legs when I was opening cans of cat food. He was just so excited about the whole process. It was the highlight of his day.

Dante’s Favorite Sleeping Spot

Dante was a lot of fun and looking back on his life we now know he held a terrible secret. One I am not sure if he himself even knew he had. Dante’s digestive system when he was really young had been destroyed so eating and digesting food is something he could no longer do. Dante had been robbed of his ability to ever enjoy a long life.

Dante Loved to Sleep Face Down

The first signs that something was wrong happened near the end of his first week with me. It started with some vomiting which is not unique with kittens. Despite the vomiting his outward appearances showed nothing wrong. Given that he was also going through some food changes at the time it all made sense. For the next several days there was no signs that anything was really wrong with him. He still loved wet food and the boys were starting to take care of him.

Dante may of been tired and scared but Kenny looked after him

By the start of the next week little changes were creeping in. His energy level was down and he was not playing with things that he used to. I also started to notice he was not climbing on top of things that he once was. I had to lift him on the bed where all he wanted to do was cuddle. Despite all his problems the boys Kenny and Spencer never wavered in their support and encouragement and many times would play, cuddle and groom him to keep his spirits up. In one week his whole condition was deteriorating so quickly that he was quickly taken to the veterinarian clinic. He stayed overnight after showing some minor improvements and was sent home with his medications.

Dante Cuddling with Kenny

His last forty-eight hours in his foster home were very low key and it was obvious something something was terribly wrong with him so a decision was made to send him back to the veterinarian clinic for more care and evaluation. I visited him in the clinic the next day and he was just a shell of his former self. Life was draining from him and Dante knew it. Later the next day the veterinarian informed us of the test results and we received the news that there was nothing more to do for him.

Kenny caring for kitten Dante after he is back from the vet

Spencer playing with Dante to Raise his Spirits

I made an appointment to go and say goodbye to little kitten Dante at the clinic. When I arrived at the clinic they brought him to me wrapped in a blanket. The poor little kitten looked beat and exhausted. As I was holding him to say good bye a funny thing happened. He clawed his way to the top of my shoulder and stood up. Dante who lived his short life as a hell raiser was going to go out as a hell raiser.

Me with Kitten Dante at the vet

This standing on my shoulder only lasted a few minutes and it drained him of all his energy. After that he just wanted to snuggle next to me. I held him until the veterinarian came to see Dante off to the next phase of his journey. When all the pain and suffering Dante was enduring drew itself to a close I laid the blanket out and placed him on top of it.

I gave him a few pets and made sure his fur was straightened the best I could. I placed a catnip toy and a toy mouse next to him and wrapped him up and said good bye. It was perhaps a fitting tribute that when I left him the sun was finally shining outside and the warm weather had set in.

Kitten Dante may of lived a short life but he touched a lot of lives not just among those who knew him but among many around the world. The little kitten who no one wanted got to know what it meant to live in a loving home and be accepted not just by humans but cats as well. Although he is no longer with us his name lives on with a rescued cat in Australia.

We gave Dante not just a loving home but a life filled with meaning and the joys that all kittens should get to experience. We honour his memory going forward by continuing to care for cats like him so that they may get a second chance at life. We cared for Dante asking for nothing in return and he gave us the gift of his spirit and a legacy we will all cherish.

Good bye sweet kitten Dante. You touched a lot of lives and we are all better for knowing you.

Little Kitten Dante