Story #46: Vanilla’s Fight
As told by Alyssa Masten, Intake & Transfer Manager
An Urgent Call
In October of 2023, I received an urgent call from Chicago Animal Care and Control. They were closing in fifteen minutes, and a six-week-old kitten named Vanilla had just come in as a stray surrender, and he was in critical condition. They were reaching out to rescue partners, hoping someone could step in before the doors closed.
We said yes immediately.
Vanilla came straight to my home as a medical foster.
The moment I saw him, I knew how serious it was. He was dehydrated, emaciated, pale, and so very small. Then the test results confirmed what we feared. He was positive for panleukopenia, a highly contagious virus that tiny kittens often do not survive.
I have been fostering for ten years, and cases like this still stop me in my tracks.
Our shelter veterinarian and clinic team quickly created a treatment plan.
My days became structured around strict quarantine protocols, medications two to three times a day, sanitizing everything, and watching him closely for any change. When you foster a kitten that sick, you live in the in between. You celebrate small wins and brace yourself for setbacks.
At first, he was quiet and weak. But little by little, I saw glimpses of the kitten he was meant to be.
He started to purr.
He reached out for toys.
He made biscuits against my plastic isolation gown, as if the barrier between us did not matter at all.
Two weeks after his diagnosis, he tested negative.
I will never forget that moment.
Vanilla went on to make a full recovery.
He turned into one of the most affectionate kittens I have ever fostered. When he became available for adoption, one of our animal care technicians fell in love with him and brought him home, along with a cat he had bonded with at the shelter.
A kitten that fragile should not have to fight that hard to survive. His resilience and bravery still amaze me.
Vanilla was not the first medical foster I have taken in, and he certainly will not be the last.
But he will always stand out. He is the reason I keep opening my home to animals whose odds feel uncertain. Whether they have lost their mother, require intensive medical care, or simply need a quiet place to recover, fostering gives them a real chance.
Being able to know and love him was a privilege.
And stories like his remind me, every single time, why I continue to say yes.
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