Am I being Irresponsible?

Today I found a tiny kitten on the road. Looks like he has conjunctivitis, ear mites, worms, and an infected wound. He does not act like he is sick. I am torn at what to do with this baby. I know that in my area 70% of kittens/cats are euthanized at shelters because of overpopulation. I did call my vet and the vet said he could get better on his own if I just want to keep him isolated from my cats and keep an eye on him. That was before I knew he had a wound on him. The wound is small but is leaking fluid. Am I being irresponsible if I just wait and see if he gets better? Or should I just take him to a shelter and hope he is one of the 30% to get adopted? I just hate to pay a vet bill on a stray. I can try contacting no kill rescues but in the past doing this I either got no response or I was told they are to full and can't help.

can you finacially handle the bill s for another>>???

I would if you can take him to your vet and let them see what they think

Well from a different point of view (not nessarily mine). Even if you just kept him inside and waited to see hes still better then being left out in the street. As long as he isnt in any pain. But part of taking him in is making sure he gets the care he needs. Doing nothing could mean that he might only get worse.

I don't know what to tell you because personally I'd probably pay the vet bill for him and then worry about finding him a home.

Originally Posted by sharky

can you finacially handle the bill s for another>>???

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I could if I pinched my husbands pay check this week and he would have to agree.

Originally Posted by kitytize

I could if I pinched my husbands pay check this week and he would have to agree.

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I wouldn't say you are being irresponsible. If you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I totally understand being torn between your heart and simply not having the finances.

As far as the wound goes..keep it as clean as possible and just ask your vet what you could use on it..something over the counter. Depending on what type of wound it is...triple antibiotic ointment may be a good thing. I'm not sure if there's a limit on what age you can use that on a kitten. If it's a surface wound, then yes it should heal as long as it's clean. Clear fluid coming from the wound site is better than pus. You can bathe the kitten in a very,very mild baby shampoo..if you don't have that then use warm watter and get a comb and get as many fleas off as you can if he/she is too young for a flea bath.
I've nursed and cared for many,many animals with wounds when I couldn't afford vet care and they generally do very well with some TLC. Keep the baby warm and well fed and care for the wound....you'll do fine.

BTW..the fact that you even brought the little guy home shows that you aren't irresponsible.

The baby will need care for the worms though..is it too young for wormer? As far as ear mites..that would have to be seen to...but you already know that.

Good luck!!!

I probably wouldn’t take a wait and see approach, as several of those things don’t just go away on their own. I am a bit more cautious after dealing with kittens that developed pneumonia because their immune systems were already compromised. At minimum I would suggest bringing in a fecal sample and get a dewormer from a vet to make sure you are treating the kitten for the right type of worms/ parasites. It would also be good to have someone check out the wound if you are not sure if it has a botfly larvae inside (common with young kittens we got in at the shelter in WI- maybe in MI as well?).

If there are financial issues maybe you could try contacting all the vets in your area and see if any of the can offer you a better deal or would be willing to take this little one in and place him when he is better. If they cannot help, perhaps they know of someone- like a client or a rescue they work with- that could. You would have a few more options if your local shelter is able to treat sick animals or has a foster program…but I know so much differs by area.

Thanks for helping this little one!

I just wanted to let you know that I am very proud of you for just bringing this little guy in. I understand sometimes finances get in the way. Just do what you can, and that is going to be greatly appreciated... not just from me, or other TCS members... but this little guy is going to love you so much since you took him off the streets. You have done step #1, what are you going to do for step #2? Have you contacted anyone such as shelters, vets, etc to see if anyone can either take him in or help with the bills? I'm sure something will come up! Keep your chin up, your doing a great job!

Yeah no-kill places are QUITE picky. That's why I always laugh at "no kill" haha

The conjuctivitus can be treated a little at home if you cannot get him to the vet right away. A little bit of boric acid boiled in water applied to the affected area with very clean soft cloths or cotton balls has been known to clear up some of it. This treatment was used on people for a looong time.

There's a boric acid eyewash recipe here

http://www.delgadog.com/faq/faq_qa.htm

I've also heard the baby shampoo in warm water can help it along. But antibiotics are really what is needed because you may not know what the problem is stemming from. Could be allergies, could be an irritant in the eyes, damaged eyes or bacteria. If it's both eyes, I'd think it's an infection.

Kittens tend to get eye infects like this when they are grimy. Maybe some good cleaning over a few days or a week will clear it up?

I found this on Ear Mites. Doesn't sound harmful, might wanna give it a go

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/cat-ear-mites.html

I would like to start by saying, you are not irresponsible taking in this kitten. If you had have left him on the street then I would say you are.

Originally Posted by kitytize

I just hate to pay a vet bill on a stray.

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I don't really know how to respond to that statement, other than to say, we usually know there are going to be vet bills involved when taking in a stray/feral cat/kitten. But I'm sure you know that already and therefore don't really believe what you said

If roles were reversed and I had the $$ I would take him to the vet.
If I didn't have the $$ now, I would go to the vet and buy one of those multi worming tablets and give it to the kitten. I would clean his ears on a daily basis, it probably won't kill all the mites but will give the kitten some relief from the irritation, I would clean the wound with a mild antiseptic heavily diluted in warm water. I would actually do that after giving the kitten a bath. If he has fleas I would give him a flea bath, I've flea bathed a kitten that was 5wks old, wouldn't do it any younger than that. The conjunctivitis, I would wipe his eyes with a soft damp cloth or cotton balls, maybe twice a day depending on how bad they are. Then when I have saved enough, I would get him to a vet.

As I said, that is just what I would do. Everyone has their own opinions and experience.

A big thank you and hug for taking him in anyway, as said by others, that is an excellent start and much better than leaving him on the street.

Hi, I was just browsing the site and happened upon your post. As someone who has recently taken in a small stray kitten from the road, I thought I'd put in my two cents.

A friend of mine saw a kitten thrown out of a car into the street, and took her to the vet. They kept her there all day and told us later that she was unable to use her hind leg, which might heal or might need to be amputated, and that a few days would tell. Since my friend has 3 dogs I took the kitten home and kept her in a box in the bathtub. She recovered the use of her leg and is doing extremely well now. This is, of course, after a lot of work and vet bills and almost 7 weeks.

The vet decided not to charge my friend for the first visit, calling it a good samaritan case. Maybe you can find a vet who would be willing to look at your kitten for free on this principle.

Our kitten was 4 weeks old when we got her, and covered in fleas. I bathed her in Dawn dishwashing soap, and it worked pretty well, at least until she was old enough to use Revolution (the vet also gave me a free sample of this when she was old enough, 8 weeks).

I am also of the opinion that if you can't afford to take care of the kitten, find someone who can. I agree that it's probably best to take the kitten to the vet, for his health's sake. The first vet visit is not the least of your financial problems. He will need shots and checkups regularly, as well as flea medication and exams for any other problems that might pop up especially with a stray (all the hair on the tip of our kitten's tail fell off one day, which merited a $70 vet trip), not to mention food.

Also, before I had decided to keep the kitten, my friend sent out an email to our department at work, asking if anyone had a home for it. Someone wrote back saying they would be willing to contribute to the financial costs, so maybe that is an option for you if you could talk to some kind souls, especially if you do not plan to keep the kitten permanently.

All that being said, I think it is so wonderful of you to take the kitten in and care for it, and that's what needs to be done. You will feel a lot worse if he gets worse because you haven't done all you could, and the vet is really the only one who would be able to tell you what needs to be done (especially with an infection). In my case I was lucky and our kitten did begin to recover the use of her leg after the vet's suggested few days in our care, I wish you the same luck if that's what you decide. It's a terribly hard decision to make, whether to bring it to a shelter or not. All I can say is that maybe the shelter would be a good option if you're not able to keep it, they may be able to give it care and medication, and you should not feel bad if you're absolutely not able to keep it because if nothing else you've helped the kitten from suffering alone in the street. It's such a shame and it really burns me up that people are not willing to spay/neuter their cats to prevent stray kittens like these. Sorry for the long post! Good luck and thanks for doing what you can to help.

Originally Posted by kitytize

Or should I just take him to a shelter and hope he is one of the 30% to get adopted?

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He will not be one that will be adopted. I'm involved with rescue groups around here and have absolute horror stories about kittens such as these. Here's the problem: most shelters have a holding period for incoming strays where they wait for an owner to claim them. This can be as long as a week. In the mean time, since they don't know if someone will claim them, the kitten will not be given any medical care. If sick, it might die in the mean time. If it lives and the medical expense would be too high to treat, it will be euthanized. I've witnessed this happening half a dozen times around here and rescue groups finally got wise and sent in people who claimed to be the owner just to pull the cat (or dog) to save its life.

Bringing the kitten to a high kill shelter will be his death. He will not be one of the lucky 30%.

Every no-kill will be full, but they will be more empathetic to an injured and sick kitten abandoned on the road. Keep calling around.

And also ask your vet if they can take it in, nurse it and put it up for adoption. Some vets will actually do this (my old one did that for extreme hardship cases).

I just want to give an update. The kitten eats, drinks, pees, poops, and plays. I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow.

Originally Posted by kitytize

I just want to give an update. The kitten eats, drinks, pees, poops, and plays. I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow.

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That's great news!

Originally Posted by Yorda

It would also be good to have someone check out the wound if you are not sure if it has a botfly larvae inside (common with young kittens we got in at the shelter in WI- maybe in MI as well?).

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I cleaned the wound today and it did have a larvae in it. I pulled the larvae out and now it is just a hole there. Is there anything else I should do for the wound?

Originally Posted by kitytize

I cleaned the wound today and it did have a larvae in it. I pulled the larvae out and now it is just a hole there. Is there anything else I should do for the wound?

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You could dab a bit of Neosporin on it since Neosporin is a combination trible antibiotic and pain releiver. I'm betting that the vet will probably prescribe an antibiotic and his ears problem may befrom infection rather than or besides mites.

Originally Posted by tru

You could dab a bit of Neosporin on it since Neosporin is a combination trible antibiotic and pain releiver. I'm betting that the vet will probably prescribe an antibiotic and his ears problem may befrom infection rather than or besides mites.

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You may want to double check that...I think I remember reading that Neosporin is not safe for cats. I apologize if I am wrong!

Originally Posted by laureen227

my vet gave me a version of neosporin for Firefox's eyes - the actual tube went 'missing' so i used the human version. worked just as well, no problems.

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Oh ok- thanks!

Yeah...there is regular, plain Neosporin which is different from Neosporin+Pain reliever. You want the plain original Neosporin, that stuff is fine.

Ick, larvae...good job taking care of that. I can handle a lot of yucky things but creepy crawly things creep me out.