Please help!!! Kitten with collapsed lung

Hello Everyone,

I am new here and heard about this wonderful site from a neighbor who has been helping me out with the cats on our street.

For some reason it seems as if there is a sign in front of my house that basically tells all cats that are in good or poor health to come over and we will do nothing but fix, love, and feed them! My new neighbor has been so helpful as her friend is affiliated with the cat network here in Miami and has helped us trap and fix all the cats and kittens that recently showed up!

My real question though is about one little kitten in particular that showed up. She is a little brown tabby and is as sweet as can be! She is about 4 months old and weighs 3.5 pounds. We noticed that her other sisters were much larger than her and for some reason she seemed to have trouble breathing. We took her sisters to get fixed but left her out since we wanted to see what was wrong with her breathing first.

I took her to the vet this morning. The poor little thing is suffering with mange, ear mites and hooks & whips! She was treated and given all the medication she needs. The doctor listed to her breathing and said that everying sounded normal. When he gave her an x ray he found that she has a collapsed lung. He said that there was no sign of trauma to her body so it was most likely caused from a bad respiratory infection when she was younger. Unfortunately, it has been collapsed for so long now that they can no reinflate it because of the scar tissue around it.

He told me that she will need to be kept inside for now because any sort of infection; or getting pregnant will kill her. He also told me that she needs to be spayed by a specialist with a breathing machine.

She is not used to being inside but is adjusting okay. Before I took her to the vet she came inside the house a few times to explore and then left. We have three other cats inside the house (1 indoor and 2 that go in and out).

I am a wreck after this and I have done nothing but cry all day. I want her to be happy and stress free. I am trying to do everything I can to keep her comfortable. She is very active; runs, jumps on the couches etc.

Does anybody have any suggestions or know anything, good or bad about this kind of injury? Will she survive much longer? How do I know she is not in pain? She seems so happy but every time that I look at her, I can't help but cry. Any information would be wonderful and I would really appreciate it!

Thank you so much in advance!
A very concerned animal/cat lover!!!

No advice, really. Just got the "honor" of watching & holding a (white cat, none the less) stray kitty die after I rushed him to the vet. Been hit by a car & his lungs collapsed.

Just, know when she's not breathing well & don't make her go through that.

Until then, and it may never get to that, love her for what she deserves. Watch with the indoor/outdoors they could bring in infections to her.

I don't know about that specifically, but since your vet is talking about spaying, it sounds like he expects her to have a normal life span. She should be kept inside always, though, so she doesn't get any upper respiratory infections.

Her other lung has probably adjusted to doing the work load of two lungs (i.e. a human can get a whole lung removed and be fine) I would make sure she was inside and watch her to make sure she stays in perfect health. You dont want the other lung to get infections as then she wouldn't be able to breathe at all. Have they said weather the lung is dead yet? If its dead they will have to remove it so not to cause septicemia. I presume not if she's playing and happy and stuff. You cant tell sometimes if they're in pain or not due to the fact they hide it well. But if she's out in about and playing and stuff I wouldn't think she was in pain! It sounds like you are doing an excellent job and deserve a pat on the back! good for you for helping these poor defenceless creatures! I suspect she will probably be fine though, you can live with one kidney, one lung, and so on so try to relax, she can sence your tension! just love her as you're doing now and try to take it day by day, you'll know what to do and the people on here have a lot of info on just about everything! Good luck and keep us posted!

She may have a shorter life span, but if the vet recommends spaying then it sounds promising. Even if she gets 5-10 yrs of life, it would be worth it. I would guess she would not be a normal size cat, but that's ok.

If you decide to spay her and keep her in, then just love her and spoil her. Remember NO outside anymore

Thank you all so very much for your quick responses.

This morning she seems okay. I woke up and have her the medicine that the vet gave me for her works. She wasn't too happy about that, but promptly dug in to her breakfast once she was over it.

I don't know if she it still getting used to the fact of being inside. She has not begged or cried to go outside and seems content; however, she chooses one spot for the day and pretty much sticks there.

Yesterday when I brought her home from the vet I placed her carrier ( which I had made comfy for herwith blankets and teddy bears) next to the Christmas tree with the door open. She spent the entire morning and afternoon in there just sleeping, cleaning herself, and staring out.

Last night she slept on the couch and this morning she is hiding under a bench in the kitchen. I placed a blanket and some water under there for her which she seems to be happy about. For some reason though even though she has taken a nap or two, she is just sitting there and staring into space.

She likes being pet more and more and doesnt seem to shy away anymore. She actually purred yesterday and adjusted her head and neck so I could scratch the area that she liked. She also raised her back when I rubbed her. She jumped up on the counter yesterday and did take a little 10 minute walk around the house.

She is eating and cleaning herself normally. I placed a litter box close to her but she doesn't seem interested in using it. Just sniffed it and went back to her spot.

I am sorry for writing such long posts; I am just not used to taking care of a sick kitten to this extent. I have cats that are healthy who I feed and cuddle and do their own thing. I am just very concerned about her since she doesnt seem interested in doing much. I am hoping its just an adjustment phase to being in the house. I just want to do whatever I possibly can to make her as comfortale as she can possibly be...whatever it takes or however much it costs!!!

Thank you all so very much for your help and advice. It has really eased my mind!

Hey! You forgot to mention that your little girl poo'd. And it was a good looking, normal poo, too!! That is excellent news.

My guess is that she's adjusting to her new surroundings and is just looking out from her safe spot to assess the situation. Once she's ready, she'll come out. But it's important that you continue to not force her out of her hiding places; that'll just make her nervous and withdrawn. You're doing an excellent job taking care of this little angel.

And like glitch said, try to stay calm and relaxed because she can feel your tension...and your sadness.

Continue posting all you want. Everyone here is great!! And will give you awesome advice and words of encouragement. Now you have found more crazy cat people like you and me...and your mom.

Oh! And we love pictures around here. So don't be shy. The best place to introduce yourself is at the new cats on the block forum. See you around!

I don't have any advice, but I live in Hallandale, so if you need any help caring for your furbaby or others, please shoot a PM my way

The best I can say right now is to not get her too excited and just let her adjust at her own pace, when I brought Peanut home she didn't want to do a whole lot for the first couple of days either, but she was in alot better health than your tyke

I think you're doing a wonderfull job! She's getting use to everything and has found her "safe spot".. My kitties have a safe spot too.. It sounds like she's adjusting well and we dont mind long posts, but Im with the others.... PICS PLEASE!! hehe

We don't mind long posts, especially from wonderful kitty owners who take care of special cats. Sending you good vibes.

Hello all!!! I will post pictures of all the cats especially Tabs as soon as I get a chance to take some pictures.

Tabs is doing so well! I spoke with the vet yesterday. They called to see how she was doing. During the conversation I explained to the tech that I was so devastated at the outcome of the x-rays that I forgot to ask all the important questions. She told me that the collapsed lung is fine and not bothering her; so it won't have to be removed. The also said that once she has her shots and continues to go for her regular visits; she can live as long as any of the other cats! It was such great new!

Today she is so much more active! She has spent the majority of the day running around and exploring new areas of the house. She is actually running from one room to the next, jumping and climbing, eating like a little piggy, using the bathroom regularly and rolling on her bag and purring when you call her name.

I actually heard some noises coming from the living room today and when I went to see what it was, she had discovered the Christmas tree! Even though she is not as adventurous as the other cat (yet!) and wasn't actually inside the Christmas tree; she was playing with the hanging decorations at the bottom of the tree and was using the plastic balls as a punching bag! Very cute! Hopefully I can get some video to post too!

I just want to thank you all again for your time, patience and advice! I can't believe how much she has come around! I was so sad and nervous this weekend and now I realize that she is going to be just fine (with proper care!)

So again, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I will post pictures very soon!

Yay! It sounds like your kitty will be just fine!

Im so happy your kitty is doing good!!

Isn't it sad though... I can't hang a darn ornament below waist level cause they end up on the floor and not on the tree!

Don't worry it does not cause death but very discomfort for the kitten.My kitten Minnie had it for a while we took her to the vet she wasn't mush help so we gave her meddacine 2 times a day and soon after we got it back.Your kitten most likely had a pease of food that went down the wrong tube and modes it's way down to the lungs orally we would cough it up but the kittens body if different or she might have just fell of a workroom or something.The best way to fix it is to get an antibiotic for cats/kittens 2 times a day night and morning for maybe about a month well until it's done it helped my kitten and keep her In with a lot of love and attention xx hope this helped it helped Minnie