**Help** Sick 13 day old Kitten!

It is just an upper respiratory most likely. Use a warm wetwashcloth to remove the crush and gunk. Have the neighbor come see the kitten, don't take the kitten to him, don't separate the kitten from the rest of the litter. He may need antibiotics, I usually don't give any, I let the illness run its course and continue wiping the eyes and making sure the kitten is nursing. But that's just me. If your neighbor vet is willing to help, I would go that route, taking them all to the vet will just add stress to the mix.

Also, if the momma cat keeps moving them to places you can't get too, you need to confine them to a quiet room, laundry room, bathroom or even a large dog crate until they are a little older.

Im with Jen! Get the guy to come over to the house... Ill tell you from experience that kittens can go from bad to dead in no time flat! Its heartbreaking... Good luck!

Awww, any updates on the little guy? Have you had the retired vet check him out??

poor thing.

Originally Posted by snosrap5

Nikki, the warm rice bag is a good idea. Is he nursing? If he is and mom cat isn't rejecting him then leave him with her and kittens.

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I agree with this, mothers know when a kitty is sick... if he eats and she is feeding him then he has a good chance..
Personally I try not to touch very young kittens because sometimes the mother dont like them smelling like humans and then they reject them

also his eyes must be cleaned, try a little of chamomile tea with a little of cotton, very gently, and ask your neighbour of course for a more profesional opinion ! He is a baby and very delicate!!

Originally Posted by Jen

It is just an upper respiratory most likely. Use a warm wetwashcloth to remove the crush and gunk. Have the neighbor come see the kitten, don't take the kitten to him, don't separate the kitten from the rest of the litter. He may need antibiotics, I usually don't give any, I let the illness run its course and continue wiping the eyes and making sure the kitten is nursing. But that's just me. If your neighbor vet is willing to help, I would go that route, taking them all to the vet will just add stress to the mix.

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ok update. Today I went over with my mom and we took some cotton balls and ran them under really warm water. After wringing them out, we dabbed Mohawk's eyes and gently softened the crustiness. Finally we got the gunk off. His eyes were really red and swollen. But they looked alot better. He is definitely nursing, b/c when I picked him up, I could feel his little full belly. :-)
Momma was watching us clean her baby, and the reunion with mum and kitten was so precious! There was lots of nuzzling and licking... so cute!! It was like, "Oh momma! I can finally see you again!" lol I am glad the Marguerite didn't reject him b/c of our human scent. We are planning on calling the vet and asking if there are some kind of eye drops we can use for him if his eyes are all yucky tomorrow. I am fairly certain that the noise I heard was spitting/hissing and not coughing. I actually don;t think he made that noise more than 2 or 3 times today (right when I picked him up). I cuddled him really close to me, and he cried a little, but soon settled quietly. Mostly it was little Regg spitting at me as I peered under the bed to check all the other kittens' eyes. All the rest of the babies looked healthy and bright eyed. They all crawled up to momma to eat when she arrived and
looked very good.

I need to upload the pics, so I will post before and after a little later

This is from before the eye cleaning. We actually had worked on the right eye a bit before we remembered to take a pic, as you can tell by the tiny bit of eye peeking out.

[img=http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/42152/2001123838776252084_rs.jsp]

And little Mohawk with his eyes wide open. You can tell they are very puffy and red, especially the right eye. The dark coloured gook on the left eye was awful to get off. Plus he had some light coloured goo collected under the left eye; You can kinda see it in the first pic. Also, in the second picture, his eyes look kind of foggy, or glassy. Is that a sign of an eye infection? Or maybe just the picture?

[img=http://aycu21.webshots.com/image/40060/2001153422982510082_rs.jpg]

Btw, thanks so much to everyone who is helping me out with this!

Im glad you got the eyes cleared of some of the gunk!! So did the vet look at him at all, or did you just clean him up a little and give him back to mama cat? If he's still eating thats a good sign, but you never can be sure with such little of kittens! Good luck, and Im looking forward to checking out the new pics!

Originally Posted by glitch

Im glad you got the eyes cleared of some of the gunk!! So did the vet look at him at all, or did you just clean him up a little and give him back to mama cat? If he's still eating thats a good sign, but you never can be sure with such little of kittens! Good luck, and Im looking forward to checking out the new pics!

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We are hoping that b/c I think his "cough" is just some spitting (another kitten did it a few times too), that he just has an eye infection. That is, I am assuming an eye infection is better than him having an URI. It is, right? :-)
So after we check on him tomorrow, we might call the vet. If his eyes are all crusted over again, then we will talking to the vet. It would be our dog's current vet, actually, not our retired friend. lol. But he is eating and looks like he's healthy. He has energy and is not lethargic or anything. He is also vocal, when separated from momma! :-D

Also, I need to know if the mother should have access to dry food at all times? She is indoor/outdoor and will leave the kittens alone for a few minutes to go outside to use the bathroom. The screen door is always left unlatched, so Marguerite and Radjpur can come and go easily. But I did notice 2 days ago and yesterday that Marguerite's food dish was empty. Does she need constant access to food while she has kittens, or are scheduled feedings ok? I think having the door always open may lead to a problem if her food dish is kept full. If any random strays find out that there is an open door with food just inside, we might have a few new kitty friends. :-)

Momma kitty needs to have access to dry food constantly and wet food twice a day. Water all day as well.
It is VERY important that mom no longer be allowed to be outdoor at all until she is spayed, she can still get pregnant while nursing/immediately after.

Check with the vet about getting terramyacin or erithomyacin ointment for the eyes (That is probably spelled wrong). It is most likely simply URI but it is highly contagious and the kittens may need antibiotics like clavamox or azithromyacin.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by nikki_e

Also, I need to know if the mother should have access to dry food at all times? She is indoor/outdoor and will leave the kittens alone for a few minutes to go outside to use the bathroom. The screen door is always left unlatched, so Marguerite and Radjpur can come and go easily. But I did notice 2 days ago and yesterday that Marguerite's food dish was empty. Does she need constant access to food while she has kittens, or are scheduled feedings ok? I think having the door always open may lead to a problem if her food dish is kept full. If any random strays find out that there is an open door with food just inside, we might have a few new kitty friends. :-)

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Originally Posted by YaYas_Mom

Momma kitty needs to have access to dry food constantly and wet food twice a day. Water all day as well.
It is VERY important that mom no longer be allowed to be outdoor at all until she is spayed, she can still get pregnant while nursing/immediately after.

Check with the vet about getting terramyacin or erithomyacin ointment for the eyes (That is probably spelled wrong). It is most likely simply URI but it is highly contagious and the kittens may need antibiotics like clavamox or azithromyacin.

Good luck!

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Ok. great thanks. I don;t know if this guy will get a litter box and keep Marguerite in or not. It is kinda difficult with his male going in and out too. She gets wet food I think twice a day, but idk about dry. I will ask.

My mom is calling the vet tomorrow about eye drops or ointment for Mo. When we checked him today, his eyes were all crusted up lovely again. :-) haha. I got pics that I will post later.

Good news!
Mo's eyes were not full of black crud this afternoon like they have been the past few days. They were still stuck shut, but just a few minutes of dabbing them with a warm wet cotton ball, they opened right up. Then we put in an ointment that we got from our neighbour vet friend. He said to use it twice a day. Also, tomorrow he is getting us some oral drops... I think they are ampicillin, to give him twice a day. And fact that his eyes did not have lots of crusty black stuff makes me hopeful that the infection is getting better. I checked all the other kittens, and they are all nursing and have clear eyes.

That is great news! Considering the situation, you are doing a great job!

Thanks! I am so glad that he is clearing up (at least I think he is). He certainly didn't like the ointment this evening, but hopefully it will clear him all up! :-)

I'm glad the little guy is doing better, thanks to your care.

I just want to add that if a kitten needs medical attention, always bring in the momma and siblings, too, so they can all be checked out. I learned this the hard way about twenty years ago, when the momma cat had mastitis and I kept taking the babies only in to the vet. Two babies were saved but we lost two before the momma cat was checked out.

Please keep us updated on how it goes.

I'm glad to hear that the kitten's eyes are looking better and I think that you are really nice for trying to help. I am curious about something -- Does the neighbor where the mom and kittens are staying actually consider the mom, Margarite, his cat?

Originally Posted by hurdyburdy

I'm glad to hear that the kitten's eyes are looking better and I think that you are really nice for trying to help.

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He is doing so much better! The ointment helped a lot. When my mom went this morning to use the ointment (I was at school), she said his eyes were mostly open and there was no crusty black gunk. And this afternoon his eyes were completely open. :-) I am so happy he is getting better!

Originally Posted by hurdyburdy

I am curious about something -- Does the neighbor where the mom and kittens are staying actually consider the mom, Margarite, his cat?

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I think so.... He feeds her and everything. I think he is planning on getting her spayed when her babies are weaned. So he is hoping she will stick around once her kittens are grown up. He isn't sure if she will though. :-)

So are his boy kitties neutered at all?? These must be strays that he lets in and out huh?? Well I think keeping them in is a good idea... but after I had one get out and die of distemper 24 hours later Im really cautious! Good luck, and good job!

Originally Posted by glitch

So are his boy kitties neutered at all?? These must be strays that he lets in and out huh?? Well I think keeping them in is a good idea... but after I had one get out and die of distemper 24 hours later Im really cautious! Good luck, and good job!

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He got a male cat about two years ago. He is planning on getting him neutered soon. And then there is Marguerite, who showed up a little over a month ago maybe? And she has the 6 babies. So no, none of them are spayed or neutered, yet. But the adults go in and out for bathroom, exercise and whatnot.

And also, would it be a good idea to do an early spay/neuter for the kittens at around 12-13 weeks, before they go to new homes?