I brought home the fosters and one died tonight

I was supposed to bring them home tomorrow but the woman called and said one was on a steady down hill!! She kept them out in a shed and we had terrible rain today. So I told hubby I would just go get them tonight and take it from there. Well there were 3. 2 are thriving very alert and then there was this tiny one! It may have been the runt but she was very cold and her breathing was so shallow it was hard to even see if she was breathing!! She was wet smelled like urine. As soon as I got in the car I took her from the box and wrapped her in a towel and held her against me to keep her warm. She wasn't moving at all at that point. I got them home I put a dab of Karo syrup on her tongue and waited a min and tried to feed her. She finally made a few meows and fought me off!! I had HOPE!!! when I went to stimulate her I noticed blood on the cotton ball. She didn't drink much I placed her in a little basket by herself with a rice sock and towel under her I checked her every few minutes and she was breathing then nothing!!! I feel horrible I didn't get to her sooner. I didn't get to them till 10pm tonight. According to the woman they are a week old as of tomorrow. Their cords just fell off yesterday.

The other 2 are doing great drinking about 12cc every 3 hours. Peeing and one poo'd. no blood or redness like the little one. It was horrible to see the difference between the 2 and the little one. What a horrible and sad way to start my first outside fostering!!! (I took care of my cats kittens as a teen before learning to get her fixed) I haven't weighed them yet. By the time I got them home settled and loss the little one it was 11:30pm!! I hadn't even had them home an hour an loss the little one!!

I'm so sorry. I just went thru the same thing an hour or so ago. I just finished burying a gorgeous little orange orphan that I was babysitting while it's owners went on vacation. It had only been with me 5 hours.

I don't know how anyone could go on vacation knowing one of their orphaned kittens was so weak. Ooops, sorry. Got a little off track there....

At least that little one had you with it and it wasn't alone in a shed when it passed. RIP little one.

Im feeling deeply with you.
You are also apparently "the right man at the right place", or like William Booth said - "My best men are women".

Kittens do go away now and then. Even to the best breeders. This little one had virtually no chance although you did everything according to the manual, and the little one fighted on... She would probably go away even if you fetched her earlier.
Hers dying moments were more comfortable than her time in life. Thus, her soul does rest now in peace, thanks to you.


The siblings are lucky, having an excellent fostermom!


Good luck!

Originally Posted by taterbug

I just went thru the same thing an hour or so ago. I just finished burying a gorgeous little orange orphan that I was babysitting while it's owners went on vacation. It had only been with me 5 hours.

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Im deeply feeling with you!


Good luck dear!

Aw I'm sorry, poor little thing. Don't blame yourself for losing the first, if not for you none of the three would have had a chance. One woman who fosters has lost an entire litter to fading kitten syndrome, sometimes it's just too late by the time anyone even knows they're in ned of fostering.

Some kittens just don't make it At least you gave it some attention and good memories at the end of its itty bitty life.

Now the little one is being taken care of at the Bridge by the mama cats that have gone on before.

I sent the woman an email this AM letting her know the little one didn't make it and she sent back that the person who took the other 3 also lost one last night.

The other 2 have been doing great. They eat around a 8-10 cc every 4 hours and haven't had any problems with eliminating yet. I did have to put a divider between them in the container. They appear to be both boys and I noticed one suckling the other and didn't want to run any risks so now both have a half of the container each side having 2 rice socks and towels. They whined at first but that stopped and they went back to sleep. I weighed them at 2:30 pm before their feeding and each weighs 5 oz. I can only continue to pray they keep thriving!!!

Thank you everyone for your warm feelings! I do feel much better in knowing there wasn't much I could do. I wish I had a way of contacting the other people with the other kittens but I never spoke to them!

How do You know if they burp? I tried checking youtube and saw some wrong ways to bottle feed and silly burps but nothing real. Do they actually make noise burping at such a young age?

You can hear the little burp and sometimes feel it but they don't always burp when I try to get them to.

Quote:
"They appear to be both boys and I noticed one suckling the other and didn't want to run any risks so now both have a half of the container each side having 2 rice socks and towels."

I had that issue with four orphans I had a few weeks ago (until I found a mom to take them). The vet told me to put Bitter Apple on the kittens to stop them from suckling on each other. I didn't try it but it's worth a shot. Since they don't have a mom it's so important that they have each other for emotional comfort.

Have you checked around to see if you can find a cat mom that can take them on?

Unfortunately, I see the two little ones have gone to the bridge. Sleep peacefully, eat well, play joyfully, and love those who have gone before you, little ones.