This just in...

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
I've found two feral kittens while disposing the grabage outside my house, mind you, it's past midnight where I am

They must be two weeks old tops, one has opened his eyes already.
The other seems to be in a lot of pain, I've fed them pedialyte and KRM with a syringe but the smaller one (who seems to be in pain) just won't stop crying.
I can't call the vet at this time!!! Someone please help me, can I give the kitten ibuprofen, what can I do to ease his pain?
I tried gassing him and nothing happened, please help me, is there a vet aboard?

I might stop rescueing kittens already, this is too stressful for my heart and health
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
NO! Absolutely do NOT give ibuprofen. You can kill the kitten with that.

It's hard to tell why a kitten is crying. He/she may have a belly ache or may just be missing his/her mother. Have you stimulated the kittens to pee and poop after you fed them? Sometimes kittens also need to burp after bottle or syringe feeding.

Keep the kittens warm, preferably in a nest together. Did the one that's crying eat anything? How much are you feeding?

Bless you for taking in these little ones.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
Thnaks but as I mentioned I did all that.
It's now with a heating pad still breathing with apparent difficulty and crying more and more weakly and breaking my heart with each cry

I love cats but this is too much for me to handle sometimes.
STUPID VET will not pick up his phone, I hate vets who don't consider pet emergencies "real emergencies". Most of all I hate this country with no culture of love for animals.
Gah, he will probably die because I'm stupid and didn't know what to do.
Please help me, what can I do, anyone. Please.
 

GoldyCat

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
15,759
Purraise
4,676
Location
Arizona
If the kitten is having trouble breathing from a stuffy nose or URI sometimes steam will help. Take the kitten into the bathroom and run the shower as hot as you can for about 20 minutes. Keep it wrapped in a warm towel or washcloth so it doesn't get completely soaked from the steam and get cold. I've never had to deal with this so don't have too many ideas about what to do.

Check out http://www.kitten-rescue.com If you click on the "sick kitten" link there may be some suggestions you can use.
 

bookworm

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
484
Purraise
3
Location
southern u.s.
Poor kitten and poor you. How are you and the babies this morning? Please don't take it too hard if the one doesn't make it, often when you find kittens that young without their mother it's bcause she knows they can't be saved and is conserving her resources to care for the healthy kittens in the litter. For you and the kittens.
 

mrblanche

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
12,578
Purraise
119
Location
Texas
Very young kittens are devilishly hard to raise successfully, especially without experience. The mother may have abondoned the younger one because it was already sick. That does happen.

And young kittens, even with mom's care, have a least a 50% mortality rate in the wild.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
Thank you all for your replies and good wishes.
He died at around 3 am, it was so painful to witness

I held him in a blanket and walked him and sang to him like you would with a little baby until he stopped breathing.
His brother isn't doing much better, he started to refuse to eat earlier today.
The vet said "it was normal" and that he couldn't help.
I wonder if putting these babies to sleep as soon as you realise they'll die would be more humane than just let them agonize for so long (it took my rescued about 40 minutes to finally pass away and rest his poor little heart).
This is so devastating, I don't know how you guys deal with it
 

bookworm

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
484
Purraise
3
Location
southern u.s.
Aw Honey, I'm sorry you lost him. Yes, I think if it's possible to do so it's best to have them put down rather than struggle.
I think that we all deal with it pretty much the same way, staying up and petting them trying to give some comfort, then burying a tiny piece of our hearts in the flower beds with them.
Your thread has reminded me of a kitten my kid found close to twenty years ago, that was with us only a few days, one of the hardest nights of my life was spent just that way with her. But then I look around me at the thirteen big healthy cats gracing my house and am glad I didn't give up after little Josie.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
Sweetie, it is hard. Take what comfort you can in knowing that at least he died with love and as much comfort as possible.


for the other little one, and
for you.

Rest in peace, sweet baby.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
Thank you, you are all so wonderful and I feel a bit comforted.
I'm left with his little brother though and I foresee a very long sad night ahead

He too refuses to eat, I have him warm and placed in the little box they seemed to like so much, I also gave him a teddy bear to "cuddle" but he keeps crying.
I hate my vet, he's the only one around in miles and quite frankly he sucks.
Maybe he's disensitized from so much indifference and cruelty around here but that's still no excuse to refuse to help me give the babies a shot for the pain or to make their departure easier, I know there are ways but he just won't bother.
Sorry about the rant, and thank you all soo much again.
R.I.P beautiful tiger-like baby
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,997
Purraise
10,644
Location
Sweden
Originally Posted by kittykattiva

I wonder if putting these babies to sleep as soon as you realise they'll die would be more humane than just let them agonize for so long (it took my rescued about 40 minutes to finally pass away and rest his poor little heart).
Yes, probably it is.
One reason not is of course, most of us do hope they shall make it by some wonder anyway... Sometimes they do.
Second, is, usually they dont suffer much. They simply more or less pass away. Fade away as they say. And thus keeping them warm and comfortable is usually quite enough.
You are unlucky as yours two little do have a more difficult dying...
Third. How to do it? It is no problem for a vet. Or even not for an experienced hunter. But for a common everyday person?? If there was a way for a clean, easy, safe deading. There is not as far as I know. There are of course ways of quick, de facto painless deading. But you must do this deed. Not nice. And I as advisor, Im not sure if I would dare to write them down. Unless of course if the kitten had a really nasty dying...



Warm hugs to you!
 

bookworm

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
484
Purraise
3
Location
southern u.s.
It could be fading kitten syndrome, they just quit eating and die for no apparant reason.

It only takes a short while without food for a kittens organs to be damaged, it's also possible that they had been too long without food before you found them.

The more I read posts like yours, the more grateful I am for my vet and his staff. I can't imagine them not easing the end for a dying animal.
 

chattycathy

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
28
Purraise
0
Location
Nebraska, USA
Oh my goodness, this is just heart breaking to read

I'm so sorry for what you went thru & bless your heart for your efforts. Did the second little kitty also pass?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
Aw thanks, guys.
StefanZ, I'm curious what these choices are but they are probably too drastic if you won't mention them.
It's been such an exhausting day, one of my babies was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (but prognosis is good, apparently!!!) and my rescue is still battling.
I am so tired and wish I could get some sleep :/
I wonder if I could give the kitten Cateflam drops in case he is in pain?
I won't ask my vet because I know he will say it's "normal" that it's dying. There is nothing "normal" about a kitten crying endlessly but whatever.
At least he made the right diagnosis today - with much consulting from other of his colleagues via phone but hey, whatever it takes to find out what was wrong with my baby and how to try to fix it or make it better right?
Another long night ahead, wish us all luck
 

iheartstrays

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
128
Purraise
2
Location
Del City, OK
Perhaps it would help to get the kitten's blood sugar up... a drop of maple syrup should do the trick... besides that, I'm afraid I can't add much. Keep it warm, stimulate it and just love it as much as you can. Don't resign yourself to his death just yet; keep up your attempts and even if the baby passes in the end, at least you can say that you loved him and did absolutely everything for him that you knew how. That's all that matters in this world.

You're helping. You're part of the positive force in this world. Because of you, these poor babies don't have to die alone and cold near a dumpster. Because of you, a kitten was allowed the opportunity and dignity to die in someone's arms. Please don't think of this as being hard for you; instead, think of it as being THERE for THEM. God only gives us obstacles he knows we can overcome...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #18

kittykattiva

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 24, 2009
Messages
27
Purraise
1
Yes he is still fighting, the poor brave baby.
I held him to my chest all night last night and we both got some sleep!!!

He cried when hungry but fell asleep as soon as I fed and held him again.
My six other kittens are already old enough that they sleep almost all night through and they just walk to their bowls when hungry but lately I've noticed they've been "patrolling". maybe it's the new baby's meowing?
Thank you all so much and thank you ilovestrays you are right that it's the babies that matter


P.S: I also had somewhat of an argument with my boyfriend, he thinks I have some sort of saviour complex (his words, not mine) and seemed very concerned that I slept with the kitten against my skin seeing as he might be carrying parasites or an infection, I don't know, but that kind of takes the joy from the baby's survival :/
 

going nova

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
1,951
Purraise
12
Originally Posted by kittykattiva

P.S: I also had somewhat of an argument with my boyfriend, he thinks I have some sort of saviour complex (his words, not mine) and seemed very concerned that I slept with the kitten against my skin seeing as he might be carrying parasites or an infection, I don't know, but that kind of takes the joy from the baby's survival :/
Aww, don't listen to your boyfriend. What sort of person would turn a blind eye to an animals suffering if he/she could do something to alleviate that suffering? I would love to be able to look the other way, and while I realize I can't save everyone, I will save every one I can.


You're doing a wonderful thing. I could be wrong, but I don't think there are many serious infections kitty could pass along to you even if he/she did have some sort of infection? The only ones that I could think of that would be a real nuisance would be ringworm and giardia, but washing your hands would eliminate the risk of giardia and I don't think ringworm is very serious, though it can be very annoying. Just chalk it up to your boyfriend being uninformed and don't let it get to you.


I'm here cheering for you and your kitten!
 

maxiecat03

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
Messages
199
Purraise
1
Location
Ottawa, Canada
Originally Posted by kittykattiva

Yes he is still fighting, the poor brave baby.
I held him to my chest all night last night and we both got some sleep!!!

He cried when hungry but fell asleep as soon as I fed and held him again.

P.S: I also had somewhat of an argument with my boyfriend, he thinks I have some sort of saviour complex (his words, not mine) and seemed very concerned that I slept with the kitten against my skin seeing as he might be carrying parasites or an infection, I don't know, but that kind of takes the joy from the baby's survival :/
Sounds like your boyfriend might be jealous....don't listen to him. If a disease hasn't 'taken' the kitten...then it won't do any harm to you!

I sure hope the little one is still fighting....we're all cheering for him, and you!!
That little kitty needs a loving 'mom' like you right now.....I salute you! I would help if I was closer...it can be such an emotional drain....don't give up...you have a huge cheering section...
Please keep us posted.
 
Top