help asap!

You might remember me im the one that was raising the premature kitten. he is now 14 weeks old still very small . We now have a 6 week old kitten and he is just a little bigger than that.. Today at 5 45 i gave him some Hertz ultra guard ridworm paste.. i usually dont buy over the counter stuff but actually i was talking to a vet and he gave me this saying it works just as well as the regular wormer and i should try it.. I weighed Rocky and gave him the right amount which wasnt alot at all .. It is now 8 : 46 and he is acting really odd.. No puking or anything just really tired.. He is awake though just laying down .. he gets up sometimes just to move to a new place to lay down.. When i move or walk into the room he looks up so he is aware of everything.. usually though he is soooo hyper and playful but right now he is super tired and im so worried about him .. I was worried in the first place about giving him the dewormer while he was so premature and if the vet didnt tell me he would be ok i would never... is this a normal reaction????? I put some of his fav food down too and he didnt want it...

then again he did spend almost all day all the way up to 5 45 playing with that 6 week old kitten ... chasing each other so maybe he is just tired??? Im so worried because we have spent all our money getting a wireless dog collar for our dog so she wont have to be chained up and i dont have the money for a vet .. please reply asap

You can't avoid the vet. There are no other options.

Dewormers, OTC or through the vet are toxic - it's just hoped that we're giving safe enough doses that there aren't side effects. Some types are safer and not as likely to overdose an animal.
Hartz stuff it bad all around... They have a bad tendency to make a lot of their products too strong.

Because your kitten isn't growing properly you do not know if there is anything else wrong with him. What if his liver is smaller or not as efficient as a kitten his age should have? Even a vet recommended dose and dewormer could kill a kitten with a problem like that (so I'm not completely blaming you, your vet could have made this mistake, too!). But you must get this kitten to the vet, preferably very soon.

Years ago my mother got a young puppy from a friend. The friend dewormed the puppy, the whole litter in fact, with an OTC wormer. We took the puppy home and he quickly went downhill and died even with vet care. It was determined that even though he was dosed properly, because he was a runt his body could not handle the wormer as well. It destroyed his liver and really messed up his colon. The rest of the litter was perfectly fine.

Please get your little one to the vet, asap. See if they can work out a payment plan.

I have taken him to a vet his next app is a week from now .. last time the vet said he just had a slight resp problem and that was it ...i think if he had anything wrong with him his vet would have found it .. right? the other vet told me .. which is a friend assured me it was safe but i should have atleast called the other vet ... It just he isnt gaining weight and had fleas for a while and the other vet said he prob had worms ..

Im spent loads of money on him dont think i dont take him to a vet ... he has had a deformed foot which i got corrected and had to take eye meds for a while which was costly so i do care alot about him healthwise i guess when a vet told me it was safe i trusted to easily...

but he does seem alert just really tired..

Originally Posted by Leehela

i think if he had anything wrong with him his vet would have found it .. right?

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Not unless your vet was specifically looking for it. No one can know what liver functions are without specific blood test, for example.

History of deformity could be bad..

Take a bright light, like a flashlight/penlight, and shine into your kittens eyes. Are his pupils contracting normally? Dewormers can affect the nervous system, which is why you could check his eyes. Do his ears or paws feel warmer than usual? Is his nose dry and warm, or is it wet? Is he twitching or are there any tremors?


Stuff like this happens. Even vets make mistakes. I'm just hoping that this isn't very serious because of an underlying unknown health problem.

ok his eyes are contacting when i shine light into them .. His nose is dry and luke warm .. no tumors or any abnormal bumps i can feel.. He does purr when ever i come near him though and right now he is sitting up as if he is wondering why i was shining a light in his eyes lol..

His paws are luke warm too not hot but not cold..

I was worried about him being deformed because when he was born he was furless on his belly top of his head his paws and only a lil on his back ... thats how premature he was its a amazing he survived i didnt really think he would but he did... i told the vet of my concerns and he said that from what he could see he was fine but his ribs seemed to be caved in but as he gets older that seems to be correcting itself the vet said so he isnt worried about it..

well he just got up for a moment and played with the other kitten then attacked my hand so he seems to be getting better.. Just never seen him that tired before..

I would find another vet pronto. No vet that I know would tell me to give a preemie that OTC stuff. Instead, they would ask me to bring the kitten in, weigh it and give it safe wormer for kittens. Hartz is more than bad news especially for premature kittens. Please do not give your kitten anything else over the counter and find another vet who is more compassionate and understands when monies are tight and will work with you on payments for whatever you need.

Your kitten is still not out of the woods by any means. I would find another vet and take him in.

as hissy says no vet that has any kind of clue would EVER recommend an OTC dewormer. ever. period. they do not kill the worms the only cause the cat to expel them. this not only puts your cat at risk for reinfestation, it puts ALL of your other cats at risk for exposure to infestation. if a vet really told you this, this vet is not worth seeing ever again.

it seems to me if something was wrong this vet would in all likelihood not find it.

we've had a good vet miss something in two of our cats and both of them would have been dead if we did not go see a different vet for a second opinion.

please find a new vet, get a proper checkup, and get proper medications. if they are not willing to work with you on payments, ther must be somethng you can sell.

Leehela, tremors not tumors. Tremors are a fine shaking. Sometimes it can't be seen but can be felt in an animal. Such as an overly frighten or anxious dog can get.

Originally Posted by hissy

Your kitten is still not out of the woods by any means. I would find another vet and take him in.

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I agree. It sounds like the kitten may be ok with medical treatment to make sure no long term damage has happened.

As for a vet not knowing... some don't understand cats that well. It's one of the reasons people like cat only clinics if they can use them. The vets have better knowledge of how much more delicate an animal a cat is compared to a dog. Maybe the person thought that since it wouldn't be as dangerous for a dog that it would be ok for a cat? Yes, that sounds terrible, I know.

Get your kitty to a good vet Leehela. I hope no serious damage was done. While advice from the internet doesn't replace good vet care, if you have any questions concerning meds and treatments you can ask here for others stories and experience, you can also use the search function as there are past thread about OTC dewormers.