Kitten Deathly Ill -- No Explanation

I posted about my new siamese kitten, now named Mo, a couple of weeks ago. She has seen the vet since then, he performed a fecal smear and she came back clean, no worms, no nothing. He thinks her tiny size is due to the fact that she was the runt in a litter of 8 and wasn't big or strong enough to fight for a nipple even when the mother cat wasn't refusing to nurse, and therefore she missed out on alot of essential nutrition. He said she's not too thin by any means (she's turned into kind of a porker, actually) and he can't see anything else wrong with her. She's healthy, just small. He said I shouldn't worry about her size, that she'll catch up, just to keep an eye on her for anything unusual and keep giving her the KMR for as long as I see fit.

A few days ago, I was contacted by a woman who purchased another kitten from Mo's litter. I had gotten to take my kitten home early because the breeder was worried about her size, but everyone else had to wait until the 22nd to pick their kittens up, as originally specified. This woman, Amanda, named her kitten Xiao Mei. The first couple of days Xiao Mei was playful and energetic. Then suddenly on Thursday night, she became ill. Within an hour and a half, she went from wrecking havoc all over the house to lethargic, and then became totally unresponsive. Amanda rushed her to the E-vet while her daughter, who rode with them, rubbed maple syrup (the real stuff) on Xiao Mei's gums and squeezed tiny portions of it down her throat with a syringe. They had heard that you must keep the animal's blood sugar up, most people use corn syrup but that's all they had handy. Xiao Mei spent 24 hours at the E-vet. They ran numerous tests, blood tests, fecal smears, x-rays, scans and found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that would explain why she was there fighting for her life. By the end of the 24 hours Xiao Mei was her bubbly self again. No one knows what happened. Amanda had the files from the E-vet sent to her usual vet, and he too is stumped. It was completely inexplicable. I have been in touch with Amanda regularly and Xiao Mei is still doing well. The vet is concerned about her size, but like Mo seems completely healthy.

Now I'm terrified that something like this might happen to Mo. I've been so paranoid, afraid to leave her side in case I miss something. And because no one knows what happened to Xiao Mei, if Mo exhibits similar symptoms I can't even tell my vet "This happened to another kitten in her litter, and it turned out to be fill in the blank." I'm thinking I should take Mo back in for more extensive testing but is that pointless? Has anyone had anything like this happen? I can't stop worrying. The only time I've ever had a cat act like Xiao Mei did, he died of liver failure. They never figured out what made him sick in the first place but whatever it was, his liver shut down because of it and that killed him. I don't want to go through that again. Am I being a little too paranoid, or do I have reason to worry?

Never having encountered a problem like that before I can't advise but I do know that if a cat or kitten gets insufficient food, it can quickly lead to liver failure.

When my elderly cat Lucy was very ill 5 years ago, wouldn't eat and spent 4 days on IV fluids at the vets, the one thing they were worried about was that her liver would fail and kept a close monitor on it.

I do wonder if this is what happened with the little kitten - I presume the kitten was still suckling from Mumpuss? Perhaps Mumpuss's milk is not very nutritious - it can happen, especially as she was nursing 8 kittens.

If you are worried, I would contact your vet to be on the safe side and be guided by him or her.

My ferret ate a part of a rubber toy, and it got stuck on its way out. Those symptoms are exactly how he was acting. I presume from the pain? Or maybe because he wouldn't eat. Anyway, after sitting up all night giving him hourly doses of Laxatone he passed it, and was immediately up and causing trouble. They probably would have found a blockage from the x-rays, but maybe she had passed it by that time. Or was there any time she went without food? Sometimes a blood sugar crash will do that.

About the food, I'm not sure. This woman seems to know quite a bit about cats and kittens, and she had mentioned that Xiao Mei was on a supplemented diet because of her age and size prior to this, so I doubt that she would have let the kitten go without food long enough to cause a blood sugar crash, and she probably would have noticed if she wasn't eating too. One minute she was normal, running and playing, and within an hour and a half she was on her way to the E-vet. I've never heard of anything that sudden.

It is possible that she could have eaten something she shouldn't have, but since I wasn't there to witness it I can't give too many extra details. Though her vets sound great so I would think they had explored that possibility before they admitted they really had no clue.

The best anyone could offer was that perhaps her small size caused a crash of her system. If that's the case I do have very good reason to worry, as Mo is even smaller than Xiao Mei.

What kind of breeder is this? Perhaps a report to the governing body is required, for myself I am not allowed to let kittens go before a certain age and would be unregistered if I did it.

I hope the kittens will be okay, have you or the other owner contacted the breeder to let her know what's happened? Perhaps an illness came from the mother or stud that they need to be aware of.

Originally Posted by missymotus

What kind of breeder is this? Perhaps a report to the governing body is required, for myself I am not allowed to let kittens go before a certain age and would be unregistered if I did it.

I hope the kittens will be okay, have you or the other owner contacted the breeder to let her know what's happened? Perhaps an illness came from the mother or stud that they need to be aware of.

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These are good points. I know in the UK that a reputable breeder will not let a kitten go before the age of 12 weeks and it has been fully vaccinated.

I believe that in New York State it is illegal to take a kitten from their mother before 8 weeks, breeder or not *unless* momma cat cannot or will not nurse the kittens, which was the case with this litter. Though I was the only person to get their kitten before 8 weeks, she was 6 weeks when I brought her home. She was less than half the size of her litter mates and the woman felt she'd be better off with me, where she could get some individualized care and attention. But she still held onto the rest of the litter until they were 8 weeks old.

I do not know if this state has stricter rules regarding the age of kittens that apply only to registered breeders, but most that I've seen aren't allowed to go until 12 weeks. I don't know if that is law or simply preference of the breeder.

Also, the woman we bought the kittens from is not a registered breeder. She does breed cocker spaniels, I don't know if she's registered for that, she may be, but the kittens aren't the product of an intentional breeding. They aren't even purebred. Mom was purebred seal-point siamese, complete with papers, but I never met the father. The kittens appear to be blue-point so he may have been that but as Mo's colors continue to develop I notice that she has very faint mackerel tabby markings, so dad definitely wasn't purebred, if he was siamese at all. The price for each kitten was $80 so I didn't expect purebred anyway, and Mo's fee was waived because of the circumstances.

And yes, I do believe Amanda contacted the kittens' seller.

I have two half-Bengals. A colleague of mine (well ex colleague now as they have left the company) had a purebred Snow Bengal who came into season and so was being kept in. Someone left a small window slightly open and the local Tom did a bit of cat burglary and proceeded to do the dirty deed!

Result was 5 beautiful kittens. They are every inch Bengal in temperament (totally off the wall), have the sleek lines of the Bengal but both have classic tabby marking - except for their bellies which are spotted like their mother. They are also very chatty like their mother.

Mumpuss was spayed as soon as the kittens were weaned. Ours were about 10 week sold when we got them. All the kittens were found good homes and given for free.

They've grown into two gorgeous, very friendly cats. They are indoor cats as they are so beautiful if I let them out, I'm sure they would disappear very quickly. At first glance you think they're just two tabbies. Look closer and you see a very different picture. Benjy looks the more Bengal of the two but Harley acts and sounds very Bengal.

They are a pair of comedians who always make you laugh and smile with their antics.

Must get some new pics of them.