This is a hard post to write. This is my first kitten I have seen pass away.
A month ago my husband and I took in three kittens that were a little under 2 weeks old. Their eyes were only half opened, they had been orphaned and needed bottle fed. They ate well and flourished. They had been without a mama cat for almost 2 days so we were very worried for the first few days. They seemed to do really well.
After about a week and a half, the little grey one seemed sick. He was lethargic, eating but not much and hadn't pooped in 2 days. We were stimulating them at the time but he woudln't go. We took him to the vet and he was dewormed and given medicine to help him poop. We got to bring some of the medicine home to give him for 2 days or until he was regular. It worked well. The vet cautioned that bottle fed kittens have a higher death rate and that he could have been born with something that was causing the sickness. He said if the medicine didn't work, signs could point to that and to bring him back...but if the meds worked, assume he is fine.
The grey one had never been as playful as his siblings. The other 2 played all the time but the all grey one was more quiet and calm. He was more calm after he got better, but always ate, and used the litterbox just fine.
Monday he met his new family for the first time. It wasn't time for him to go to them yet but they were in town (live normally about 3 hours away) and so they stopped to see him. He was fine. He was fine Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon he was seeming lethargic. We gave him more of the medicine to help him poop because he hadn't pooped in 1-2 days and we thought he was constipated again. It didn't work. We fed him using a syringe to get some food down and planned to take him to the vet today had he not pooped or gotten better. By the time he was getting sicker last night, our vet was closed.
He slept on a fleece between my husband and I all night. The other kittens must have known something was up because they all slept in our bed between us which they have never done before. I barely slept because I didn't want to roll on a kitten so I was up all the time checking on them and the sicky one.
This morning I could tell the end was near, and in lieu of finding an emergency vet and trying to rush him there, I tried to cuddle him to make his last moments as easy as possible. It was horrible. I completely blame myself. People keep telling me it happens with kittens but I try to think of everything I could have done and didn't do soon enough. I had to tell the woman who was taking him that he passed which was very hard. She used to work in a vet office so she knows it happens sometimes to kittens, so she is taking it WAY better then I am. I am a mess.
rest in peace my little angel kitten. you have touched my life in so many ways in your very short life. you will be missed and are loved so very much.
A month ago my husband and I took in three kittens that were a little under 2 weeks old. Their eyes were only half opened, they had been orphaned and needed bottle fed. They ate well and flourished. They had been without a mama cat for almost 2 days so we were very worried for the first few days. They seemed to do really well.
After about a week and a half, the little grey one seemed sick. He was lethargic, eating but not much and hadn't pooped in 2 days. We were stimulating them at the time but he woudln't go. We took him to the vet and he was dewormed and given medicine to help him poop. We got to bring some of the medicine home to give him for 2 days or until he was regular. It worked well. The vet cautioned that bottle fed kittens have a higher death rate and that he could have been born with something that was causing the sickness. He said if the medicine didn't work, signs could point to that and to bring him back...but if the meds worked, assume he is fine.
The grey one had never been as playful as his siblings. The other 2 played all the time but the all grey one was more quiet and calm. He was more calm after he got better, but always ate, and used the litterbox just fine.
Monday he met his new family for the first time. It wasn't time for him to go to them yet but they were in town (live normally about 3 hours away) and so they stopped to see him. He was fine. He was fine Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon he was seeming lethargic. We gave him more of the medicine to help him poop because he hadn't pooped in 1-2 days and we thought he was constipated again. It didn't work. We fed him using a syringe to get some food down and planned to take him to the vet today had he not pooped or gotten better. By the time he was getting sicker last night, our vet was closed.
He slept on a fleece between my husband and I all night. The other kittens must have known something was up because they all slept in our bed between us which they have never done before. I barely slept because I didn't want to roll on a kitten so I was up all the time checking on them and the sicky one.
This morning I could tell the end was near, and in lieu of finding an emergency vet and trying to rush him there, I tried to cuddle him to make his last moments as easy as possible. It was horrible. I completely blame myself. People keep telling me it happens with kittens but I try to think of everything I could have done and didn't do soon enough. I had to tell the woman who was taking him that he passed which was very hard. She used to work in a vet office so she knows it happens sometimes to kittens, so she is taking it WAY better then I am. I am a mess.
