Kittens not growing

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catnamedpanda

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Well the skin/ tissue on Delilah's nose is about to completely fall off, it is hanging on by a little bit. I peaked under it and it looks really nasty but she is on antibiotics until it heals completely. But that doesn't seem to bother her, she is eating really well now. She is at the plate before Penelope even realizes that I put it down. :lol3: Exciting improvement, for the first time today she is playing a little, and she ran from her sister for a brief moment. She just keeps getting stronger everyday!:clap:
 

missymotus

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Just catching up on this thread, glad to hear she's doing well. 
 

meowmmy_aprile

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I just read this post and I have to say you have done an awesomely, wonderful job with these babies!!

I used to work in a vet clinic and one of the first cases I ever had was a hoarder who had Panluek (FPV) running rampid through her home. The sheriffs dept brought in 11 cats at one time who all had it. It is a very nasty, very contagious virus. One thing I remember is the smell. The smell off these poor kitties was like nothing I had ever smelled. We ended up having to put those 11 down plus another 10 that came in from the same house a few days later. They were covered in feces from the runs (sorry if too much info) dehydrated, and cold feeling. I would think if your vet suspected panluek she would have said something because as I said it has a particular smell to it. As soon as the cats we dealt with came in the vet said panluek even before they were looked at.

It is so contagious we had to disinfect the whole clinic and I had to have my husband leave me clothes outside my house so I could change and throw away the ones I had on at the clinic for fear I would bring it home to my animals. Even though they had been vaccinated I didn't want to take any chances.

I hope your baby continues to improve. I sending good wishes and prayers your way.
 
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catnamedpanda

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Delilah had been doing great running and playing right along with Penelope. Today she seemed a bit off not eating much and sitting around and napping instead of playing. By late afternoon she had stopped eating completely. I could not get into the vet today but we have an appointment first thong when they open at 8 am. She has a big scab where the tissue on her nose fell off and I am worried it is healing funny because her breathing seems a bit affected by it. I am hoping she hasn't developed an infection even though she is on antibiotics already. I'm so worried about her, she is such a fighter and has been through so much I hate to see her not doing well again.
 
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catnamedpanda

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Back from the vet. Delilah has a some ulcers in her nose, as well as the fact that her nostril on one side is deformed now and they both are clogged a bit. She cant smell her food so that is why she is not eating. She is having a bit of a tough time breathing. So we are making sure she gets a vaporizer treatment a few times a day. She also is getting her nose cleaned out every time she eats to make sure she is not getting food stuck up there. The vet took the needle out of a syringe so it squirts a nice thin stream that fit perfectly up her nose. She is not as thrilled about this though. There is still swelling and we are going to monitor it, the vet will but her on steroid drops if it does not go down, but she is concerned that if it is a virus that is causing the bit of congestion that she has that it will just get worse. So we will just keep managing the way we are, and will do a check up latter if needed. Little girl is such a fighter and has been through so much. She has been treated by 2 different vets, the last time it was one vet and then this time it was the other each hadn't seen her since she was really bad off and were both shocked that she was still going and getting stronger.

As far as getting food up her nose the vet recommended getting canned food that has chunks instead of a pate. The girls have both been eating a/d. What would be a good food to feed her to help her keep gaining weight, it can be expensive because a/d food is almost $2 a can.

weighed the girls while at the vet

Delilah is now 10.5oz

Penelope is now exactly 1 pound!
 

lindz2785

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I love reading about little Delilah. She's such a fighter! You should post a picture of the two girls. :)
 
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catnamedpanda

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I love reading about little Delilah. She's such a fighter! You should post a picture of the two girls. :)
Thanks, she sure is a special little girl. Here are some pictures, I only have my phone to take pictures with so the quality is not that great.

Just today, both girls together



Delilah taking a nap in my lap



Waiting in the waiting room at the vet



Here are some random ones from over the course of the last week or so

She looked like a rhino when it was all falling off



Sisterly love, Delilah laying on Penelope. They both slept like this for a while.



Yumm, food time. This a day after she started eating on her own again. She was a mess afterwards

 

kelsea

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I'm so sorry you've experienced so much loss ((hugs)) I lost a whole litter of four kittens at 4 weeks do to coccidia. I hope both your girls make it and pull through! Bless you for your rescue work And I too hope your message causes people to stop and not let litters be born. I too have know the heartache of loosing foster babies and feeling helpless.
 

kelsea

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Was replying on my phone and didn't see their was a page two, I'm so glad to see She is improving!
 

lindz2785

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Oh my goodness they are so sweet!! I love the messy face picture!! I hope her little nose starts healing.. it looks so sore. Poor girl. She's been through a lot in her short little life.
 
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catnamedpanda

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Delilah has me worried again. She was not doing well yesterday and continues to feel yucky today. Her nose is so closed on the one side she is really working hard to breath, her lungs are great according to the vet so it has to be her nose. She doesn't want to do much more than sleep and sit around. I am syringe feeding her again because she only eats a tiny bit from the plate, I'm sure it is hard to eat when you are trying to breath. Steaming her up helps a bit, but it doesn't last long. I have been treating her with the vaporizer several times to try to help open her nose, but i think it is healing wrong. I am giving these steroids a chance to work but if come tomorrow her breathing is still rough we will go to the vet and see what our options are.
 

missymotus

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Poor girl, good luck at the vets tomorrow hope there's a solution to her nose problem so she can breathe properly
 
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catnamedpanda

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Update on the Delilah roller coaster she keeps me on...

I spent all day yesterday using the vaporizer, rinsing her nose, and rubbing Vaseline on her nose and picking any crusties that I could soften up with it out of her nose. She protested but I managed to clear some out of her nose, I couldn't even tell that some of it was even up there. Every few hours I would go through and do all of that to her. I think all of this in combination with the steroids she is breathing better, and early this morning she cleared a whole plate of food on her own. Her breathing is not perfect but seems a lot easier than it has been for the last few days. We are going to hold off going to the vet until after she finishes the steroid drops, to see if she continues to head in the right direction.

Her energy seems better too. She will bat a little at a toy if you wave it in front of her, but that is the extent of her play. She is up and walking around without having to lay down every few feet like she was. I cant even begin to tell you how excited I was this morning during our petting session. I was giving her head rubs and stroking her just like always but today my little fluff ball was purring up a storm. It started off so low that I couldn't even hear it and could barely feel it, but after a minuet she was just purring away. I didn't want to stop petting her, that was the first time in the month that she has been sick that I have heard her purr.

I think even her pictures show how much better she feels...

Saturday when she felt terrible


Today


Just so we don't leave Penelope out
 

lindz2785

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Oh she DOES look better! Thank.goodness. I hope she is on the road to being and staying healthy!
 
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catnamedpanda

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I hope this weekend was the last of the rough patches and she will continue healing and growing from here. I did take her to the vet just to make sure she didn't lose any weight not feeling good this weekend. To me she feels more boney than she has been, but she gained half an ounce and is now 11oz. I need to get a new scale but until then the vet is not that far and I pick up her a/d food while I am there. I think she is feeling better than she has in a while, she has been a snuggly purr monster which I love. Especially since she has been sick she has only wanted to lay in her crate. She follows me around and likes to sit on my foot while I cook or do the dishes. I was tossing toys for Penelope last night and she was running after them some too. I have seen her really improve like this before so hopefully she stays this way.
 

orientalslave

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She might have had a growth spurt and be longer than she was.  Her face is certainly looking better in the most recent photos, and in your position I think I'd go and weigh her at the vet as well - they will be keeping an eye on her when you do it.
 
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catnamedpanda

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She might have had a growth spurt and be longer than she was.  Her face is certainly looking better in the most recent photos, and in your position I think I'd go and weigh her at the vet as well - they will be keeping an eye on her when you do it.
Maybe that's it, I really think she lost some of the fat she had put on her ribs. I'm sure she can get it back quickly now that she is back to eating on her own. Her nose is looking much better. That nostril is still small but not closed like it was this weekend. It looks like it is well on its way to healing. They do keep an eye on her when I do. The receptionist took her in the back, and the vet tech who is familiar with her brought her back to say hi and tell me how good she was looking. Her normal vets were not there that day though.
 
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