Kitten update plus kittens number 13-15 for the season! And a question.

ashyfulz · Oct 25, 2012

Cheeto's doing great as is Pip at their new homes!

Mica had sadly passed away at 13 weeks

after being fixed and getting his shots he was never the same, seemed depressed, and just didn't act like a kitten should.

3rd litter all died sadly

Ivy just recently got her home and they love her! Fern (Annie) is being spoiled beyond belief at her home and is apparently changing colors! Chip's going to her home in a couple weeks and is changing colors too. Her once all black tail is now striped and looks like somebody took a tabby tail and sewed it onto a tuxedo cat! Annie's tail looks the same now and her shoulders are turning white! Color morphing kittens!!!

Thunder is a spoiled brat and loving her home here and has discovered the fun of running and clinging to my legs.

And we have 3 new kittens we got 2 weeks ago. They're 5 weeks old now. Autumn, our biggest kitten of that litter who's a torbie with white and has an orange heart on her forehead; Pumpkin, the middle sized baby orange tabby with white boy; and Jake, our runt solid cream/buff boy. These guys are so much fun and the softest kittens we've had! They're all getting very playful and we have somebody who'll take all 3 to foster them after we get them weaned and ready until we find them homes. Pumpkin tries to suckle his siblings, but that's getting a lot better than a couple weeks ago!

Now here's my question. After giving them bathes a couple days ago, Jake scared me by doing what the 3rd litter did before they died. He couldn't use his back legs well and was flopping all over trying to stand up. We wrapped him in a blanket and put him on a heating pad and gave him 1ml of saline subcutaneously. He perked up a lot after that and looked a lot better. We gave him another shot last night which got him perked up and playful again even though he didn't look that bad, we figured it couldn't hurt to try. And today after his bath, he was fine before hand but looked horrible after it. Wrapped him up and put him on the heating pad again and he's 100% fine again! He's always walked a little funny compared to the other two, but this has us worried.

Any idea what it could be? He eats very well and isn't dehydrated at all, but the subQ fluids perk him up if he's on a low and it just seems unlike his siblings, he can't keep warm after a bath unless on the heating pad wrapped up. If he pulls through all this, depending on how he is when it's time for them to move to their foster home, we're probably going to keep him longer to make sure he's 100% fine. But it's just so strange. It's only after bathes and heat and subQ fluids get him back to normal. Any ideas?

Pictures coming soon once I load them on my laptop too!

orientalslave · Oct 25, 2012

I am wondering why you are bathing them, and what you are bathing them with? If fleas are an issue a drop-on on the mother usually sorts it out, along with plenty of bedding changes and either washing it hot (60C) or discarding it.

missymotus · Oct 25, 2012

OrientalSlave said:
I am wondering why you are bathing them, and what you are bathing them with? If fleas are an issue a drop-on on the mother usually sorts it out, along with plenty of bedding changes and either washing it hot (60C) or discarding it.

I also think the issue is the bathing, which isn't needed. Sounds like a toxicity reaction.

ashyfulz · Oct 25, 2012

They don't have a mother cat and are very messy eaters and get covered in gravy from their canned food. They get bathed with warm water and a little bit Dawn soap to kill the fleas (which we did with all the other kittens and still do and vet says that's fine and best thing to do for fleas at this age and nobody else has had a problem) and they do get bedding changes multiple times daily with fresh clean blankets. It seems more of a hypothermic thing since as long as he's warm until completely dry, he's fine.

And unless you're saying to let them live sticky and covered in food and fleas, yes the bathing is neccessary. Leaving them dirty is neglectful and can get them sick.

missymotus · Oct 25, 2012

Seeing as he only reacts that way after the baths isn't it obvious that's the cause? Spot on flea treatments can be used on kittens.

Perhaps change to a non-gravy food and a different dish so they can't get as dirty. None of my kittens have ever gotten dirty while eating and needed a bath.

orientalslave · Oct 25, 2012

You are right they need keeping clean, but a wiping with a warm damp microfibre cloth (no soap) will clean them well enough. They need putting on a heat pad or wrapping while they are damp from being wiped. Their bedding needs changing regularly (every day while you are finding fleas) and either discarding or washing hot - 60C.

Having to keep bathing them because they have fleas suggests you need a different strategy for dealing with the fleas. You can use the Frontline pump-action spray on kittens from 2 days of age:

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Mer...ACU-_w_v_Cutaneous_Spray_Solution/-31502.html

If they keep getting fleas then you probably have a problem with flea eggs, larvae and pupae in the house which needs dealing with...

Kittens are very prone to getting cold, and if you feed a cold kitten it can't digest the milk which in effect goes off in their stomachs...

http://www.fabcats.org/owners//kittens/handrearing.html

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html

Clearly you do a lot of great work, my suggestion would be to get a pump-action and always treat kittens when they come to you, before taking them in the house. Discard or wash the bedding they come with.

mewlittle · Oct 25, 2012

ashyfulz said:
Cheeto's doing great as is Pip at their new homes!

Mica had sadly passed away at 13 weeks after being fixed and getting his shots he was never the same, seemed depressed, and just didn't act like a kitten should.

3rd litter all died sadly

Ivy just recently got her home and they love her! Fern (Annie) is being spoiled beyond belief at her home and is apparently changing colors! Chip's going to her home in a couple weeks and is changing colors too. Her once all black tail is now striped and looks like somebody took a tabby tail and sewed it onto a tuxedo cat! Annie's tail looks the same now and her shoulders are turning white! Color morphing kittens!!!

Thunder is a spoiled brat and loving her home here and has discovered the fun of running and clinging to my legs.

And we have 3 new kittens we got 2 weeks ago. They're 5 weeks old now. Autumn, our biggest kitten of that litter who's a torbie with white and has an orange heart on her forehead; Pumpkin, the middle sized baby orange tabby with white boy; and Jake, our runt solid cream/buff boy. These guys are so much fun and the softest kittens we've had! They're all getting very playful and we have somebody who'll take all 3 to foster them after we get them weaned and ready until we find them homes. Pumpkin tries to suckle his siblings, but that's getting a lot better than a couple weeks ago!

Now here's my question. After giving them bathes a couple days ago, Jake scared me by doing what the 3rd litter did before they died. He couldn't use his back legs well and was flopping all over trying to stand up. We wrapped him in a blanket and put him on a heating pad and gave him 1ml of saline subcutaneously. He perked up a lot after that and looked a lot better. We gave him another shot last night which got him perked up and playful again even though he didn't look that bad, we figured it couldn't hurt to try. And today after his bath, he was fine before hand but looked horrible after it. Wrapped him up and put him on the heating pad again and he's 100% fine again! He's always walked a little funny compared to the other two, but this has us worried.

Any idea what it could be? He eats very well and isn't dehydrated at all, but the subQ fluids perk him up if he's on a low and it just seems unlike his siblings, he can't keep warm after a bath unless on the heating pad wrapped up. If he pulls through all this, depending on how he is when it's time for them to move to their foster home, we're probably going to keep him longer to make sure he's 100% fine. But it's just so strange. It's only after bathes and heat and subQ fluids get him back to normal. Any ideas?

Pictures coming soon once I load them on my laptop too!

kittens shouldn't be bathed and spayed or neutered tell there 4-5 mos old or until they weigh 5lbs or more and kittens are sensitive to shots until they or 4 mos old or 5lbs or more i know all this from experince if the kittys got dirty whip them off with a little warm water and a wash cloth and a little bit of baby shampoo

and jake could have a cat heart problem did his feet go cold? if yes he might have a heart problem causing cats to have clots at any age and the clot blocks the spin and perylizes there legs and tail i know my 25 day old kitten died of the heart problem take jake to the vet and mention could he have a heart problem and he needs blood thinners

missymotus · Oct 26, 2012

Mewlittle said:
kittens shouldn't be bathed and spayed or neutered tell there 4-5 mos old or until they weigh 5lbs or more and kittens are sensitive to shots until they or 4 mos old or 5lbs

Kittens can most certainly be bathed before 4-5 months, I just wouldn't if kittens are having such a reaction.

Spay/neutering is also done from 8 weeks when kittens weight 2lbs/1kg and has been done for decades. I get my kittens done at 10 weeks, before they are rehomed at 12 weeks. Shelters tend to do them at 8 weeks.

Vaccines are also fine at 8 weeks.

Waiting to neuter until 5 months is very old fashioned, it's also best to neuter before the cats mature. It's not uncommon for girls to go into heat before 5 months, likewise boys are quite capable of mating at that age.

eb24 · Oct 26, 2012

ashyfulz,

I admit off the bat that I haven't followed all of your threads so I may be missing something. I'm just going off of what you posted here.

What I am wondering is, are you completely sanitizing everything between litters? I am not at all insinuating that you are messy or dirty or don't clean up after them or anything like that so please don't read it that way. I am thinking more that one of the kittens brought in some sort of bug (maybe pan luk or something similar). A lot of viruses are airborne and can live on hard surfaces and things like bedding for long periods of time. Perhaps the bigger, healthier kittens are strong enough to fight it off, but maybe the smaller/younger ones are falling prey.

I don't know much about fleas so I don't know the role that might have. And yes, I know (same as I know you do) that sometimes kittens just don't make it, especially if you are hand-rearing them. Just thought the possibility of an illness being in the house might be something you hadn't considered and so I figured I would put it out there. When I first started fostering it happened to me where I had a litter get sick and then the next litter did. Even though I had washed all the bedding, ect I didn't think about the airborne factor. After I gave the whole apartment a good cleaning no one else got sick. Now I make sure I do it each and every time before I bring new litters in.

I use one part bleach to 10 parts water (this was by recommendation of the vet to kill any viruses). Obviously you don't want to spray this anywhere near the kittens or other animals, but you can spray areas down and once it's completely dry it is safe for them. You can also use it to wash the towels, bedding, ect. There is enough water that it shouldn't bleach your stuff, but always do a test run first! The proportions may be different depending on the type of bleach. If in doubt, err on the side of more water.

As far as the bathing- have you tried just using kitten wipes that they sell at the petstore? That's what I use for my messy eaters. With them so young I would worry about them getting to chilled afterward.

If this fits your situation I hope you find it helpful. If not then no harm, no foul. Good luck!

Kitten update plus kittens number 13-15 for the season! And a question.

ashyfulz

TCS Member

Thread starter

orientalslave

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missymotus

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ashyfulz

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Thread starter

missymotus

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orientalslave

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mewlittle

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missymotus

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eb24

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