2 week old Kitten Difficulty breathing

Well that is a bit of good news. Yes I use a stethoscope to check him once in a while. I hope he has not inhaled any formula. I have tried hard not to let him but hard to tell. He seems to cough but rarely like since 8pm (now it is 4 am) maybe coughed 4 times? when he swallows he tries to stretch out head upward then swallow and maybe because nasal passage blocked up just hard to swallow. I try giving him 2 drops at a time. Was ok earlier but now he won't swallow it too well so I have to add bit more and stimulate him a bit then he will swallow. But them he acts like he is trying to meow and then either moves forward or backward and he is strong enough to make it a struggle to get him to hold still which makes it hard for me to time the feeding as it spills on neck so I can not be exactly sure how much he is getting but have been going off his skin, skin seems better. Doesn't snap back but definitely going back faster than before. What is strange is he swallows the medication very easy. Also I feed him 5 ml although 8-10ml is what catwoman advised at 5ml his belly seems rather huge and tight and he really starts backing up. 

I have not seen a single flea but for all I know he is covered in larvae? What is the treatment for that?

It is also hard for me to tell if he is getting better or not. Sometimes he breath quietly when sleeping. Just a few more hours and I can consult with the vet again.

Flea eggs drop off, and the eggs. larvae and pupae live in the environment.

Ok. Wasn't sure. So no fleas. Kitten got out of box and was meowing for food and started to suck on his own a little bit and was swallowing well however now back to the usual and his urine is greenish brown? But he is not dehydrated and is still moving around?? It says that green means liver problem...happened yesterday in morning and then it turned neon yellow. Now morning again it is greenish brown. A tad afraid to give med as maybe metabolized by liver but yesterday I gave it when urine was greenish and kitty ok...hmm have texted vet...

I highly suspect the urine color is caused by the herbal medication you are giving him.

Too young to worry about liver problems, highly doubtful.

What is this herbal med you are giving him?

Lagundi http://www.stuartxchange.org/Lagundi.html. It is green. So that is what I thought was causing it but I only give it at 8 am in morning at 6pm and the brown/green urine started at 6 this morning so wondered if something else? Vet didn't reply. of course. I don't have enough load to call. :/  I was really happy at 4 am because he crawled out of box and was meowing and drank a little sip on his own and then was swallowing ok but now same as before. He still moving around. Will he be able to fight off the upper respi problem by himself or do I need to do some other intervention? Also how long would it be before I see improvements or does it depend on the kitty?

I wouldn't worry too much about the urine color, as long as you are sure he is getting enough formula and peeing regularly.

No, very unlikely that he will fight off a URI on his own at his fragile age, as I said before, if he does infact have a uri, there is a good possibility that it will turn into pneummonia.

If you and possibly the vet do believe he does have a uri, he needs clavamox, or at least amoxicillin.

Tell me, why do you believe he has an upper resp infection going on? The only symptom I think I read was his open mouthed breathing when he sleeps, and as I said it is common for a baby his age's mouth to relax and be open sometimes during sleep.

Your question about how long will it take? If you mean the herbal med you are giving him I don't know the answer since I am not familiar with it. Clavamox will take 1 1/2 days for signs of improving.

Did the vet take his temp?

He is breathing through mouth almost all the time. When he inhales there is like a wheezing sound and when he exhales there is a pop. He doesn't swallow well. Is it possible he has an obstruction instead? I don't now his temperature because the vets never took his temp. All vets i went to, they don't have a thermometer the right size. The first vet I went to was horrible in my opinion because she kept repeating that he was a "native' cat and would i like to buy a ragdoll cat instead   and she would not touch him and I heard her say " what will i do with these kittens' to her coworkers she spoke in the native language, she thought I didn't understand. But she said i should buy the milk (formula one). But at the time they were healthy I just went to have a "professional" opinion/check up... Other vet I went to when he showed early signs of difficulty in breathing checked him and said he was fine and sold me nutri plus... but next day he could no longer suck milk on his own. So I brought him to another vet and she said she suspected he has aspiration pneumonia. He is not getting much liquid now as he is not swallowing. He seemed to be fading. I gave him vitamins at normal time but I mixed them with water as it is pasty so he wouldn't be able to swallow it if I didn't. Then I noticed white mucous like things coming out of mouth. I used cotton swab to get it out. Then he is swallowing better and more white stuff comes up if I put syringe on tongue and squirt. Don't know if what I am doing is right but maybe there is a obstruction...but when I open his mouth i don't see anything but tongue in way maybe....
Here he is:

Yes, I understand now the dilemna regarding vet care where you are jeez..

The first vet, wow, wonder where she got liscensed...

Did the third vet listen to his lungs?

I will put it to you this way, if it were pneummoina, your kitten would not still be alive.

Okay just watched the youtube video, and yes, I would say there IS  a uri going on. I can see the strained breath when inhaling, although it is still not pneummonia, at least not yet.

That means it is still fixable but time is ticking. Isn't there some way, somewhere you can get clavamox liquid, and fast??

Instead of wasting your time and money on random vets, try calling them and asking.

It's also quite rediculous for them to NOT take his temp! They don't use a smaller thermometer, lube the tip and put it in about a half inch, thats all.

I just don't know about the herbal you are giving now, I can't see that it will do the same job at wiping this out.

Gosh! If I could get some to you in a day I would so mail some!

It's discouraging, there's just no getting around it.

What do they give to dogs there? They MUST have at least amoxicillin.

Clavamox is better but any antibiotic can save this baby. I would guess it's a girl, hard to tell from the coloring in the video. If you want to video the genitals I will tell you, if you care at this point anyway, just a thought.

Even the third vet is mistaken! She thought aspiration pneummonia? Believe me, if a baby aspirates (inhales) formula, in less than 24 hrsbaby laying limp and very lethargic, and once you see those signs it might take 2, maybe 3 hours and they die. That fast.

I see it's been 2 days since the vet said that, so that isnt/at least wasn't the case, but it wont be long and it will be pneummonia.

I meant to say, the not swallowing is his way of trying hard not to eat. You must continue to carefully feed though

When a kitten or a cat for that matter can not smell they will not eat.

I don't suppose you can get Little Noses can you? That is made for children, it's nose spray to help clear up nasal congesion, we use it on our babies to clear them up. It is simply saline solution, absolutely harmless and can help temporarily unblock his nose.

I am getting as frustrated as you must be! I feel helpless and want to help you through this but you need to get ahold of antibiotics....somehow.

I just reread your last post, are you thinking he is fading?

Yeah I wonder why that vet is even a vet. I can not tell you how mad I was. And I hate to say it but I would say, through what I have seen and heard people really look down on the "native" breeds here to the point they think they are not worth to live or are 'dirty' breeds. I'm not saying everyone does but I bet majority.I'm not kidding but client sitting next to me in waiting room actually verbalized why don't I throw that cat away and buy a high bred one. Its all about status here and makes me sick. 

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]got hold of 4th vet. And she prescribed antibiotics but it is for humans but she gave us dosage. Now my huge problem is. is it to late. Racket is weak now. He will not swallow. [/color]

it is 1.5 ml cephalexin 2 times a day. I really tried but he could only handle 1.2 ml as seems he is going to vomit...I think it is a lot... he is not swallowing milk formula today he has basically been his pedialyte. he is weak. He perked up a little but only for a while.

cinnamonbite said:

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]  But someone replied here earlier you can crush it and mix with water??[/color]
[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I have a digital thermometer can I use that? [/color]

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Find who replied and PM this person, it is the quickest and safest. The person will perhaps also know the dosage - which is the real question.

 - my own quess is, you can crush a pill and mix with water, but I dont know anything about dosages.

I suppose you can use a digital termometer, make sure you warm it with your own hand, and use vaseline or similiar  - but do you really need to?

Good luck!

I would NOT use a thermometer that has to be inserted into the kitten's rectum.  It's far too easy to damage them.

And having read about the herbal treatment, I would stop that as well.  A lot of essential oils are toxic to cats and we have no idea if this one is actually safe.

   But kitty not doing to well. Thanks for all your advice. Will keep this updated. 

update. I was mistaken I typed earlier vet said to stop taking the herbal medicine but actually she said to continue it. .. so I am definitely confuse right now. Kitty seems to be wide awake and was able to  swallow and I gave him 4 ml as tummy tight probably because still some water in there from previous feeding. Maybe I should have named him Roller Coaster Ride because it definitely feels like it.

He is not doing good.

The edit button has seemed to disappear. Sadly Racket just kept going downhill tonight and even thought I was getting water and milk in him I think something else was wrong as he developed edema on neck and his tummy was squishy. Seemed like his system just stopped so all I could do was keep him warm until the end.

Oh no, I'm so sorry! I'm just bawling here. The important thing is that because of you this little baby, all of them actually, knew love. The mother most likely did abandon them because she knew they were sick. But...they were worth saving, if possible. It seems, it just wasn't meant to be. I'm so sorry for your loss of little Racket.

Thank you. I was more than happy to love them and give them a chance and really enjoyed caring for them. 

otto said:

Oh no, I'm so sorry! I'm just bawling here. The important thing is that because of you this little baby, all of them actually, knew love. The mother most likely did abandon them because she knew they were sick. But...they were worth saving, if possible. It seems, it just wasn't meant to be. I'm so sorry for your loss of little Racket.

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I agree on all points.

Giving and taking love and care IS the important part. That is what Mother Theresa did and get renown for.

Myself, my theory was and is, they had heart problems, hoping I was wrong and he would survive with good care.

cinnamonbite said:

Thank you. I was more than happy to love them and give them a chance and really enjoyed caring for them. 

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I hope you will proceed with taking care of kittens in need. The hardships do harden,. Now you do know more about taking care of sick kittens than most of the local vets do.  Dont let it be in vain.

Let  little Rackets short life be a gift to the other kittens.  Racket did not lived on, he perhaps even couldnt.

But hopefully, other kittens will live on and thrive, thanks to this your experience and Racket.

RIP  little Racket.

God bless you Cinnamonbite.

Good luck!

Thank you for your kind and encouraging words and to everyone who helped without you guys I think they would have not made it as far and I would still be in the dark about a lot of things. Can't tell you how much I appreciated you guys who, technically are strangers, practically took this ride with me and guided me. Hopefully vets will realize that they need to stock up on medications as that is important.