Orphan 3 week old kitten who now has pneumonia, can you tell me if I am doing everything right?

So my boyfriend found a little kitten outside his work underneath some tin, she had been heard crying at 6:30am but wasn't found until 1pm. She was wet from the rain and very hungry, her eyes had barely opened and was very weak but other than that she didn't have fleas or diseases. Anyway, he brought her home and I took her to a pet shop to get formula and a bottle. Her eyes had just opened up so they told us she was about 7-10 days old she slept alot when we got her home. She was sneezing alot, one after another after another. She was eating and everything so we I kept feeding her and burping her, helping her pee and poop, and cuddling her to sleep. 

Anyway, her nose got more clogged at she was sneezing out clear liquid. I started to get really concerned because she wasn't sleeping as much and she couldn't eat because she had trouble breathing, she was crying alot, if she wasn't sleeping or trying to eat, she was sneezing/coughing. I took her to the vet and he told me she had pneumonia from inhaling milk the wrong way. I felt terrible and terrified that she wouldn't survive. I cried and cried and prayed for a miracle. He told me it would be best for her to be put down because her chances weren't good but knowing her mother abandoned her, I couldn't give up on her too. So I refused and pleaded with him to do something so he gave her antibiotics, vitamins and fluids. 

That was two days ago. I bought her a mini electric blanket, I'm keeping a close eye on her and she's eating alot! Her coughing/sneezing has lessened ALOT and her nose isn't as congested. I run a vaporizer to try to clear her lungs and I softly rub and tap near her lungs in hopes of loosening up the fluid in her lungs. 

She loves to drink down the formula but she has spat up a bit of milk a couple of times, should I be worried about that? It's not alot and it's just a little milk but I have never owned a cat before, I only have two dogs so I don't know what to think...

Do you think this little girl is going to pull through? Is there anything else I can do? What are the signs that she's getting better?

Also she hasn't pooped in a couple of days and I'm starting to worry. I use a warm wash cloth and gently rub her bum to stimulate her bowels but just nothing happens! Is there anything I can do to assist her any more?

Any information you can give me will be so helpful! 

Thank you!

You seems to do it like a pro! Even thinking up some extra details like tapping on the chest and this vaporizer!   You can also try and massage her all over too if you wish, cant harm, but bettering on her blood circulation may give extra edge.

Yeah, it is easy to make mistakes giving them milk if you dont know exacly how. The correct is on their tummy, head up.  Seems awkward, but it is the natural way like they do with mom.

But with this colding and wetting down, she could have got pneumonia anyway, so dont be hard on yourself.

Can you get hold on goat milk? it is possibly even better than kmr.  Can you get hold on RAW goat milk? If you have some goat farmer in neighbourhood?  This is even better, raw milk contains some extra protection.

That with no pooing in two days doesnt need to be serious as yet, even if the ideal is they poo every day.

www.kitten-rescue.com is a good site...  there are others if you google, handrearing kitten

fabsayc and Messybeast

Good luck!

First off, thank you for rescuing this little girl and giving her a chance!

I wish I could tell you she will be okay but there is just no way to know. Kittens are very delicate and losing one is always a risk. That said, I have seen perfectly healthy kittens crash and die within a matter of hours with no warning, and kittens who are so sick it seems unlikely they will survive pull through. 

All you can do is have faith and keep doing exactly what you are doing. It sounds like she has an upper respiratory infection so I'm glad the vet put her on antibiotics. The vaporizer is a great idea too to try and help with her congestion. 

Are you still bottle feeding her or is she eating on her own? If she's still on the bottle be sure you watch some videos online just to be sure you are doing it properly from this point forward (though I totally agree with Stefan that it's an easy mistake to make so don't be hard on yourself about it). Some spit up is fairly common so long as it's just a little bit and isn't her actually vomiting. It may be an indication that you are feeding her too fast so maybe try slowing down and taking little breaks so that she can properly digest.

As far as her constipation- You could buy a some plain canned pumpkin and mix it with a good amount of warm water to make it liquid enough to go through her bottle/syringe or for her to lap up. Pumpkin is great for both diarrhea and constipation. You could also try putting her butt right under the faucet and rubbing her gently in a circular motion with a towel that way. Sometimes the flow of the warm water helps get them going (and it makes clean up super easy- just make sure you dry her really well so she doesn't get chilled afterwards). I wouldn't try any sort of cat laxative with her because she's so young and getting the right dosage is hard, but if she goes another day without having a bowel movement call the vet and have her rechecked. A little constipation from the medications wouldn't be surprising but it shouldn't last more than a couple of days without becoming worrisome. 

To me, it sounds like you are doing everything right and everything you can for this little one. The only other thing I would say is use caution with the heating pad (keep it on the lowest setting) and make sure she can easily get to a spot without it in case she gets too warm. And, if you aren't already get a scale that weighs in grams and weigh her at the same time everyday. This is the best way to know she is getting enough to eat and is properly gaining weight. 

 Vibes that she continues to improve. Please keep us posted as to how she is doing! 

Thank you. I will post a picture when I get the chance, she is just beautiful and she's eating and sleeping so much, is that a good sign? I am feeding her now with her belly down and head up. 

I'm very proud of the way she's improved, I still very worried about her and I don't mind losing sleep if it means she's safe and getting better. 

How old is she (I know you don't know for sure but your estimated guess)? Healthy young kittens are quiet ones and pretty much just eat and sleep. If she's closer to 3-4 weeks she should be doing some exploring, but it's really the 5-6 week timeframe that they really get going and are super active. 

savingkali said:

she's eating and sleeping so much, is that a good sign?

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Yes, as long as she is still sick sleeping is the natural to do. Sleep regains her strengh.  Like when you were sick. As long as she eats well and willingly you know it is OK for the moment.

Good luck!

I would say she is around 3 weeks old. She walks around a bit but shes very wobbly. shes a curious little thing though! The vet said she had weak back legs so we're helping her build her strength.

Heres Kali:

Woo hoo! She pooped! It was a big one, yellow and quite runny. Is she okay?

Oh yay that's good she pooped! 

There isn't really a way to say if she's "okay" or not. Since she hasn't pooped in a couple of days it would make sense that it was large and pretty liquid so that seems normal, but, you just need to see how she does over a period of days. Keeping track of her stools (size, consistency, time, ect) can be really helpful. That way if you think there is a problem you have something definitive to give to your vet. It's much easier for them to help if they know in detail what is going on. So, maybe start keeping a "health log" for her and track her progress. In addition to her stools I would mark if/when she spits up, if she has any changes in her nasal discharge, or anything else new or that seems out of the ordinary. 

Keep doing what you're doing. You are giving this adorable little one a really good chance to fight and overcome this! 

Kali last night:

Oh the precious little baby! Congratulations to your boyfriend on the rescue, and to you both for saving her life and not giving up on her. I look forward to more Kali stories, I bet she is getting strong now!

Congratulations on the poop, too!

Oh she is too sweet!!!! Every day she gets older she also gets stronger and her chances of survival increase. Reading your thread makes me think of two others that have been around recently. The first was Levi68's foster Ben. The other was CatNamedPanda's two girls, Penelope and Delilah. Even if it wasn't for the same reasons, both of their stories are ones where these kittens were so sick it seemed impossible that they would survive. And yet, all of them did!

So, it is totally possible. Just keep doing what you are doing, and have faith that she can get past this. Sometimes, just believing it gives them the strength and encouragement they need to keep going. 

Here are some of the links if you want to get a little inspiration from these incredible little fighters!

Ben: 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/256111/ben-is-breaking-my-heart-i-dont-know-what-else-to-do

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/256853/bens-progress-report

Penelope and Delilah (I couldn't find the original thread but this one has some good "before and after" pics. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245301/penelope-and-delilah

Keep fighting Kali. You can do it!!!! 

She's barely sneezing at all today, she's really feisty and loving. She's very curious of my Maltese shitzu Lola and loves to use he paws on Lola's face. It's very cute. And Lola is soooo protective of her. If my other big Labradoodle (Bonnie) comes in Lola will jump off my bed and growl and guard the kennel. It's amazing. Lola used to be the baby in the house. I didn't know she had such a strong maternal instinct. She also licks Kali's bum to get her to wee.

Her breathing is so much clearer today! She's my little fighter!

She's almost 4 weeks now, when do I start giving her solid kitten food?

Yay! So happy to hear she's improving! 

You can start trying her on canned wet kitten food any day now. It may take her awhile to figure it out but if you dab a little on her mouth and paws she may pick it up faster. A lot of people also like to water down wet food with a little warm water or some KMR to make it a little more soupy and easier to lap up. And, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it super smelly and appetizing.

I would just put out a teaspoon or so at a time as she likely won't eat any at first and you don't want to waste a ton of it. Remember wet food goes bad quickly so only leave it down for a half hour or so. You can store the extra in the can covered in the fridge for several days and just warm up what you need when you are ready to use it. Make sure you also have a bowl of fresh water and dry kitten food out for her at all times. It will take her longer to start on these but it's good to have them out so she gets used to them. 

In the next week or two she should gain control of her own bowels and that means it's time to start litterbox training! She will let you know by starting to go on her own (probably right on your floor or in her bed). Make sure you have several small boxes set up for her as she won't be able to hold it long (high sided cookie sheets or the cardboard boxes wet kitten food comes in work well). Just use a little bit of litter and make sure it's a non-clumping variety, as clumping litter, when wet, expands and can cause a life threatening intestinal blockage. When she has an accident just clean it up and put it in the box so she starts to associate it with her smell. Also, make sure you have a good enzyme remover (like natures miracle) on hand to clean up her messes to prevent re-marking. 

It will take her a little longer to pick up on these new concepts as she doesn't have a Mom or any litter mates to guide her. Just do the best you can in showing her what you want to do and she will figure it out. Limiting her space to just one room helps in minimizing accidents and keeping her near her food so she remembers to eat. Until she is eating both wet and dry food on her own don't stop bottle feeding her. And, even then she still may need a supplemented meal each day. Most kittens continue to nurse up to 12 weeks so that's not abnormal. 

Lola and Kali:


Lola is only a shitzu but she looks MASSIVE compared to little Kali <3

savingkali said:

She's almost 4 weeks now, when do I start giving her solid kitten food?

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You can try and begin slowly now.  Although know you must also begin litter train, not sure Lola wants to lick of her new poo...   The poo changes when they begin to eat real food.

Use a non clumping litter.

Good luck!

okay, she hasn't eaten much at all today. She's had a few sips of her bottle every now and then but she usually drinks almost an entire bottle. It's been very cold today so could that have something to do with it?? I'm really worried! :/

AND she wobbles...  Sending *prayers* and *vibes*!

Good luck little Kali!

savingkali said:

okay, she hasn't eaten much at all today. She's had a few sips of her bottle every now and then but she usually drinks almost an entire bottle. It's been very cold today so could that have something to do with it?? I'm really worried! :/

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Make sure you are keeping her plenty warm. Other than that, it's not abnormal for them to have an off day where they just don't eat as much. 

I wouldn't force her today but if she's still like this tomorrow you may want to call the vet.