2 week old kitten, full of lice! (And not pooping regularly.)

We took in a rescue bottle baby from the shelter earlier this week. She's seen the vet three times now for other issues (maggots in the ear, abscess under ear, severe ear infection, severe eye infections - she may be blind, not pooping). The antibiotics are working and she's looking and feeling a heck of a lot better now. We think she's between 10 and 16 days old. 

But she is COVERED in lice! And not just a couple. You can watch them marching in waves across her head and back.  The back of her ears are yellow (and she's a black tortie) with sheets of them. I tried the Dawn dishsoap trick, but it had no effect. (On a previous rescue kitten that had lice, it took them out in one bath.) It's two weeks until she's old enough use Capstar. Is there anything we can do to try and bring the numbers down? She's got sores on her tail from how much she's getting eaten! With her infections I don't want to douse her in water again unless I have no other choice. 

And the other issue is she's not pooping regularly for us yet. It was three days before she went the first time - she was constipated and there was a ton of it when she did. And now it's been two more whole days and nothing. The vets are saying it's somewhat normal and not to worry, but does anyone have any advice on how long is too long, and are there any tricks to making her go? I'm not a newbie to bottle babies, but I've never had one go so long before without, well, going! She's bloated, so she obviously needs to go, and she pees like a trooper every single feeding so it's not  lack of stimulation. We've been letting her run around for a while between her bottle and when we attempt to poop her, but there's just nothing. Could really use some advice! 

Hiya i don't have any advice on constipation i am sorry to say but with fleas for young kittens i would get a metal tooth nit comb and comb them out.Pop them between your thumb nails this will bring down numbers if down regularly 

The poor little muffin. The thought of her wee body covered in lice like that is awful.

I've used those little flea/tick combs with great success on our old cat when she got infested with fleas. I know the lice are smaller, especially the eggs, but a very fine toothed comb should work well on a tiny kitten. You really need to get those eggs off too, and of course wash all her bedding well. Try to physically remove the pests. I would be hesitant to use any kind of medication like a lime wash on one so young.

As for her constipation, perhaps it's related to her little body fighting off infection? I don't know of liquid treatments for constipation - I've only given adult cats pumpkin, laxatone etc, obviously not useful for a bottle baby.

Perhaps ask about this in the kitten forum too:
http://www.thecatsite.com/f/36/pregnant-cats-and-kitten-care
Someone may see it there who has had similar experience.

I can offer some experienced advice.

Addressing each issue, for her to have maggots she must have some sort of injury, can you tell me what?

Ear infection can be caused by yeast in kittens.

Eye infections, Terramycin works excellent, eye infects are quite common in outside born kittens, alot even inside born have eye bacteria going on too.

Lice-I have no doubt her momma is full of lice. This is very sad to me because lice is quite rare in adult cats, mainly seen only in a very unhealthy, debilitated cat.

Which explains babies other issues too.

I expect I will hear alot of negative comments from other members, but this works-

2 drops on her neck of Advantage 11 (only that type) every 7 days. 4 times will eliminate any chance of eggs hatching.

Period.

Despite the age/size, when kittens come to me infested with fleas which can kill them, unless brand newborn where I will treat mom only until the kids are at least 10+ days old usually does the trick, but many times there was no mom when rescuing babies, and they were literally covered in fleas and their lives were being sucked away, I do it, and it works.

Lice is killed by Advantage 11 as well.

I have rescued 3 very sick adults and treated them the same way but of course a bigger dose, and the lice is history.

BTW it is not contagious to you, only other cats.

I may have jumped the gun on the lice - this morning it looked like they were falling off of her in droves.  My husband took her to work with him today so she could get vet checked about the constipation and I could get some sleep. (I take the night shift, and then sleep while she's at work with him. We've done this in the past with bottle babies and it's a blessing that he can do it!) I'm going to recheck tonight and see how she looks.

We have what I thought was a lice comb but it wasn't working. They're latched onto her skin in the folds and I'm having trouble getting at them without poking her. (They seriously look like deer ticks. They're not, but I've never seen lice lined up in rows and sucking away like that before.) I was actually wondering about smearing a drop of Advantage on my finger and then just dotting the back of her ears where they're concentrated, but I don't think we're to that point yet if the Dawn worked. )

I worked in a shelter for a while, and I've only seen lice twice before this. Once was on a group of kittens my foster coordinator took on, and then the rescue kitten we found in 2009 was also covered. (Along with missing the skin on his bum and having an eye hanging out of his head. He's passed out on the bed right now, one-eyed and HUGE and healthy. ) But yeah, not common in this area at all. 

She was found in a guy's flower bed, completely alone. No sign of mom or any other babies, and she was half-buried in the dirt and mewling and struggling, so he brought her in to the shelter very upset. They didn't have anyone else to take her, so my husband called me to see if it was alright. (Like we needed another one. :roll: ) At the time she looked normal though dehydrated and she had some crusties on her face. Two days later he found the maggots inside her ear, and then we realized when she opened her eyes that the infection there was severe.

I'm not even sure how old she was. On Tuesday she was around 5 ounces, no ubilical cord, eyes shut (possibly by the infection though), ears curled but upwards, could crawl around that first day and in two days she was bumbling around (could have been from weakness before that). Eyes fully opened after antibiotics, so... Oh, and she's a long-hair. (Tortie, with the big orange splash on half her face. ) We're thinking maybe 17 days old now? 

We think there is a cut on the ear, and the blood had pooled inside the ear canal, which is what attracted the flies. In any case, the infection was bad enough that it alone would probably have flagged down every fly in the area.  I'm using cotton swabs just to suck up the excess fluid when I feed her, in an effort to get it clear quicker. (It's yellow/pussy with a touch of blood.) The swelling has gone down greatly and it doesn't smell at all. Doc wants to nail her with capstar as soon as possible just in case we've missed any maggots. (I will take maggots over warbles any day. Have you ever had an entire 4 week old litter infected with multiple warbles per kitten before? GAH!!) 

Her eyes are fully open and the swelling on her lids and third membrane is gone and they're no longer red (wow - did the antibiotics work fast!), but she has scarring on her actual eyeball. She looks like a 20 year old cat with cataracts, and judging by the way she has trouble with the bottle and that she walks with her nose on the ground I do think she's partially to fully blind right now. The docs (of course ) are giving her time to heal before they say anything. I don't care one way or the other, she'll have a home here even if no one else wants her, and her hearing in her good ear is great. 

And as for the pooping, I guess for her it might be normal. Doc checked her again today and felt no build-up in her digestive tract. She's gaining an ounce a day, so it's not like she isn't eating! This'll be the first one, but I think she's actually taken to the formula properly. I'm so used to then pooping it all out! Still, it'll be 72 hours tonight without a movement so it is unsettling. 

If you are seeing lots of white specks falling off of her, look at them with a magnifyer, they are still moving.

She is so infested that they can cause anemia and death.

Dabbing some on your finger is how I started doing it, but realized when I put 2 little drops on a surface and swipe it up on my finger, it looks the same, and at least I knew the baby was getting an amount to do the job yet not cause any harm.

As for her eyes, if you see a hazed looking coat, sort of white-ish blue that is scar tissue damage.

Some of it will fade but no telling how much as she grows older.

It's close to impossible to tell if she has vision or not just yet, unless of course your vet examines her eyes with his scope.

Usually, but not 100% of the time, when eye infections cause blindness, it has become huge and bulges, oftentimes the eye actually needs removing, as you know from your one-eyed big boy

It seems that her eyes are clearing up so fast that I wouldn't think there is enough damage done already.

Take a old mayo or peanut butter container fill half way with water add 3 small squirts of flea shampoo in the water get a flea comb set on a bare hard floor or in the bathtub flea comb the kitten take the fleas you collect on the comb drop them in the water they will die instinctly and keep combing the kitten tel you don't get any more fleas do these at least once a day dumb the water down the drain or outside don't get the flea comb wet or it won't work and wash any blankets bedding the kitten gets one vacuum any carpets and furniture you have etc

I hope I help on that

And did you take her in for the lice/fleas and constipation ?

She does not have fleas, only the lice. I haven't seen a live one since the bath.  

Yes, she's been seen four times in the last week by a vet so far for her various ailments. They say there's nothing we can do until she's older.

Vet (either of them) doesn't seem at all worried about the constipation, but it's been since Friday night and still nothing. We try stimulation and massage with every meal and between meals. I've tried the "triangle method" I read about online. No response at all from her. I gave her a few drops of mineral oil during lunch just to see if it helps. She's going back in tomorrow to get checked again as she seems a little sluggish. (Although she's already had 3/4 of a bottle since 4 am so she could just be full.) If she doesn't go by Friday (one week) I'll talk to the vet about an enema. 

Her eyes aren't the greatest and I think they look a little flat. I'm hoping that they're forming correctly and the damage isn't too severe. I don't think she can see movement at all, but she reacts to the flash on the camera by sitting back a bit like she was surprised. Light/dark is better than nothing.

Oh poor little punkin!! What a little dollface, all powty

For constipation I have used a glycerin suppository, of course the bullet sized thing needs to be cut thinner, into a sliver, but that will likely help her poopoo.

I hope the bath got ride of all the lice and I hope she starts going number 2 soon she is a cutie by the way do you know her birthday? Just wondering

We think it's right around June 7th... which is kind of freaky because I had to put my kitty (my constant companion and best friend in the world) to sleep on the evening of the 7th.... 

She is absolutely darling. And I would not be surprised if your late kitty didn't make the arrangements for you to meet this new one.

I'd say keep doing what you're doing - it sounds like you've covered all the bases.

Our six-week old kitten came with a severe eye infection and his eyes, when we could get them open, looked like yours at first. I was worried he couldn't see because he tended to lead with his nose when he walked. But after five days of antibiotic and ointment his eyes are clearing and he can definitely see. I hope it's the same with your guy (or girl).

I asked for the bday because I have 5 kittens born on the 9th
I hope everything goes great with her keep us updated

Ondine said:

She is absolutely darling. And I would not be surprised if your late kitty didn't make the arrangements for you to meet this new one.

 

Click to expand...

I had asked my husband to keep an eye out for something just like that. I just had a gut feeling that night. So now we have both Bumble and another older nervous wreck that we're fostering. lol  The kitty that passed had asthma that was triggered by stress and was on serious steroids, so bringing in unknown fosters just wasn't safe for the past couple of years. We tended to specialize in the sad sacks that no one else wanted or had time for.  

carylinpa said:

Our six-week old kitten came with a severe eye infection and his eyes, when we could get them open, looked like yours at first. I was worried he couldn't see because he tended to lead with his nose when he walked. But after five days of antibiotic and ointment his eyes are clearing and he can definitely see. I hope it's the same with your guy (or girl).

Click to expand...

THAT is the best bit of news I've heard all week!! It's been five days though and she's not showing any signs of seeing better, but her eyeballs are flatter then they should be so I'm hoping it'll just take more time to heal. 

Mewlittle said:

I asked for the bday because I have 5 kittens born on the 9th
I hope everything goes great with her keep us updated

Click to expand...

May I ask how she looks compared to them? I know every litter is different, but I'm having a hard time picturing where she should be. Bottle babies always seem to be behind in weight and growth anyway. (I had a stray cat give birth once in our home so I know what normal healthy kittens should be. They were 2 pounds at 4.5 weeks! Never had that kind of luck with mommaless babies.) 

Vet again said that her not pooping is "within normal limits" and gave her some laxatone and told us to wait. (But not how long to wait!!) She also suggested keeping up with the mineral oil, and if we wanted to we could introduce some solid food (probably just the gravy) to make her poop. I don't think she's at the point where she should be getting solid food yet, but maybe another week? I'm not paranoid about her pooping and I just want to keep her healthy. She does lick my fingers clean if formula gets on them, so she's showing signs of being able to, but her mouth is still nipple shaped so I don't want to her to either choke or inhale it since she's nose-down with being blind right now. 

What a cute little button. She looks a little like a mini version of my little girl. She is so lucky to have found you. Hopefully those eyes will clear up. I had a shelter kitten come with terrible eyes like that and the scaring was smaller as he grew. Maybe the same will happen for your girl. If not she seems like she will be well loved either way. for her to poo for you soon, and her to feel much better.

I'll say she was born around June 9th one of my kittens look somewhat like yours so I picked her up put her next to your image they look like they would be siblings I'll get a image of her tomorrow so you can see her name is Blaziken

Just wanted to update that she's doing spectacularly!  

She does still have vision problems. For instance, if we walk in from outside and she's in the kitchen, she can tell we're a person, but not what person. She'll panic and start running backwards until we talk to her and then you can see her sort of startle into realization and then she'll come running straight to us. The same thing with the other cats - she has to be about a foot away before she can tell which cat is which (some are friendly to her, some are not). She'll also loose me sometimes in the house even though I'm standing not far from her - if I walk around the counter she doesn't know where I am until I talk to her and she knows to look up. Probably the funniest thing is if you swing a toy in front of her. Her head moves in opposite time to the swing!

She seems to be doing mostly perfect with furniture and walls, I've only seen her clunk once or twice, and that was when she was moving sideways and not paying attention. Doesn't phase her a bit when it happens.  And she tears through the house with the other foster kittens and she can do steps and get on the dining table and couch without any issues. (It's weird, I tell ya!)

Depending on how the shelter handles her eye and ear again this week (she was in last week for a URI and yeast infection in her ear) we're probably going to try to scrape together some funds and take her to a specialist. I want to be sure that we're doing everything we can so she grows up as healthy as possible. I'm concerned about ongoing eye issues like glaucoma, and I'm also worried that she may have a torn eardrum. She has brown stones of junk falling out of that ear on a daily basis, and the vets just keep saying it's ear mites or dead tissue or whatever. 

She keeps up very well with our other two fosters who are twice her age. When she wanted to go out into the main house there was no stopping her! The first time she bolted she was across the house before I could even react. She acts like she's always lived here, and the other cats treat her like she has, too. I'm always catching her getting a free bath from one of the adults. 

She likes to be with us, and is always underfoot if I'm doing something in the kitchen. At night she still sleeps across my neck and face. (She's draped across my chest right now. She likes to give Eskimo kisses!) 

I put her back on a bowl of formula at bedtime when she got sick, so she really thinks she's special now. I also think it helped with healing her up faster and helping with the dehydration from the cold.

And she still has ringworm. :/ Not in the original places and where it was has healed completely, but she got some new spots now. (So do I.) Sigh. At least she got big enough to flea treat and now she's lice free!!