Newborn kitten is breathing hard - urgent!

Hello,

I'm from Europe (it's night here now), this is my first post. Sorry for the language mistakes.

We took in a pregnant stray cat. She just had 5 kittens, but the last one is breathing hard. It makes a sound with every breath it takes, and there are coming milky bubbles out of his nose now and then. It seems vital and doens't breath through his mouth. But the chest is going in and out quite heavely.

We called three vets, and none of them is willing to help this kitten in the middle of the night.

We held the kitten with the head down and the tail up, and whiped away the moist coming out of his nose. But the breathing didn't improve. What can we do more?! And do you think the kitten has a chance of surviving? Do you think it will still live by tomorrow, and would it help taking it to the vet then?

Thank you very much for your advice!

CandyCat

I'm so sorry no one has seen your thread until now. What's the update?

My fear is that this baby has a birth defect (that may not be visible) and is not going to survive regardless of what you do or don't do. As sad as it is these things just happen for no reason. If it's any consolation what you did (holding him head down and trying to wipe out his nose and mouth) was exactly the right thing to do. 

If he is still fighting: Then yes you should absolutely take him to the vet as soon as you can just to be sure he is okay. But, until then, has he been nursing? If not, try to latch him to one of Mom's nipples. If he won't take to that you need to try and force feed him with a bottle (or substitute with a dropper or syringe without the needle attached) and some kitten formula. If you don't have any goat's milk is a fine substitute- just not cow's milk! This link provides the basics on how to bottle feed just in case you need it: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens. Also, watch some YouTube videos if you can to see how to properly feed. He should be on his tummy same as he would nurse on Mom: not on his back. 

Finally, in order for him to digest food you need to make sure he is warm. Hopefully he has been kept with his litter mates to keep his temperature up. If he seems chilled you can warm a towel in the dryer for a few minutes to get it warm and wrap him up in that. If he is warm but lethargic you can give him a boost by rubbing some dextrose on his gums. It should help stimulate him enough to at least get him to eat. 

Again, I'm sorry no one was able to help you sooner. You responded perfectly by calling the vets first to try and get advice, and it's a shame none of them would help you (even offer you verbal advice over the phone). As amazing and helpful as TCS is it often isn't great in an emergency because we are all in different timezones. 

I do hope whatever was meant to happen has happened. If he is still here I pray he is nursing and adapting to life on the outside and if he isn't I pray that his passing was quick. Please do let us know what is happening. 

Healthy vibes for him, Momma, the rest of the kittens, and most of all, you and your family. I do hope you will continue to use the forums as questions arise as they grow and develop. We are here to help in any way that we can!

Thank you sooo much for your reply, it meant a lot to me! Unfortunately the vet found that the kitten needed to be euthanized since it had a severe cleft palate and probably pneumonia. Now I'm feeling guilty. Shouldn't I at least tried to hand feed the kitten?

What a heartbreaking event :-( Poor little fellow...

CandyCat said:

Thank you sooo much for your reply, it meant a lot to me! Unfortunately the vet found that the kitten needed to be euthanized since it had a severe cleft palate and probably pneumonia. Now I'm feeling guilty. Shouldn't I at least tried to hand feed the kitten?

What a heartbreaking event :-( Poor little fellow...

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I am sure you did everything you could. You had no way of knowing what was wrong. When you feel like it, you might consider posting a memorial in our Crossing the Bridge Forum for this little baby.
I hope the other kittens are doing well.

My Cat Marley had babies by C-section/ Emergency spay. It was a miracle she lived and had 4 babies, and took to them well. The female in the group had a fast heart beat, and she had four wonderful days with a mama who loved her, she passed away on July 11th. I buried her near Marley's tree that she sits under. The three boys are doing good. You have four other babies don't let nature make you feel guilty. It happens in most litters you loose one .

CandyCat said:

Unfortunately the vet found that the kitten needed to be euthanized since it had a severe cleft palate and probably pneumonia. Now I'm feeling guilty. Shouldn't I at least tried to hand feed the kitten?

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It's easy to question and play the 'what if' game but I absolutely think you made the right choice. Given that diagnosis he likely wouldn't have been able to nurse and would have starved to death. You have him the kindest gift you could by letting him pass peacefully and without pain.

I'm so sorry for your loss. RIP little kitten.

It's a bit late maybe to reply, but I wanted to thank you all for your kind words! It has helped me a lot! Thank you!