Newborn Kittens

catwoman707 said:

 
We like to see about a 10 gram gain daily, 6 is a bit on the low side.

What is his total weight now, and what did he weight at birth, do you know?

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I don't know what he weighed at birth, but he was so, so small. He is 190g right now; I know he is underweight, but we also suspect he was the runt.

We are taking him to the ER vet. He refused the bottle, and is breathing through his mouth.

Shlargh said:

We are taking him to the ER vet. He refused the bottle, and is breathing through his mouth.

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Oh honey, it sounds bad. I am so sorry to hear this, after all you have done, such a sweet little punkin boy

If his breaths are sort of more like gasps with mouth open, he is passing away. I'm so sorry, deeply saddened for you.

         

Oh no!

Poor little guy, I hope he is going to be OK.

catwoman707 said:

 
Oh honey, it sounds bad. I am so sorry to hear this, after all you have done, such a sweet little punkin boy

If his breaths are sort of more like gasps with mouth open, he is passing away. I'm so sorry, deeply saddened for you.

         

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I haven't posted in this thread as much as some have but I've been following from the beginning and am so sorry this is happening. Please let us know what has happened either way. It really is tragic when these things go downhill.

The vet was really, really, REALLY fantastic. My regular vet doesn't have emergency service offerings (REALLY small town), but I was impressed. She couldn't get a blood sample, but she did give him a good exam and some fluids. No fever, and she said it doesn't sound like pneumonia, just a regular URI. Two weeks of anti-biotics to give him twice a day, and to call her again if anything changes. Worth the $185! She said we're doing a good job with him though.
She also said that all the information I had was really impressive, so YAY for you all!

Thank-you so much everyone for your support, I'm unexplainably grateful for all of you!

Shlargh said:

The vet was really, really, REALLY fantastic. My regular vet doesn't have emergency service offerings (REALLY small town), but I was impressed. She couldn't get a blood sample, but she did give him a good exam and some fluids. No fever, and she said it doesn't sound like pneumonia, just a regular URI. Two weeks of anti-biotics to give him twice a day, and to call her again if anything changes. Worth the $185! She said we're doing a good job with him though.

She also said that all the information I had was really impressive, so YAY for you all!

Thank-you so much everyone for your support, I'm unexplainably grateful for all of you! <3

Something funny...The rectal thermometer she used was the smallest she had, and of course he was squawking about it; she actually used it on a hamster earlier in the week and said the hamster made more noise than our kitten; hahahaha!

Also, we have decided to name him Brock (Brockie; after a musician who passed away earlier this week).

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Oh my gosh I could not possibly be more relieved!!! Woohoo!!

I might be on high alert right now, as I have been pulling newborns left and right and sending them with excellent, highly experienced fosters, and we have lost 5 already   I just know how very fragile these little ones are now, and are not out of the woods until at least 4 weeks, of course as weeks go by from birth, gives them a better chance than the week before, but still........

The second I read he wouldn't eat I know it's a matter of hours literally and that baby will be gone.

So you acted fast and did exactly what needed to be done. I am hoping like mad that she is correct, and he takes his little med doses fine, and all's well

Wonderful news!

Oh just one more thing. Did she warn you that antibiotics usually cause diarrhea in babies, and have a high risk of dehydration because of this?

Just need to be aware of this

She did, actually. He's on Novamoxin, .7ml every 12 hours for two weeks. He took his first dose, but clearly did not enjoy it. Poor thing is just having a rough night. If he gets dehydrated, we will be taking him back to the clinic for more sub-Q fluids. He ate a little bit, but had to have a quick partial bath, as he pooped his pants on the way home. He will be having some corn syrup on his gums if he gets wonky again.

Great news! I hope he pulls through.

The bad news is mama cat booted one of the kittens she was caring for out of the nest. I heard him mewing, and she deposited him on the basement floor and left.

This poor kitten has an abscess (or several) on his back right leg. It's just awful. I think they are puncture marks, so someone had bitten him, likely. He is alive, and his leg still works, but he is sneezing and a little runny in the sinus department. The vet (poor lady, I phoned her at 00:35 and woke her up...I don't think they're used to this much action) said to keep him warm, and clean him up, which I did. He got some KMR (what he would take, anyways, being unfamiliar with it) and some corn syrup on his gums. He is separate from all the other cats except mama and his last sibling (we still haven't seen him). She said she could look at him in the morning (which works, because it was almost an hour to drive there earlier), I just hope he makes it that long, or that he goes quickly. I really don't want him to suffer anymore than he obviously already has.

I also bleached/threw out what the kitten touched/room he was in, and his box and bedding and rice sock will be going to the trash tomorrow...Just in case he is contagious with the sneezing and all.

I feel awful.

Hang in there Shlarg, you're doing great.

I hope you'll be able to get the vet to look at the kitten in the morning. Can you get to where the third kitten is? If one of them has a cold or whatever the other one probably has it too. What do you think bit him? Do they look like cat bites?

How about Mama cat, is she sneezing too?

Mama cat is not sneezing. The other kitten, I'm not sure. I do not hear any sneezing from him. I know WHERE he/she is, but mama is there and hissing and swatting at me when I go near there. I'm thinking it must be a cat bite, we do not have any other animals in out house. It is truly horrid, though. Natural selection I suppose, but I don't like it one bit. We have named him (injured kitty) Ollie; Damian says together they came be Brock-Ollie, broccoli...Oh, dear.

Oh I'm so relieved little Brock made it when I read you were rushing him to the vet I was so worried, I hope the antibiotics work quickly and he picks up with his eating, so many get well vibes being sent for him

Lol at Brock-Ollie :lol3: sorry you have another poor kitty to look after but you are absolutely giving him his best chance, will be looking out for updates from you

So, this morning, Ollie was nowhere to be found. Searched high and low, so I guess mama must have him.

Was upstairs with Brock and Damian (the boyfriend, not a cat, haha), and I hear some pitiful meowing. What do I find? A different kitten. One that we didn't even see when the other three were born, unless an orange tabby can magically morph into a tortie! Seems fine, but has a bloody nose (mom dropped her).

She is MASSIVE compared to Brockie, and even bigger than Ollie.

This is the mystery kitten; female. Cleaned her up and she seems to be in good shape. Little bit of a poo bum, but not anymore.

WE GOT ALL FOUR KITTENS!!!

Vet's advice is to keep Ollie's big abscess clean and draining, and start him on the antibiotics like Brockie. She is so wonderful.

We're trying to get mama upstairs to nurse them, and hopefully accept the two smaller ones. The tortie and orange mackeral tabby are HUGE compared to Brockie and Ollie (Ollie looks almost exactly like Brockie).

Shlargh said:

 
WE GOT ALL FOUR KITTENS!!!

Vet's advice is to keep Ollie's big abscess clean and draining, and start him on the antibiotics like Brockie. She is so wonderful.

We're trying to get mama upstairs to nurse them, and hopefully accept the two smaller ones. The tortie and orange mackeral tabby are HUGE compared to Brockie and Ollie (Ollie looks almost exactly like Brockie).

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This is the best news!! As I was reading all of the latest kitten drama here, I was dying to tell you asap! Get the injured baby on antibiotics fast and clean the wounds! haha so you did, perfect.

I also really think they all should be on antibiotics now, one sneezing means they all are exposed to it and the bug is planted already, so the sooner on meds, the easier it is to clear them up.

Mom obviously harbors a uri, my guess would be herpevirus. Most common and unseen in healthy adults for the most part, majority of the time.

I completely believe mom is the bite culprit, and is a danger to that kitten.

I would rather spare you my story of what happened last year with one of my feral moms here with her babies.......................................unforgettable. But it happens, especially when inside, if they were outside born, if mom feels that one of the babies is a weak link, she believes it puts the rest of them as well as herself in jeopardy and a target for predators.

Anything, diarrhea even because of the smell attracting predators. 

If outside, she would take that weaker baby far from the nest and abandon it where it will be eaten or die soon.

Well! A feral mom inside, noplace to take it off to, they do not understand they are safe inside, their instincts say make it go away to keep her and the rest safe, so if she already bit and dumped that baby, she WILL kill it. 

As shocking as WE think it is, the truth is, it is extremely sad to me because cat moms LOVE their kids, have you ever seen what a feral cat does when she finds her babies gone or dead? It's the most heartbreaking thing I have ever witnessed in my life......

Despite that deep love they have, they are overcome with their natural instinct to save the litter, and will eat the baby if there is no other way to get it away from the others.

And I mean completely, not even a spot of blood left........I've gone over the whole scenario in my mind to try to come to terms with how, why......and I do 'get it' now, but it's still NOT something you want to go through, trust me on that.

Anyway, mom is NOT to be trusted with him.