A newbie & a kitten with head injury

Hi there. My name is Angie. I have a 6 week old kitten that has suffered a pretty bad head injury. I will explain what happened later. Right now I just want some thoughts on her condition and prognosis. The injury happened 3 days ago. As soon as I realized she was injured I, along with my 21 yr old daughter & 11 yr old son thought she was dead. Actually my kids found her and told me. I couldnt even bare to go in and see her. I was devastated! We sat there & cried for a while & then I asked my son to go dig a hole. When he went back down to get her he come running back up and said Mom Bryn is breathing and wimpering! He brought her up in a laundry basket. She was laying lifeless on her side, blood coming out of her mouth, her eyes were very dilated & in a fixed stare and she had pooped herself. I immnediately called my Vet. I was crying and trying to explain what happened. She stopped me and said are you trying to say that you think this kitten needs euthanized? I said yes, that is exacty what I am trying to say. They told me to bring her right over. This was around 7 p.m this past Fri night. We rushed her over. They explained that it did not look good but they were going to try to do all they could before they put her down. I was so appreciative. I just never dreamed they would even attempt to help her. She seemed too far gone to me. I said that if there was any way at all she could be saved I def wanted that. They did have me pay the charge for euthanizing just in case. I was told that one of the Vets techs would take her home. When they are that young & that sick that is what they do.

I went home fully expecting Bryn to not make it thru the night or at the very least have to be put down the next morn. I called first thing in the morn & was told that the tech that had her didnt come in till 2. Lovely! I was in for a long wait! I figured she has passed in the night cause surely any decent  tech wouldnt let her suffer & would have brought her back to be put down by now. I called back at 2 & was put on the phone with the tech that took her home. She came on the phone & said well she is sure doing better than she was last night. I said WHAT? She told me we were def dealing with a head injury. She didnt appear to have any injuries anywhere else. She had given her fluids thru an iv, pains meds, & meds for swelling. I said are you telling me my kitten may have a chance at making it? She said she is not out of the woods yet, but yes I most def think she might! I thanked her all over the place. She wanted to keep her a few more nights but was kind enough to give me her cell. I checked on her throughout the weekend. Today she told me she felt that I could take her home. She felt that all that can be done from this point forward can be done at home. But she did say that she wanted the Vet to check her over before we took her.

When we picked her up the tech went over all that we needed to do. She walks very wobbly and in circles a lot. We are to feed her some liquid food thru a syringe. Vet does not feel that she is blind or deaf. Actually in the face she looks like she did before. She just really seems to have a lot of ambulatory problems and twitches a lot. Vet also doesnt think she is having any seizures. When she wants to change position its as if she has an electric current go thru her. She flips really hard. If you are not careful and are holding her she could fall out in the floor pretty easy. Its like she is really over doing it when she goes to turn. The tech felt that the ambulatory issues would resolve themselves in time. She said this kitten would need a lot of tlc and care for quite a while. She also said that acupuncture might be beneficial if we dont see much improvement in the weeks ahead.

Thoughts? Has anyone seen a kitten pull out from this and lead a somewhat normal life? I am forever grateful that they were able to save her but I still want her to have good quality of life too. I feel just terrible that I went in there with the intentions of putting her to sleep. I honestly thought that was the best thing for her. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this kitty could be saved!

Its impossible to know how much improvement there will be only time will tell. Thank you for giving her a chance.

Agree with Denice. What your kitten has to her advantage is that she is young and that gives her a better chance at recovering, though it is certainly possible she will always have some issues.

You have a wonderful vet to be willing to give this kitten a chance!

I used to see a "store cat" at one of the pet food stores that walked in circles, staggered, occasionally fell over, and was never able to walk in a straight line from point a to point b, but she always managed to get to where she wanted to go. She was the owner's cat and went home with them every night and over the weekend. If I remember correctly (it was a long time ago), the cat had distemper as a kitten or it's mother had distemper. The only item of concern the owner mentioned was that she had to confine the cat to one level of the house because stairs were very dangerous for the cat.

She was a lovely little friendly thing. I miss her seeing her at the store. The owner sold the business a few years back.

You have a good vet, a good tech, and a good heart.

I have seen a lot of improvement since my sweet Bryn has been home. She is not walking in circles anymore & she is walking more. This morning when I fed her some of the liquid food she scarfed it down in record time. It just didn't seem to be enough for her. So at her next meal I just put some of her soft food on the tip of a spoon & put it up to her mouth. She licked it right up! I would say that she ate a little over a teaspoon. When no one can hold her we have been keeping her in a cage. When we walk by she perks right up and follows us with her eyes. She is def alert. Seriously, I just think my baby needed to be home. I'm starting to feel very encouraged!