Teething and fever?

Hi all,

My little Maisie is almost five months old and has lost/is losing mainly canine teeth right now. She has also been suffering with a fever and terrible bad breath. Are these things normal for a kitten her age? I took her to the vet and they said evrything is fine except the fever. Have her steroid shot and some oral antibiotics but I'm worried they're not doing the job. She seems to flip flop between feeling hot and lethargic to being bouncy and fun with cool extremities. She always eats and drinks.

This isn't normal for a kitten, or an adult cat for that matter.  I think you need a second opinion from a certified feline specialist if possible.

I'd say this is not normal for a kitten.  When did you have her to the vet?  How long has she been on the meds? 

She went to the vet on Friday, but had been sick for maybe three nights. I was unawar at first because it seems to get worse at night, and I assumed she was just tired from playing a day. But she has been on Clavamox for three days. Two doses a day and non skipped, plus the steroid at the vets.

She also eats and drinks normally... She may drink a little excessively

Clavamox is hard on a kitty's system.  It often gives them diarrhea and can promote vomiting.  I just had a kitty on Clavamox and she had loose stools and vomiting after being on it for about 8 days.  Keep an eye on her for side effects. 

The bad breath could be from the infection, not really from her teeth or anything in her mouth.  Did they suspect an upper respiratory infection?  Is she congested or sneezing?

The vet said her heart and lungs sounded fine. She doesn't have anything visibly wrong other than fever, and the fact that she goes back and forth. I'm buying a kitten thermometer today so I can tell how high her temperature is on my own. Her breath actually smells better now that she's lost so many kitten teeth! I don't gag when she licks my face anymore. But the vet didn't do any bloodwork or anything like that :/

This kitten needs blood work!  Its the only way to see if there is something more serious going on.  

Since you do not know her temp except at the vet visit what was it there?  I have had kittens be a bit off when teething and a low grade fever and sleep a bit more but never anything that made me take them to the vet.  Was it infected smell on her breath?  Also is she spayed?  A cat cleaning herself alot due to a infection of uterus may pick up a strange smell to breath.  But would not expect it to come and go far as still playing in that case.

I'm seriously considering a new vet because all she said was a "significant" fever. I'm going to call back and ask, but I honestly doubt she took note of it. I dropped her off at 7:30 for an appointment at 9 and the vet did the exam before I could even get there! She was spayed at 10 weeks so it's definitely not complications or a uterine problem. Her breath just smelled like rotting meat. My friends old dog had rotting teeth and that's what it smelled like. Now it just smells like cat breath. I got her from the shelter and she hasn't had any issues other than fleas due to my roommates inability to treat her cats (which I treated last week on my own). She may have tapeworm due to the fleas but I'm not treating for that until the fleas are gone. She has been dewormed more than once, but her belly is soft and distended as of the fever. The vet didn't mention anything about it though.

It sounds like your kitten may have stomatitis. It causes the gums to get inflamed; and, can cause bad breath.

Antibiotics, steroids and pain medication is what is used to treat Stomatitis. Some cats outgrown the issue around 12-18 months, for others it is a long term issue.

Take a look at this Vet Street link. It explains it well.
http://www.vetstreet.com/care/feline-stomatitis

I hope that's all it is! Her breath smells better since the meds and she's losing a lot of baby teeth. She doesn't have a fever at the moment either, but we'll see if she gets sick later tonight again :/

Update - she is eating, drinking, and being merry. Of course the day I bought the stuff to check her temp I haven't had to! But not complaining! She also lost two lower canines and cut one on top! Busy week for a little kitty.

Be cautious of thinking she will soon be all back to norm, distended tummy, fever, bad breath?

Distended tummy??? Is it still?

How long have you had her? Has she ever or do you know if she has ever had any cold symptoms, even mild?

Te fact that she is eating, drinking and being merry is a really good sign at this point.  It is possible she just had an infection in the gum or tooth that is now clearing up, and the fever could be part of that.  Finish the course of Clavamox, and you could add some kitty probiotics too, to help her digestion while she's on an antibiotic.  If the fever doesn't go away by the time the antibiotic is finished, or if she stops eating and stops playing and seems depressed, then you should go back to the vet for further tests.  Most courses of Clavamox are 7 to 10 days, so as long as she's eating and playing, just give it a chance to work.  Keep us posted!

Catwoman707 - I've had her since she was two months old.. So I guess almost three months at this point. She has sneezed a couple times but no runny nose, breathing problems, or funky eyes. Her belly gets like that sometimes.. I'm not sure if I'm just noticing it more since she's been sick. I have a pic I can post. [ATTACHMENT=657]image.jpg (1,603k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT]

Red Top - yesterday was day two of her acting normal, cool feet and extremities, playing, eating, drinking, and normal gross cat breath instead of death breath! She was acting fine this morning too. I've been keeping her confined to one room as of three days ago and since I started doing that she's improved. Could have been she was wearing herself out playing with the other cats.