Little Rogue BIG problems

Ok. So three days ago I caught a little feral kitten. Since she was a brown and black Siamese kitten with streaks of white in her fur, I decided to name her Rogue. Lets just say she has one problem after another after another.

First. She is two weeks old and emaciated.

She is infested with fleas to the point she is anemic

She has what the doc says is misdirected eyelashes so that they lay on her eyeballs instead of growing outward.

After running some tests at the vet she was found to be positive for feline leukemia.

Boy did I pick a winner. All sarcasm aside, I love her dearly. She eats, drinks and poos but now I think she has worms because she has a very tight rounded belly. I am doing my best to get rid of the fleas, but I really don't want to stress her too much as she is battling infection. I bathed her yesterday in Dawn and plucked as many fleas off her little body with tweezers as I could, but I know I haven't gotten them all. Should I bathe her every day? My gut tells me no, but I'm desperate to get rid of the lousy little bloodsuckers!

I also started her on her meds. Kitten amoxcicillin and an ointment for her eyes. I am also holding on to a faint glimmer of hope that she may develop a negative result for the Leukemia, as what I was told can sometimes happen in baby cats, but if not though it breaks my heart I am prepared to live with a kitty with a shortened lifespan. 

For now however, I really need to get her past the critical zone! Is it possible to cause damage to her by continuing to feed her? Her stomach is round and tight so I am worried about that even though I know she needs to eat. Second. Does anyone else have any ways of getting rid of her fleas? That is the major issue right there which frustrates me most (Nasty little murdering useless things).

I keep her in a large crate with a small bed, a litter box and a bowl of water. I cant keep her food in there because the ants get it. I feed her every three hours except when I work at night for eight hours but feed her right before I go to bed. I've also been giving her Gatorade because she was severely dehydrated, but she is refusing that now so water it is.

I feed her a combination of wet food the doctor gave me, mixed with some kitten milk and dry Kitten chow.

Yes, she's had a very rocky start. But she's a fighter and as long as she is willing to fight, I'm going to keep working with her. However, this is my first feral kitten and I could really use any advice offered. Thank you for reading this really long thread!

Are you massaging the area around her anus and vaginal area?  You may know to do this already, but if not, then her stomack is distended from full bowels.  A kitten that young cannot go on their own.  The mother cat will do this until all the necessary muscles are strengthened enough to allow the kitten to poop and pee on her own.  Just take a soft , moist sponge and rub from the stomach to the anus to encourage urination and bowel movements.  Must do this several times a day, esp. shortly after meals.  Good luck.

Thanks. I didn't know I had to do that every time. Should I feed her still if her bowels are distended? I have been trying to get her to go that way, but she really hates it. I'll be sure to do that more often though even if she does.

So looking at her again I may have been off about her age. She is probably about four weeks instead of two. She uses the littler box on her own and looks like to have at least one bowel movement a day. Her stomach is still a bit tight though. She's got another appointment to the vet soon.

Anyone have any idea how much a blood transfusion may cost? I'm considering asking the vet for one since she is pretty anemic.

New kittenmom said:

So looking at her again I may have been off about her age. She is probably about four weeks instead of two. She uses the littler box on her own and looks like to have at least one bowel movement a day. Her stomach is still a bit tight though. She's got another appointment to the vet soon.



Anyone have any idea how much a blood transfusion may cost? I'm considering asking the vet for one since she is pretty anemic.

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If she's using the box she probably doesn't need stimulation. As far as fleas baths with Dawn are the best option. Just watch her poor little eyes.

It's true that some kittens can show positive for F Leuk and then be negative. I don't know why though or how common it is.

I would ask the vet if she's 4 weeks she can probably be wormed. Ask the vet for info. Don't use store bought wormers. Only give her what the vet prescribes. Some cats can get very sick on the store bought stuff.

Do you have any other cats? If so are you segregating her?

No she is the only kitty I have right now and I keep her in a large crate with a bed, litterbox and icepack (in case she still has a fever). She is still very wild, hissing, spitting and scratching me until I manage to pick her up. Then she tries to hide in my arms. I believe she will be getting dewormed next vet visit in a few days as well as a possible blood transfusion or iron supplements.

How often should I bathe her? I've bathed her twice and I've gotten a lot of fleas off her, but it really stresses her out. If she still has an infection, I worry about stressing her too much.

they have flea combs.tines very close together.comb and dunk live fleas in hot soapy water.

My old feral adored me for combing her.Of coarse spread a towel under her or on your lap,the little suckers get on upholstery.Just vacume

frequently,heard of cut up flea collars in vacume bag.People are so resourceful.

Woah. Cut up a flea collar and put it in a vaccum bag? That sounds like a great idea! How close should I keep the bag? Outside of her crate or inside?

New kittenmom said:

Woah. Cut up a flea collar and put it in a vaccum bag? That sounds like a great idea! How close should I keep the bag? Outside of her crate or inside?

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You just use the vacuum bag as normal. The cut up flea collar will kill any eggs and larvae that are sucked up.

I don't know if it works, I've never tried it as my vacuum is bag-less.

The flea color will work well as long as you dunk any found fleas in soapy hot water, as suggested.

Good to know. I don't have any carpets in my apartment so no vacuum, but I can pass this along to my mom who has dogs allergic to fleas. Checking on Rogue this morning, I have found her gums are getting a little pinkish so thats a good sign I think. It means she's making more blood I hope.

She's also starting to fight me. Hissing, spitting, scratching at me when I come close. I don't know if I want to start socializing her yet since she is far from 100% but I would like to be able to pick her up without really freaking her out.

Getting rid of the parasites will go a long way toward correcting the anemia.

So. She has definitely gained weight. (I have never had problems getting her to eat) She now has quite the swollen belly. I wonder if one bowel movement a day from her is good enough. Is it possible to overfeed a four week old kitten?

New kittenmom said:

So. She has definitely gained weight. (I have never had problems getting her to eat) She now has quite the swollen belly. I wonder if one bowel movement a day from her is good enough. Is it possible to overfeed a four week old kitten?

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Nope Feed her as much as she'll eat. One BM a day sounds low to me. Usually kittens are poop and pee factories.

What are you feeding her?

sorry I meant yes flea collars in bags keep fleas from reproducing in your

vacume.Or change the bag every time.

I dont know about distended  belly.

Humans will vomit,eventually if  they get blocked.But maybe diarrhea would come next ?

Especially with worms??you know you have to do stuff to her to help her get better,but

maybe she is tired of being fooled with,like a sick kid.

I feed her a mixture of kitten formula with wet kitten food with a little kitten chow mixed in twice a day, and try to keep a small dish of dry kitten chow in her crate periodically throughout the day. I can't keep too much food in the crate or it attracts the ants.

Could worms be the major culprit in her low BM count? Is she maybe too young still for dry kibble? Am I possibly handling her too much?

New kittenmom said:

I feed her a mixture of kitten formula with wet kitten food with a little kitten chow mixed in twice a day, and try to keep a small dish of dry kitten chow in her crate periodically throughout the day. I can't keep too much food in the crate or it attracts the ants.



Could worms be the major culprit in her low BM count? Is she maybe too young still for dry kibble? Am I possibly handling her too much?

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Handling her shouldn't be a problem. You want her to bond with you. I think the kitten chow is ok as long as most of her food comes from wet food/formula.

Formula unfortunately tends to constipate kittens sometimes. If you are finding poop once a day at least you're probably ok. She may not be eating enough to make more than that.

If it's really worrying you a little bit of plain canned pumpkin mixed in with her food will help to regulate her BM's. Just make sure it is plain (not cinnamon) canned pumpkin without extra stuff added to it.

Wow! Thank you! I will think about giving her the pumpkin after seeing what the doctor has to say.

I was also considering possibly giving her some diced, cooked chicken liver to see about getting some iron back into her (and because I like chicken liver too >) Is that a good idea? I don't know how chicken liver would affect a 4 week old's stomach.

New kittenmom said:

Wow! Thank you! I will think about giving her the pumpkin after seeing what the doctor has to say.



I was also considering possibly giving her some diced, cooked chicken liver to see about getting some iron back into her (and because I like chicken liver too >) Is that a good idea? I don't know how chicken liver would affect a 4 week old's stomach.

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That I really don't know. Organ meat is usually best when mixed with muscle for felines. I do know liver is very high in iron so it may be too much for her. A little cooked Chicken with no seasoning will be fine as a treat.

However, canned kitten or cat food is probably best for meals. Mixing it with formula is good too. It adds calories that she definitely needs.

IMO a bit of chicken liver might be good for her, especially if she's anemic, but too much could cause diarrhea. Maybe offer just a tiny bit along with some plain cooked chicken, as a snack, and see how she does.

Just came back from the vet. I have her on some new medication to treat her anemia. I don't know if it was caused by her fleas or if it is the feline Leukemia. Her bone marrow is making new red blood cells so that is a very good sign. 

Had a bit of a scare. The doctor thought at first that her swollen abdomen was a result of fluids that is also brought on by the Leukemia. Turns out she had no fluid in her abdomen at all. After being referred to a second vet, he thinks that it might be because she eats well. As long as there is no fluid I don't really care.

I will most likely be trying the chicken treat in a couple days, if anything to help with the bonding. I need to eventually get her out of the crate so that she doesn't feel trapped and compelled to scratch me every time I scoop her out of the crate.