what could be wrong?

Someone recently dropped a mother and her litter of babies near our home. They have been eating and seem fine except for one of the babies stopped eating yesterday. We noticed today that its throat seemes to be swollen. Could it have been stung by a bee? They won't let us get near them so we probably won't be able to catch it to take it to a veterinarian. Does anyone have any suggestions?

gemini - first of all welcome to thecatsite. I am sorry that your first post and contact here is about such a sad situation. I do not have any answers for you as to what could be wrong with the little kitten - but you need to try whatever you can to capture this little fellow and get him to a vet ASAP. How old are the little ones? Is he old enough that something could have gotten lodged in his throat - or is he still nursing. How do the other kittens appear?
Others here will respond to your question with more answers than I have - but I do wish you the best of luck and would like to know how you make out - sending kitty prayers your was for a diagnosis and recovery for this poor little fellow!

Hissy told me that feral young kitties cannot resist a feather on a stick, etc ...and she was right. It has worked for me - I have captured 2 out of the 4 residing on my property...I got mine at the local $ store.

Thanks for responding to my post. The kittens, I am guessing, are around 8 to 12 weeks old. They eat regular food and are also still nursing. We noticed last night and this morning that the kitten in question was nursing. She seems to be more alert but is not playing like the other 2 are. We will continue to keep an eye on her and try to capture her so she can be looked at by a vet.

Good luck with this.......
Kitty prayers going your way

Welcome to the board by the way. It could be a spider or insect bite, is the kitten eating now? If it starts getting weaker, don't be surprised if Mom starts to ignore it. Feral moms if they sense anything is amiss with one of their babies, they will stop nursing it and push it away so the stronger will survive. Harsh, but nature's way. If you see Mom start to do this, then the kitten should be easy to capture. I would use a net and heavy leather gloves (I use welding gloves) if a live trap cannot be found. They do have kitten traps, but with a weak kitten, the net would be quicker. At the age you are estimating, Mom should be drying up soon. You might try buying some small jars of strained chicken or turkey baby food and mixing with their dry food to entice him/her to eat. But if the lump has not gone down, the kitten should really see a vet and soon. Good luck!

It looks as though the swelling has gone down. She is also back to eating and playing like she was before. Thanks to all for your ideas and concern.

That is wonderful to hear. Good luck with this new family

Paws up to this lucky little feral!!!!!!
I am so thankful things are better now!