Just euthanized a 12 week old kitten and still confused about what happened.

Today, I went to two vets, one a regular vet and the other a 24 hour care place. My little Linda had not been eating, and continued to lose ounces after I had been syringe feeding her for two days. I couldn't understand what was happening. She was fine just about a week ago and then all of a sudden she started to play less and not eat so much food any longer. I took her for a regular vet checkup at her 11 or so week required check-in for shots etc., and the doc told me she was not doing so well. And it's true, when I bought her she a 1 lb 3 ounces, and two weeks later just a pound. I worried that we were feeding her the wrong food, the doc though she had bowel disease, so she gave us Purina EN and some mytronyosol or flagyl. That evening, this past Thursday, I got very worried about her. She ate quite a bit of her new food, but she seemed even more lethargic and depresses. So, I thought it was just the antibiotics dragging her down like they do to humans. Then Friday I went to work and she stayed home with my son and his babysitter. The babysitter said she wasn't eating, just staying next to them and sitting on her lap and sleeping. When I got home that evening, she still didn't eat and then I started to panic. SO, I took her to the ER for animals, they gave her more food through a syringe and sent me home, suggesting I don't give her the flagyl any longer. BUt then they found bacteria in her feces and said I should have her take hte flagyl. So, I gave her half the dose I had. Still, she refused to eat. so for an entire day, every two hours, I syringe fed her the Purina EN pureed, the entire can, which is quite enough for a little kitty. The next day, I took her into the first vet who gave her the flagy, and she said this cat was clearly sick and probably has a congenital disease as her blood didn't look so good and she lost another ounce. They said there wasn't much they could do since she was so small, but they gave her a b12 injection and said I could try to feed her more at home, but not to expect her to do so well. Or I could take her to the ER place again and they can give her an IV and try to figure out what was wrong. We had taken an xray and her heart appeared a bit big but the vet wasn't sure if she had a heart issue, no hernias showed up, and there were bubbles in her intestines. She mentioned euthanasia, and I burst into tears. In just two weeks I had grown attached to this little Kitty. So, I took her to the ER again, they put her on an IV, but the doc there said the same thing. He said she was not doing so well, and they could either keep her there for 48 hours and I could spend $4000 trying to figure out what is going on with her, take her home and let her die there (which would not be a good idea for my mental health or for my kids), or euthanize. The vet spoke to my husband on the phone and my husband thought euthanization was the best way to go. I wanted to take kitty home to think about it, but the vet didn't think that was such a great idea, somehow I got very confused and just opted for the euthanasaia. They said she probably had a congenital disorder which would require lots of testing to figure out what it was and even after they figured out what was wrong, there was a chance she wouldn't survive. So as of right now I am totally confused, how could this kitty who was fine a week ago suddenly go down so quickly?? I am sooo heart broken here. 

Welcome to the site, and so sorry it's under such tragic circumstances....

Basically, regardless of having a definite diagnosis, there are only a few reasons for a kitten to go downhill so suddenly.

None of them are going to have a good outcome.

Genetics/hereditary conditions of course.

FIP-Feline Infectious Peritonitis

Panleukopenia. (cat parvo/distemper)

Panleuk can be ruled out IF she had been vaccinated twice before coming in to contact with the deadly, highly contagious disease.

Also panleuk will normally have vomiting and/or diarrhea along with a fever and lethargy.

Personally if I had to guess, it might have been fip or genetic.

I don't believe you rushed your decision to euthanize. For a kitten that small and sick, it wasn't going to have a good ending, but only prolong the suffering.

Very sorry hun.

Thanks, I think there is the entire grieving process happening here, even having owned her for just two weeks. The vet said it was probably congenital, but they didn't know for sure what it was. She stayed indoors, so I don't know. She had a low body temp and wasn't gaining weight, protein levels were low, etc. I thought it was from the antitbiotic because after the antibiotic she started to refuse to eat completely, so who knows what was happening? She will be missed, she brought us much joy, even if just for two weeks. We will get another kitten, especially since we have the supplies now, but maybe we should wait a little while and regather ourselves. 

Hmm, low temp and protein sounds like FIP to me.

Just so you know, FIP has no diagnostic test, so they will base it on symptoms basically.

It silently wreaks havoc until they can no longer hide it, which is why the suddenness.

It may have been congenital as well. 

You must grieve for her, you will know when everyone is ready for a new love

Thanks catwoman. We will get another, and maybe two next time, but will have to wait for the right one since we loved this one so much, she was areal sweetie, but now that I realize she wasn't 100% well, I wonder if she was so affectionate and sweet because she was needy.