DESPERATELY Need Advice On Abandoned Kittens I Found

About 2 wweks ago, my husband heard loud cries coming from a bush in our front yard. When he went to see what it was, he was shocked to see 2 baby kittens. We asked the neighbors if anyone knew where the kittens came from, but no one knew. So we decided to bring them in and try to take care of them. I was afraid to call the humane society because I wasn't sure if they'd be put to sleep if they were unable to be adopted. So long story short, I brought them inside and desided to keep them. My 4 young children fell madly in love. We took them to the vet to make sure they were healthy and, it turns out they have worms, fleas, ringworm and conjunctivitis. The vet wanted to change me $300 for all the care they needed. I can not afford that right now. So my question is, does any one have any advice how to handle those 4 problems on kittens younger than 8 weeks for as cheap as possible? I have 4 kids and barely any money but don't want to get rid of the cats because my kids would be heartbroken.

msjdespirito said:

About 2 wweks ago, my husband heard loud cries coming from a bush in our front yard. When he went to see what it was, he was shocked to see 2 baby kittens. We asked the neighbors if anyone knew where the kittens came from, but no one knew. So we decided to bring them in and try to take care of them. I was afraid to call the humane society because I wasn't sure if they'd be put to sleep if they were unable to be adopted. So long story short, I brought them inside and desided to keep them. My 4 young children fell madly in love. We took them to the vet to make sure they were healthy and, it turns out they have worms, fleas, ringworm and conjunctivitis. The vet wanted to change me $300 for all the care they needed. I can not afford that right now. So my question is, does any one have any advice how to handle those 4 problems on kittens younger than 8 weeks for as cheap as possible? I have 4 kids and barely any money but don't want to get rid of the cats because my kids would be heartbroken.

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Aha, so these kittens are alive and well, and you apparently are reasonably succesfull with raising them, as you dont ask about advices on how to raise small orphans.

What you ask about is how to, cheaply, manage with medication of these kittens?  

How did you managed to pay / not pay to this vet?   Most do take payment when you are there...   Did he looked ant them, but refused to treat them if you didnt payed?

Or he let you out the kitten got their treatment,  and wait a little with the money?

Were are you?  I mean, to perhaps find a low cost vet clinic...

When I took my kittens to the vet, I paid for their exams as well as for an oral medication for them to take twice a day for worms. That came up to $100. However there is still $200 in treatment that I'm unable to afford, such as a stool sample to determine exactly what kind of worms they have and also for a special flea shampoo they sell designed for kittens under 12 weeks.
I currently live near Pasadena, California and was unable to find a low income clinic near me. The lowest price vet I could find, was the one i went too and it was expensive!

$100 for an office visit, exam and dewormers for 2 kittens is very reasonable.

I have two options for you that you may want to look into.

1. Enroll in Care Credit for Veterinary bills. http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/   This will allow you to pay the total off slowly.
2. Contact a local rescue and see if they can offer you any assistance ether in getting a rescue rate or arranging a payment plan using their vets.

I hope this helps you and hope all the best for your little fur babies.

msjdespirito said:

When I took my kittens to the vet, I paid for their exams as well as for an oral medication for them to take twice a day for worms. That came up to $100. However there is still $200 in treatment that I'm unable to afford, such as a stool sample to determine exactly what kind of worms they have and also for a special flea shampoo they sell designed for kittens under 12 weeks.
I currently live near Pasadena, California and was unable to find a low income clinic near me. The lowest price vet I could find, was the one i went too and it was expensive!

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Most forumites use dawn soap, if the kittens needs a anti-flea bath.  So its not necessary to buy any costly special.

If the kittens dont have problems with hefty, difficult to treate diarrheas, a standard dosage of  deworming is usually enough.   What EXACTLY did you got against the worms?  Twice a day sounds unusual.   The most usual is you get someting you give them twice or threce, two weeks apart.

I can't remember the name but there is a dewormer for tape worm that you sprinkle over their food daily for 2 weeks. By Rx only.

Wolfpatch said:

 
I can't remember the name but there is a dewormer for tape worm that you sprinkle over their food daily for 2 weeks. By Rx only.

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Aha, anyway, whatever it is, its no standard treatment.    Possibly this vet is some sort of alternative meds vet...

This with him making a big deal [part]   of his income by selling extras, sounds like it too...   Compare with the haircutters, whom make a big part of their income by selling different hair and beauty prducts...

But if the vet checking up was skillfully done, and what he did at that occasion was OK, and helped you with holding these kittens in life, it was surely worth the 100 dollar.

Spare the rest of 200, search what OTC products are safe to buy (not all OTC are safe!) and use them.    It will cost some too , of course, but less than these exclusive products by this vet - he must get his profit too.

As Stefan said, regular blue Dawn dish soap is an excellent way to rid them of fleas.  Youll be surprised at how well it works.  One or two good baths and thoroughly rinsing them should do the trick.

Watch their poops - they may get the runs from the wormers.  Feed the the best wet kitten food you can - although the change in diet may cause stomach upsets until they get used to it.

You might want to look into getting some Fish Mox, available at PetSmart.  It is an antibiotic used in fish tanks that some people here use for minor infections.

The conjuctivitis - are there eyes red or gummy?  If gummy, they have an upper respiratory infection.  Antibiotics can help.  If red, I would spring for medicine from the vet, as you children may be able to catch the conjunctiveis from them.  (Not sure - ask you pediatrician).

Good luck and thank you for helping them!

I just wanted to mention that a flea comb is worth its weight in gold.  After gently shampooing the kittens and drying them thoroughly so they don't get cold you can run the comb through their fur to make sure all fleas are gone.  Keep checking the fur daily to make sure eggs haven't hatched in the environment and reinfested the babies.

I just took a couple of kittens to the vet for deworming and vaccinations.  I feel lucky she only charged me 76.00 for that but she knows I'm coming back with Mom and kittens for neutering and spaying.  Continue to write here and let us know their progress and enjoy your kittens!

The vet gave me Mrtronidazole that I'm sypposed to give them twice daily orally in a syringe until gone

OK, the Meritoriously is to treat bacterial infections so there is your treatment for the conjunctivitis

The Metronidazole is supposed to be for the worms, or at least that's what the vet told me!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their advice. I really appreciate all of it. Second, I wanted to give a little update on my kittens conditions. When I went to the vet the only thing I could afford,besides the wellness check up for both, was the medication that I'm supposed to give them orally twice a day for worms. I recently called that vet after reading what a few of you had to say, and asked about some over the counter medications I could use in place of the very expensive medication his office wanted to sell me. So he told me to use Bacitracion ointment on their eyes and Miconazole ointment on their ringworm spots, both twice daily. So far, its been 4 days and I haven't noticed too much change. Once I learned they had ringworm, I quarantined them to one room so that my young kids would not be infected. So, my plan is to keep them in there 3 more days and continue with their medication and then give them both a bath using blue dawn like so many of you suggested for their fleas. Hopefully they will be better after that. What do you guys think

The ringworm will probably take the longest to deal with.  I'd plan on quaranteening them for at least a week, if not more.  No sense in having that spread around the house.

Wash you hands thoroughly after each encounter with them.  You might also want to keep a blanket out there to cover yourself when you handle them.  It will help keep the ringworm fungus from spreading.  I've had fosters with ringworm and it never spread but I always took precautions.

Glad you were able to get some medications that were less expensive.  It does add up!

How do you know when the ringworm is healed or when its safe to take them out of quarantine or when its less contagious? I noticed that some of the hair is starting to grow back where there is patches, does that mean the medication is working? Also, its been almost 5 days and their eyes look the same. If there is no improvement after a week using Bacitracion ointment, do you have any other suggestions?

I would wait until the crusty patches all have hair.  It won't take long if you use the medicine religiously.

As to the eyes - perhaps you can swing the more expensive medication?  I always used what the vet gave me, so I have no experience with OTC meds.

I also used l-Lysine when my fosters had ringworm.  It is a pill you can crush and crumble in their food that will boost their own immune systems.  I get it at GNC or even the drug store.  A little goes a long way  - I used a pinch on their breakfast and made sure they had something yummy so they would eat it all.

You will be surprised at how quickly they heal once they aren't stressed by being outside and the threat of starvation.