Did we kill the kitten??

Babydk said:

 
My husband and I are heartbroken.  He found a very tiny kitten (2-3 weeks old) outside on Wednesday morning.  She was crying loudly, no mama around and was very skinny-you could feel her bones. We brought her in, wrapped her up, and got some KMR and a bottle.  She wouldn't eat-just kept crying, so I used a syringe and fed her that way.  She took some milk then settled down.  She had some diarrhea but seemed to be ok otherwise.

One thing I did notice is she kept opening her mouth to breathe-or something.  She did that a lot.

So-the next day, Thursday, we gave her a bath as she had a lot of dirt, poop, and stuff stuck on her, wrapped her up warm and kept feeding her-or try to.  She was refusing to eat at that point, so it was almost like I was force feeding her.  We tried to feed her a couple syringes every couple hours.

A few hours later she stopped moving much, and when I picked her up out of her little bed to feed her again, she died right in my arms. 

I have been driving myself crazy trying to think what I did wrong, or was it just meant to be with this little girl.  My husband got so attached to her he tears up at the thought.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? 

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StefanZ said:

 
You did right, and you did good.  It was apparently not her fate to live.   Lets be contend she got at least a good death.  Sometimes its all there is.

If you seek for reinforcements, what to do the next time you try to save such a kitten  (and yes, some of them you will lose, however skilled you are)..

What kmr did you used?   Any kmr is better than some other liquids.  But some kmr are better than others...   Goat milk is usually OK.

HOW did you used the syringe?  Tummy down, head up, slowly in the corner of the mouth?  Burping afterwards?

You mention several times you wrapped her up warmthly.  Its good, but sometimes not enough.  Its common they do need an active warming source, ie some sort of heating pad, or being carried at the chest...

Although I suppose in San Diego its sooner TOO warmth than cold this time of the year?   and thus, no active warming was probably necessary.

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Babydk said:

 
Hello-yes, I used the KMR available from Petco (don't remember brand name) and I put the syringe in  the corner of her mouth and slowly gave it to her.  She would swallow and burp.  I usually sat her upright in my lap.

I did not think of a heating pad...DUH.  I just had her wrapped up in a soft towel covered in a baby blanket.  I had two soft towels in her box to lie on.   Yes, it was pretty warm (90's) but she still could have gotten too cold. 

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Babydk said:

 
Thank you for all your insight.  I guess its never easy to lose a fur baby. Rest in peace little girl, run and grow on the Rainbow Bridge and know in your heart I tried to save you.

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