Swollen foot in a newborn kitten

I've been reading around online, and I think I've come to determine that the kitten is healing okay, but I just want to know if anyone else has ever encountered this and has good stories to help me with my fears.

The backstory:

I'm a Munchkin breeder.  I'm registered, and I do it humanely.  I know the forum rules say not to judge or comment on "backyard breeders" or make assumptions, but I just wanted to clear any readers' concerns with this.  I'm actually a strong advocater myself of spaying/neutering pets, and all my kittens leave either spayed/neutered or with a contract requiring the new parents to do so before 8 months of age.

I have a queen and this is her second litter. She had three total kittens, but the second born was stillborn ( ;-; ).   I'm very careful with her and this is not the first time I've been around cats that have kittens, either, although it is my first offical breeding cat.  Although, it was still very upsetting as the stillborn kitten was a Standard Munchkin    (for anyone who doesn't know, with a Munchkin, about 50% of the kittens will be short-legged, so it's pretty rare, and very sad regardless of leg length, but the Munchkin being stillborn was even moreso, as these are what I'm trying to breed).

The first kitten is a beautiful lilac/white colour-point and came out with no effort, although I believe the umbilical cord got wrapped around the foot/tail when it was coming out.  I was asleep and woke up to the loud yowl of my female, Whisper, pushing the first kitten out.  By the time I got my bearings and got to her, she was already eating the placenta and the cord had been chewed off, so I didn't realize what had happened until after the kittens were cleaned and resting/feeding.  The tail seems to be fine, other than a small mark where the cord was. No swelling, the tip of the tail is warm and seems to be healthy. The back foot, on the other hand, is swollen to twice the size of the other one.  I've been keeping an eye on it since she was born on the 18th, but the swelling hasn't gone down that I've noticed.  After reading about general wound care I decided to just make sure it was clean and I've been washing it with warm water.  Today when I was washing it, it started spouting a white fluid which I at first thought might be a sign of infection.  I've since researched wound healing online and it seems that this white discharge is NOT a sign of infection. If it was green/yellow and smelled then there'd be concern, but as of  yet, an infection is not a worry for me.  Still going to be keeping an eye on it, just be sure it doesn't get infected, but the kitten is too young for a vet to offer any antibiotics or procedures on it, so it's pretty well up to me and luck.  The kitten is eating and moving around just fine, and her brother, a little grey Standard (short-legged) guy is doing great, too.  I've been weighing them and they're both putting on weight in healthy amounts and they both seem otherwise totally healthy.

All I'm really looking for is if anyone else has any stories with any swollen joints that were tended to immediately and whether the kittens ever had the swelling go down and heal into a perfectly normal foot.  I suppose if you have the counterpoint to the good news I'm hoping for, I'd still like to hear it and if you have any suggestions for what to do to make sure it doesn't happen to this little girl.

After the stillborn second kitten, and the tiny litter, I'm so worried that something will happen to this little one that will compromise its health

Reassurances and advice and personal stories are very welcome!

Also, if anyone has any naming suggestions for the little ones, I still haven't given them their temporary names yet   The white one is actually lilac colour-point and a female Non-Standard Munchkin (meaning she'll basically be like any other mixed-breed cat) and the grey one is a male Standard Munchkin (meaning he'll be short-legged, like his mom).  I can add a picture of the mom later, I just don't have them uploaded off my phone yet.

Would it be possible to post a picture of the foot?

I would contact Vets, that kitten is fighting something needs antibiotics it's hard for them to lose any fluids period being so small the wound is discharging you say.  Vet can assess exactly what is going on. You don't want matters to become worse.

Someone suggests what to wash/soak paw in:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/257763/help-1-day-old-swollen-foot-pictures         

I agree that the kitten is too young for a vet unless the vet has a lot of kitten experience,  I also agree that leaking fluids is not good. 

@catwoman707   may have some ideas to help this kitten.

A kitten is never too young for antibiotics when they are needed. You need to see a vet. I do think a gentle soak in warm water is helpful, but the swelling and pus, or whatever, is worrisome. Please see a vet ASAP!

While I whole-heartedly feel that a good 90% of vets are virtually useless with newborn kittens, in this case I tend to think that putting this baby on a tiny dose of antibiotics is in order.

I feel that gentle massaging as often as possible is very useful, relaxes the tendons, which are extremely pliable at this point, encouraging normal growth.

The fluid is concerning which is why I think for safe measures antibiotics are in order, the last thing you want to do is hold off and chance that soon that fluid will be green, then a good chance the leg will need to come off entirely.

Soak in warm epson salt (mild amt of salt!) and massage/heat applied is the best thing to stimulate the blood, relax the tendon and muscle, and hope to promote normal growth and the leg to repair itself.

Brand new babes are growing at an astounding rate, doubling in size in the first 2 weeks alone, so now is def the time

Glad to hear you are actually a responsible breeder, we get alot of people on here who bought kittens from irresponsible breeders and end up with genetic over-bred babies and feral/under-socialized kittens.

Thanks for so many quick responses!  I called my vet's office and of course they weren't willing to offer suggestions over the phone, because they need to see the foot if there's blood flow, etc etc.   I have an appointment for Monday although when I was getting a photo of the kitten's foot,the swelling already seems to be going down, which is great.

It is ridiculously hard to get a good picture of a kitten's foot!  This is the best I could get.  My phone is now full of blurry white photos lol


I couldn't get a clear shot of the laceration, but it's actually very clean looking and the kitten moves her foot around quite a bit without complaint (aside from when I'm holding her, obviously )

But we'll see what the vet says come Monday.  I really hope everything will be okay with her.

If the swelling is going down this is obviously a good sign also if the foot and toes feel warm meaning blood flow

Hey guys! I thought I'd update you all. 

The kitten is doing fantastic   I went to the vet and she checked it out and there was no necrosis in the foot or tail.  She suggested I stay away from cold compresses because the kitten was so small and we didn't want her getting too cold, but she did say to just hold my hand over the area to compress it and to massage up to get the blood flowing back to reduce the swelling, but once I told her about the fluid leaking she said to stay away from compression and prescribed me amoxicilin(probably butchered the spelling haha) and I had such a tiny dose   .3mg twice a day, just to keep any risk of infection at bay (if fluid can leave, other things can get in). 

The kitten is now totally healed.  The foot looks like it's questionable whether the fur will ever grow over where the cuts were, but she's started walking around and wobbling out of the bed occasionally and she's doing fantastic!   We saved the kitten and the foot too!

Just wanted everyone to know that if you're quick and cautious you can definitely have a best-case-scenario come out where the kitten is intact and healthy   I'm so glad.

Isn't she beautiful?

Thank you for the fantastic update! I'm so happy for you and that precious baby! What a great job you are doing! Those kittens are absolutely precious!

What adorable kittens! So glad you had a positive outcome! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

They are just stinkin adorable!!

Glad to hear all is well.

Her fur will grow there again since it's not actually deep scar tissue, it will just take a bit of time.