Kitten stumbling, acting strangely

hey guys,

so my neighbor brought me some cute kittens she found. i've had them for a week or two. one of them got suddenly lethargic about four days ago, so i took him to the vet. the vet gave me medicine for diarrhea, worming, and coccidia, but she said he's probably suffering from fading kitten syndrome. when i gave him the meds he perked up after about a day, until last night he got suddenly more lethargic and acted like he was gonna die. this morning he couldn't get up or do anything, i thought he was dying and wrapped him up to wait it out. well now suddenly he's up and active, running around, furiously chasing his mom and trying to nurse, but he stumbles a lot and i don't really know if he can see or not. he's not.. totally there, you know, like a normal kitten would act. he kind of just walks in one direction.. i can't tell if he's getting better or worse. have you guys ever had this sort of problem?

i also can't seem to get in touch with the vet's emergency number... and we're snowed in so i can't take him anywhere.

How old are they?  Are they eating?  How much?  Using the litter box or being pottied enough?

he's about 5 weeks old, i was feeding him formula + pedialyte every 1-2 hours, 5-10mL for two days. he was using the litter box, he hasn't done anything since he woke up and started stumbling around.

he also just fell asleep after nursing on his mama for a while. he doesn't seem to want her to leave him.

I would keep making sure that he gets fed every 1-2 hours.  Hopefully the meds just hit him hard and you can help him to stabilize.

@catwoman707   are you getting tired of being 'paged'?  Can you help?

okay, um, well he seems to have just shaken it off. he woke up from his nap and was able to walk without stumbling again, it looks like he can see, he's being a regular alert little kitty now, barring a little cautiousness. but he's literally just.. playing, i kid you not. i'm feeding him again, he drinks the usual amount, and now he's hopping around on the blanket with his siblings. i .. don't know what happened. i'm totally bewildered. he acted like he was two seconds away from dying and now.. he's just fine?

Handsome Kitty said:

 
@catwoman707   are you getting tired of being 'paged'?  Can you help?

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Never! Glad to help

hmckinney said:

 
okay, um, well he seems to have just shaken it off. he woke up from his nap and was able to walk without stumbling again, it looks like he can see, he's being a regular alert little kitty now, barring a little cautiousness. but he's literally just.. playing, i kid you not. i'm feeding him again, he drinks the usual amount, and now he's hopping around on the blanket with his siblings. i .. don't know what happened. i'm totally bewildered. he acted like he was two seconds away from dying and now.. he's just fine?

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So this is odd, and I'm re-reading your description of him and his behavior.

Typical of vets, they just don't know young kittens, 90% don't seem to anyway. Frustrating.

Fading kitten is an excuse for "I really have no idea what's going on" commonly stated by vets.

In a way it sounds like he gets hypoglycemic. What is the formula brand and type you are feeding?

catwoman707 said:

 
Never! Glad to help

So this is odd, and I'm re-reading your description of him and his behavior.

Typical of vets, they just don't know young kittens, 90% don't seem to anyway. Frustrating.

Fading kitten is an excuse for "I really have no idea what's going on" commonly stated by vets.

In a way it sounds like he gets hypoglycemic. What is the formula brand and type you are feeding?

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yeah, i've noticed that trend in vets. :/

um.. hypoglycemic? that.. actually makes a lot of sense. i tried to get 4-5 straight hours of sleep last night and maybe that's why i woke up and he was really sick. i also immediately gave him formula and pedialyte and a bit of syrup to try and revive him. maybe it took a while to kick in?

i've been using a brand my vet sells.. it's not KMR, it's a powder in a bottle, you pour the water up a line and shake it. i would fetch the brand but i've already run out and thrown the bottles away. i started on a can of KMR + pedialyte today.

It does sound like he needed food. Hopefully he'll be fine now. That was scary!

yep! i think that was it. thanks you guys for helping me pinpoint it. i gave him milk every two hours last night and this morning he's trying to climb my bed lol. playing, drinking water, acting totally fine!

hmckinney said:

 
yep! i think that was it. thanks you guys for helping me pinpoint it. i gave him milk every two hours last night and this morning he's trying to climb my bed lol. playing, drinking water, acting totally fine!

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Excellent!

Some kittens seem more sensitive, this may very well be the case, which of course means for the next 2+ weeks now until he gets stronger and alot more stable, will really need regular feedings.

Do you have a scale to weigh him? This is a great way to monitor appropriate daily weight gains and the right amt for his weight for formula intake daily.

catwoman707 said:

 
Excellent!

Some kittens seem more sensitive, this may very well be the case, which of course means for the next 2+ weeks now until he gets stronger and alot more stable, will really need regular feedings.

Do you have a scale to weigh him? This is a great way to monitor appropriate daily weight gains and the right amt for his weight for formula intake daily.

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okay! that seems like a suitable timeframe. i also started feeding his siblings along with him just in case.

i don't have one that might be accurate for kitties... just heavy humans lol. but he gets a recheck on tuesday so i can ask them to weigh him then.

he's currently wrestling with a washcloth lmao. i'm so happy he seems to be on the upside.

hmckinney said:

 
okay! that seems like a suitable timeframe. i also started feeding his siblings along with him just in case.

i don't have one that might be accurate for kitties... just heavy humans lol. but he gets a recheck on tuesday so i can ask them to weigh him then.

he's currently wrestling with a washcloth lmao. i'm so happy he seems to be on the upside.

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Sounds great!

You know, when kittens are newborn and have to be bottle fed, one of the most important factors that I teach volunteers/fosters is that at this age they have zero reserve, what goes in their tummies is fully processed within 2 hours, which is why it's so important to feed them every 2 hours.

Over that and they go in to starvation mode basically.

But at 5 weeks they are beginning to have some amt of reserves in their systems, but there are some who just really don't, or are behind in that area of development, so causes them to get lethargic easier from lack of food often enough.

Big difference now huh? Glad to hear it! Playing with a washcloth is what he is supposed to be doing, getting spunky and playful! Love this.  

so i've been feeding these guys for two weeks now, they all three have had lethargic episodes periodically, but they've all perked up again after some homemade pedialyte and some formula.. they don't seem to be putting on a lot of weight, but they're at least adding dry and wet foods to their diet now. their mama went to a rescue to find a new home (and hopefully be spayed) so it's been just me feeding them for a couple days now, and i've noticed with regular feedings they act alright. i guess this litter is just more sensitive to low blood sugar or something.

my cats are keeping them plenty of company though! princess has just about adopted them. she grooms them and sleeps with them, and it's adorable lol. fuzzybutt sleeps with them too. i'm going to give them a couple more weeks to get stronger and more independent before trying to find them homes. they need to be bigger and i need to make sure they're going to be alright.

also, shout out to royal canin foods... seriously a nice quality of cat food. i love using it.

hmckinney said:

 
so i've been feeding these guys for two weeks now, they all three have had lethargic episodes periodically, but they've all perked up again after some homemade pedialyte and some formula.. they don't seem to be putting on a lot of weight, but they're at least adding dry and wet foods to their diet now. their mama went to a rescue to find a new home (and hopefully be spayed) so it's been just me feeding them for a couple days now, and i've noticed with regular feedings they act alright. i guess this litter is just more sensitive to low blood sugar or something.

my cats are keeping them plenty of company though! princess has just about adopted them. she grooms them and sleeps with them, and it's adorable lol. fuzzybutt sleeps with them too. i'm going to give them a couple more weeks to get stronger and more independent before trying to find them homes. they need to be bigger and i need to make sure they're going to be alright.

also, shout out to royal canin foods... seriously a nice quality of cat food. i love using it.

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Yes seems so.  And or they tend to get a shade too little food.   Such is much easier if you can weight them every day, and daily notice they do gain properly, 10g+.

Also, use if possible glucose sugar or similiar in the homemade pedialyte.  Common sugar works, but its much slower.

If you can get goat milk, you can always use it, either as kmr for kittens, or as supplement for older kittens and cats.

How old are they now? I would push the wet food now about 6 times a day since they have those episodes, and leave kitten chow for them at all times. Will they lap a dish of KMR? It's so sweet that Princess takes care of them since they have no mom! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

StefanZ said:

 
Yes seems so.  And or they tend to get a shade too little food.   Such is much easier if you can weight them every day, and daily notice they do gain properly, 10g+.

Also, use if possible glucose sugar or similiar in the homemade pedialyte.  Common sugar works, but its much slower.

If you can get goat milk, you can always use it, either as kmr for kittens, or as supplement for older kittens and cats.

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yeah, it could be that as well. i notice they never go to the food bowl on their own. i usually always have to take them, lol.

okay, awesome. do you know if i can get that at a grocery store? i have noticed store bought pedialyte seems to work even slower than homemade.. is that something you've noticed as well?

sarthur2 said:

How old are they now? I would push the wet food now about 6 times a day since they have those episodes, and leave kitten chow for them at all times. Will they lap a dish of KMR? It's so sweet that Princess takes care of them since they have no mom! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

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they're about 6-7 weeks now. okay, i'll up the wet food feedings, i'm sure they won't mind lol. no, i haven't gotten them to yet, i even tried letting some of the other cats have some so maybe they would pick up the behavior.. but no luck so far.

hmckinney said:

 
yeah, it could be that as well. i notice they never go to the food bowl on their own. i usually always have to take them, lol.

okay, awesome. do you know if i can get that at a grocery store? i have noticed store bought pedialyte seems to work even slower than homemade.. is that something you've noticed as well?

they're about 6-7 weeks now. okay, i'll up the wet food feedings, i'm sure they won't mind lol. no, i haven't gotten them to yet, i even tried letting some of the other cats have some so maybe they would pick up the behavior.. but no luck so far.

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I dont know the receipts.  My guess its less sugar in the store premade.   As theirs is made mainly for rehydration, while I understand YOU are using it mainly as for giving some extra energy / raising blood sugars.

My guess is you use common sugar?   And my guess is they use glucose sugar - this should normally work fast, unless in very low amount.

Hey, I remember once a chemistry laboratory I made for a class, showing contend of sugar... Should be brick-orange/red.  No reaction before the class!   After the classes, I noticed it turned color into orangish...   Apparently the wise practicioner puts in quite some amount of sugar, more than in the prescription, to get a sure strong and swift reaction...

My luck this time, the headmaster visited me that moment, and thus saw the tubes DID get orangish.  So the next day I could use him as my witness, the experiment really did worked, I wasnt talking sheer rubbish...  

hey guys, as an update, all three of these babies are doing fine! they're totally off formula and on dry kitten food. eating wet food three times a day now, and they love it lol.

unfortunately it seems they had some ringworm... and ringworm that wasn't the normal kind, it was in their hair follicle or something.

anyway, we had to order special flavored meds (it came in butter pecan lmao) and shave them for medicated baths. the treatment continues into may, but they're already looking better.

some pics of them:

They are just precious! [emoji]128149[/emoji] It's good to hear they are eating so well. Really glad you got to the bottom of the ringworm situation! What flavor did you pick for them? [emoji]128522[/emoji]