Orphaned kittens in trouble

I just fostered 4 kittens from shelter. 8 weeks old, mom was never found to nurse, That was Monday. Now Wednesday 2 look
like they are dying. Vet gave some meds for diarrhrea, vomiting, hydrated one. Won't pay for blood test. One is dying. Luckily,
I kept them isolated from my 3 cats. I have a choice of watching them all die(the way it is going} or return to shelter so they can 
die there. I don't know what to do. At least they won't be alone here, I wish I knew what they. So much for my lst fostering experience.
 

catkisses4 said:

 
I just fostered 4 kittens from shelter. 8 weeks old, mom was never found to nurse, That was Monday. Now Wednesday 2 look
like they are dying. Vet gave some meds for diarrhrea, vomiting, hydrated one. Won't pay for blood test. One is dying. Luckily,
I kept them isolated from my 3 cats. I have a choice of watching them all die(the way it is going} or return to shelter so they can 
die there. I don't know what to do. At least they won't be alone here, I wish I knew what they. So much for my lst fostering experience.
 

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I think you hade made your choice - ie helping them with your compassion in their last moments.  

The true saint   Oscar the black and white cat is the one whom helps in last passage.  He does so with old humans, but can surely be called for his fellows cats too.

  The black cat Rademenes is a good comforter and helper for those where its still hope.

I

If there is still some fight to do, I strongly suggest you give them pedialyte - and  raw goats milk if you can get it.

Pedialyte is a must with diarrheas and vomiting, helps them to get back salts and electrolytes.

Life isnt always just cuddlingess and sweety.  Sometimes its despair, black naightmares, and even - unpleasant death.  It helps us to discover, whom is a sunday sailor, and whom is a hero of the right wood. Helps us to discover whom we are.

Warm hugs, and please come back.

Pedialyte:

Re homemade pedialyte, Im reusing a couple of my older posts.  If it seems lenghy, the most important recipe is at the end.

You use the receipt which is conventient for you, where you can get the gears without problems.

Pedialyte:

Now, as the sugar source, I use always glucose sugar (dextrose  / dextropur ) Its easy to get in Sweden, most well equipped food shops do carry the powder.    There are also flavored sweeties, heavily used by students and  wanna be sportsmen,  made of glucose sugar.   

So for me its no big deal to use the proper ingredient, instead of using emergency replacements.

For american forumites whom have difficulties to find glucose sugar proper, there is always white caro syrup, or even honey - honey does contain some glucose, and white caro syrup contains much glucose sugar.  In some brands its perhaps even essentially liquid glucose sugar.

Common sugar works too, but much slower, as it must be digested..  While glucose doesnt need to be digested, it goes into blood directly from the stomach, yes, even from the lips and mouth.

These whom tried both, are astonished how quickly glucose works, practically instantly.

As salt source, I use  minerale salt.  Also common in shops here in Sweden.  This salt contains  several different minerales, not just the NaCl in the usual kitchen salt. Including this potassium K salt.

A nice base for salt sources is simple a bottle of good minerale water.   These do typically contain a lotsa of different salts, in suitable concentration. Look at the label!

Let the gas out, add the glucose sugar source, and voilá!  you got a terrific home made pedialyte...

Common kitchen salt is OK if you dont have anything else, but its too "poverty"  if you use the pedialyte more than occasionally.

A third recipe is,  you use water from well cooked rice.   In practice its heavily over cooked.

And add  salt to it, preferably  such a minerale salt mentioned above...

This rice water contains lotsa of glucose sugar.   This variation of  pedialyte probably extra useful in some types of diarrhea, as water from overcooked rice is in itself  one of the remedies against diarrhea.  At least, the emergency doc gave us the recipe when I was a child and sick in diarrhea...  

A nice combination should be,  a  homemade pedialyte on such an overboilded rice, in water of mineral water.

Here we get both natural glucose sugar, lotsa of good mineral salts, and the rests from rice whom are good when having a diarrhea.  After all, such rice water is a classical home remedy for humans with diarrhea...

There is of course bought pedialyte, which can be used too.  Some of the brands have too much funny ingredients, though.  But if desperate, can be used.

My recommendation for bough pedialyte is, flavorless pedialyte for babies.   This is OK for cats.

What a mess. I would get the kittens to see a vet - any vet - asap. At the very least, you need a diagnosis and the kittens may need to be put to sleep if there's no way to help them. I agree going to the shelter is not a good option for them, so thank you for giving it a try at home. 

I am concerned about your existing cats. Are they fully vaccinated? That's why I think a diagnosis is important. In the meanwhile, make sure you wash your hands and change your clothes after you deal with the little ones and before you touch your cats. It could be  [article="29709"]Feline Distemper Panleukopenia​[/article]  . I don't want to scare you but it is infectious and dangerous to unvaccinated cats. It's a stubborn virus so you will have to deal with disinfecting everything once this is over. Until then, just keep your own cats away and don't let them touch anything that came in touch with the kittens (including your clothes).

I also want to add that I'm truly sorry this is how your first fostering experience turned out to be. You're doing a wonderful thing for them.  I do hope your cats are vaccinated and that this is something the shelter checked before allowing you to foster. 

I want to add that I admire your willingness to provide foster care for the kittens and also for your compassion in trying to help the poor kittens to overcome this illness. Watching a sick kitten is heartbreaking and I hope that somehow, some way, your small group of new additions pulls thru. Even if the worse happens, I admire your willingness to try to provide a good life for this group of kittens. Keep up the good work!

Jim M 

Thank you. I have been to Vet X2. They,hydrated them. Gave then anti-vomiting. The second one died yesterday in my hands. He weighed 1.2lbs. I don't think he,suffered. I left the last two with a shelter employee. She took them to her house. She gave them anti-vomiting shot. With a bag to hydrate. I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself. Today she called and said they r doing better. They have all signs of distemper. I will bring them back if they improve. I have disinfected the bathroom where they stayed. My own 3 cats,are up to date on shots and have
Had no exposure to the kitties.My only advice I can give is always quarantine
Any new animals for a few weeks before
Introducing.I am praying all goes well and will keep u up-to-date. PS. I bought pedia-light.

catkisses4 said:

Thank you. I have been to Vet X2. They,hydrated them. Gave then anti-vomiting. The second one died yesterday in my hands. He weighed 1.2lbs. I don't think he,suffered. I left the last two with a shelter employee. She took them to her house. She gave them anti-vomiting shot. With a bag to hydrate. I didn't feel comfortable doing it myself. Today she called and said they r doing better. They have all signs of distemper. I will bring them back if they improve. I have disinfected the bathroom where they stayed. My own 3 cats,are up to date on shots and have
Had no exposure to the kitties.My only advice I can give is always quarantine
Any new animals for a few weeks before
Introducing.I am praying all goes well and will keep u up-to-date. PS. I bought pedia-light.

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Whew. I'm glad your kitties are up on their shots. 

Thank you for the update. I think you did well to return them to the shelter employee. It sounds like she has more experience with hydrating cats and with kittens this small and ill, it's probably required. It does sound a lot like distemper, so I hope the two remaining kittens will pull through 

I am sorry this is how your first fostering experience ended but I truly think you did all you could. Thank you for caring for the little ones while you did! I 

Thanks everyone. The lady at the shelder who took the rema742 kittens witk

So the lady said they are doing ok. Hope to pick up on Monday.The day I picked the 4 kitties up, she gave them
The feline-rhino-cauci-panleuk. vaccine and topical to kill fleas. Is it possible the vaccine killed them? Is,8 weeks too young to give this vaccine?
Thans all.

catkisses4

Eight weeks is the normal age for first vaccines, but some kittens get sick from the vaccines, and yes, can die as a result. It's not the norm though, but it happens. [emoji]128533[/emoji]

My guess is the kittens may have had weak immune systems to begin with, and the vaccines put them over the edge.

We'll never really know, but I'm glad to hear that these two are so much better and that you are getting them back! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thank u sarrhur2. I know I will never know 4 sure. There is only one left now,and, I do not have great expections.what u wrote makes sense. The lady who works at the shelter, took the last one to her house to look after. I couldn't bear to watch this anymore

I'm sorry. It's very sad. I hope that one makes it.

catkisses4 said:

Thank u sarrhur2. I know I will never know 4 sure. There is only one left now,and, I do not have great expections.what u wrote makes sense. The lady who works at the shelter, took the last one to her house to look after. I couldn't bear to watch this anymore

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Sorrowfully, not all sagas gets an happe end.   some of the sagas have a sad end.  Its often the best sagas, those whom are also educational / tutorial.

A feature of our sagas is, there are many of them.  We can reread them - if never exactly the same saga, so very similiar sagas.  And as we become better and better readers we can make more and more sagas get that happy end we do love.

Because as a reader, we are in a way co-autors.   With the sagas in books and the sagas in the real live - cats and kittens we do rescue.

Let not their death and your sad experience be in wain.

There are more kittens and cats to be rescued and saved.   Or at the very worst - get a more nice and comfortable death than otherwise.

  Mother Theresa got her Sainthood not for being a healer, but for making the dying more human...   Oscar the black and white cat in that geriatric hospital, whom apparently does has some sort of Gods mission, isnt helping them heal,- he is a lousy animal therapy cat- , he is helping them in the last passage, making it comfortable and nice...   Its is there he proves he is a true Saint.

RIP little ones.