Kitten drops to lethargy and out

Even if the kitten doesn't make it, it's last hours of life will not be a prolonged torture.  It is warm, fed and being taken care of and loved.  Much better than being outside and ignored by mom.

How is the kitten doing now?  Can you post a picture of it?

Can't post a photo.

Still comatose. Force feeding it with 1 ml electrolyte solution every hour and 4 ml KMR every 3 hours.

Tried again to make it poop to no avail. Its lower idestines are swollen. (low in its belly just above its genitals)

Heartbeat is stable.

PS its belly is not full though and feels soft to the touch. Just this spot in its groin

Maybe a few drops of fish oil with the formula. I guess constipation is possible.

Olive oil works to help move things along.  If the kitten is blocked it may need more help.  You can try using a suppository.  Shave off a tiny piece and use that.

So cup of boiled water cooled to warm, 2 sp sugar, 1/4 sp honey, 1 pinch of salt, 1/4 olive oil.

Should I continue alteranating the formula AND the KMR or should I only provide the former?

If you are using powdered formula you can use the pedialyte instead of water or mix half pedialyte and half water.  I wouldn't put the olive oil in the pedialyte mixture. You can put the unused portion of pedialyte in the refrigerator for a couple days or freeze it.  Put a drop of oil in as you are feeding the kitten.  You don't need much olive oil.  Make sure the pedialyte is at least room temp or a little warmer.  Remember cats and kittens have a higher body temp than we do.

George Chr said:

 
Can't post a photo.

Still comatose. Force feeding it with 1 ml electrolyte solution every hour and 4 ml KMR every 3 hours.

Tried again to make it poop to no avail. Its lower idestines are swollen. (low in its belly just above its genitals)

Heartbeat is stable.

Click to expand...

It gives 4x8 = 32 grams KMR.      As the kitten is at least 3 weeks, I suppose its at least 300 grammes.

A 300 grammes kitten needs;   300/30=10 Oz,  10Oz x8 ml  gives the daily need of 80...

80 needed, getting 32...     I understand the kitten cant get much more at this moment, but I suspect its losing the battle in the long run...  Even if the pedialyte mixture contains some energy too...     At least increase the amount of pedialyte...

I will in the next post write up some pedialyte receipts.  The write up is lenghy, but you just pick up some receipt which is comfortable for you.

So the kitten is still comatose, although many hours now?   As long its not suffering its worth fighting, but Im beginning to lose my optimism...

Lets hope this swelling in the abdomen is "just" constipation.  If its some sort of obstruction its worse...

Do you think it may be gas swelling?   simoticon is a good help for such - the same as for babies, bought in the department for babies care.   A few drops in the syringe.

If its constipation, and olive / other oil doesn help, you can buy such a suppository as for human constipation - what is it done from, paraffine?  make a tiny slice, and use it from the rear end.

Have you been burping the kitten after feeding it?  You should be and I don't think anyone mentioned it yet.

Pedialyte:

  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 "meagre"  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.

Yes I am burping it. I hand reared 3 orphaned (abandoned by some owner more probably) newborns before 2 years, all to adulthood, I know all the typical procedures from that time. I had never had to deal with coma though.

I noticed poop on the cloth it was resting upon. It must have pooped by it self or as a delayed reaction after my last attempt.

Yes it still has a heartbeat and slow breathing. Both, I estimate, are deteriorating though. Also last couple of feeds it failed to swallow, even as a coma reaction - which was what it did up to now.

Its comatose for 26 straight hours.

I wonder if there is a chance its mom will revive it if I place it near her. I think she must have revived it the last night it was with her and was again comatose.

On the other hand, before I bring it in, she had pushed it out of the clean cloth I had placed it and took residence with the healthy sibling. I must write that in our porch live half a dozen other cats and teen kittens.Which was the thing that finally made me to bring it in the house.

Thanks for the pedialite analysis. Yes my target was to provide 80 ml. I can't force feed it more than 5ml per feeding and I try that every 2-3 hours. I am afraid thought its a lost case. I don't know if kittens dream from that age, but if so, I hope its last dreams are pleasant  as they can be.

What a sad story here, this poor baby surely has had the will/fight to live and grow, but it may be too late and giving up.

Coma or not, the baby must swallow, when this stops, she is very possibly near the end.

If you see her breathing become shallow, slowed, and her mouth opening like a small gasp for air look, stop feeding, she is shutting down.

If you do not see this breathing, I would continue on, the hope is small now, but never giving up hope I have saved many who were pretty far gone.

Honey is big, it is my personal favorite, whether applying a bit to her tongue and gums, or added in to a homemade pediolyte, it has the lasting power that clear caro syrup does not, which I discovered just in the past 2 years or so.

I would not put her with mom again. Mom has rejected her, so be it.

Fleas will kill kittens, we get them in to the Humane Society, and I work on them immdiately, but many are too anemic to be saved. Kittens have a very small supply of blood, and when they have a flea infestation that is sucking what blood they do have out, it leaves them weak and lacking red blood cells, they can easily die.

Look at the gums color. White? How white? ANY pinkness at all?

Are they sort of sticky/tacky? 

It was fed before 1 hour.  I was shocked to see her moving its front legs when I corrected its position. Twice it gave me small movements, but they probably are reflect reactions? In any case she didn't do them up to now. Yes she rests with slightly open mouth, like a gasp. Seems that breathing is a small bit stronger now. Gums seem grey in the line just below the teeth, the rest is pink.

Not sure if I can make a correct assessment here. Too bad I can't take a photo.

Yes I believe that ur right and unless she is revived can't take her back.

I constantly wash and dry my hands after each visit. Is this enough? To keep safe my house cat I mean. Or do I have to additionaly change clothes regularly or something?

Is a every hour 2-3 ml of the solution better than force feeding larger amounts in larger time intervals?

Regarding the honey water to rub her tongue, I mix 2 sp honey with a cup of water. Then just before feeding I dip my finger in the mixture and use it to wet tongue and gums. Is this close to ideal?

George Chr said:

 
It was fed before 1 hour.  I was shocked to see her moving its front legs when I corrected its position. Twice it gave me small movements, but they probably are reflect reactions? In any case she didn't do them up to now. Yes she rests with slightly open mouth, like a gasp. Seems that breathing is a small bit stronger now. Gums seem grey in the line just below the teeth, the rest is pink.

Not sure if I can make a correct assessment here. Too bad I can't take a photo.

Yes I believe that ur right and unless she is revived can't take her back.

I constantly wash and dry my hands after each visit. Is this enough? To keep safe my house cat I mean. Or do I have to additionaly change clothes regularly or something?

Is a every hour 2-3 ml of the solution better than force feeding larger amounts in larger time intervals?

Regarding the honey water to rub her tongue, I mix 2 sp honey with a cup of water. Then just before feeding I dip my finger in the mixture and use it to wet tongue and gums. Is this close to ideal?

Click to expand...

I got an idea, do massage her, limbs and body.  Almost as with revieving.  Also, it helps the blood coming around, stimulates the muscles...

Carrying at your chest is good.   I hope you do talk lotsa to her, with a nice voice?

Ideally you should change clothes too. Say, you t ake off your normal clothes and take on clothes you just use in her room.  If you dont have an inbetween room, do it immediately outside, the used clothes not touching antyhing else.

In a state where she is shutting down, I suspect pedialyte based on honey as sugar source, is easier to digest than formula...   That is surely what Catsknowme noticed.

ps. Such a massaging is in fact routinely done with long term comatose human patients, or with patients whom are immovable.

Its quite possble he wakened with mamma, because she was washing him, ie doing a sort of natural massage.  Its quite potent!

You can use a little brush, perhaps a toothbrush, if you wish.

@George Chr

You are getting excellent advice, and I can't add anything other than, thank you for caring about this tiny mite.  Thank you.

Yes I talk to her all the time. I tried a couple of times to massage her but maybe I will try more regularly now.

George Chr said:

 
It was fed before 1 hour.  I was shocked to see her moving its front legs when I corrected its position. Twice it gave me small movements, but they probably are reflect reactions? In any case she didn't do them up to now. Yes she rests with slightly open mouth, like a gasp. Seems that breathing is a small bit stronger now. Gums seem grey in the line just below the teeth, the rest is pink.

Not sure if I can make a correct assessment here. Too bad I can't take a photo.

Yes I believe that ur right and unless she is revived can't take her back.

I constantly wash and dry my hands after each visit. Is this enough? To keep safe my house cat I mean. Or do I have to additionaly change clothes regularly or something?

Is a every hour 2-3 ml of the solution better than force feeding larger amounts in larger time intervals?

Regarding the honey water to rub her tongue, I mix 2 sp honey with a cup of water. Then just before feeding I dip my finger in the mixture and use it to wet tongue and gums. Is this close to ideal?

Click to expand...

You would know if you saw any pink in color, the kittens who passed from flea anemia had pure white gums. Colorless, white as milk.

If your house cat has been vaccinated, even only as a kitten it should be fine. Cat parvo is the danger here, which kills kittens all over, at least I believe it's all over.

The other is ringworm, not so likely if mom doesn't show patches of missing fur, but better safe, not dangerous, just a nuisance.

You can use a long sleeved shirt when you handle her, put it on backwards so your clothes don't get contaminated.

Wash hands well and leave the shirt for only her.

Toothbrush is an excellent idea.

Yes, excellent advice all around. Many many thanks again.

StefanZ said:

 
ps. Such a massaging is in fact routinely done with long term comatose human patients, or with patients whom are immovable.

Its quite possble he wakened with mamma, because she was washing him, ie doing a sort of natural massage.  Its quite potent!

You can use a little brush, perhaps a toothbrush, if you wish.

@George Chr

Click to expand...

YES! Touching and massage is excellent, in many ways, including comforting to kitten.

Also, small amts more often are much, much better and easier on her system, which is extremely delicate.