Help, advice on limping rescued kitten.

4 days ago I found a very tiny blind kitten.  She's about 4 weeks old, probably a feral and was abandoned and sick.  I took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics and something to take her fever down  and prescribed topical antibiotic eyedrops (Torbrex) and gel (corneregel) for her eyes.  She's been doing really well and her eyes are certainly looking better (though she can't see) .  She has also gained about 40g (350-390) in 3 days and is using the litter tray and eating (goats yogurt because I cant get milk  here in Belgrade) mashed into wet kitten food.  

We went again to the vet today and he gave her another shot of antiobiotics and some worming paste. 

She went pretty much straight to sleep on my husband, I moved her off him because h also fell asleep on the sofa and I was worried she might roll or walk off his lap.  So moved her onto a blanket,  after about 15 mins she got up to use the litter tray and seems to have hurt her right front leg/paw.

She's limping and won't really put much weight on it and I don't know what I can do.. or what might have caused it?  I was watching the whole time and she didn't fall or anything. 

Any advice on how to check what might be causing it.   I'm new to all this and a bit panicky . 

Thanks

Gen (and little bear)

I have to wonder if your kitten doesn't have the strain of Calicivirus that causes "Limping Kitten Syndrome".

Calicivirus is an upper respiratory virus that is basically the equivalent of flu in humans. It is oftentimes associated with ulcers in or around the mouth, but this is not always the case. The strain that causes Limping Kitten Syndrome is notorious for high fevers.

Watch her and see if she continues to favor the same leg or if she starts to favor another one. With LKS one leg will be affected one day and the next day will be another.

If you notice any swelling, brushing, or the paw/foot feels cold, this is NOT LKS and the kitten would need to see a vet right away.

She is a little bit snuffly actually and now you mention it she was a bit unsteady on her back leg yesterday but  I thought that was just from the shot the vet gave her.  Is this virus dangerous?  She's been really sleepy all afternoon. 

I've just read through a lot of threads about limping kitten syndrome and it seems very probable.  She is feverish, only wanting to be on my lap, but she does purr if I stroke her so she still has her spirits up.  Poor little kitty.  

"Limping Calici" can vary from mild to severe in terms of pain and fever.  What has worked for us is to treat with  any antibiotic (to avoid secondary infection; you can't treat the virus itself) and if it is a severe case (fever around 105-106, and/or affecting kittens ability to walk), then add a steroid for its anti-inflammatory effect.  From start to finish, most of these cases are done within 5 days.  I have had some that were so bad the kitten could not move for a couple of days, in which case we would place them on incontinence pads so they wouldn't get wet from their own urine, and give them oral fluids and a steroid (from the vet) and within a couple of days, they were mobile again.  The severe cases are quite startling, but we have never lost a kitten from this strain of the virus, and it does pass quickly.

As for the kitten being blind, I raised a blind kitten that was found as a stray and she did fine as she grew up and learned where things were. 

Thanks folks, i was really scared. She's been eating a bit so not dehydrated but is very hot. Can i put a compress on her head or anything to cool her down like you would with a person ? Or is that just silly.

Can you take her temp?  If the fever is very high, the steroids should bring it down quickly. 

She was very fefverish last night and i was really worried but this morning she is much better again. Playimg and eating a little and limping a lot less.  She has got fleas though and i wonder if it would be OK to bathe her or should I wait til she's completely over this virus.  The fleas are driving her mad. 

Bathing her should be just fine. Bath her in Original Blue Dawn. They now have one called "Simply Clean" or "Simply Dawn" that is non-concentrated. Use this if you can find it.

Stay clear of any flea/tick shampoos.

Get a flea comb and set up a bowl of water in front of you. Put a little dish soap in the water and stir it to break the surface tension so the fleas will sink.  Then comb her for fleas and each time you get one or more in the comb, flick them into the water.  We call that making flea soup.  You can do that a couple of times a day until she feels a little better.  Then if your vet has the flea medicine Advantage, you can use a couple of drops of that -- it is very safe even for young kittens, and it kills all the adult fleas within 12 hours. I always comb out all the fleas I can get before bathing them.

Great, thank you so much for all the help.  I am in Europe and we have Fairy liquid instead of Dawn, I think it's the same though.  I have a mild lemon scented one here in the house so I can use that I think.   

We wet back to vet today and although she's better than last night, when she was really limping and depressed and sleepy.  She has now not been to the toilet for 24hrs , she has a few wee's but no poo.  He gave her something to help her with this but so far, no luck.     I really want her to be oK.