We simply don't know what to do.

valtonus · Nov 8, 2016

Well, my parents were heading to a friends house when they saw what appeared to be a dead kitten from the side of the road. On the way back, they stopped so they could move it out of the way so its corpse didn't have to be just ruined by cars.. but as it turned out, he was alive! They brought him home. They gave him pain medicine, enough that could've possibly sedated him and made his heart slow down enough to pass peacefully, but luckily, he didn't pass from it. Right now, the main issue we see is possible head trauma judging on the fact one eye is dilated, while the other isn't. All the vets near us are for-profit and we don't the financial means to get him good treatment. We can't find any cat rescues for seriously injured cats. The cat may have a broken bone, but I'm not sure since all 4 of his legs work, and he crawls around in the basket with a blanket we have him in right now. We have fed and watered him using a little tube and fed it to his mouth, and boy he enjoyed the soft cat food!

Thing is, we don't know how life threatening it is. He seems to be acting okay. Problem is.. we simply do not what to do with him, because we don't want to get him euthanized without giving him all the possible chances. Possible that the head trauma can go untreated(guessing not). With the lacket of cat rescues for injured cats and only for-profit animal hospitals/vets near us, we are lost. Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks.

boney girl dad · Nov 9, 2016

Thanks for coming to TCS. Thanks to your folks for picking her up and trying to help. Her condition sounds promising. The kitten really should be seen by a vet. Let us know your whereabouts and hopefully someone here can help you.

zed xyzed · Nov 9, 2016

First thanks for saving this little soul. Can you get the kitten to a vet? please be careful with giving a cat medication meant for people for example Tylenol (in fact most) pain killers are very toxic to cats

Primula · Nov 9, 2016

Valtonus said:
Thing is, we don't know how life threatening it is. He seems to be acting okay. Problem is.. we simply do not what to do with him, because we don't want to get him euthanized without giving him all the possible chances. Possible that the head trauma can go untreated(guessing not). With the lacket of cat rescues for injured cats and only for-profit animal hospitals/vets near us, we are lost. Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks.

You've rescued & fed him now so that means you are his person. If you have no funds for a vet (and by the way euthanasia is not free), take one day at a time. Maybe he will be all right with tender loving care & good food.

Willowy · Nov 9, 2016

There's not a lot that doctors/vets can do for head trauma, unless the brain swells, then they can release the pressure. But for a regular concussion, all that can be done is to provide supportive care. So as long as they're keeping him warm and well-fed, and providing a safe place for him to recover, I think they're doing pretty well.

If he seems to be in constant pain, though, euthanasia might be best

. But it's possible that he just got knocked in the head and didn't get any broken bones.

He'll need the normal kitten care of de-worming and vaccinations. Is there a place they can get some pyrantel pamoate (sold for treatment of hookworms in humans)? How about vaccines? In the US we can buy animal vaccines at farm stores, not sure if there's anything like that in your area.

valtonus · Nov 9, 2016

Thanks! We are located in Oklahoma city.

Zed Xyzed said:
First thanks for saving this little soul. Can you get the kitten to a vet? please be careful with giving a cat medication meant for people for example Tylenol (in fact most) pain killers are very toxic to cats

Don't worry, it isn't human pain killers. We are giving him Tramadol, about 5mg. We had the medicine from when a cat of ours was attacked by a dog(long story, he's ok now). It is meant for full size cats, but he only gets about half the dose since he spits a lot of it out when we are giving it to him. We are also giving him an anti-inflammatory medicine for cats.

Zed Xyzed said:
First thanks for saving this little soul. Can you get the kitten to a vet? please be careful with giving a cat medication meant for people for example Tylenol (in fact most) pain killers are very toxic to cats

Willowy said:
There's not a lot that doctors/vets can do for head trauma, unless the brain swells, then they can release the pressure. But for a regular concussion, all that can be done is to provide supportive care. So as long as they're keeping him warm and well-fed, and providing a safe place for him to recover, I think they're doing pretty well.

If he seems to be in constant pain, though, euthanasia might be best

. But it's possible that he just got knocked in the head and didn't get any broken bones.

He'll need the normal kitten care of de-worming and vaccinations. Is there a place they can get some pyrantel pamoate (sold for treatment of hookworms in humans)? How about vaccines? In the US we can buy animal vaccines at farm stores, not sure if there's anything like that in your area.

All we are trying to do right now is keeping him alive and trying to get him back to good health, and with the medicine we are already giving him, we don't want to give him anything else. We will probably worry about that if he makes it through. Thanks!

valtonus · Nov 9, 2016

I uploaded a video of him. I have noticed one thing on why he can't walk. I noticed after letting him try to walk on the big bed a few times that he has a broken/completely disabled front right leg(if your looking at him from the top). He doesn't appear to be in pain, but that is possibly because of the medicine we have been getting him. Now here is a video of him that consist of me stuttering and pausing a lot while talking. We can't afford an X-Ray unfortunately for his leg, but then again, his leg isn't moving at all, could be something else besides just a broken bone.

mservant · Nov 9, 2016

Thank you for taking this little cat in and doing what you can to help and make him comfortable.

He may have been injured, or maybe taken in something poisonous which is causing his problems. The other posibility is he could have started showing these symptoms and someone has dumped him outdoors because they didn't feel they could help him. There is an article here on TCS which talks about various ways to try and find funds for vet care: I know some of it talks about being prepared and this is not something you could have done, but hopefully some of the other ideas might help.

The causes for pupils being different in size can be different in cats to what they are with humans and if there is any way you can get this little guy to a vet they would hopefully be able to tell what is happening without a whole load of expensive tests being done. If he has suddenly lost vision that could also make him feel nervous about standing up or moving around in a similar way to brain injury.

Even 'for profit' vets will treat rescued cats for free sometimes - when I lived in a London a few years back we had a very expensive vet near by who treated a young black male we took in to our flat and didn't charge us at all - kept him in for 24 hour observations, bloods etc. (Sadly he also advised us to eutnanase as he was having severe seizures and neurological damage ). Our little guy got the best vet care all for free, you just never know, one of those vets might see your kindness and be inspired by you. I hope so.

valtonus · Nov 9, 2016

MServant said:
Thank you for taking this little cat in and doing what you can to help and make him comfortable.

He may have been injured, or maybe taken in something poisonous which is causing his problems. The other posibility is he could have started showing these symptoms and someone has dumped him outdoors because they didn't feel they could help him. There is an article here on TCS which talks about various ways to try and find funds for vet care: I know some of it talks about being prepared and this is not something you could have done, but hopefully some of the other ideas might help.

The causes for pupils being different in size can be different in cats to what they are with humans and if there is any way you can get this little guy to a vet they would hopefully be able to tell what is happening without a whole load of expensive tests being done. If he has suddenly lost vision that could also make him feel nervous about standing up or moving around in a similar way to brain injury.

Even 'for profit' vets will treat rescued cats for free sometimes - when I lived in a London a few years back we had a very expensive vet near by who treated a young black male we took in to our flat and didn't charge us at all - kept him in for 24 hour observations, bloods etc. (Sadly he also advised us to eutnanase as he was having severe seizures and neurological damage ). Our little guy got the best vet care all for free, you just never know, one of those vets might see your kindness and be inspired by you. I hope so.

Thanks! I think that it is possible head trauma as far as the dilation goes because of at least 2 articles, this one being from Pet MD.

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/eyes/c_ct_anisocoria

I think what my mother said if he lives long enough, the main issue is... we don't want to bring a cat to the vet(despite me wanting to) for a cat that could, but most likely won't, die. I think after a certain amount of time she will get him checked out. For me, its about the dilation.... While X-Ray would probably be later.

valtonus · Nov 9, 2016

I just noticed something! When reflected in the light well enough, the pupils are differently colored! The right pupil being a green when reflected good enough, with the left pupil being dark blue! Is it possible at all that the pupils react differently to light because of the different colors(because if I remember correctly, but I don't know if this applies to eyes, that colors reflect light differently)? Is it possible the "anisocoria" he appears to be having is all just a harmless result of different eye colors???

Also another note, he peed today for the first time, which is a good sign.... he did it while I was holding him... so that was... fun.

Lyzzie · Nov 10, 2016

Thank you for taking this kitty in. I don't have any advice to offer, but I think maybe @catwoman707 can help?

Welcome to TCS!

mservant · Nov 10, 2016

When you describe the right pupil reflecting green and the left blue @Valtonus , can I just check that you mean the dark pupil and not the iris coloured part? If it is the right pupil which is showing as dilated which is reflecting green this will be because the pupil is fixed dilated and more light getting to the retina and being reflected back out. If this is the case then the anisocoria would be the cause of the different colour you are seeing (not the other way round). If you take photographs of a cat and the eyes always shine green it can be a sign that they have lost their sight - I'm not sure if it is because the pupil is not reacting or something else, but I read about this after one of my previous cats went blind and had I known I would probably have realized something was wrong with her. Her retinas were damaged.

For the fore leg which is not moving, is there any chance it could be dislocated rather than broken? In terms of pain, cats do not usually show signs of pain until it is very severe.

How is he doing today?

valtonus · Nov 10, 2016

MServant said:
When you describe the right pupil reflecting green and the left blue @Valtonus , can I just check that you mean the dark pupil and not the iris coloured part? If it is the right pupil which is showing as dilated which is reflecting green this will be because the pupil is fixed dilated and more light getting to the retina and being reflected back out. If this is the case then the anisocoria would be the cause of the different colour you are seeing (not the other way round). If you take photographs of a cat and the eyes always shine green it can be a sign that they have lost their sight - I'm not sure if it is because the pupil is not reacting or something else, but I read about this after one of my previous cats went blind and had I known I would probably have realized something was wrong with her. Her retinas were damaged.

For the fore leg which is not moving, is there any chance it could be dislocated rather than broken? In terms of pain, cats do not usually show signs of pain until it is very severe.

How is he doing today?

He has been doing great, eating a lot. Now just waiting for him to take his first poop... It appears it isn't always reflecting green, I was outside(though cloudy) with him bundled up in the blanket, and it appeared to be reflecting blue.. but it was hard to tell since I'm wearing a blue shirt. I'm not sure about the arm. I believe we are taking him to the vet next week, so that's good!

catwoman707 · Nov 10, 2016

Valtonus said:
He has been doing great, eating a lot. Now just waiting for him to take his first poop... It appears it isn't always reflecting green, I was outside(though cloudy) with him bundled up in the blanket, and it appeared to be reflecting blue.. but it was hard to tell since I'm wearing a blue shirt. I'm not sure about the arm. I believe we are taking him to the vet next week, so that's good!

So sorry for the delay!

I work nights and don't have a lot of time before having to get ready to go again, but have lots of things to say.

In my opinion and experience, yes he has head trauma, causing the uneven pupils.

He will turn in circles, and this is the last thing that will go away, it's from the total lack of balance control he has and comes from the trauma being on one side.

The most important issue here is whether he has brain swelling, but at this point if he does, it doesn't seem to be enough to take his life, as brain swelling can be/cause bleeding too.

So time is on your side here.

The most important things you can do for this little one now is give love, plenty of canned food (pate even if it's friskies, but not chunk food) classics are pate, and restrict his area, sights, sounds, in other words the least amt of brain activity the better.

Noises, smells, sights, these all keep the brain working, so calm, low/no light, and quiet is the best for him right now.

His body will work very hard to heal itself, he is clearly a survivor!

After a few days, see if you can feel both shoulders at the same time and compare, in case it may be dislocated.

If it is, he really will need to see a vet ASAP so no permanent damage is done to the tissue.

So glad you came her for help!

valtonus · Nov 10, 2016

catwoman707 said:
So sorry for the delay!

I work nights and don't have a lot of time before having to get ready to go again, but have lots of things to say.

In my opinion and experience, yes he has head trauma, causing the uneven pupils.

He will turn in circles, and this is the last thing that will go away, it's from the total lack of balance control he has and comes from the trauma being on one side.

The most important issue here is whether he has brain swelling, but at this point if he does, it doesn't seem to be enough to take his life, as brain swelling can be/cause bleeding too.

So time is on your side here.

The most important things you can do for this little one now is give love, plenty of canned food (pate even if it's friskies, but not chunk food) classics are pate, and restrict his area, sights, sounds, in other words the least amt of brain activity the better.

Noises, smells, sights, these all keep the brain working, so calm, low/no light, and quiet is the best for him right now.

His body will work very hard to heal itself, he is clearly a survivor!

After a few days, see if you can feel both shoulders at the same time and compare, in case it may be dislocated.

If it is, he really will need to see a vet ASAP so no permanent damage is done to the tissue.

So glad you came her for help!

Thanks! We will try to get him to the vet next week hopefully. How do I exactly tell its dislocated?

Also.. I have been giving him 9 lives pate

I did realize after your post that as far as restricting his sights, sounds, area, noises, and light... I have been doing it very wrong

... Dogs barking, picking him up, sometimes taking pictures with my phone..(a couple of times with flash), took a video with a light, yelled at my dog in front of him while having him baby wrapped in my arms... Yeah I've messed up. Now i know, thanks! He has appeared to be very happy and purring a lot.

Now we are keeping him in the basket we put him in every night, and keeping the room light off whenever possible with at most the TV on about normal volume. With our 4 cats and 3 dogs it does(especially 1 who barks constantly when he is outside.. CONSTANTLY), it causes enough noise. So now I'm doing what I can to take your advice! Again, thank you very much!

boney girl dad · Nov 11, 2016

A big thank you to our members for all your help for this kitty and Valtonus. Sounds like a happy ending/beginning is just around the corner.

valtonus · Nov 11, 2016

Boney Girl Dad said:
A big thank you to our members for all your help for this kitty and Valtonus. Sounds like a happy ending/beginning is just around the corner.

I do give a big thanks.. though the cat has not pooped yet and we are getting concerned. We DID however schedule a vet appoint & X-Ray for Monday! But right now I am just worried about the poop. Another note, he gets lots of love, but we try to cut down the light and noise a little bit, though we do bring him out into the living room from time to time so we can give him constant love so he doesn't have to lay bored in the room(like he does at night). But there is nothing really to be done now but wait for Monday.

mservant · Nov 11, 2016

Your little one sounds like a very determined guy, and all the loving he is getting is going to be great for him. Do not feel bad about what you have been doing, you have taken him in to your home, offered food and liquid and warmth, and you are getting what ever advice you can. Very happy to hear there is a vet appointment arranged for Monday.

Being in your company, knowing there are people around, and gentle contact and stroking should be good for him - he is a little kitten and alone, he needs reassurance and loving physical contact like he would get from his fur-family. It also stimulates his awareness of his body when you stroke him gently, so as long as you are gentle I think that stroking his body and limbs is good esp if he has a head injury: it helps him re-learn about his body, what it feels like and where his limbs and tail are. Just be extra careful of that front limb that might be painful, and be alert to any little muscle flinches or signs he might have pain anywhere. The more safe, loved, and comfortable he feels the the better.

valtonus · Nov 11, 2016

We think hes starting to give up

Hes been lethargic all day, hasn't been lifting his head.. I am scared for the worst. I am really hoping we can make it to Monday!

2Cats4everLoved · Nov 11, 2016

First let me also say, thank you for taking this sweet angel in. As said, cats don't often show pain, unless they are familiar with you and know you're the parent, as mine come to me when not feeling right.

Does this little wee one let you touch his legs? Are there bumps that you can feel. Sounds like he got a bit banged up.

I'm very much interested in your sweet angel.

Please keep us updated.

Perhaps the non profit vets can take payments? Do you have a local church or group you belong to, to possibly collect a few donations? The holidays are approaching and people are generous at this time, perhaps you can get some assistance.

Be well and welcome to TCS.

Warm regards, Hope.

We simply don't know what to do.

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