Help Me Please

This has been the worst weekend of my life. Four of my cats died!! The first one was Jerry. He was vomitting alot for like 3 days. I didn't think it was that serious so i just let it pass. Then when i came home from school my mom told me he was dead!! I was so surprised and sad. This is the first time i've loset an animal. And the mother of 3 kittens (Maquilla) died also !! And i saw it all it was terrible. She was vomitting blood and there was this really bad stench then she screamed and vomitted somemore and finally she died. I felt so helpless. Now her kittens are with Lunita - my other preganat cat . My other Boy cat Tiger was vomitting and not eating aswell so this time my mom took him to the vet. She said they gave him like 3 shots and prescribed him something called Centrume or something like that ( i can't understand the vet's hand writting.. And told my mom to bring him back monday (tommorow) He still didn't eat he just sat on one place. My poor baby. Today he DIED!!! I am so terribly sad you don't know how much i cried. I don't know whats wrong with my pets!! The vet didn't do nothing . Then i saw that Toby and Tommy weren't eating . So my mom took them to the vet (a different one). When she came back with them Toby was breathing very hard and couldn't move. He looked terrible . I couldn't belive the vet didn't take their blood to see whats wrong!! he just prescribed Theophylline. I gave him one but not Tommy. After like half an hour he died!!! God Tommy is still alive but he looks so skinny. He eats a little and drinks water THANK GOD , but i am still worried all he does is sleep. Lunita is now sick too!! She won't eat and she smells like that rotten worms. If she dies who's going to feed the kittens?!! Maybe there even sick Oh GOD!! I don't know what they have! We took them to the vet and they didn't do nothing!! Now we only have like 100$ left and we have 5 cats that are not sick . I am afraid the'll get sick. This never happend before i don't know what wrong!! Its like an epidemic . PLEASE HELP ME I AM GOING CRAZY watshing them all die and not being able to do something. I called everywere and they all say come monday!! I can't wait untill monday they going to die. and we don't have enough money. This is a nighmare!! Oh god please help me. I don't know what to do.

Please help me . i already lost 4 of my babies

I don't know what to say. I'm so sad. And I'm so sorry for you. I'm afraid this sounds like FPV (Feline Panleukopenia Virus, or "distemper"). If you've got an outbreak of that on your hands, I'm afraid you need to prepare yourself for the worst. There is really little you can do yourself at this point. Hospitalization with intensive supportive care might save a cat with this disease, but it would be VERY expensive. If any of the other cats aren't ill yet, isolate them. But unless they've been vaccinated, probably they'll get sick, too. I hope you'll let us know how this turns out.

I am very sorry to hear of what is happening. I do not have any advice. Other than as the other poster said if any are not sick yet, quarentine them. but it does sound like FPV...

I'm not sure what you want us to do for you? It is clear you have a contagious disease that has infiltrated your home. You need to bottle feed any remaining kittens, do not put them near healthy pregnant or non-pregnant cats! You need to wipe down your pregnant mom's belly where they have undoubtedly been trying to nurse with a combination of hydrogen peroxide and warm water. If a kitten is vomiting a lot in three days, it needs to see a vet before something like you have encountered happens. Now, it sounds like it is to late, and whatever has been introduced into your home is doing the deadly deed.

I suggest you move all healthy cats and kittens into another room, put the sick ones in a separate room, and bleach and clean the room where the litter was. I would also suggest you get the pregnant cat spayed and the others besides and not have new cats or kittens in your home for at least a year. Toss out all cat bedding, blankets, litter pans, toys, etc. If what you say is true, you have a full epidemic of an unknown disease running through your home- Use bleach and hot water and wipe down the whole area that cats have been frequenting= Let the area air dry for at least 24 hours then move the sick ones into that room, set it up as your hospital and keep the rest of the healthy cats out of the room in another area (but also contained) DO NOT let any of your cats outside under any circumstances- and good luck-

Sure sounds like your cats got some sort of infectious disease. Didn't vet told your mother what it could be? Like Hissy said, the sick cats should be isolated from healthy cats to try and contain the disease. Have your cats been vaccinated against any diseases?

thank you so much for replying. this is so hard for me. i only have 1 bedroom and the sick ones are there. the rest are in the living room. i have cleaned and swept the whole house. is that good enough? i wish i could know what this thing is!! the vet said it looked like its a virus. how did this thing get into my house?! my cats are all indoor cats. no they haven't been vaccined only my male cat was vaccined for rabies when we got him spayed .

Originally Posted by Cabbit

thank you so much for replying. this is so hard for me. i only have 1 bedroom and the sick ones are there. the rest are in the living room. i have cleaned and swept the whole house. is that good enough? i wish i could know what this thing is!! the vet said it looked like its a virus. how did this thing get into my house?! my cats are all indoor cats.

no they haven't been vaccined only my male cat was vaccined for rabies when we got him spayed .

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When you go out you could bring viruses home on your shoes or clothes.

My heart breaks for you. I can't imagine the pain you must be in.

OMG i just searched up Feline Panleukopenia Virus, or "distemper" and the symptoms are just like what my cats had/have!! It that!! I'm so sure it's that. in the web page it said "Sometimes the head will hang over a water bowl or food dish. They often act as though they would like to drink and may even take a lap or two of milk or water, but they are unable or reluctant to swallow.". Thats exactly what Tiger was doing the day he died. OMG what am i going to do?!! Is it to late to vaccined the not sick ones against Panleukopenia?? How could this have happend!!

two of the kittens are already infected!! there just 1 week old!!
In the website i heard about this medicine called Antiserum , does anyone know were i can find this? fast?

Originally Posted by Cabbit

thank you so much for replying. this is so hard for me. i only have 1 bedroom and the sick ones are there. the rest are in the living room. i have cleaned and swept the whole house. is that good enough? i wish i could know what this thing is!! the vet said it looked like its a virus. how did this thing get into my house?! my cats are all indoor cats.

no they haven't been vaccined only my male cat was vaccined for rabies when we got him spayed .

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Any bedding used by the sick ones needs to be washed in bleach, as much as possible any surface they have touched especially where they may have thrown up or had diarrhea should be sterilized with a bleach solution. Any time you touch one of the sick ones disinfect your hands prior to touching any surfaces or the healthy kittens. If you can contain the sick ones in boxes or cat carriers you will have less sterilization required after they pass.

I lost a foster kitten to distemper last weekend. I feel your pain and can completely empathize with what you are going through.

A vaccination takes time to be effective, so it's too late for that. I'm sorry. Antiserum, as I understand it, can be administered to a cat that has been exposed but is not yet sick. I doubt this is something a regular vet keeps on hand. Perhaps if there's an emergency clinic in your area.

thanks so much for the suppport. i would have never know of this virus if you wouldn't have told me my poor babies i am going to go buy some bleach righ away.

Noooooooo it can't be to late ! the only emergency clinic closest to me is like 30 miles away and i don't have money for that I feel so guilty i am a bad owner!!

First of all, you do not know what it is that has taken so many lives. Without a clear diagnosis from a competent vet you cannot administer any medications that will help. Also vaccines, though helpful are not 100% effective.

How did it gain access into your home? Who knows, it could have been brought in by the pregnant cat and released into her kittens in utero. You could have stopped to pet a stray on the way home, or had one brush up against you and not washed your hands or the clothes you had on. Again it is hard to say, but my money is on the litter bringing it in. People have a habit of wanting to handle stray newborns, and don't sometimes take proper precautions such as washing their hands each and every time they handle a kitten. So until you know what you are dealing with you can't take the proper steps to stop it because you don't know what it is! And in a panic the mind can grasp at straws. I would suggest you phone a vet first thing in the morning, talk to the gals in the clinic and ask them the best course of action-

This is the very real danger of backyard breeding- and I am NOT calling you a backyard breeder- but when people let cats that are not fixed out of their homes and those cats mate with god knows how many other cats- then diseases get picked up and spread and the result is what you are dealing with now. It isn't pretty and until everyone does the responsible thing and spays and neuters- many kittens will fall by the wayside.

Originally Posted by SaveTheKitties

Any bedding used by the sick ones needs to be washed in bleach, as much as possible any surface they have touched especially where they may have thrown up or had diarrhea should be sterilized with a bleach solution. Any time you touch one of the sick ones disinfect your hands prior to touching any surfaces or the healthy kittens. If you can contain the sick ones in boxes or cat carriers you will have less sterilization required after they pass.

I lost a foster kitten to distemper last weekend. I feel your pain and can completely empathize with what you are going through.

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Personally, with so many that have passed, i would throw out everything, the bedding, the litter pans, food and water dishes toys etc...

Originally Posted by hissy

This is the very real danger of backyard breeding- and I am NOT calling you a backyard breeder- but when people let cats that are not fixed out of their homes and those cats mate with god knows how many other cats- then diseases get picked up and spread and the result is what you are dealing with now. It isn't pretty and until everyone does the responsible thing and spays and neuters- many kittens will fall by the wayside.

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my cats have never gone outside . i am calling ASAP tommorow morning the ASPCA to see if they can help me with this

Cabbit where are you located?

in NY why?

If you were in Orlando area I would have offered to assist thats all

There's always a lot of debate as to whether indoor-only cats should be vaccinated. This sad story is a powerful argument in favor. Perhaps someone else wondering whether or not to vaccinate will read this and learn.

Cabbit - I really hope the rest of your cats will be all right. I'm so sorry.