Olivia is sick..very upset here....

Its 11pm here and I am beside myself with worry.

My little princess Olivia who was running about everywhere yesterday, posing for pictures and eating and drinking loads is a completely different cat tonight .

This afternoon I noticed her third eyelid exposed. I called the vet and he said to rinse her eye area with saline water pads..that it could be a 'bit of dust'. If it didn't clear up to bring her in on Saturday morning. I did the rinse thing and it seemed to help, I thought.

I had to go out to run some errands and by the time I got back early evening, I noticed Olivia was not her normal self. She was sleepy, refusing food, not drinking, not interacting with the other kittens. I observed her for another 2 hours just in case she was tired or not hungry. But she stayed in the same spot, not taking food nor water. An hour ago she produced diahrrea....its not yellow though...its brown and there doesn't seem to be any blood.

After seeing that, I called the vet again and he said I need to bring her in tomorrow morning (or pay 4 times the usual consultaion fee and have an emergency night time appointment) as "kittens go downhill quick" (to quote him). He told me to use a syringe to ensure that she has a bit of water in her and I have done this.

If it were up to me, we'd be at the vet right now...for me, my babies are worth so much more than money. But hubby is insisting that its too late and to go first thing tommorow morning 'like normal people' (to quote him)...he's being insistent and vocal about this and I don't want an argument. I don't think he realises how my cats are a huge part of my life. I don't drive and its late here for woman alone to be travelling 15 miles to the emergency vet in a taxi!

I have learned many things from this forum and one important one is that a kitten's health is so fragile and you need to get to a vet asap.

Olivia is on my lap, she has lost weight. The little beauty queen pictured in the 'fur pictures thread' recently is not the same. In just one day she has gone downhill. She was given the all clear by a vet when I first got her. I've no idea what is wrong...the more I read on the internet about distemper and leukeamia, the more I feel sick.

Would you guys wait until first thing tommorrow to see the vet? Am I over-reacting and being paranoid by wanting to see an emergency vet tonight? In your experiences (I know that all kittens are different and you guys are not vets), when a kitten is showing signs of illness, have your kittens survived if you have waited say 12-24 hours before seeing a vet?

Please pray that all is ok. Can anyone suggest anything I can do in the meantime? Is there anything I can put in the water to give her a bit of energy?

If she was completely fine yesterday, as in, full on energy, normal behavior and weight and normal eating.......and just today she's acting a bit off, I'd say you're in good shape to wait until the morning to have the Vet look at her.
Hope you get the very best news from the Vet when she's seen.

I agree, just keep her comfortable overnight and she can see the vet in the morning. If you have some tuna you can put some tuna juice on her food or in the syringe. My vet recommends tuna juice to help enhance the scent/flavor of food for cats who are unwilling to eat.

OK thanks for that reassurance...I'm just very scared. I have had cats that have been sick before, but this is different. She just seems lifeless...maybe I am used to her being her usual extrovert bubbly energetic self...I don't know.

She is just about finding the energy to walk to the litter tray. She has just produced loads more diahrrea.

I'll go give her more water, I guess.

Good thoughts going out to all. Here is a big hug for olivia, I will add her to list of prayers and good vibes. Let us know how vet visit goes.

I am so sorry she is not well, this seems to have been a bad day for kittens, I have been watching Willow's thread all day. I have seen more experienced kitten people recomend putting a dab of karo syrup on their gums ( as far as I can see Karo syrup is like Golden syrup here) if you don't have any you could make sugar syrup, a teaspoon of sugar in a tablespoon ofhot water, let it cool and try a dab of that. I can't see that a tiny dab could do her any harm.
Hope she is OK.

Anne

Do you think she ate something unusual today or yesterday evening? If she's got diarrhea and normally her stools are firm, it could be she ate something that just doesn't agree with her. The lethargy is of course cause for concern, so you should see the Vet post haste in the morning. But, the fact, that she makes the effort to visit the litter box, shows that she's not in immediate danger.
I think letting her rest and hydrating her if she'll tolerate it, is the best you can do until morning.

Yes...I read willow's thread and she is such a trooper. I'm hoping Olivia is a trooper too.

The other 4 kittens are awake and playing tag and climbing the cat tree like crazy. The highs and lows of being a kitten owner all at one time.

I've made her up a little sick bed with her own cat litter tray close by. She is yelping so much when I try to give her water through a syringe.

Thanks for your support guys - I don't want to come across as a silly little girl all upset and everything, but 6 years ago I adopted two kittens and I didn't know but when they were given to me, they were suffering with organ failure and I had to have them put down after owning them for just one week. I have had Olivia for just one week and she has settled in so well and I have done my very best to ensure she is healthy (vets/vaccinations etc).

Kai you mentioned that she may have eaten something unusual? well not to my knowledge...but who knows what she has been upto when I am asleep. However, I have checked the 3 rooms she has access to and cannot find anything suspect.

i think we all beat ourselves up when our children/pets get ill or injured. I will pray for you and your little kitten. I am going through it with my lady mitzee..she swallowed a rubber band and threw it up...but she is very sick..so far they cant figure it out. She still has the little iv port attached to her foot and we go back in the a.m. but she is still so listless...scary isnt it

Reddicequuen...my well wishes to Mitzee - let us know how she gets on.

(I just called my mum...guess what she said...

1) I told you you should just have one cat
2) Why can't you have a child instead of cats. Cat litter trays in your house is unhygenic
3) Give the cat holy water
4) Ring me tommorow and let me know how she is)

Jeez - what a night! (Thank god there is the TCS site for advice and support!)

Ok, back to cat litter duties and checking on Olivia.

warm wishes and hugs out to your little baby(and meowmy)-hope she does well at the vet.

Following on from what Kai mentioned about eating something unusual....I've just had a thought (thanks Kai for getting me to think of this..I had of course been thinking about what I fed her...but that reply jolted something in my mind)

Yesterday, while the other kittens drinking milk from their mum, I caught Olivia joining in and having a drink too. I thought this was strange as Tinkerbelle was looking to have Olivia assasinated when we first got her. My first reaction was 'ah how cute...everyone gets on so well'. Then, Tinkerbelle walked off from all the kittens as they are going through the weaning process. I didn't think anything of it.

Do you think it could be the little sip of milk she had? Maybe Tinkerbelle's antibodies in her milk don't agree with Olivia? Is it worth mentioning that to the vet tommorow or will he look at me like I am a crazy person?

It's worth mentioning.
Anything out of the ordinary is worth mentioning.

Let me tell you a quick story. I took 11 week-old Steuben to his first vet appointment when he was 6 weeks old. He was bouncy, vibrant, fiesty...himself. When I got home, diarrhea was running down his back leg, he was lethargic, not eating, and basically not himself at all. I was in a panic...especially after getting a clean bill of health.

I found out later in the evening that my hubby had accidently given Steuben some of my adult cats' food, rather than his kitten wet food. I droppered water into him, and did not offer food until the next morning, and by then, he was back to himself...firm stools, energy, had breakfast, etc.

Kittens are fragile, but by Olivia's age, she's relatively stronger than you may think. It very well could be that she nursed from Tinkerbelle...it may have upset her tummy. Keep her in a quiet area by herself, keep her warm, give her water via an eye dropper, and I wouldn't give her any food to eat tonight...if you are sincerely worried about dehydration, offer her some Pedialyte via an eye dropper with her water as well.

Good luck!

Wookie - educating story there..thanks. I feel a bit better knowing that it could be as simple as something she has eaten causing this as that would most likely be curable quickly.

It really could be that simple. The third eyelid thing was a bit disturbing, but for all we know, could factor in somehow to digestive upset, if that's what's going on. I know that Steuben bounced back relatively quickly. I would not stress about Olivia making it through the night, or anything drastic like that...she'll get to her vet appointment, for sure...so don't worry about that!!!

I'm sure she'll be fine, and you'll have peace of mind tomorrow. Kittens are so much more resilient than we sometimes give them credit for...like Leah's kitten, and little Willow!!!

Olivia hun please get better. Your Meowmy is worried.. Prayers are being sent....

If the "milk" she had was cow's milk, that could easily cause the stomach upset and diarrhea. Many cats are lactose intolerant. You can give her water or the Homemade Pedialyte to ensure proper hydration:

Home-made Pedialyte

1 cup water (boiled then cooled)
Small pinch of baking soda
Small pinch of Salt
2 teaspoons of sugar

Mix all ingredients well. Make sure the mixture has been slightly warmed before feeding to your kitten. The mixture will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Feed 1ml (1cc) every half an hour for the first two hours using a dropper or feeding syringe. Also make sure your kitten is on his tummy and not his back when you feed. Feed very slowly so the fluid does not go down the wrong tube and choke your kitten.

Best of luck,

Gaye

Hi,
Just wondering how she is today.
Anne

how is she ?????