8 week old kitten is sick? Help!

[kwetzel617]

Hello! First time cat/pet owner here and I have some questions!

My baby 8 week old black cat I think is sick. Yesterday she felt hot and was extremely tired, to the point where she barely moved all day. I wanted to see what today would bring since we don't have the most money at the moment for an unnecessary vet visit. Today she's better but not 100%. She has returned to eating and some walking around. Whenever she wants to be picked up on a normal basis she will look at me and give me a cute meow, but now she tries to meow and no noise comes out. She's still sleeping more than usual but her activity level has increased from yesterday and overall I see an improvement.

The only weird thing is that I've wiped a white, thick, odorless discharge from her vulva area and I'm not sure if that's correlated with her other symptoms. I've done some online research and saw about a uterus infection but isn't she too young for that?

Any insight would be appreciated. I'm debating taking her to the vet tomorrow but I'm worried about dropping $100's if it's nothing.

 

[catsknowme]

You can ask the vet if you can email or text a picture of the discharge and/or ask about payment arrangements. Be alert for dehydration. If you gently syringe some unflavored pedialyte into the sides of her mouth, you will help prevent dehydration. You can add chicken or beef broth to make it tasty. Lethargy (sleeping/laying around) is definitely a red flag that she needs monitoring, including if and when she poops and pees. Try monitoring the size, color and texture of the stools and color of urine as well as frequency. Has she been wormed yet? What is her mother's background? Answers to these questions are helpful to the vet. Please keep us updated.

 

[StefanZ]

Hello! First time cat/pet owner here and I have some questions!

My baby 8 week old black cat I think is sick. Yesterday she felt hot and was extremely tired, to the point where she barely moved all day. I wanted to see what today would bring since we don't have the most money at the moment for an unnecessary vet visit. Today she's better but not 100%. She has returned to eating and some walking around. Whenever she wants to be picked up on a normal basis she will look at me and give me a cute meow, but now she tries to meow and no noise comes out. She's still sleeping more than usual but her activity level has increased from yesterday and overall I see an improvement.

The only weird thing is that I've wiped a white, thick, odorless discharge from her vulva area and I'm not sure if that's correlated with her other symptoms. I've done some online research and saw about a uterus infection but isn't she too young for that?

Any insight would be appreciated. I'm debating taking her to the vet tomorrow but I'm worried about dropping $100's if it's nothing.

I want to add, preventing dehydration is double important, as one of the standard home remedies cures for most virus infections is to make sure there is fluids aplenty. So the fluid will flush out what should get flush out.

lotsa of pedialyte is very useful here, it gives both extra salts, and also some glucose sugar. Making her survive even if the appetite is null.

When she begins to improve, you may start by giving goats milk. As its easily digestible. If you can get so raw goats milk; it has even some potential healthsome properties, as it comes from an alive momma. But almost any goats milk is always a good,nourishing supplement.
Otherwise, if you have a kmr based on goats milk, its an excellent alternative.

 

[kwetzel617]

You can ask the vet if you can email or text a picture of the discharge and/or ask about payment arrangements. Be alert for dehydration. If you gently syringe some unflavored pedialyte into the sides of her mouth, you will help prevent dehydration. You can add chicken or beef broth to make it tasty. Lethargy (sleeping/laying around) is definitely a red flag that she needs monitoring, including if and when she poops and pees. Try monitoring the size, color and texture of the stools and color of urine as well as frequency. Has she been wormed yet? What is her mother's background? Answers to these questions are helpful to the vet. Please keep us updated.

Thanks so much for your answer! We syringe-fed her water the day she was barely moving to make sure she was getting at least something in her belly. As I'm typing this now (day 3) she is eating and walking around, but still some discharge in her lady area. I'm going to call my vet today to inquire on the payment plans

Her previous owner said that the mother was an outside cat and the babies were kept inside and often away from her (terrible imo), apparently they didn't have much info on the mom cat. She has been dewormed last week, and no issues when that happened. Poop is solid and normal looking. It's hard to see her pee, but it appears normal when she uses the litter box.

This discharge is what's puzzling me..

 

[kwetzel617]

I want to add, preventing dehydration is double important, as one of the standard home remedies cures for most virus infections is to make sure there is fluids aplenty. So the fluid will flush out what should get flush out.

lotsa of pedialyte is very useful here, it gives both extra salts, and also some glucose sugar. Making her survive even if the appetite is null.

When she begins to improve, you may start by giving goats milk. As its easily digestible. If you can get so raw goats milk; it has even some potential healthsome properties, as it comes from an alive momma. But almost any goats milk is always a good,nourishing supplement.
Otherwise, if you have a kmr based on goats milk, its an excellent alternative.

Thanks for all that info! I will pick up some Pedialyte at the store today. She's been much better about eating and drinking yesterday and today (day 3)....she's actually eating as I type this! We have been feeding her goats milk on occasion as she was taken away from her mom early and I just feel bad that she can't get milk.

Her poop appears very normal and healthy. Her urine is hard to see as she pees in the litter box, but nothing appears to be out of the norm with it.

The discharge is what has me puzzled.

 

[Sarthur2]

The discharge is not normal, especially for an 8-week-old kitten. It could be a fungal or bacterial infection which would require medication to cure. It is probably the cause of her fatigue, and likely caused fever. I think it’s very important that you get her to a vet ASAP for a proper diagnosis and treatment.

The suggestions for fluids such as Pedialyte and goats milk are excellent!

Please keep us posted as to what the vet says. I hope your kitten will be 100% well soon!

kwetzel617