I have posted a few times about some of these kittens. I'm going to try not to write a book here but I want to make sure I give all relevant info because I need advice!
All these kittens were pulled from the shelter at around 2-3 weeks old
Kittens are:
Sam, 12 weeks old (one of a litter of 6, the other 5 are all healthy and fine)
Litter #2- 5 kittens, 8-9 weeks old
1 additional kitten, 7 weeks old
One kitten from litter #2, Zeus, started having some digestive issues about a month ago. So another rescuer took him from me to work on what could be wrong. He was tested for parasites and clear. It was discovered that canned food was too much for his system and so we had to feed him wet food soaked in water with baby food chicken. He came back to my house on the 19th. About 5-6 days later he started vomiting in the litter box and when I picked him up he had diarrhea pour out of him (he couldn't control it) and it was mostly mucus/clear with a little stool mixed in. I rushed him to the emergency vet where they ran tests and could not find anything wrong besides low blood sugar and a low temp (98 or 99 I can't remember) and he was a little dehydrated. They gave him subq fluids, nutri-cal (which he ate) and got him warmed up. I left with him about 3am and the next few hours he was lethargic but ok, ate some more nutri-cal and I gave him more subq fluids as instructed by the vet. He was also on a heating pad and seemed to be warming up. At about 7:30 am I noticed he was having some issues breathing, it was a little labored, so I decided to take him to my vet when they opened at 8. But at about 7:45 he suddenly started violently vomiting and then seizing and he passed. This was Sep 26th. Vet said cause of death was unknown whatever it was probably caused his earlier issues.
On the Tuesday the 1st I got home in the evening and went to check on the kittens. I picked up Sam and he seemed VERY hot. I took temp and got 105. I rushed him to a vet I had never been to because mine had already closed and the emergency vet was not open yet. They took his temp and it was 107. Did fecal and blood work and it came back fine but that he had Coccidia. He had been to the vet weeks before and diagnosed with Giardia which he was treated for. So vet gave Albon for Coccidia and told me to give him fluids if he got dehydrated.
Wednesday morning I took him into my vet and they took his temp and it was 107.7. They did combo test (negative) and gave him something to lower the fever. They also started him on Orbax and switched the Albon to Marquis.
Wednesday night i noticed a kitten from Litter #2, Apollo, the brother of Zeus who had passed, vomit while they were out playing. It was like clear/foamy spit. I talked to the vet and they said this was likely from the Coccidia. Everyone was started on Marquis that day.
Thursday Sam went back to the vet and temp was 106. It went down to 105 something when they were giving fluids. He stayed at the vet getting fluids all day in hospital care. That night Apollo seemed slightly depressed- he did not want to play, and a little dehydrated.. Vet said to give subQ fluids so I did.
The next morning, Friday, Sam and Apollo went back to the vet. That morning Apollo had gone down hill and was starting to get lethargic. When we got to the the vet they took him back and did blood work and it came back as having a low white blood cell count, low Neutrophils, & low platelet count. In the diagnostics, he had very elevated ALT and elevated Billirubin. His temp was really low, 98. The vet said he thought it was Panleukopenia. They started him on an IV and he had round the clock treatment for about 24 hours at the vet before he started vomiting green fluids and passed on Saturday. However, by Saturday Sam was getting back to normal and his fever was almost gone and he never did have any vomiting. Sam is now totally back to normal and healthy
So Saturday I spent 10 hours cleaning or throwing away everything in my Den where the foster kittens stay. I even ran bleach water through the carpet shampooer, scrubbed the walls, seriously EVERYTHING. If it was Panleuk, I could not understand how it could have been in this litter since at least the 19th when Zeus came back from the other rescuer (the only way he could have been exposed since no new kittens have entered my house in a month) and the other 3 (all girls) plus the additional kitten (a boy) who lived with both Zeus and Apollo had not been sick besides their URI which was now cleared up. So I began closely watching every kitten. Everyone got a course of Marquis but several are still having some loose stools. None of them had been vaccinated because they all had Calicivirus at the point in which they were old enough to get their first shots, so we had to wait, now the vet says we need to wait 2 more weeks.
Now it is Wednesday night and one little girl from the vomited a tiny bit yesterday evening, but has not since, has been eating fine, and I have been monitoring her temp, weight, and hydration for the last 24 hours and everything is fine. She is running around and playing and acting normal. No depression, lethargy, etc. Earlier this evening, the little 7 week old vomited but this was just a little bit after I fed him (he still likes to be bottle fed some) and he had eaten really quickly, and it seemed more like he was trying to cough up something in his throat than vomiting you would see from an upset stomach. I checked his temp, hydration, everything and it is normal. About 30 minutes later he went and ate a bunch more out of his bowl and has been fine since, no vomiting.
So at this point, it has been about 3 weeks since whatever this is would have been introduced to these kittens. From everything I have read, it doesn't seem possible for all these kittens to have been exposed that long and so many be totally unaffected. Sam's symptoms were totally different, as the 2 others that were sick and passed never had fevers and that was Sam's only symptom. I have basically done nothing for the last week + but monitor these kittens. I'm horrified someone else will get sick, but also confused since it seems like if it were Panleuk, they would all have already gotten sick, especially being SO young.
We will probably go back to the vet tomorrow just to get the 2 that did vomit checked out, but I feel like there is something else going on here and I am afraid the vet is missing it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
All these kittens were pulled from the shelter at around 2-3 weeks old
Kittens are:
Sam, 12 weeks old (one of a litter of 6, the other 5 are all healthy and fine)
Litter #2- 5 kittens, 8-9 weeks old
1 additional kitten, 7 weeks old
One kitten from litter #2, Zeus, started having some digestive issues about a month ago. So another rescuer took him from me to work on what could be wrong. He was tested for parasites and clear. It was discovered that canned food was too much for his system and so we had to feed him wet food soaked in water with baby food chicken. He came back to my house on the 19th. About 5-6 days later he started vomiting in the litter box and when I picked him up he had diarrhea pour out of him (he couldn't control it) and it was mostly mucus/clear with a little stool mixed in. I rushed him to the emergency vet where they ran tests and could not find anything wrong besides low blood sugar and a low temp (98 or 99 I can't remember) and he was a little dehydrated. They gave him subq fluids, nutri-cal (which he ate) and got him warmed up. I left with him about 3am and the next few hours he was lethargic but ok, ate some more nutri-cal and I gave him more subq fluids as instructed by the vet. He was also on a heating pad and seemed to be warming up. At about 7:30 am I noticed he was having some issues breathing, it was a little labored, so I decided to take him to my vet when they opened at 8. But at about 7:45 he suddenly started violently vomiting and then seizing and he passed. This was Sep 26th. Vet said cause of death was unknown whatever it was probably caused his earlier issues.
On the Tuesday the 1st I got home in the evening and went to check on the kittens. I picked up Sam and he seemed VERY hot. I took temp and got 105. I rushed him to a vet I had never been to because mine had already closed and the emergency vet was not open yet. They took his temp and it was 107. Did fecal and blood work and it came back fine but that he had Coccidia. He had been to the vet weeks before and diagnosed with Giardia which he was treated for. So vet gave Albon for Coccidia and told me to give him fluids if he got dehydrated.
Wednesday morning I took him into my vet and they took his temp and it was 107.7. They did combo test (negative) and gave him something to lower the fever. They also started him on Orbax and switched the Albon to Marquis.
Wednesday night i noticed a kitten from Litter #2, Apollo, the brother of Zeus who had passed, vomit while they were out playing. It was like clear/foamy spit. I talked to the vet and they said this was likely from the Coccidia. Everyone was started on Marquis that day.
Thursday Sam went back to the vet and temp was 106. It went down to 105 something when they were giving fluids. He stayed at the vet getting fluids all day in hospital care. That night Apollo seemed slightly depressed- he did not want to play, and a little dehydrated.. Vet said to give subQ fluids so I did.
The next morning, Friday, Sam and Apollo went back to the vet. That morning Apollo had gone down hill and was starting to get lethargic. When we got to the the vet they took him back and did blood work and it came back as having a low white blood cell count, low Neutrophils, & low platelet count. In the diagnostics, he had very elevated ALT and elevated Billirubin. His temp was really low, 98. The vet said he thought it was Panleukopenia. They started him on an IV and he had round the clock treatment for about 24 hours at the vet before he started vomiting green fluids and passed on Saturday. However, by Saturday Sam was getting back to normal and his fever was almost gone and he never did have any vomiting. Sam is now totally back to normal and healthy
So Saturday I spent 10 hours cleaning or throwing away everything in my Den where the foster kittens stay. I even ran bleach water through the carpet shampooer, scrubbed the walls, seriously EVERYTHING. If it was Panleuk, I could not understand how it could have been in this litter since at least the 19th when Zeus came back from the other rescuer (the only way he could have been exposed since no new kittens have entered my house in a month) and the other 3 (all girls) plus the additional kitten (a boy) who lived with both Zeus and Apollo had not been sick besides their URI which was now cleared up. So I began closely watching every kitten. Everyone got a course of Marquis but several are still having some loose stools. None of them had been vaccinated because they all had Calicivirus at the point in which they were old enough to get their first shots, so we had to wait, now the vet says we need to wait 2 more weeks.
Now it is Wednesday night and one little girl from the vomited a tiny bit yesterday evening, but has not since, has been eating fine, and I have been monitoring her temp, weight, and hydration for the last 24 hours and everything is fine. She is running around and playing and acting normal. No depression, lethargy, etc. Earlier this evening, the little 7 week old vomited but this was just a little bit after I fed him (he still likes to be bottle fed some) and he had eaten really quickly, and it seemed more like he was trying to cough up something in his throat than vomiting you would see from an upset stomach. I checked his temp, hydration, everything and it is normal. About 30 minutes later he went and ate a bunch more out of his bowl and has been fine since, no vomiting.
So at this point, it has been about 3 weeks since whatever this is would have been introduced to these kittens. From everything I have read, it doesn't seem possible for all these kittens to have been exposed that long and so many be totally unaffected. Sam's symptoms were totally different, as the 2 others that were sick and passed never had fevers and that was Sam's only symptom. I have basically done nothing for the last week + but monitor these kittens. I'm horrified someone else will get sick, but also confused since it seems like if it were Panleuk, they would all have already gotten sick, especially being SO young.
We will probably go back to the vet tomorrow just to get the 2 that did vomit checked out, but I feel like there is something else going on here and I am afraid the vet is missing it.
Any advice would be appreciated.