VERY Sick Kitten, Please Read :-(

[cozzyrockjr]

We have a little stray that my husband brought home as a rescue. He had a bit of the snotty eye when he found him, so I took him to the vet, who diagnosed him with a URI and gave me some ointment for his eyes. The kitten got better, then backslid, then better again, then worse. Now he's terribly sick---sneezing, coughing, horribly matted and squinted shut eye, and he hasn't eaten or drank anything since yesterday. I finally managed to get him to nibble on a treat a little while ago, but still no food or water and he just lays on the floor in a ball. My vet is closed till TUESDAY and the emergency clinic won't see him without a $95 up-front fee, which we just do not have....this little guy was a rescue, we didn't bring him home because we wanted him, we brought him home to save his life. We can't afford the emergency clinic's fees, so I have to rough it till Tuesday when my own vet gets back into town. What can I do for Junior in the meantime? How do I get him to eat and drink? Do you think he'll make it?

[Auntie Debbie]

Please try to find a regular vet in your area that will come in for him and that may take a post dated check or other payment options.
In the meantime, the little guy must be fed. You can pick up a syringe at the pharmacy section of your supermarket or at any drugstore. Pick up some meat flavored babyfood (without onion salt) and some pedialyte. You can mix some of the pedialyte (for re-hydration) and the baby food to a semi liquid consistency and slowly feed him some. if you cannot get him to eat on his own.
Run hot water in your bathroom for about 20 mintues to act as a vaporizer for him. One drop per alternating nostril per day of infant-neo-synehprine might also help his breathing. If a cat has a stuffy nose he cannot smell his food and therefore will likely not eat. So you can warm up his food to help bring out the aroma, or sprinkle tuna water (not oil) might also help the food smell more enticing. If all that fails, syringe feeding should be done. He must eat to keep up his strength and prevent hepatic lipidosis from not eating (a severe liver condtions).
If you can at least get a vet on the phone, ask about the possibility of aspirin. Normal temperature is about 102, so if his temp is high, that may be an option, but you must have a vet approval first (and only as an emergency basis).
I hiope he will be okay and get well soon. Please keep us posted, ok?

[Traci]

Call other vets in your area IMMEDIATELY, whatever it takes to get this kitten seen and treated ASAP. As Debbie said, leave a post-dated check, something of value, whatever necessary, where there is a will, there is a way.

It doesn't sound like you can do anything other than try to feed him via syringe.....he may be suffering from a severe upper respiratory infection, but he could also be suffering any number of infectious diseases, in which only a VET can test for and determine and treat effectively.

About Debbie's advice on aspirin, your kitten is probably much too young and it could be fatal if given, leave this up to a qualified vet only and only after kitten is seen and evaluated by the vet, period....NEVER give aspirin to a cat or kitten, never. This should only be given by vets only.

Otherwise, as mentioned, baby food and children's pedialyte should be attempted immediately. Please don't wait on this, try whatever necessary to get this kitten seen and treated by a vet ASAP....given the symptoms you describe, he may not make it until Tuesday!

[cozzyrockjr]

Thank you Aunt Debbie and Tracy, I appreciate your input VERY much. I'm going to do the pedialyte and baby food thing right away, and I'll do whatever it takes to get him in to see a vet, ANY vet, first thing tomarrow. I'll sit with him through the night to make sure he's okay till then.

I've been reading that some URIs can hang on practically forever....he definitely had one when we brought him home, but he seemed to improve greatly after a few days, which makes me wonder why he's relapsed so badly. He's been warm and well-fed this whole time, so I just don't understand it.

I'll follow all the suggestions though, and will keep you posted as to his condition. Thanks again, your help is really really appreciated.

[Auntie Debbie]

Even though it's Sunday night, some vet will meet you at the office at any time...some even make house calls. Please don't hesitate and try to get him seen right away.
I'll keep him in my prayers to pull through!

[Traci]

I'm curious, when your first vet diagnosed the URI, did he send home antibiotics with you to give orally? (not just the eye ointment, but oral drops to give via syringe)

If not, your kitten could benefit greatly with oral antibiotics from your vet...if he never gave you any, at least call the ER vet and tell them kitten was diagnosed with the URI but no antibiotics were given, they *might* prescribe them for you....or try other vets in your area for the same purpose.

In the meantime, force feed via syringe and plenty of water throughout the day, just don't force too much at a time so that he vomits or seems to gag, etc...and do keep him warm.

Ideally, he needs veterinary attention now and to be tested for FELV/FIV and/or distemper, even consider ruling out calicivirus or chlamydia...dewormed, etc.

[cozzyrockjr]

He tested negative for both feline leukemia and FIV (thank god) two weeks ago when I took him in for the URI. The vet said the URI should clear up on its own within a week, and didn't prescribe any antibiotics---he just gave me the salve for the eyes. I'm beginning to think now that he does need antibiotics....I remember asking the vet if he was going to give him anything for the URI, and he said no, antibiotics wouldn't do anything for a viral infection....?

I just checked Junior again (he's getting tired of seeing me I'm sure) and this time I left the light on in his room (he's in quarantine because I have other cats in the house)....the light seems to have perked him up a little and he's up moving around the room. Should he be kept still? If I turn the light out again he'll settle down and nap. Should he be up or down?

[Traci]

First, antibiotics are generally ALWAYS prescribed, to combat secondary bacterial infections that can occur at any time the immune system is compromised by a viral. In a young kitten with such a severe URI, I would have thought your vet would have done better. For this reason, don't wait, call other vets and get kitten seen and on antibiotics immediately.

As for his room and the lights, well you do want him to be active and moving around, this is a method of gauging if he is weak, lethargic, unable to perform certain functions like eating, drinking, using litterbox, etc. And actually, he probably needs to bond with you now more than ever, so spend time with him, encourage him to eat and drink, etc. Don't leave him alone because depression and no human contact could exacerbate the condition, he is probably screaming for your attention.

[cozzyrockjr]

Okay, there is a new development with Junior. He can't keep anything on his stomach, water included.....we fed him about two tablespoons of water with an eyedropper, and within a half hour he threw it back up. He is also doing this slight jerking motion with his head every couple of minutes.....not like a seizure, but almost as if he's dry-heaving. No noise with it though. We're calling around trying to find someplace that will see him tonight, but this is happening in the midst of my mother arriving from out of state and we have to go pick her up at the airport in about an hour, and I'm just frantic with everything happening at once. We're scraping up some money now from friends to make sure we actually get in once we find a place that will see him.

[Traci]

This doesn't sound good at all.....I hope you can get your kitten seen PRONTO. Unfortunately, vomiting water is not a good sign, he needs veterinary attention IMMEDIATELY.

Please consider asking friends or relatives to borrow a credit card or whatever in the immediate sense, and pay them back later. Your kitten might be crashing and the ONLY thing to do is get immediate veterinary attention for him...he may need fluids, tested for distemper or other conditions, may need a feeding tube placed, may need an x-ray to rule out intestinal blockage or other organ failure. Time is of the essence here, so please don't waste time on the net here.