PLEASE HELP!

[Ozzcat]

Oz is fourteen weeks old today - and won't eat. He can barely walk or stand on his own, has not been vomiting (i've been feeding him a bit of chicken baby food with an eyedropper, which he sincerely does not like) he doesn't like water much, and his breating has become increasingly more labored. I managed to borrow money from a friend to go to the Kittie hospital last night, but all they did was inject some kind of fluid under his skin into his back (he was really dehydrated) and perscribe Interferon and send us home. He has been running a 2 degree fever (around 104) and still won't eat. I'm really scared for my little baby. I did see something strange a couple days ago, but I dunno if it was him or the other cat... it looked like a half of an earthworm on the floor, along with a puddle of yellowish liquid on the floor. I wormed both cats last week, because girl kitty wasn't eating anything either, but I had read on another site to offer her anything I could think of (along with stuff I was eating) just to get her to eat...I gave her some strawberry strudel filling, and she ate it...(not good for kitty I'm sure) along with a piece of lunchmeat that she ate half of - she continued drinking water, but not much, and was doing basically the same thngs Oz is doing now - except his breathing is troubled, and he won't drink water. Girl kitty (Isabel) has fully recovered and started eating by herself after the lunchmeat and strudel filling. She is back to terrorizing the house as usual...but Oz has had this "same" weird illness she had and the same measures aren't seeming to work for him. Does pedialyte help hydrate kitty better that water? and is there a particular flavor or scent I might be able to make strong enough for him to smell it and finally eat?? please help! My regular vet can't see him until monday - and I really can't afford to go to the kittie hospital again...and if anyone has an idea as to what interferon (his medicine) does, I'd more than appreciate any advice.(On any or all my questions, please....

Thank you and God Bless,
Ms. Owner of two orange kitties

[Tina B and crew]

What did you de-worm with????

[Ozzcat]

Hartz Health measures wormer - I didn't necessarity "worm" them though - I put one half of one capsule in a 20 oz bowl, between the two of them they only drank about two oz, and I changed it the next day, washing that bowl and using my other big bowl.

[Tina B and crew]

Oh man...I hate to tell you this but if you used a Hartz product you need to get them to a vet ASAP and tell them! There have been so many problems with Hartz over the counter products I won't even go into it. Please get your kitty to a vet now...don't wait! I can't believe the ER vet didn't keep the kitty for observation!! Don't take the kitty back to the same vet if all they did was give sub-q fluids...are there any other vets around? Or call your vet and express what an emergency this is!

In the mean time...if you can try some Fancy Feast canned food...but you really need to have the kitty seen by a vet now


Please let us know how things go...I'll be thinking of your Oz

[Ozzcat]

I did tell both my regular vet and the ER vet last night - they didn't seem too concerned about it at all - it was well over a week and a half ago...and most of the wormer stuff in the capsule floated to the bottom after an hour or so...the other cat is just fine - is fancy feast really good (as far as smell and nutrition)? What about pedialyte? Will it help to hydrate him more than water? and do you know what the medication that was given to me is? (what does it do?)

[Tina B and crew]

well, I'm suprised that neither vet was concerned about the Hartz deworm meds...there is a class action suit against Hartz for the damage their OTC stuff has done. My daughter has seen numerous cases come into the ER vet with problems from Hartz...so do keep in mind that it very well could be from the Hartz dewormer.

Here is some info about interferon:

What is Interferon, And How Does It Work?


Interferon is a medication developed to treat human viruses like Cancer, AIDS and Hepatitis C. It's primary effects are anti-viral, anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory. Low dose Interferon-a therapy serves to mimic the natural interferon activity in the cat's body in response to a viral invasion. It either supplements or replaces the cat's own interferon production. We have moved our Interferon information to a separate page. Some of it is quite technical and relates to it's action in human viral infection, but if you read between the lines you'll get the gist of the significance Interferon plays in fighting feline viruses.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Poin ... feron.html


Did the vet do any bloodwork??

You can do your best to treat this at home, but kittens can fade very fast when they are sick...I still urge you to call your vet...a kitten who isn't walking or eating and has labored breathing is very sick and needs to be seen by a qualified vet. If your Oz won't drink your best bet to hydrate him is with sub-q fluids...you can try to force liquids in him but you risk him aspirating the liquids...I don't recommend it. If you can entice him to drink pedialyte it is good for restoring electrolytes. Fancy Feast, nutrionally is one of the worst foods on the market I think...but it seems cats love it and I always use to intice my fosters and my own cats to eat when they refuse. Right now it isn't about making sure the food is nutrionally sound (that's best in the long run), it's about getting him to eat, period. I would never recommend FF as a long term diet. Oh, and if you feed babyfood, make sure it is PLAIN chicken babyfood and doesn't have any onion powder in it at all.

But I still say again that if it were my kitten I'd have it to the vet now...please keep us updated on Oz/

[Mona]

Yes I concur with Tina absolutely. Kitten can fade quickly and then it is too late.

ER vets are excellent at treating these crisis situations. Is there one near you or a good animal hospital. This kitten needs fluid support and force feeding to save him now. If he is having trouble breathing it is very very serious and he needs to be treated again. Use any food he will eat, smelly kitten food, Fancy Feast and use droppers of water into his mouth.
TUNA WATER IS GOOD FOR SMELL, NOT OIL JUST THE WATER PACKED KIND.

Please stay away and throw away all Hartz products and DO NOT use the flea drops by Hartz. Cats have died from them. There is a lawsuit pending against Hartz now, but like all big corporations they tie it up in legal paperwork for a long time.

I am praying for this little guy, and please call a vet back now.

Mona, HOneybun and Chloe

[Traci]

You said the vet only gave sub-q fluids and interferon for you to take home, but did he NOT give you antibiotics like amoxicillin or clavamox??? If not, you need to get your kitten to the nearest ER vet immediately and not a moment later. Fevers in kittens can fast escalate into a serious problem and without proper antibiotic support, fluids and dietary support, your kitten is not being treated effectively. The ER vet will suggest bloodwork to find the cause of the problem, while it may be a bacterial infection somewhere, it could be nearly anything from a virus to something else entirely, it's impossible to know until bloodwork and urinalysis are performed.

I would be getting this kitten and the female kitten both tested for FELV/FIV immediately, and ruling out other infectious disease/virals. If there is a bacterial infection going on somewhere, a CBC should be done, plus urinalisis to give the vet more to work with.

Interferon has not been proven to be of great benefit.....while it may give some benefit for FELV/FIV-positive cats, it generally loses it's effectiveness over time. It sounds like what your kitten needs is proper antibiotic support, fluids, dietary support and getting to the underlying cause immediately.

Please don't wait on this, kittens can fast succomb to bacterial and viral infections and without bloodwork to tell you what's going on, your first vet is not treating the problem effectively. Get kitten to an ER vet promptly.

As the others have mentioned, please, absolutely no more Hartz products, ever. Both vets were aware of this when you told them about the dewormer you used, they simply probably had no time to discuss the dangers and problems with its use. Doesn't mean they aren't aware of the dangers of Hartz products.