Sick Kitten With Fever

[Pat S.]

I've only got one kitten left, and he should have gone to his new home tonight. Unfortunately, he's been really ill for almost two days. He's 8 weeks old, 2.5 pounds.

Wednesday night, he was his normal crazy self. I always shut him in the bathroom with his mom at night, and when I open the door in the morning, typically Alex and Grace are rearing to get out and run around. Yesterday morning, Alex was lethargic. I couldn't get him interested in eating, and when I brought him out of the bathroom, he immediately retreated into his "igloo" and went to sleep.

I took him to the vet around 11:00 a.m., and his temp was 105. Although we didn't expect him to have any of the known diseases, he was combo tested and is negative. The vet gave him a shot that included Penicillin combined with....steroids??? (I could have that wrong. My printout just says "injection"). He prescribed 1/3 ml of Amoxicillin every twelve hours.

Last night, Alex finally became interested in canned food and ate a good dinner. He played a little, and seemed alert when I put him to bed. This morning, he was just like yesterday, lethargic and just wanting to sleep.

His fever was almost as high as yesterday. He's not dehydrated *yet*, but the vet gave him sub-Q fluids and another shot. This afternoon he ate a few bites of canned food and is alert but not energetic. He seems to be going to the bathroom fine.

Grace, the mom cat, was spayed over a week ago, and for awhile had terrible stomach upset. I thought it was the antibiotics, but now I'm wondering if it was a virus she picked up at the vet and passed along to Alex???

I'll keep you posted, but any ideas would be appreciated!

[Traci]

Its probably bacterial moreso than a viral, ask your vet to do a CBC and urinalyis promptly. The amoxicillin may need to be changed to clavamox, depending on the CBC and urinalysis. Don't wait on this, Pat, the correct antibiotic approach is extremely important...Also inform him if you think there was any chance at all of slight trauma (fall, brusing, playing too hard with mom or siblings prior, etc) because slight traumas such as these can also cause bacterial infections.

[Pat S.]

Hi, Traci,

I just checked the box and it is Clavamox. It also says amoxicillin, so I thought Clavamox was just a brand name.

I'm not aware of a trauma, but that's possible since he's alone with his mom much of the time. I have noticed that when he is sitting, he sometimes holds one front paw off the floor, but it doesn't seem always to be the same paw. He doesn't limp when he walks, but is slow altogether right now.

If it is from a trauma, is Clavamox the right course of treatment???

Thanks for the support!

[Traci]

Depending on the location will depend on the antibiotic. For soft tissues, amoxicillin is the best choice. For blood, urine, intestinal, etc, clavamox is probably best.

The CBC will show if there is infection and inflammation, when your vet sees that, he will then further investigate the source of the infection. Whether that is kitten's paw, or if it is somewhere unusual, like bladder, GI, etc. If your vet didn't know about the paw, better get that examined, otherwise, get a urinalysis and CBC regardless.

Amoxicillin and Clavamox are both broad spectrum antibiotics with similar actions, but where amoxi might be resistant to certain infections, clavamox is preferred. Clavamox is a combination of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. So, this would probably be a reasonable approach right now, but again, if there's a soft tissue injury (like an abcess, open wound, muscle damage to the paw, etc) then amoxicillin would probably be preferrable. Your vet needs to make the distinction and find out where this infection truly is originating, the infection is causing the fever, if the fever persists, then additional diagnostics are necessary.

If you find yourself in a situation that kitten's fever escalates past 104 until you can get to your vet, wrap him in a cool, dampened cloth, or dip his paws in rubbing alcohol, then get to your vet immediately, he may use an injection of dipyrone or similar to reduce the fever until bloodwork/urinalysis or other diagnostics are done to indicate the location of the infection.

[Pat S.]

I don't want to get too excited, but Alex seems much better this morning! He ate a little, has been following me around the house, playing some. He's tiring more easily but I'm sure that's normal.

Unfortunately, I'm working with two different clients today, but I'll dose him with Clavamox before I leave the house. I have a feeling we just turned the corner.