Sick kitten

[PoorPenelope]

I recently rescued an eight week old kitten from the local animal shelter. She was given a dewormer shot & she was quite thin, but otherwise healthy when I brought her home. A few days later she started vomitting & had diarrhea, so I took her to the vet and they tried to take a feces sample but she was pretty much empty & they couldn't collect much. They did, however, give me medication for possible worms that I give her once a day, and said to give her a certain amount of Pepto-Bismal for her diarrhea (which has stopped as of a few days ago) and Pedialite to keep her from getting dehydrated (which I have also stopped giving to her.) The other day, though, she developed a build up of mucus in her nose & now she has to breathe through her mouth, and she coughs almost constantly. She is scheduled for another visit to the vet on Wednesday, but I was wondering if there is any way of relieving her coughing? She has also stopped eating and drinking; I'm assuming it's because she can't smell her food, but she is also an extremely picky eater. She's already underweight, is there any way of making her food more appetizing to her? Any advice is greatly appreciated..

[Jade]

Can you get her in any earlier than wednesday? It sounds like she may need some antibiotics and/or more meds.

Try warming the food - sometimes the smell will be stronger, which will entice them. You can also run a hot shower and steam up the bathroom and sit with her in there to help break up some congestion.

I'd get her to the vet on Monday, maybe sooner if she worsens, though. Especially considering she isn't drinking. I'd go back to the pedialyte (make sure it's unflavored/unsweetened) in the meantime and try to spoon feed her.

hope she gets better soon.

[PoorPenelope]

I can possibly get her in Monday or Tuesday. I have an older cat that has had upper resperitory infection & I've read that after cats get over their illness, they become "carriers" of it. When I brought the new kitten home, she had a small wound near her shoulder where she'd been scratching, & my older cat immediately took a liking to her and started washing her.. could he have possibly given her the virus? I've also tried the steam trick but it didn't help, she's too clogged up.

[Dallas]

Keep wiping her nose with warm compresses, and if you can run a vaporizer. Vicks makes one you can just plug in the wall now. Definately get her to the vet tommorow.

[twostep]

I wouldn't recommend the Vick's route, it contains mentholatum which can cause pneumonia in animals. The steam idea is a good one and works. You might have to put her in a carrier and then direct the steam somewhere in the direction of the carrier without making it too humid and watching her contantly while you have it on to monitor it and then watch afterward that she's kept warm because warming her lungs like that then going into a cool place could also cause pneumonia. Doxycycline makes short work of URI's, if you can get her in to see a vet, the URI should be gone in a couple of days.

[PoorPenelope]

I am sorry to say that Clover didn't make it.. thank you all for the advice, though, I tried to make her last days as comfortable as possible.

[twostep]

Sorry to hear about the kitten. This is the fourth time something like this has happened that I've read of in the last month . In one case, another apparently healthy kitten was adopted from a shelter and wormed without it being found out first whether or not the kitten had worms in the first place. In this case the kitten, I think, was also 8 weeks old, and had all the vaccinations given at the same time as the wormer and soon fell ill, stopped eating and soon passed on. Everyone,including the vet, was puzzled as to what the kitten had . As far as I could see, for both of these kittens and in every similar situation , each had received treatments that were too much , too soon, or there was question as to even if they were needed at all and the compilation was far beyond what their immune system was capable of dealing with so it broke down and once an immune system breaks down in a kitten or puppy it's pretty hard to keep that kitten or puppy alive . You don't throw a bunch of vaccinations and a wormer at a human baby, why is it routinely allowed for an animal baby or even for any pet for that matter? Maybe it's time people starting questioning that.

[jayates1]

Finicky Feline Diet

1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup chopped broccoli, cooked until tender
1/4 cup chopped carrot, cooked until tender
Chicken broth

Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender with enough chicken broth to hold together. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Kitty Heaven

2 cans sardines packed in oil
2/3 cup cooked rice
2 chicken livers, cooked in water and drained
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process just until mixture is blended. Store in refrigerator, tightly covered.