Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last year I got lots of suport and advice from the good folks here when hand raising baby Darlene, the newborn kitty who was the sole survivor of a litter that was eaten. She was premature, wounded, and had never had a drink of mother's milk. Well, Darlene just turned a year old. She is the happiest, healthiest thing ever, and is, by the way, the queen of the world!! Thank'y for that!!

OK. So now we have another. We got him last night. I am guessing between 4 and 5 weeks old. Severely gooby eyes/nose/ears. Extremely emaciated. Dehydrated. Very lethargic. Can not so much as hold up his head. We can sometimes wake him up, sometimes not.

He spent today in intensive care at the vets. They gave him IV and SC fluids, treated him with Revolution, tube fed him every 2 to 3 hours, and sent him home.

We have Teramyacin for his eyes. AD diet, which we mix with water and feed 6 to 12 cc's every 2 hours. His apetite is great. He will not drink. I got him some Pedialyte, which we are attempting to give by mouth with syringe every hour or so, and havbe also mixed some with his water. The docs did not send him home with any kind of systemic antibiotic, just the eye stuff. Gave him an enema, was unsucessful, until he pooped on his own about an hour later. That's the only potty we have gotten out of him.

He is just now getting to where he can hold his head up and open his eyes for a few seconds at a time, and even stood up and walked almost 2 feet before collapsing.

Sorry this is so long, but we are desparately seeking any other ideas we might try to give this little guy a chance. Anything we are doing right/wrong.

Oh, and Darlene says hi, and thank'y!

-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

Darlene. (Try this again.)

-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

Ohhh, Darlene has grown into a very beautiful kitty. It sounds like you are doing every thing you can for the poor baby. GLOWS that he makes it and grows up as handsome as Darlene. Thank you for trying to save him. A picture or two would be very nice Hint Hint!!!
-----
PHWildCat/Tessa and 21 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05, Samantha, the bestest whineameezer...earned her wings 4/7/06.
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

He has no name, yet, but he did make it through the night. He even tried to wash his face for a bit this morning.

-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

With my daughter.

-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

Oh he is adorable!!! Now he needs a name to go with his cute little face.
-----
PHWildCat/Tessa and 21 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Tabitha, in my heart forever.... earned her wings 6/26/05, Samantha, the bestest whineameezer...earned her wings 4/7/06.
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

Yes. It's my daughter's job to name him. She's laboring hard to find just the right name.

I have a friend in another state who recently lost his best friend, Stash. Stash died just about the same time as this kitten was probably born. He looked just like this kitty probably will when he grows up. My friend is convinced that this is Stash, reincarnated, and that he was sent to my daughter and me to take care of.

I suggested Stash Jr, but the naming is ultimately up to my kid.
-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

Hi There,

Thanks for taking in another precious baby. You did such a terrific job with Darlene and she is gorgeous!

I would add one of the kitten formulas to the little one's diet. You can even add it to his AD if you want. Remember, at his tender age, he would still be nursing from his mom. If he is still very weak I would also consider adding a drop of Karo syrup to his food a few times each day. It can't hurt and might give him some energy.

I'm a bit surprised that the vet didn't send home an oral antibiotic. Perhaps you should call to be sure that wasn't an oversight. Chances are that at least some of the baby's problems are bacterial.

Good luck, and please keep us updated. I'll be keeping your baby in my prayers.

Regards,
PHKitkat

I, in fact, did call the vet, thinking perhaps that was an oversight.

They said that they did not want, for some reason or another, to put him on antibiotics just now. The main concern the vet had at this point was the starvation, hypoglycemia and dehydration. (The guy really is just a tiny bag of bones!)

However, his apetite is fantastic. SO long as we hold his head up for him, and put the food in his mouth with a syringe, he eagerly takes it.

Thank'y for the reminder about the Karo syrup. I had forgotten about that.
-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

Hello Again

Just wanted to add that it is wonderful that your baby has a good appetite. Often with these very small, emaciated babies they have no interest in eating and we have to tube feed them......sometimes for weeks.

Take care,
PHKitkat

Well, he's still hanging in.

He's eaten almost a whole can of AD in the past 24 hours. He likes food. A lot. I think the tube feedings he recieved yeasterday really helped to stimulate his apetite. He still does not want to drink water, though. I try to get about a cc down him once an hour or so, but he resists.

He can sit up now, if only for a second before he falls.

Not out of the woods by any means, but every little step is like a giant leap!

(My daughter has been up for almost three days straight with this little guy. She has finally crashed. She wants so bad for him to be OK.)
-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........

He's eating. All by himself, out of a little dish, without a tube or a syringe.

Yeah, it really is the coolest thing to see him transform into a kitten from a little ball of death. The coolest part is seeing what it does for my daughter. She has something to be passionate about. Something to be dedicated to. Something that really gives her days purpose.

I'm still terribly afraid that he might end up being one of those real painful life lessons. I do not have any idea what kind of illnesses he may have, aside from the starvation. He did not have a drop of blood to spare in him when he was at the vet. I have not been able to get him tested.

However, the fact that he is responding so well to food, fluid and antibiotics and love is a real good sign.
-----
Cats; Mustard, Frodo, Ted, Eddie Poe, Puck, Ted, Todd, Fessig, Marla, Bill, Darlne (Bean), Frederick, Banjo, Willow, Lucy, Snowflake, Pandora, Further.

Snakes; Mickey, Fido, Dead, Samson, Delalah, Jack Straw, Phobia, Tuesday, Tweeker, Elizard, Wee Baby Opium, Ferdinand, Elvis, Erline.

Ferret; Cricket.

Dogs; Stryder, Hookah

19 Goose eggs. (Yes, they are all named, but I will not list them all here.)

(etc.............)

etc..........