Reptile & Amphibian Forums

3 weeks ago my husband and I went on a mission trip for one week. We left a friend to care for our 5 month old kitten ... BUT ... he saw ants (imagine that we live WAAAAY out in the country) and he just dumped all the kitty's food in his bowl and all the litter in the box and didn't come back for the rest of the time. Kitty was confined to his bathroom so no chance of accidental ingestion of something inappropriate.

My poor kitty was looking terrible by the time we got home. Although he had plenty of food he was not eating,his fur was dingy, he would not play, his 3rd eyelid is showing, and he was breathing heavy. He has no fever and there does not appear to be a physical reason for his listlessness. He's acting more loving ... giving kisses again and snuggling but he still looks bedraggled and skinny. I think it's likely a response to the stress ... but I don't know what to do. It's been two weeks already and I want my sweety to plump back out. Any advice?

Thanks all.

The kitten mentioned in above post is named Fugu ... Here's a picture

Fugu is adorable and siamese is one of my very favorite breeds. I had my Samantha for 13 years before she died of a stroke a year ago and I still miss her. Here is a picture of her.

-----
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

Your friend ran screaming from the house over ants?? I suppose a snake would have left him dead on the floor. Brave soul you have there. As for the kitten, it could be stress but kittens/cats can get very ill from not eating for a period of time. Not to mention he didn't have any fresh water all that time either. I would take him to the Vet pronto and have him checked out. Then I would do harm to your friend.
-----
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

Two things you need to do:

1. Have your kitten checked out by your vet.

2. Find better friends.
-----

Chessie in his favorite spot while I work in the kitchen.

I took Fugu into the vet Wed.

The vet discovered low liver enzyme counts, anemia, low/normal liver function, with a diagnosis of a congenital portosystemic shunt. Although the liver was functioning at normal/low values, the blood was not filtering through it thus causing the toxins to buiild up in his blood, anemia, and jaundice. The probability of neurologic damage was high and because of his weight, age and size of his veins I was given about a 60% chance that a $5000-$10,000 surgery would even fix the problem. The doctor at the referral only emergency clinic in chesapeake gave me very realistic odds, and I was grateful for her candor.

I am distressed to say that the decision was made to save him prolonged suffering and he was put to rest on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007. I need to tell you that he was loved more than imaginable. He was the perfect cat. He loved me as much as I loved him, and I am extremely distraught at the decision I was required to make. He was only with us for 2 months, but they were the fullest two months ever. My heart and my home belonged to Fugu and they are now empty. I miss him more than I
could have imagined. We slept together and sat together and ate together and ... he was my constant companion.

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I am so very sorry for your loss. It's especially difficult when we lose such a young baby.

If you are interested, we have Pet Loss chats every night. I had a loss myself last week and it really helps to be around others who understand.

Sending healing GLOW for your hurting heart..

PHKitkat

I actually do not have internet access at home. We live pretty far out in the country. I will check out the forums though. Thank you for your kind words. I am ... pretty outside myself right now. Can't believe how devastated I feel having known this little kitten for only 2 months.

Emily