My 7 Month Old Kitten Was Attacked

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unknown01891

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As an average family, you have your poor months, whereas you cannot always afford vet consultation. So conviently, the neighbours decided to let their big dog run free in the yard to attack my 7 month old kitten. Luckily I saw little Sylvester hyperventilating on the grass while the dog thought he was playing dead. When we brought Sylvester inside, we realised he was bitten on the back leg, tail, stomach (which was not wounded) as well as the neck (which was minor). At the time, he was in shock, and his leg and tail were bleeding. Right now he has recovered from shock, and the wounds are not bleeding, but he is exhausted. He also can't stand properly yet, due to the back leg injury. He is responsive, but is mostly asleep. We feed through a syringe. Its been about 7 hours since the attack and there don't seem to be signs of him dying so far. But here is my question. Vets say that if the animal survives the night, he will survive. 7 hours seems quite equal to a night, so can Sylvester survive? Yes, he did show signs of improvement over the last 7 hours, as he had stood for at least a second, then fell down again. Please help, this is the first time we've experienced this.
 

Margret

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If you haven't already done so, the open wounds need to be thoroughly washed and you need to put an antibiotic ointment on them, something like Neosporin. Do not use Neosporin +, which has a local anesthetic in it, and do keep your eyes open for any possible allergic reaction to the Neosporin. (I haven't heard of cat allergies to it, but I know two humans who developed allergies suddenly after many years of using Neosporin safely and I have a friend who is an excellent M.D. who says that she advises her patients not to use it because this is common. In humans. I don't know about cats, but just watch out for it. Better safe than sorry.) Bandage the wound after applying the Neosporin; when he starts feeling better his first instinct will be to groom. You don't want to use a BandAid or anything else that will stick to fur; try getting a roll of gauze and using that to make a pad and then to tie it in place.

Keep him warm and hydrated. Get some KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer - any good pet store should carry it, heck, even Walmart carries it, I believe); that's your best bet for keeping him both hydrated and fed; it should give him the calories that a kitten so badly needs. You may have to get it in powdered form and mix it with water. For warmth, get some dried rice and put it in a sock (a man's calf-length sock should work nicely) and tie the open end of the sock closed. You can heat this in the microwave for a minute or so, cover it with a towel or blanket to avoid burns, and use it as a heating pad. When it loses its heat it won't turn into a cooling pad the way a hot water bottle will, but you should check it every so often to see whether you need to reheat it; kittens have a low body mass so they can lose heat quickly and die of hypothermia.

Watch him very carefully; if there's any sign of swelling, or blood in his urine or poop, he has internal injuries and must see a vet immediately, whether or not you can afford it; put it on the credit card or something. If there's any sign of infection or an allergic reaction to the Neosporin he also needs immediate veterinary care. Kittens can go downhill very quickly, so when I say "immediately" I mean spring for an emergency vet if that's all you can get at short notice. If you think about that for a moment you may decide that it will save money to take him to his regular vet at the earliest opportunity rather than waiting, even if it means putting it on a credit card.

For future reference, this is one of the reasons indoor only cats have longer lives. I'm not blaming you; I know that even such experts as Jackson Galaxy say that cats should be allowed to roam free, but the fact is that indoor only cats live longer, and they aren't unhappy because of it (though some of them try mightily to get outside to chase those fascinating squirrels and birds).

Was your kitten in your yard when this happened? Is your neighbor aware of your kitten's injuries?

StefanZ StefanZ ? @margd? Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 ? artiemom artiemom ? LTS3 LTS3 ? (FYI; this line is to signal other members who may be able to give you better advice.)

And, by the way, welcome to The Cat Site. I'm sorry that it was an emergency that brought you here, but I'm very glad that when your emergency hit you were able to find us. The Cat Site is the best community of cat lovers on the internet, and we hope that you and Sylvester will be members of our community for a very long time.

Margret
 

Furballsmom

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Hello - just a quick note, it appears that Walmart has discontinued with their Hartz Kitten Milk Replacement product. However I'm seeing recipes for homemade KMR - I was wondering if anyone has tried any of those? :redheartpump:
 

StefanZ

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Margrets post was very good.

Keep him hydrated keep him warm with heat pad or something

You may add a little honey or white caro syrup to his water - gives some nutrients. And energy

You may massage him too

Talk sweetly
 

artiemom

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You have gotten awesome advice from Margret Margret and StefanZ StefanZ

I do not know if you local store has goat milk, but I have seen it at Trader Joe's.

In my opinion, I think you should update your Vet about this, in the morning.
The leg, not walking and not eating is a cause for concern.

If you can, sleep with him, on your lap, in a chair.. you can monitor him better this way.
At least, that is what I would do. Poor baby..

((Hugs))

Not preaching, because this is not the time of it; something to think about, indoor cats are much, much safer-- especially a kitten.

Is your neighbor aware of what happened? I would tell her.. and I think she should be responsible for any Vet bills.. as it is, her dog attacked your kitten. That is irresponsible..

Is it a shared yard? If not, then your neighbors are definitely responsible.. I would let animal control know about this also...
 
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LTS3

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See if you can get help wi th vet bills from one of the organizations listed here:

No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
Financial Aid for Pets

I hope your cat recovers :vibes: If he does, please keep him inside only. As you've seen, the outdoors is too dangerous for cats: dogs, cars, wild animals that pose a rabies risk, lawn chemicals and other hazards, etc. Some people build an enclosed "catio" for their cat to safely enjoy the outdoors.
 
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unknown01891

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Unfortunately, Sylvester is no longer with us. He had an organ failure. We are devasted, however he had the most support he needed before his death. I believe one of his lungs collapsed.
Thank you for your support. He was a loving kitten and it is sad to see him go.
 

Margret

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unknown01891 unknown01891 , before you get another pet, please think long and hard about what happened to Sylvester. Plan to keep any new kitten indoors only (especially with an off-leash dog in the neighborhood) and put some money by for emergency veterinary care. As people who clean litter boxes we are well aware that poop happens. Emergencies happen, and when they do it's a comfort to know that we can take our little ones to the vet to get the care they need. If you can do that, Sylvester will not have died in vain.

Margret
 

betsygee

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Very sorry to hear about Sylvester. We'll close the thread now out of respect for your loss. We invite you to post a tribute to your boy in our Crossing the Bridge forum.
 
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