Hunger Strike?

Hello,

As you may know if you've been reading my prior forums postings, I am fostering for my local animal shelter. I took in a litter of kittens who I've been bottle feeding since September 5th. They were in the process of opening their eyes when we brought them home after their mother was hit by a car.

I attempted to introduce them to our nursing queen, but after a week of her grudgingly supplementing them ( Only when we distracted her and 'hid' the babies among her litter) we gave up and they are now exclusively bottle fed Goats milk formula.

We lost the runt of this litter last weekend after 48 hours of force feeding glucose and formula... I am terrified of losing another.

They seem to be doing well, they are no longer content to eat and sleep, they're aware of their surroundings and begining to play with toys and each other. I noticed their weights plateauing and they were constantly seeking attention, so to supplement their formula we introduced them.to pate cat food yesterday and 2 of the 3 loved it. Unfortunately, today NO ONE seems to be interested in the bottle, we also noticed some diarrhea (3 different poops- but possibly the same kitten each time???)

I contacted my shelter coordinator, who suggested we begin deworming them as a precaution. I am aware that diarrhea and not eating can quickly lead to dehydration and death.

I am capable of force-feeding, but they're all energetic and playful! No one is acting sick or lethargic at this point... No one has lost any weight. Two are 10.2 oz, and our smallest is 9.8 oz. I can post their weight charts, if this would be helpful.

Am I over reacting? Any tips to get them eating again? Did the pate cause their relunctance to eat? Or are they now ''holding out" until I give them more solids?

Thanks as always for your time and suggestions!

Hi! I don't know about their reactions to the pate but regarding getting them eating again, thinking out loud, --would you want to try some kitten glop?

Thank you for the suggestion! I looked up the recipes and had every intent to make one, however it hasn't been needed- kittens are once again happily eating. Unfortunately, I am still finding diarrhea in the litter box, which I know must be coming from one of the two remaining kittens (Little Red). See note at bottom.

Under direction from my shelter coordinator, I have administered two doses of Panacur dewormer (15ml once daily for 3 days)to each kitten to attempt to treat the diarrhea we are seeing. I think we should have seen improvement by now, but no change yet. I can only imagine the white 'rice' are worms or the chalky results of the dewormer?

The kittens weights as of yesterday are: Red- 10.2 oz, Blue- 9.7oz. We are bottle-feeding approximately 15ml every 3/4 hours except between midnight and 6am, while providing pate to eat under supervision and hard kibble to teeth on. The nesting room has a heater constantly running, since temps have dropped to 50*F (10*C) in the past few days. They always have access to a heating pad in their blankies.

What else can we do? I'm following the goat's milk replacer reconstitution instructions to a "T". Should I purchase another canister of KMR from PetAg? I don't have any other medications, but still have a bag of Lactated Ringers to treat dehydration, which we have not seen in either of these kittens.


Note: Unfortunately, I found one of our kittens unresponsive in her litter box late last night and our rewarming / force feeding could not save her. <3 (Thread closed but you can find the link here: Kitten Aspirated?!) I lost the runt of this litter 1 week ago, after nearly 48 hours of fighting. The Vet who performed the euthanasia told us that it likely had a physical malformation (Active Fading Kitten 9*15*2018)

I'm so sorry to hear about the other kitten!

Let me see if I can touch base with an expert, so you have two kittens left?

15 ml of Panacur sounds like way too much. The usual dose is 1 ml per kg for cats. It's pretty safe but that huge of an overdose may cause issues.

Im so sorry! 0.15 ml of Panacur!!! It really is a tiny dosage. I apologise.

TheDepthsAndSkies said:

I can only imagine the white 'rice' are worms or the chalky results of the dewormer?

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Have you had a chance to take a picture and show the shelter coordinator?

TheDepthsAndSkies said:

Should I purchase another canister of KMR from PetAg?

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I'm not sure you need this unless you're thinking the goats milk is too rich and maybe the cause of the runny poo?

TheDepthsAndSkies said:

Im so sorry! 0.15 ml of Panacur!!! It really is a tiny dosage. I apologise.

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Phew! 15 ml would have been crazy.

I suppose it couldn't hurt to try the KMR, just in case.

Unfortunately, I arrived home to a sick little Red. I'm contacting the shelter and they're so useless. They've told.me.to force.feed and give lactated ringer solution subcutaneously. I can't get the lactated ringers in this time, the fluid dribbled out around my needle.

They're trying to find a staff member to come.over and assist me with subQ fluids and/or take the kitten.

Red is still alert and moving, he ate happily at noon today and feebly at 4pm, but refused bottle at 8 and is still having diarrhea. It's now 11.30pm and Im sure he's dehydrated. Hes tried to walk away, but he stops and sits after a short period of time.

The coordinator believes that the kittens may all have Panleuk (having never seen them since we Sept 5), she asked if he is vomiting or cold, etc. But they're saying that vet fees are too expensive. I have some.very strong words caged in me for this " humane" association.

Oh, dear.
I'm sending all my prayers to you!!

Some good news with the bad- I was finally able to successfully administer some LRS! The shelter coordinator was able to find a staff member who would monitor all night. We talked with her for a long time and she took both of our bottle babies to her house. She works at 8a, will contact us if Red passes (regardless of the hour), and will run a PanLeuk test tomorrow. We are to bring all of our other kittens and momma in for a test at 9a.

Unfortunately, if this is a situation brought on by Pan Leuk, often the only treatment is palliative or euthanasia. I have three of my own resident cats. I'm so scared, and I'm so, so furious at this organization and I'm so, so, so thankful that a staff member came to our door and promised to actually DO things.

It's now out of my hands until tomorrow. I'm sending good vibes to all of my furbabies.

Oh my goodness, what an incredible thing for you to have to deal with.
I'm sending you every good thought I have!!

Sorry to not provide an update on the kittens in the last two days, I had really nothing of consequence to report. We went to the shelter yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Cheeky's kittens got their first vaccinations and we gave Momma Cheeky back. She has not been nursing and has almost no mammary tissue remaining, so she was been placed into the adoptable cats room.

We requested to see Red and Blue, and spent time cuddling and feeding them, while telling them to be strong and get better really soon. They had been given clean towels, but still had their teddy bear and the heating pad from my house. I held Red while a shelter employee administered fluids. Blue looked like her normal, perky self but Red was not much different from the night before. His diarrhea was not cleared up and, despite fluids, he was dehydrated. They again said that there was no one but G-D who could do more for these babies, but they would be brought home for another night of feeding and monitoring.

Sunday, Monday and today I have emailed back and forth with the vet clinic which partners with my shelter. They also recommended to have the kittens seen, stating that they needed veterinary care and medicinal intervention. Unfortunately, that never occurred, to the best of my knowledge.

I worked today until 6pm, so was unable to visit the kittens or Momma. I did request updates while at work and told them that I was in contact with the vet. There was no reply to the messages I sent, however about an hour ago I got a call from the shelter coordinator.

She began by gently informing me that Red did die today while at the shelter, but that Blue seems to be doing well. She also said that she had talked to the same veterinarian whom I have been corresponding with... Based on their weights, both kittens are categorized as “a failure to thrive”, but it could be caused by any number of things- such as Panleuk or Coronavirus or a lack of mother’s colostrum in the first days. I wished and hoped that they would be seen by a medical professional, but I don’t think they were seen.

I miss little Blue. But I have spent the last 5 days so furious with the shelter for denying definitive veterinary treatment. They knew that Red was sick for several days. I know there were interventions that were not attempted, and I know that they won't provide them to Blue if she starts to get worse. So my final conundrum is… Should I try one last time with my final bottle baby, or leave her in someone else’s care?

TheDepthsAndSkies said:

Red did die today

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RIP little Red baby sweetheart, we will miss you

My personal opinion is that if you want to take Blue back and formally adopt her so that you can oversee her medical care, I'd vote for doing that. (I assume you'd have to adopt her to avoid complications with the shelter?)

Furballsmom said:

if you want to take Blue back and formally adopt her so that you can oversee her medical care, I'd vote for doing that.

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That is such a good idea!!! I will suggest this to my family!