4 month old sick kitten. Help please.

[neil230567]

Hi all, I'm a new member looking for help please.

My daughter has a 4 month old male kitten.

It fell ill during the night 3 days ago, vomit, diarrhoea and loss of use to his front legs, he was very lethargic and was struggling to hold his head up.

We took him to the vets and she initially thought he had FIP. He spent the day on IV fluids and had B12 and steroid injections.

The vet went through the options for treating FIP and we could in no way afford the £6,000 plus treatment cost and the kitten was brought home later that evening to spend one final night with my daughter.

By the next morning the kitten had almost fully recovered and we returned to the vets and they changed their diagnoses to possible concussion as my 13 month old grandson had hit the kitten with a toy the evening before he became ill.

He was given another B12 jab and more steroids and we happily brought him home.

All was good for about 24 hours and then he quite quickly went back to how he initially was. He's very lethargic and won't eat or drink and his front legs are not working properly .

I just wondered if any cat owners on here have encountered this before?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS, despite what brought you here. Did the vet do any bloodwork? If not, they should. Also, since the kitten is responding to steroids, that ought to give a clue to the vet about what else to look for, such as infection/inflammation, as well as auto-immune disorders, among a number of other things that can respond to steroids.

And, since this kitten may have been injured somehow with the toy, it could even be some sort of spinal issue, so that might require x-rays or perhaps a CT or MRI. There are a whole host of possibilities and only further testing will shed more light on what is happening.

I would not fool around this, and get that kitten back into the vet. If the vet you are going to doesn't seem to know what to do next, find another vet, maybe even an internal med vet.

 

[neil230567]

blood panel was done and showed no infection

 

[FeebysOwner]

blood panel was done and showed no infection

That is good, although that doesn't necessarily rule out inflammation. I presume the blood work included a Chemistry panel, as well?

Well, that is one thing out of the way, now you'll have to move on and get the vet to suggest the next steps. I'd also ask about keeping him on steroids to help him out. Some tests may require he be taken off of them, but for now it might be a good idea to continue with them. In the case of a spinal injury, aside from having that checked out, the steroids could help him recover if he just needstime to heal. All of this should be discussed with the vet, of course.

 

[silent meowlook]

Were any of the blood values elevated? Anything abnormal on the bloodwork? Did they test for FELV/FIV?
Did the vet mention maybe a liver shunt? Are signs worse after eating?
Any plants or essential oils in the house? Anyone use any topical medications?

 

[di and bob]

My cats became very lethargic and sick due to plug in air fresheners, so watch that. Even those new plug in ionizers are very dangerous to cats I found out. The thing is to keep him hydrated and eating. Offer those lickable treats they have out now every two to four hours. DO NOT leave a thirteen month old alone or within reach of a young kitten. He is not to blame he is way too young. As you have found out it can lead to tragedy. Lock the kitten in another room when he comes until the kitten is old enough to defend itself. Did the kitten have access to any plants he could have chewed on? It sounds more like an injury. Keep him as quiet as you can, with easy access to a litter box and food/water. He should come around in a few days, but if he doesn't another check wouldn't hurt.