5 Month old Kitten Sick and Not Eating

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teresaandjerry

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Hey all, 

My kitten Jerry has been acting very poorly for about a week.  I have been to the vet a few times and this last time they ran a test for FIV, Leukemia and white blood cell count. FIV and leukemia were negative but his blood cell count was high. 

I got antibiotics and appetite stimulants because he has hardly been eating and not quite drinking enough. He pooped last night so hopefully there is no blockage. 

He hates the appetite stimulator, cyproheptadine. I have to crush it and inject it with liquid into his mouth. Last night he showed great distaste and ate nothing for the rest of the night. I tried giving it this morning an he immediately vomited. 

before last night I was at least able to get him to eat formula an lick up a little bit of wet food, at least the liquid part of it, but not so much solids. I have been giving him a bit of coconut oil to make sure he's not constipated, an an electrolyte mix of water, salt, honey an apple cider vinegar. 

he seems to be drinking and peeing, until today anyway.  He hasn't thrown up his antibiotic and I am checking on him and giving him water via syringe, about 5 cc's an hour. 

Any advice would be helpful. I have had a few friends who had cats with FIP this year, and I'm really afraid he is going to die. 
 

irinasak

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I am sorry you and your kitten are going through this. I do not have much experience with this, but a few things come to mind:
- does he have fever? Until the antibiotics kick in and the fever is down, he might need some fluids and assisted feeding. I am sorry I can't say anything about the mixture you are giving him
- the appetite stimulant is useless if he is also nauseated. Is he smacking his lips?
- he might need a different antibiotic, if this one doesn't work
- in the mean time, you could try different foods, textures, flavors, hoping there is somethong he will like.

My Harley had a severe episode of fever and vomiting, he pulled through after more than a week of different antibiotics and fluids. Do not think the worse.
 
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teresaandjerry

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He didn't have a fever yesterday. On Thursday his temperature was low, but yesterday it was closer to normal. I have him drinking fluids, some on his own after I gave him some with a syringe. I also gave him a little Karo syrup to boost his blood sugar. 
 
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teresaandjerry

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I didn't get many details from my vet, or a copy to take home. They told me his WBC count was 22 and it should be somewhere between 5 and 19.

He won't even look at food. 
 

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Dilute the canned food with plain baby pedialyte and syringe feed him.  He might have an upper respiratory infection.  Did the vet give you an antibiotic?
 
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teresaandjerry

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I diluted the canned food with water and he got all the chunks out all over his mouth. I do have an antibiotic, amoxicillin, that I started him on last night. 
 

stephanietx

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The amoxicillin should help tremendously in a few days time.  I'd give it 72 hours and if he's not any better and eating on his own, then back to the vet. 

How long have you had him? 
 
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teresaandjerry

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I got him at 2 months old from the Humane Society, so about 3 months now. 

I mixed Richards Organics high calorie nutrient paste in some water and tried to give him that. 

We have a vet appointment tomorrow
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Can you syringe that high calorie nutrient paste mixture into him?  Or else put that chunky cat food with water into a blender to get the chunks out and make it into a smooth pate to syringe food him.  He definitely  needs to take in food.  Good think he's going back in to the Bet tomorrow, poor guy.

 

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I didn't get many details from my vet, or a copy to take home. They told me his WBC count was 22 and it should be somewhere between 5 and 19.

He won't even look at food. 
The elevated wbc isn't that bad either, it could be higher just from fleas even, fleas, intestinal parasites and allergies can cause this elevation, as well as an infection, etc. It would help to know specifically which wbcells are elevated though.

Did he mention any other levels in his blood looking high or low?

The lack of a fever and since this is going on now for a week point to something else other than a virus, which causes a fever and takes 3-4 days to get out of his system, so I'd say NOT a virus.

Poop is fine? 

My mentioning that fip is always a possibility, is NOT to alarm you, I just sort of say what comes to mind as possibilities, and there are others of course too.

The age, length of time, lack of fever, low temp, made me think of fip, however there would be other things in the bloodwork that might indicate this as a possibility, and if the vet mentioned nothing else higher or lower than it should be, then it is likely not.

 Cats  may or may not have a wbc elevated count, with the combination of a low lymphocyte (one of the white blood cell types) count, a high blood globulin (protein) level, and a positive coronavirus antibody test have been shown to have a 94% chance of having FIP.

Coming from the humane society, he probably has been exposed to the coronavirus. Not that this means he does/will get fip, at all, just that it is not a great indicator since he is from a multicat place, and may very well have been exposed to the coronavirus, which most cats are eventually. 

Kitten DOES need fluids and food though. Chicken baby food, watered down 50/50 is good to syringe, whether he wants it or not, he still needs it.

Kittens don't have much in the way of resources, and can quickly go downhill from lack of water/food, so carefully syringe him, into his cheek slowly, small amts at a time. Until the next vet visit.

Let us know the updates on him.

Poor punkin :(
 
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teresaandjerry

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The vet didn't mention anything else, so I assume everything was normal. He is overdue for flea medication because he's been sick, but he also doesn't have any fleas. I've been checking him regularly, and he's indoor, so the risk is a little lower. The first time I went to the vet they did a fecal by shoving a spatula type thing up there and said it looked fine. He had coccidia a while back, which I gave him antibiotics for and that all cleared up. 

I gave him Taste of the Wild (switched from EVO) before he got sick and that made him vomit, so as soon as I could get more Evo I got him that, but that's when he basically stopped eating. 

He is pooping less, but also eating less. He pooped last night and it was, if anything, a little bit more condensed than usual.
 

catwoman707

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You'd be suprised how, despite careful searching, fleas will hide. Indoors only helps alot, but they still have a way of finding our furry kids....

It does sound like the coccidia is gone, as long as his poop is consistently hard/solid when he IS eating/drinking normally. Of course now his poop is smaller and has less fluid, but when eating/drinking is normal again, keep watch for occasional runny/soft poop, maybe will see a small amt of blood/mucous.

I'm only mentioning this because usually coccidia is treated with albon, and has a tendency to return. Albon is a growth inhibitor and relies on the kitties body to get rid of it, now ponazuril actually kills the coccidia. (for future reference in case it returns)
 
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teresaandjerry

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He threw up blood about 20 minutes ago. We are at the emergency vet now
 
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teresaandjerry

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He has acute kidney failure :(. Hes going on IV fluids overnight in the hospital. I have no idea what could have caused it.
 

catwoman707

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He has acute kidney failure
. Hes going on IV fluids overnight in the hospital. I have no idea what could have caused it.
The causes of acute kidney failure, what this means is, his kidneys have decided to shut down.

Chronic is when there is a slower, progressive lack of kidney function, due to kidney disease/failure, etc.

Acute means sudden.

Causes in a 5 month old kitten would likely be from either antifreeze poisoning, bug/snake bite, eating toxic plants, especially lilies, eating mouse/rat poison,  or FIP.

This is VERY serious, as you likely realize. 

My opinion? 

I'd say either he got into something toxic which started this week of sickness and now kidneys shutting down, or he has FIP.

I am so sorry, he is in bad shape, if it is NOT caused by FIP, he has a chance of recovering, depending on how fast it was found and being treated, the extent of damage, and how tough he is, but at his little age, it's a tough uphill climb.

Let's all hope it is NOT FIP caused, so he has a chance to recover. If it is infact from toxins, he does have at least a decent chance of recovering.

Mega vibes and hugs honey.   
  
  
  
 
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teresaandjerry

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Jerry made it through the night. Some of his numbers are looking better, but it's too early to tell. His kidneys haven't changed, but his BP and electrolytes are normal. He is staying on the IV throughout the day, and at least one more night. 

Here's hoping. 

 
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