my mom and i have been fostering kittens for 5 years. and 2 weeks ago we took in 9 kittens whose moms died. the first day one died. we figured it was just sick. the kittens have been doing very good since then. but 4 days ago before i went to school one of them kittens seemed weak and wouldn’t eat too well, then when my mom got home from work it was full of white diarrhea and it wouldn’t use it’s back end, it was barley breathing. 15 min later when i got home from school she was dead. and last night i noticed one of my kittens were getting skinny and wasn’t eating. i put it in a different dog kennel with a heating pad on low. i woke up at 4am to her sounded like she was sneezing. i didn’t really think much of it. i was just laying back down and it starting screeching and just meowing. so i went down there and she was just shaking uncontrollably. she was like sneezing and water was coming out of her nose and mouth. i know she was having a seizure. it was so scary. i went into my moms room and we decided to give her a little bit and see if she started feeling better. i layed her in a dog bed right next to me. i was just pulling the covers over me and she started agian. i was holding her trying to comfort her, but she was just shaking uncontrollably. it lasted for about a min and then it stopped and it just died. so she had 3 seizures in 5 min. we have 6 more kittens alive and we just don’t know what to do. they are about 4 weeks old now so they are too young for their shots. we don’t want to loose the rest of them but we know that might happen. is their anything we can do to help them or that we can give them? or does this even sound like distemper?
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Distemper Possibly :(
- Thread starter tdurkee
- Start Date
Yes, it could be distemper. 
Have you discussed it with your vet? Although the mortality rate is extremely high, some kittens do manage to survive given intense supportive care including IVs to prevent dehydration, immune system boosters, and antibiotics to treat any secondary bacterial infections. That means hospitalization. The younger the kittens, the less the chance of survival.
Have you discussed it with your vet? Although the mortality rate is extremely high, some kittens do manage to survive given intense supportive care including IVs to prevent dehydration, immune system boosters, and antibiotics to treat any secondary bacterial infections. That means hospitalization. The younger the kittens, the less the chance of survival.
How warm is it in your place? If its as hot as here, they are perhaps too warm.
An overheated body may too react in funny ways...
One other remark: If you truly think its distemper, observe you and your mom are contagion carrying now. So beware when meeting other cats. Preferably change clothes before you go out, etc...
An overheated body may too react in funny ways...
One other remark: If you truly think its distemper, observe you and your mom are contagion carrying now. So beware when meeting other cats. Preferably change clothes before you go out, etc...
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- #4
ok thank you. i checked an it’s 66 degrees so i don’t think it’s too warm. if it is distemper is there anything we can do so the others won’t get sick? could we get something from the vet for them? right now the other kittens seem fine, but i know if it is distemper it can hit really fast.
Yes and distemper is very contagious so they have the virus too.
Lets hope their immune system is better.
Have home pedialyte - often great help
Raw goats milk if you can get it.
L-lysine perhaps.
Lets hope their immune system is better.
Have home pedialyte - often great help
Raw goats milk if you can get it.
L-lysine perhaps.
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- #6
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
no we haven’t go ahlold of the vet yet but we will on monday.Yes, it could be distemper.
One remark on this kitten dying with white diarrhea- probably very telling for someone knowleable. The idea I do have, is, it was undigested kmr-milk. With dying kittens, the digestion has often stopped. That is why when they die, they do often have undigested whitish fluid inside.
The "remedy" in sick, possibly dying kittens? Dont give them kmr nor goats milk any more "but they must have some food to have any chance at all". If digestation has stopped, its no point any longer. Quite the opposite.
But pedialyte contains glucose sugar. Glucose sugar doesnt need to be digested, it goes straight into blood already in the mouth and all the intestinal system.
So this is the trick with kittens going downhill. Its no remedy, are they dying so they are dying. But it will buy them time if they are arent really dying... Giving time for the healing process to work.
As they can survive a good while on just this glucose sugar in pedialyte.
And if die is their fate, the dying is less unpleasant, nothing going sour inside them.
So having lotsa of pedialyte, bough or homemade, is important.
Raw goats milk may be an edge too, as it comes from alive momma and has some immunological properties.
If you have natural raw unpasteurized honey from a small producer, you can add some, either to the pedialyte, drinking water or their kmr / goats milk. Such honey has some antiviral properties.
L-lysine may give some help for some viruses. Mainly calici-virus. So it may help and cant hurt.
The "remedy" in sick, possibly dying kittens? Dont give them kmr nor goats milk any more "but they must have some food to have any chance at all". If digestation has stopped, its no point any longer. Quite the opposite.
But pedialyte contains glucose sugar. Glucose sugar doesnt need to be digested, it goes straight into blood already in the mouth and all the intestinal system.
So this is the trick with kittens going downhill. Its no remedy, are they dying so they are dying. But it will buy them time if they are arent really dying... Giving time for the healing process to work.
As they can survive a good while on just this glucose sugar in pedialyte.
And if die is their fate, the dying is less unpleasant, nothing going sour inside them.
So having lotsa of pedialyte, bough or homemade, is important.
Raw goats milk may be an edge too, as it comes from alive momma and has some immunological properties.
If you have natural raw unpasteurized honey from a small producer, you can add some, either to the pedialyte, drinking water or their kmr / goats milk. Such honey has some antiviral properties.
L-lysine may give some help for some viruses. Mainly calici-virus. So it may help and cant hurt.
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- #9
ok thank you so much!! they all seem to be doing pretty good right now. besides one, normally it eats about 45-50 ml in one feeding and when i just fed it, it ate 20 ml... it feels very fat. and her eyes have been a little bit goopy the last couple of days. so i’m hoping she isn’t getting distemper also...
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- #10
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I am so sorry!! =( I wish I had advice.
A breeder I'm friends with had a litter of pups. Over the course of two weeks, half of the litter experienced a sharp increase in temperature and then died. No distemper, no cause was found. It was scary. The rest of the litter was fine and are adult dogs now with no health issues whatsoever.
Thank you for trying and loving them in their short lives. I know they're aware that someone cares.
A breeder I'm friends with had a litter of pups. Over the course of two weeks, half of the litter experienced a sharp increase in temperature and then died. No distemper, no cause was found. It was scary. The rest of the litter was fine and are adult dogs now with no health issues whatsoever.
Thank you for trying and loving them in their short lives. I know they're aware that someone cares.
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- #12
aw thank you! i’m glad i could give them a good and comforting home while they were with us
also my kittens right now eat from a bottle 2 times a day, they eat 50-60 ml each, and every feeding. they always have hard food and water available (which they eat a little bit) and they get soft food 2 times a day, which they gobble down!! i was just making sure that they are eating enough? they have round little tummies!!
These poor kittens needed a vet, like, 2 weeks ago. Why are you waiting when kittens are suffering and struggling? I would take them to the emergency vet asap!
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- #14
they get sick and die without warning... the one the passed today was fine and eat really good, then i went and checked on them about 15 min later and it was having seizures and puking. and we don’t have an emergency vet near us.. closes one is 1 1/2 hours away
and if it’s distemper they vets can’t do anything about it because they can’t have there vaccinations until they are around 8 weeks old.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
also the first one passed away the first day we got them, so we just thought it was dehydrated and sick (before we got them they didn’t eat for 4 days and they were barn cats) and the last 3 have died within the last 4 days.they get sick and die without warning... the one the passed today was fine and eat really good, then i went and checked on them about 15 min later and it was having seizures and puking. and we don’t have an emergency vet near us.. closes one is 1 1/2 hours away
Please take the kittens to the vet ASAP if you haven't already done so and if any are still alive. There is no cure for panleukopenia, but that doesn't mean there's nothing the vet can do. Your vet can test to make sure this actually is distemper. The vet can rehydrate and rewarm the kittens, and can suggest options for supportive therapy. Some vets also may vaccinate before the 8 week mark if there is reason to believe that the kittens are in imminent danger from the virus. If all else fails, the vet can advise you on disinfection procedures to ensure you aren't spreading the disease to other animals.
It's seriously worth a vet trip. I hope some of them are still hanging in there.
How are things going? Have you been to the vet?
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- #19
Hey! Things are going much better here. All the kittens are on a med to help keep their immune system strong. They haven't shown any signs of distemper like their siblings did. They are happy, energetic little fluffballs.
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- #20
I want to thank those of you that tried to give my daughter helpful info. She is only 13, but been doing rescue work along side me since she was 8. I know that the kittens needed to go to the vet, but I was dealing with a very serious situation. My mother, who has alzheimers, dementia, and schizophrenia (due to 2 brain aneurysms) had taken off from the facility she lives in, in Madison. I was dealing with search efforts for her. The remaining 5 kittens are doing excellent, but we are still keeping a very close eye. If they show any signs of problems, they will be going straight back to the vet.
