Feeding questions, 2 week old kittens

[JaySnow]

I think your kittens may have panleukopenia. The only cure is supportive care (constant fluids like pedialyte) and time.

Here is a helpful link:

Feline panleukopenia

Thank you for the link, that looks rough... I'm still waiting on a response from the clinic, I really hope they can attend them. But since it's Sunday I might have to help the kitties get through the night before I can take them in tomorrow. It's not uncommon for businesses to close on Sunday.

For what it's worth I haven't noticed any diarrhea or fever. They're very gassy, which causes some distension. But all the stools they've had recently don't have signs of blood, just some mucus. I really hope it's not panleukopenia, but there's no way to know until I take them in to the vet I guess...

I just syringe fed them some formula mixed with pedialyte. I think the gases + constipation is what's keeping them from having a healthy appetite. I'm massaging their tummies every now and then and it helps relieve them. One of them even pooped a stool that wasn't hard as a rock!

Fluffy's doing the best still, she's playing with a crumpled up paper ball as we speak. Really hope the fluids help them stay strong enough until I can get them to the clinic.

 

[JaySnow]

Hello everyone. Here's where we stand at right now: Fluffy's doing good still, she's playing and eating normally. Domino seems better than yesterday, he actually plays and moves around more. Little Roll is doing the worst. He still eats but he's gone from not being able to poop to diarrhea. Most of the time it's not even poop, it's mostly this white clear mucus he keeps pouring out. I've also noticed dead worms in Domino's and Little Roll's stools. Consulted the vet and told me that this might be the dewormer having a late effect on them. This might be the thing causing all the problems.

Contacted the clinic and they told me that since they're so small and being dehydrated prevents them from finding a vein from where they can draw blood for blood tests, our best bet for now is keeping them hydrated and treating them at home until they're a bit stronger.

I was suggested to administer them an antibiotic (pediatric Bactron, which is composed of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim) just to ensure there are no bacterial infections hindering their recovery. Would this be okay?

I'm still feeding them formula mixed with pedialyte, and their appetite is a bit better than yesterday. Was told to add back solids to their diet when they were doing better.

Any suggestions? I'm genuinely lost on what else I can do for the kittens.

 

[Sarthur2]

Everything sounds good - the antibiotic, the formula to keep them hydrated - I hope they continue to improve!

 

[JaySnow]

Quick update! Kittens finished their antibiotic treatment course today. They all look much better, playing and eating much more than they did before. Haven't seen any further problems with their stool either. They look great!

I've found that blending rice and chicken in a high power blender with some of the Pedialyte and the plain chicken stock that results from boiling the chicken gives a very creamy, rich glop that they love to slurp up. Will look into buying them kitten kibble soon, I didn't want to introduce any new food while they were sick.

We never ended up getting them to the clinic, so we never got a concrete diagnosis. But since they responded well to the antibiotic I'm suspecting a bacterial infection had to do with it.

I'll update here if anything else happens, but so far things are looking good

 

[JaySnow]

Sorry for not updating this thread further! Things have been very busy around here. Kittens are doing wonderfully! No further problems since their illness last month. Turning 4 months in a couple of weeks!

They've been on a steady diet of dry food, and they're drinking water on their own too! Plus I've finally managed to convince them to use their litter box. They're ready for adoption, but we're probably going to keep them! They're too cute.

Here's a pic of them. Thank you so much for all the help you gave us!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! What darling babies!!

Is there any chance you could work wet food into their diet?

 

[Sarthur2]

Wet food would indeed be beneficial.

I’m pleased to hear you are keeping them, but what are your plans for spaying and neutering?

This is very important, as kittens as young as 4-5 months can impregnate and be impregnated. You will have much bigger problems on your hands as they gain sexual maturity very soon and will produce more litters. Also, siblings mating with siblings can result in birth defects.

Please see that they are spayed and neutered ASAP. You’ve done a beautiful job with them so far. The final accomplishment is getting them fixed.

Please keep us posted on this!

 

[JaySnow]

Thanks for replying! I do plan on spaying and neutering them as soon as they're old enough to be eligible for surgery. There's a nonprofit organization in my state that routinely does spay/neutering campaigns so I will keep an eye out for that.

I haven't had any luck with finding wet food, it's really frustrating! There's plenty of variety in dry food available, but canned wet food doesn't really seem to be a thing here. I've asked around and consulted friends/family members with cats, and they told me they're not familiar with wet food either. All of them feed their cats kitty kibble.

What I do is usually moisten their kibble a bit with hot water. That softens it in about 3 minutes so it's not as rough on their teeth, and doesn't leave enough time for bacteria to thrive. They don't seem to mind it one bit! And they're gaining weight steadily too, so there's not much of a problem with that. I've just been making sure they're well hydrated.

Will definitely post an update here when they're spayed/neutered!

 

[JaySnow]

I believe the standard here for spay/neuter surgery is around 6 months of age or so! I'll do more research on it just to make sure.

 

[JaySnow]

Hey everyone! It's been a while. Kittens were doing well for the most part up until now and were due to get their shots in about a week or so!

Here's the situation: about 3 days ago it was feeding time for them and I was surprised to see that one of them didn't eat as usual. She took a very long time with her food and left a tiny bit, and only chewed from one side of her mouth. I checked her mouth and there was a tiny ulcer (kind of like a canker sore?) on the right corner of her mouth, which was bothering her. Vet told me to apply a small amount of sugar to dry out the sore, and if it got worse to apply an ointment called Baycuten (which is an antibiotic/antimycotic/antiinflammatory). Thankfully it looks much better now, and she's had no further problems eating since!

But recently I found that one of the other kittens was drooling a lot, and it didn't smell exactly pleasant. Cleaned him up, opened his mouth and an ulcer's on his tongue! I assume he doesn't want to move his mouth at all so he just drools he's still eating and drinking water, he just isn't as energetic as usual. And the last kitten has been sleeping a lot and his nose looks a tiny bit red, so I'm starting to think he may have caught whatever the other two have...

Could it be feline calicivirus? If it is, could they still get the vaccine for that later on or would that be contraindicated? I'm pretty sure their shots cover it but I'm sure vaccinating them while they're sick is a big no-no.

Here's a small rundown on what each kitten has:

Fluffy: Ulcer on the corner side of her mouth. Eats and drinks normally, she's the most upbeat of the three. Sometimes gets a bit of clear discharge in her right eye but there's no sign of infection or anything.

Little Roll: Ulcer in the front side of his tongue. Eats and drinks normally, he's still very playful but prefers to sleep. Drools a lot.

Domino: No ulcer in his mouth but the tip of his nose seems irritated. He didn't want to each much yesterday but he's been eating a lot today. Drinks water normally.

They all use the litter box with no problem, they're well hydrated and none of them have any respiratory distress as far as I know. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds viral, and even if it is calicivirus, the only cure is supportive care and time. Antibiotics are used to treat secondary infections.

As for waiting on their vaccines, perhaps they will be well in a week or two when they are due. If not, ask the vet.

 

[JaySnow]

It sounds viral, and even if it is calicivirus, the only cure is supportive care and time. Antibiotics are used to treat secondary infections.

As for waiting on their vaccines, perhaps they will be well in a week or two when they are due. If not, ask the vet.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll attach a pic of the sore in Little Roll's tongue. It seems like it's bleeding a bit? Graphic warning, obviously. His sore definitely looks a bit worse than the one Fluffy has. Hers isn't reddened at all, it looks exactly like a canker sore.

Still, if there's any signs of infection in their sores I will consult the vet about antibiotics. I know those wouldn't treat any viral infection but to my understanding they're used to prevent secondary infections.

 

[Sarthur2]

That looks inflamed. I’d go ahead and ask for antibiotics.

 

[JaySnow]

Asked about antibiotics and the vet suggested amoxicillin as a preemptive measure to avoid any secondary infections! I checked and found an amoxicillin pediatric suspension which could've been perfect but it expired in 2019. What a bummer. I'll ask my parents to buy some whenever they can.

I checked the kitten's tongue and it looks much better now. I think it looks awful in the picture because I took it after they ate and the food might've irritated the sore. Still gonna be in the lookout for any infection