HELP - Chemo

[marianjela]

When I found chemo this morning he was very listless and has weak cries. I cant get him to nurse on his mom. not thatshe wont, just that he cant. so ive got an eye dropper with evao.milk and trying to feed him. typing with one hand as i hold with the other. chemo is about 4 wks now i think. im so shocked this is happeniong . any advise? hubby has the car so cant even get him up to vet. and with all that has been goiung oin....

ill be sitting by my 'puter

 

[talon]

I don't have any advice - just good wishes. For some reason your little Chemo has a special place in my heart.

Get well Chemo!

 

[hissy]

Is there someone you can call to take you to the vet? You could lose him if you do not respond promptly- are there pet taxi's in your area? Please try and at least get Kitty Milk Replacer to feed him, not evaporated milk. You want KMR and a vet.

 

[marianjela]

okay, I've given him a few droppers full of the e.milk -- which is all I had on hand. The mom cat was at my feet while I feed him. I put Chemo on the floor with the mom and she started cleaning him up. Chemo is now nursing.

I'll keep you posted. I'm praying he *just* got a little dehydrated over night for some reason...

 

[marianjela]

OMG -- I cant beleive how fast things work. An hour ago I was most certain Chemo was dying. He looked so sick. Wouldnt even lift his head off the ground. Just lamely rolled (flooped) half-heartedly on the floor.

I forced a few dropperfuls of milk between meows, praying the whole time I didnt drowned the poor thing. I put Chemo down with Willow and she began to clean off the milk spilled on his face. And Chemo started to nurse on his own.

When I found him this morning he was too weak to latch on. Now he is able to lift his head, but is still wobbly (shaking) when trying to walk.

I ran off to some feral-cat rescue sites and tried to get a quick briefing on dehydrated kittens. I seen the tip on pulling on the skin on the neck. Chemo's wasnt retracting, so I'm pretty certain this is what's going on and I pray he gets better by the hour! Thanks to everyone for your quick prayers and help!!!

 

[hissy]

I wonder if maybe he just got to cold? If mom withdraws from a kitten until they are old enough for their shiver reflex to kick in, it is difficult for them to stay warm.

 

[awliston]

How is Chemo doing now? I am praying for him to recover quickly!

 

[wellingtoncats]

I hope Chemo is doing OK too!

 

[marianjela]

Chemo was doing very well that day, I was surprised how fast he went downhill and came back!

This morning, once again, when I found Chemo he was dehydrated again. I'm back to feeding him the formula. During the day I see Willow nursing him. I guess I'm going to have to bottle-feed Chemo like the mom wasnt around and if Willow feeds him more ~ then bonus. At least this way I can keep track of his intake. Thanks for thinking about him. I'll keep you's posted.

 

[pretty kitty]

Could it be fading kitten syndrome? I have read about it in dogs and cats. It happens suddenly, when you think the animal is doing well. Experts say that if detected early enough, the responsible owner can keep the animal well by feeding, cleaning and warming him.

 

[mlmcats]

I'm not sure how old Chemo is, but it sounds like he should see a vet if that's at all possible. Of course pack up Mom & his siblings too. Keep us posted on this special baby, please!

 

[cjandbilly]

YAY! I'm glad to hear he's doing better! I just now found this thread. Keep us posted, okay?

Cassie

P.S. I was wondering where you went. Glad to see you back

, though I wish it were on better circumstances.

 

[marianjela]

I am sorry to report Chemo passed about a half hour ago. After yesterday, we again brought him back up to par. He seemed to be doing so well today. He was vigorously nursing with momma, and able to walk to her and even stand and nurse while Willow ate. I last checked on him early this evening and he was walking around and seemed so much better. I nestled him in his little nest in my living room and went out to do some yard work. When I found him tonight, not even 4 hours later, he was fading fast!
I worked hard the last two hours trying to bring him back around. I'm not sure what was wrong. And my vet said we did everything we could... Sometimes things are just meant to be... that's what I keep telling myself. At least we bought ourselves a few more days with the precious baby.

We'll miss you Chemo!

'Finding Chemo'
~6.1.05-6.28.05


Chemo and Josh fast asleep on the living room couch

Josh and Chemo playing super heros

Family Portrait - Willow, Nacho (10 weeks) and Chemo (4 weeks)

 

[jennyr]

What a shame, but it sounds like you did all you could. Some things are not meant to be. RIP little Chemo.

 

[gilly]

I am so sorry to hear about little Chemo. May he rest in peace in heaven.

You should post about his death in Crossing the Bridge too...

 

[cjandbilly]

Awww, I'm so sorry.

You did all you could, I know it.

 

[eatrawfish]

Poor little Chemo. I'm sorry to hear about his passing.

 

[marianjela]

Okay, as you can see it's getting pretty late here on the East Coast, but I just cant seem to fall asleep. Didn't get a lick of sleep last night I was so upset. Mostly I'm sitting down to write so I can try to put my mind at ease and make sense of this all.

I read a couple posts up about someone's theory of Fading Kitten Syndrome. Which really sounds plausible to me since Chemo didn't seem to grow in the two weeks we were home. When we found him he seemed to be about 2 weeks old or so, even though we were only in the Hospital 9 days. But he was moving around pretty well when we found him and also had his eyes open. Anyway, I estimated 2 weeks.

My son was dx on June 1st, so I conveniently gave him this birthdate.

Chemo was no bigger yesterday than he was when we first discovered him. Although, his head did seem to be out-growing his body a bit.

He did have teeth.

Anyway.

Let me back up a bit.

A week ago, our neighbors came to our house because they found a litter of kittens under their porch. They thought they were Willow's and for a minute I might have believed it, but really, I find it really hard to believe she was preggo with ONE kitten, let alone 5. Yes, they found 4 kittens. Approx, 4-5 weeks old.

First kitten was orange. Second, gray tabby calico. Third kitten solid BLACK (right here I was sure it was impossible for these kittens to be Willow's), forth kitten black calico.

After about an hour or so, my daughter pulled them all out. The access under the porch was a single cement block with three holes in it. We tried to see if Willow would go under the porch and pull the last kitten out as we really had trouble luring her, but Willow couldn't fit.

So anyway, one of the kittens attempted to eat some tuna fish that we tried to lure them with. The others wanted nothing to do with it. And all of the kittens would attempt to lap up some KMR when coerced. Or at least lick it off each other after they had walked all through it.

I estimated them to be about 4 or 5 weeks.

Now rewind a bit further to a few days after we got home from the hospital. My daughter and neighbor boy (the same ones that found the litter under their porch) were talking and it was discovered that they had found a kitten in their garage while we were in Pittsburgh. Immediately we thought maybe Willow had had another kitten. The neighbors had given the kitten to some neighbors a few doors down who were feeding him but kept him on the front porch. The next day we went down to tell them that we thought maybe this kitten was Willow's and see if they wanted her to take care of it. We found out that the kitten 'disappeared' the day we came home. So now we're thinking Willow had one lone kitten outside, perhaps in fear of the dog or the older kittens, but brought it home the night we came home.

Let me state --- we DO NOT allow Willow to be an outside cat! However, while we were away, it was discovered that my family was over trying to help out and surprise us with a little spring cleaning, and my brother opened the basement window.

After more and more thinking, I now wonder if Chemo belonged to the other litter? Maybe the 'other mother' knew something Willow didn't and abandoned Chemo? Maybe Willow stole someone else's kitten? It really was hard to believe that she was preggo with two separate litters at one time so far apart. Maybe Willow bought Chemo an extra two weeks on this earth.

Whatever the case... as short as the two weeks were, he grew near and dear to my heart

We'll miss you little guy!

 

[wellingtoncats]

AW RIP Chemo!

We will definitly miss you.

 

[awliston]

I am so sorry to hear about Chemo. I know how special he was to you. The pictures are adoreable of Chemo and Josh. How is Joshua doing? I am keeping your family in my prayers!