Kitten broken leg

[catlady76paws]

Well, here I am again.

I found a kitten this morning, near a farm where I do my rounds and after bringing him home and observing him I determined he needed a vet.

Verdict: he seems to be around 7 weeks old, weighs about 530 grams (a pound?) anemic from fleas and his right hind leg looks to be broken in 2 places. X-Ray or surgery is not an option right now so we opted to give him painkillers and I have to get him to grow and gain weight. He can eat on his own and is famished. He still uses his right leg to scratch and he is also cleaning himself, so I'm thinking it's an old break? I'm hoping with time maybe the the bone will fuse together so he has at least a leg, otherwise I think amputation is best option. I don't know, never had a cat with a broken leg and certainly not this young and weak.
I've treated him for fleas with a drop of Revolution and also treated the cats in the room he's staying in (in a tent).

Tips are welcome as always and lots and lots of prayers and healing vibes

 

[Sarthur2]

Why not an X-ray to determine if the break is new, old, or can be set in a cast? Seems simpler than an amputation surgery down the road.

Poor little baby — at least he is safe now and being fed well. Thank you for saving him!

 

[catlady76paws]

Main reason he's soo very small and underweight. They don't dare put him under for X-rays and me neither. If he were healthier I would have of course pushed for x-rays.

I just had a major scare and he's not out of the woods yet. It's warm here with temperatures around 84 and the room I had him in was extremely warm and he nearly overheated. He's in a cooler part of the house now but I'm really scared...he was already compromised and now this....

 

[catlady76paws]

We're sitting on cold tiles again...he was still too warm and suddenly started purring. He's still responding but he won't accept anything water..... Can't rush him to the vet, weather is too warm.....

Edit: I've given him fluids. He puked earlier as well, first sign he was overheating......prayers please

 

[catlady76paws]

He was sitting up earlier and had some churu

He's now curled up in a deep sleep against my leg.
I'm in contact with a vet through app. What I'm doing here is what they would do...Hoping it'll be enough

 

[StefanZ]

Ok, overheating / puking... Getting cooler if at all possible... And giving fluids, if at all possible.
Pedialyte is good.
The trick with puking, is to give just a liiiittle, but quite often... This way, the stomach never realizes fluid is coming in, and thus, hopefully no puke...

I once keep my biological son alive during a stomach flu, with a tiny 5ml pedialyte, every 10 minutes... (yes he was very brave and patient) He never vomited after I began with this trick tx to this, and went through nicely.

I knew it was such a vomiting flu going in the town, that is why I knew what to do: otherwise I would of course take him to the hospital if he continued to vomit.

catlady76paws

 

[StefanZ]

The the broken leg: If he can scratch himself with this broken leg, its hopefully not too bad.
But I wonder, if putting him in a plaster and steady up the leg, if it would help... If the broken leg isnt too old, it should help him, even if you dont afford with an operation.

Talk it through with your vet; ftf or this app doc.

 

[catlady76paws]

Thank you for all the tips. He can indeed scratch himself with the leg and he was walking around on it. I'm a helicopter mom right now...I really don't know what to expect with him so I'm very guarded on his prognosis

 

[catlady76paws]

He made it through the night. He did soil his sleep spot but I'm glad because it means he can poop and pee. Put the poop in the litter box and when I checked later I saw a pee clump.
I'm feeding him wet food now and he's responding, sniffing.
Still way too many fleas on him but I'm scared to bathe him so we're combing.
I don't think I can put another drop of revolution on him can I?

 

[StefanZ]

Revolution has some leeway; exact dosage thus not so important. Yet wait a litttle till he is better stabilized.

Also, sooner or later you must give him something against tapeworms, as fleas are intermediary hosts for tapeworms.


Perhaps a Capstar pill now (when he is more stabilized), and an allround dewormer later on?

Capstar kills off the fleas whom are alive now, and is relatively mild to the cat.

 

[catlady76paws]

He's taken a turn for the worse again we're doing all we can for him

 

[StefanZ]

if you have pedialyte; continue to give him.

If not, give water with a little sugar in it...


Put some glucose sugar or white caro syrup, or a droplet of honey on his gum inside the lips.

Massage him.

Pray!

catlady76paws

 

[catlady76paws]

I thought honey was bad for cats? We don't have Karo but I saw pancake syrup as alternative?
He's still with us but barely...I'm continuing picking fleas off and talking to him. Also giving fluids

 

[Sarthur2]

Does he have internal injuries?

 

[catlady76paws]

We don't know...if that is the case this may be a lost battle but he was moving just now so I'm gonna keep fighting

 

[catlady76paws]

He's still with us. He was limp and unresponsive, except for blinking but if you pet him too much now he'll walk away but his head is down. He's getting fluids and bit of syrup on the gums. I can't feed him anything else because his jaws are shut. I wish I could put at least a bit of formula in but I'm afraid he'll puke again.....
He's asleep on the snuggle kitty with heartbeat on....I'm praying like mad, encouraging him to pull through...

 

[StefanZ]

I thought honey was bad for cats? We don't have Karo but I saw pancake syrup as alternative?
He's still with us but barely...I'm continuing picking fleas off and talking to him. Also giving fluids

You use what you can, if you dont have real glucose sugar proper / dextrose, so you try to use something which does contain glucose sugar... Whichever you have... Even common sugar may do... boil up a thick sugar water solution, cool down, rub on the gums...

And yeah, in desperate cases its often possible to buy time by giving just pedialyte (which contains glucose sugar). A comatose or dying kitten or chilled off kitten cant no longer digest, but glucose sugar keeps them alive at least a couple of days.

Use whatever glucose source you can.


Ps. RAW honey, although potentially very useful, MAY contain some nasty bacteria. Its why its not recommended for small children and its probably the alarm you heard.
HERE is raw honey not necessary, you can use bought honey too. Or boil up raw honey if you worry... Let it cool down, add a trifle salt, and smear on the gums... If he still drinks, he may of course drink it. Repeat now and then.


Ps. I read its essentially what you are doing now... Just proceed with it, pray and do hope

 

[catlady76paws]

Still with us. He picked up his head and looked at me


I put syrup in his mouths but it just falls out...hoping the tiniest bit is enough...he reacted to the fluids going in and I only picked 5 fleas off this time but he didn't want me to comb anymore...even as weak as he is, he is sassy and strong-willed

Still praying and hoping

 

[StefanZ]

yes, its usually just a droplet they use.... And repeat after a while.

If you manage to get real glucose sugar / dextrose, its not as sweet, and thus may be possible to put in a little more.... or blend it with the fluids he gets in.
Glucose in USA may be found in the baking shelves. Some vets have it... Its of course on Amazon, but you cant get it in a hurry.

 

[catlady76paws]

I managed to feed him the tiniest bit of wet food. Then he went and peed on his own.
I have to get some sleep now....
Keep him in your prayers

Ps I'm in the Netherlands btw