Kitten flat chest and breathing heavy please help!!

[katee_2474lif]

I have a 7 week oldkitten mainecoon and this is my 2nd litter and i knew it had flat chest but in my 1st litter same thing happend but it wasnt that bad but however this week she started not playing with her siblings and not play with toys which really worried me and these past days she would breathe very heavly which made me cry seeing her so uncomfortable at first i thoughtshe had funnel chest but i feel how her rib cage is not going in. We went vets yesterday and they said shes 2x smaller her size and her rib cage is small and something about her diagram between the lung area and stomach might make her difficult to breathe but they gave antibiotic and i hope it will help make her breath better amen btw it was a needle one..

 

[trishia42]

I'm confused, did the vet say anything about flat-chest syndrome or pectus excavatum or...? Did they perform any diagnostics?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I agree with the above, more information would be very helpful.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kitten Lady has good info on this:

Pectus Excavatum in Kittens — Kitten Lady
The first link explains it. The second link is a video.


Flat chests need to be treated. Usually a kitten is placed in a supportive vest when quite young. If this does not help solve the problem, surgical intervention is needed. Sometimes an injection of prednisone can temporarily help breathing problems.

Do keep us posted!

 

[StefanZ]

With the needle one, you mean he gave her antibiotic in a shot?

So vet hopes her breathing difficulties are some infection / lung inflammation? Could be.

We had recently a rescued kitten, whom by description I suspected he had some heart fault - but vet found it was an infection - after antibiotics the kitten is now entirely healthy and thriving little guy.

Lets hope its so here too, and the flat chest is a minor problem you can deal with in another step.

 

[katee_2474lif]

I'm confused, did the vet say anything about flat-chest syndrome or pectus excavatum or...? Did they perform any diagnostics?

No they didnt, i told them i thought she had flat chest and didnt give me answer about it she just check her weight, heatbeat and felt her stomach and said she has a small rib cage which might make her difficuly breathing

 

[katee_2474lif]

With the needle one, you mean he gave her antibiotic in a shot?

So vet hopes her breathing difficulties are some infection / lung inflammation? Could be.

We had recently a rescued kitten, whom by description I suspected he had some heart fault - but vet found it was an infection - after antibiotics the kitten is now entirely healthy and thriving little guy.

Lets hope its so here too, and the flat chest is a minor problem you can deal with in another step.

I hope she gets better with the antibiotic shot i honestly dont know how long did it take for ur kitten to get better after the antibitotics? Should i go to the vets again it just breakes my heart to see all of the other kittens running and playing but all she does is sit there ear and go back to sleep. One thing i noticed though that it looked like a thew days ago she tried to eat the cat sand but i stopped her so now i am wondering if shes doing that when im not there and mabye thats why she has breathing problems i dont know but she does meow alot and is smaller than her siblings i just praying to God that she will get better but after today if i see no progress i dont know .... last week she was fine and i did notice she has flat chest before but then i started noticing how hard she was breathing and she would get worser and not play anymore.. i really hope antibiotice work but so far no progress..

 

[katee_2474lif]

check her weight, heatbeat and felt her stomach and said she has a small rib cage which might make her difficuly breathing

And her chest is really flat which also might make it difficult to breathe and not enough space i noticed... i did make a splint/corset on yt but im scared it will make it worser.

 

[trishia42]

So no x-ray, no bloodwork? You say antibiotic shot, was it Convenia/cefovecin? That's the only one I know that's a one-time shot and I didn't think it was suitable for respiratory infections (I personally never use Convenia for anything, but that's a different story).

Might be time to consider getting an entirely different vet - if she's having trouble breathing and being lethargic, that can go bad quickly in a kitten and more diagnostics are definitely required - as soon as possible I would think. Is her breathing fast or just a bit laboured?

 

[katee_2474lif]

So no x-ray, no bloodwork? You say antibiotic shot, was it Convenia/cefovecin? That's the only one I know that's a one-time shot and I didn't think it was suitable for respiratory infections (I personally never use Convenia for anything, but that's a different story).

Might be time to consider getting an entirely different vet - if she's having trouble breathing and being lethargic, that can go bad quickly in a kitten and more diagnostics are definitely required - as soon as possible I would think. Is her breathing fast or just a bit laboured?

The vet didnt say the name of antibiotics but she said just in case if there is any milk in lungs, today shes worse sometimes she breathes from her mouth but mostly sleeps but i think today she is breathing more slow... and the antibioitic costed £67.. i put a hot water infront of her thats what the vet said honsetly i wished i asked more questions.. i just want her to make progress and she asked for a x-ray but we said no because we know it will be very expensive and we dont have that type of money.. how long does antibittoic work or start to work and i today i thought she had pneuomia because i can hear sounds coming from her nose and after she ate chicken she started breathing from her mouth. i just hope a miracle happens and she gets better but now im going to make sure she mostly sleeps because thats when her breathing is better and shes more comfortable i just hope you can help me with adivice.

 

[trishia42]

I honestly think this kitten needs to get proper veterinary care. I'm concerned that not enough diagnostics were performed, and that an improper antibiotic may have been prescribed. I understand that veterinary care is expensive, but that is unfortunately part of owning pets - there are a few options available out there to help you financially that you could explore (things like care credit, or even surrendering her to a rescue). You mention this is a second litter, which is also a little bit worrying.

I hope things turn around, but if it was me, I would definitely take her somewhere else and have full diagnostics performed in order to get a better picture of the issue and then be able to address it. Young kittens go downhill fast.

 

[katee_2474lif]

Thank you... i agree that the vet care wasnt good as well but what do you mean diagnostics ? Yes its my 2nd litter all of the over 6 kittens are healthy. There isnt really better vets here because the one i went to its been in buissness for almost 20 years... I honestly dont know what to do. There is one animal shelter in Croydon but i dont have a car and it has terrible reviews. She is breathing alot slower now and i can hear a sound out of her nose is there anything i can buy to alteast help because i do think that the antibiotics didnt work from the vets because i did see this review similar to my story and she said to ask what they are giving.Is there anything i can help at home ..

 

[katee_2474lif]

I honestly think this kitten needs to get proper veterinary care. I'm concerned that not enough diagnostics were performed, and that an improper antibiotic may have been prescribed. I understand that veterinary care is expensive, but that is unfortunately part of owning pets - there are a few options available out there to help you financially that you could explore (things like care credit, or even surrendering her to a rescue). You mention this is a second litter, which is also a little bit worrying.

I hope things turn around, but if it was me, I would definitely take her somewhere else and have full diagnostics performed in order to get a better picture of the issue and then be able to address it. Young kittens go downhill fast.

Here is a video of her breathing now

i
It won’t let me send a video but here she is she meows very loud when I touch her or she’s sees me even when she was healthier I’m just praying that a miracle will happen

 

[StefanZ]

Your chance is another vet. Always good, also, being 20 years in business isnt not always good. If he is anxious to learn the new developments, good. But if he is happy with becoming more experienced, it means he cant the new discoveries, and a relatively new vet / doc may be a better bet.

Most antibiotics take several days to work in full.
You CAN of course phon that vet and ask, which antibiotic it was, and how quick it should work if it helps... Perhaps the vet has another idea.
Its not uncommon there are a couple of different possibilites so they begin with the most common solution...

You can perhaps phone that shelter anyway, if nothing else they perhaps may recommed you a vet? Tell perhaps which vet they themselves use...
But I agree, if you just surrender a weak and sick kitten, the probability is very high they will pts... Even a decent shelter could do so.

K katee_2474lif

 

[trishia42]

Oh, that poor angel. Surely there must be other vets in the area? I'm not sure where you live although you mention Croydon which appears to be in England. I would definitely try to find somewhere else to take her in - this could easily turn to an ER-vet situation. In the meanwhile, please call back the vet office you were at and ask for more information and perhaps share some of your concerns to see if they offer anything useful?

Still, I cannot emphasize how much I think you should take her somewhere for care; there is really not much you can do at home for this and I am personally deeply concerned about this kitten. Although a lot of "shelters" may have PTS as an option due to funding, it will depend on your location. In my city, we also have several volunteer-run rescues where they go out of their way to save surrendered kittens and cats and only PTS if it's in the best interest of the pet.

Sharing videos - you could drop the video in a dropbox, google drive and share a link from there too.

 

[Sarthur2]

Ask the vet for an injection of steroids. That may clear her lungs while the antibiotic begins to work. She looks like such a sweet baby. You are doing the best you can!

Does this kitten eat or drink?

 

[trishia42]

I would caution against steroids at this time, because if there's a more serious underlying issue like HCM (not as common, but not impossible in kittens - also breed-pre-disposed), that could make things worse as steroids can exacerbate heart issues... So it might be wise to hold off on something like that until more diagnostics are done so the issue can be pinpointed. I am not a vet, mind you.

 

[Sarthur2]

Inquire. You are trying to save her life. Other points well-taken.

 

[trishia42]

How is she doing today?