Sick Kitten

[ameezers]

So we brought Miss Tally Cat home the 9th of June, she was small but I figured after a week or two on high quality dry and wet food she would bulk up. She was "health checked" and given her first vaccinations by the breeders vet right before we took her home.

So I knew she was small, and seemed to me to be pretty dehydrated so I made sure to be always placing her in front of the water/food bowl. The first few days she basically hid wherever she could, she would come out and eat a little, drink a little and then go back into hiding. I started weighing her and although she has gained some weight she hasn't gained much. Her hydration is significantly better then when she first came though.

So I gave her a few days to get used to the house, she would come out for longer and longer stretches until she now doesn't hide at all. I noticed that she was pretty apathetic or disinterested in playing, she would get up and walk around, usually to the food bowl, litter and then back to her favorite spot on the cat tree or snuggled against us.

I kept saying to my boyfriend that she was too skinny and I didn't like that she wasn't playing. He kept reassuring me that she was fine that I was over reacting, that she was small but I was comparing her to Tucker whom is a beast for his 16 weeks. Because we haven't had her for long, I thought maybe she was just a laid back kitten or something..

I should have done what I usually do and taken her to my vet a day or two after we got her. But she seemed to take longer to get used to the house then my other cats, so I didn't want to risk upsetting her more. Plus she literally had gotten the "all clear" from the breeders vet! I had her next vaccination date set up for a month after we got her (before she even came home with us), so I thought everything would be okay and I would save the $75 to have my vet tell me she was fine which is what has happened with my other cats (Shame on me!!!!!).

So Monday of this week rolls around, I am sleeping soundly in my bed when I hear her meowing (she is Siamese and is quite vocal), she climbed up on my side which I thought was to snuggle and the next thing I know I am wet! She urinated on me and my bed! We have a brand new litter box in our an suite bathroom, put there specifically for her and up to this point she had been using it with no issues. I noticed after that she had had a BM in the litter at some point during the night so she was able to get to the litter box (she's not great about covering her poop), so I immediately called my vet and made and appointment thinking it was a possible UTI.

Three days in a row now she has urinated on my bed in the morning, I tried switching blankets to see if that made a difference but no.

So I bring her to the vet this morning, my vet immediately says that she would never have vaccinated her being as small as she is. She did an abdominal check and said that she can't feel her left kidney, with all the symptoms she thinks that Tally has something wrong with her kidneys (the vet said a specific name but I can't remember it now because I was too busy bawling my head off, kicking myself for being such an idiot and not bringing her in sooner).

They did some blood work (only part of what they wanted to do because they couldn't get enough blood to do both tests), and one marker for kidney problems was elevated but the other was fine, so my vet said that it wasnt her kidneys but she doesn't know what is wrong. They gave me some special high protein wet and dry kitten food to feed her, gave her some wormer and said to bring her back in a week to weigh her. My vet said it might be FIV or FeLV, but that it usually doesn't present itself this way in kittens as young as her.

The breeder I got her from said that both mom and dad had been tested for FIV and FeLV and were negative (I asked specifically because I had already forked out almost $500 to have my other cats tested and didn't want to risk bringing in an infected cat). But because me being an idiot seems to be the theme lately I took the breeders word for it and didn't bother to ask for proof of negative results .

I hope that this is not the case and she hasn't potentially infected my healthy cats

I have my fingers crossed that everything will be fine, that she will get better...

 

[Kieka]

Do you have the paperwork from her shots and health check with the breeders vet?

Edit: short response fail

How old is she? How much did she weigh when you got her? Is the breeder a recognized breeder or byb? What is your contract like?

It is heartbreaking when our babies are sick. I am hoping your vet is able to find the cause and a treatment plan.

 

[valentine319]

As disturbing as it is, a pet peeing or pooping well near you is a sign of them trying to let you know physically or emotionally they have a problem. I agree with Kieka, if you don't have the records from the breeder call and get them. Also ask for all parent testing. What is kitty eating now? If on dry you might consider wet since it's better for them.

Fiv is usually spread through deep bite wounds so that one I wouldn't stress too much unless the integration caused fighting. I would start by calling the breeder and letting them know you need parental testing records and all records for the kitty You bought. Stress that your vet needs them.

Oh and follow up to Kieka's questions. How old was she when you got her? Maybe keep her in a room and see how she does?

 

[ameezers]

She is TCA registered, all my cats are. Which apparently isn't a proper registration at all, but that is a whole different topic...

I have the paper from the breeders vet stating every thing was normal and she had received her first set of vaccinations. They photocopied it at my vets when I was there. The certificate says weight was 0.72. She is now 1.4 lbs

She was 8 weeks when I got her. I have placed her in my bedroom, so that the other cats or dogs can't eat the vet prescribed food. She does eat, just not much at once.

She was on Blue wilderness kitten dry and Weruva wet. She is now eating Royal Canin development kitten both wet and dry as per vets instructions. She seems to like the dry more, and I've given her fresh water twice today already.

FIV can also be transmitted from mom to kitten if mom is infected though.. Which is why I asked.

I have contacted the breeder but have not gotten a response yet, she has been good about getting back to me quickly in the past so we'll see.

 

[Kieka]

I would contact the breeders vet. First, verify the certificate you were given is accurate (you never know). Second, find out exactly what brand of vaccine she was given in case it is some extreme vaccine reaction.

Eight weeks sounds a little young for a breeder to sell a kitten and it's not your imagination that she is little. It does sound suspiciously like some malnourishment or some illness given everything you've said. Some cats are just little, my girl was barely over a pound at nearly 4 months, but she was still normal energy and activity level. Just a skinny feral fee MeowMix. I know my vet refused to vaccinate Link when he was under a pound but she also thought Link was closer to 5 weeks even though I had been told he was 8 weeks.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I hope it isn't anything more serious then a low level infection.

 

[catsknowme]

Prayers and vibes that your baby girl makes a rapid recovery from whatever is ailing her.

 

[ameezers]

I appologize valentine319 I miss read what you wrote, no I don't have to worry about FIV with my other cats as no one has bite wounds.

She also had a low body temp, but it might have been a miss reading (which is what I am hoping) she was squirming quite a bit while he was trying to take her temp.

She has a small area on her back left leg too that she has groomed to the point that it is now a wound. It wasn't there last night, before I went to work. My Vet said to make sure she doesn't lick it, they didn't have a cone small enough so I wrapped it.. She doesn't seem to be too happy about it though.

When we first got her I looked up the vet that was on the health certificate to make sure that it was legit. My vet gives out little pamphlet type things to place health certificates in, this one was only a piece of paper. I will try to call the breeders vet tomorrow to make sure that it is the valid and that it was given with the right kitten.

Also she hasn't had diarrhea or loose stools, no vomiting and she is eating (just not a whole lot at once). Which is another reason why I thought she was okay...

I work midnights so she slept all day with me, snuggled into my neck. I am hoping the new food will give her more strength to play.

 

[ameezers]

 

[ameezers]

the picture in my last post was when we first got her, like maybe 2 or 3 days after. The other two are from 2 days ago. Tula's eyes look weird in the picture, her eye isn't normally like that.

 

[valentine319]

She gorgeous. Hopefully the vet will figure it out and it'll get all settled. The only weird thing that might cause it that I can think of is hyperthyroidism but that's usually on a normal blood check. Let us know how things go. Hoping vet figures it out and it's simple. Magic healing to kitty.

 

[catsknowme]

Any update's on Tula? How is that sore on her leg? Is she overlicking any other areas?

 

[ameezers]

She seemed to have more energy yesterday, I brought her down stairs for a bit (all she was doing was snuggling under our blanket in the bedroom), I watched her run for the first time since we got her so that was good. I bought her two new toys, but she just looks at them. She still doesn't play.

I went and bought KMR and gave her some of that too. She doesn't seem to like the wet food from the vet so I bought her some Weruva kitty gone wild, I know it's high in fish but that is the only wet food I've watched her eat a lot of in the past. At this point I am willing to basically give her anything to get her to eat more!

She had a loose BM this morning that was orangey/ yellow, up until now her Bm's were solid or mostly solid and the normal color of poop. I thought I could see white flakes or something in it so I am wondering if she had worms? How long does wormer usually take to work? Or would the KMR do that? And would worms cause her to be this skinny?

No more wounds other than the one on her leg, she keeps removing the bandage in the night but it doesn't look any worse than it was on thursday.

When she starts to meow at night I run her to the litter box, so far no more accidents in my bed

 

[ameezers]

So I just weighed her and she has lost 1 ounce.. I am so frustrated with this, I thought for sure she would have gained at least a little.. I don't know what else to do!

 

[abyeb]

I think yellowish poop can indicate that there's excess fat in the feces, which could be caused by some malabsorption (which could be caused by worms, as you mentioned). The white flecks could be worms, I think tapeworms can look like pieces of rice on the cat's behind or in the feces. Do you have another vet appointment planned for her?

 

[Kieka]

Poor baby. It can take a few weeks for her tummy to fully adjust to diet changes. So some of what you are seeing could be from the diet changes you've mentioned.

 

[catsknowme]

Are you supplementing her with electrolyte replacer, such as diluted unflavored pedialyte? Some kitties do get runny stools with KMR - mine have done better with goatmilk. I'd hesitate to keep switching her food too much, though. Poor you - digestive issues are so challenging...prayers and vibes for Tula

 

[ameezers]

The vet said to bring her back next week to be weighed. If she is still not playing tomorrow I will make an emergency visit.

I haven't tried Pedialyte, but I will do that next. Can I give it to her just in her water? or should I have it separate?

She only had the one orange runny BM yesterday morning, so I am hoping that was a one time thing.

She seems to like the KMR, I mixed some in the vet wet food and she ate more of it than normal, she also lapped it up from a saucer too.

So the lady we got her from (I won't call her a breeder again), got back to me. I asked if any other kitten was sick she said that all the kittens are doing well. I explained about vet visit, the blood tests and vet thinking she was potentially in kidney failure, not knowing what is wrong with her and how concerned both I and my vet are about how skinny she is.
Her response was that she had been talking to other people this week and they said their kittens are between the 1.5 and 2 lb mark, (which she said sounds really good, because at the visit with her vet the kittens were between 0.55 lbs and 0.90 lbs)... Does that sound normal to you guys?

She told me that I shouldn't be concerned about her weight because mom and dad were both small too. Neither of them looked small to me, they looked like regular sized Siamese. Tally's bone structure is not that of a small cat..

Is that normal for an entire litter of Siamese kittens to be under a pound at 8 weeks? And them all be healthy?

 

[Kieka]

Siamese breed standards are to be average sized cats. Meaning males should be 10-12 pounds and females should be in the 8-10 range. There are variations of course but you wouldn't expect a "breeder" to purposefully breed two small cats because the breed ideal is not towards small. In most cases a kitten should be a pound per month but on the smaller side you might see only 3/4 a pound per month and the large might be a 1.5 pounds. Kittens should be about half their adult weight at 6 months old and steadily gain weight from birth to 6 months. After 6 months growth slows down and they are typically full grown by 12-18 months (usually full grown in length around 12 months but fill out in muscles and girth until 18 months). The larger breeds grown longer.

I have had two experiences with underweight kittens. The one who ended up being a regular size cat grew quickly and steadily once he was being fed a slurry of KMR and wet kitten food. We got him at 9 ounces and about 4 weeks old and he was back on the standard kitten weight track of 3 pounds by 3 months. My girl, who I mentioned before, was slightly over a pound at 4 months. Once on Blue Buffalo (for the richness) she gained weight slowly at first and then went through a spurt around 6 months. She was 6 pounds at a year and filled out muscle in the past year to reach her steady adult weight of exactly 8 pounds. That your girl has lost a little recently is concerning. If her issue is some malnutrition previously she might be slow to gain as her body adjusts (like with my girl who only gained a pound in two months). Hopefully that is the case.

I honestly am not getting a good vibe about the "breeder" from what you have said. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if there was some inbreeding and poor nutrition for the pregnant/nursing Mom happening or that Mom is older or over-bred. My family used to breed parakeets as a hobby. Some of the issues you are describing are eerily similar to issues we saw in the last clutch we bred. We kept all the babies that had problems and provided them a good life in our aviary (there are 2 left right now that are 10 years old). But we didn't breed anymore once we saw problems in more than a baby a clutch. I know I could be completely projecting and misjudging. I do apologize if I am. But it sounds like the most recent conversation had the "breeder" brushing off your concerns saying she was just a little kitten; which rubs me all sorts of wrong ways.

Another random thought, maybe she is younger then you think? Did you tell the vet her age or did the vet tell you? Did you get photos when she was born so you know for sure her birthday? I ask because I have a cat, Link, who I was told was 8 weeks old when I got him. I told the vet I didn't know his age though because he seemed young to me despite being the right weight range. The vet thinks he was more 5-6 weeks old when I got him and that was confirmed by a second vet I saw a few weeks later. It is possible with what you have said about the "breeder" that they were trying to cut expenses by selling kittens younger. That would explain the smaller size but not the possible illness.... just a random thought.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Will you be keeping this little one as a pet? She's lucky to have found you, even if she can't be part of your breeding program.

 

[ameezers]

I want to really thank every one for their love and support through this. I don't know what I would have done without you wonderful peoples advice and kind words.

When I got home from work this morning Tally was worse. She looked thinner, her hair was puffed out and more ragged looking.
I called my vet immediately and brought her in

Her temp is lower than it was on Thursday, she's lost more weight, she is still dehydrated and her gums are white. I am absolutely heart broken.
I will be giving her sub cu fluids once a day and oral antibiotics twice a day in a last stitch effort to save her.

I honestly can't believe this is happening.