Stepped on 7-week-old kitten

melontine

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My dad accidentally tripped over one of our foster kittens. We've contacted the shelter who contacted the vet, I've been instructed to watch him closely overnight to make sure he doesn't deteriorate and bring him in for an exam in the morning.
It has now been about 6 hours since this incident.

Carrot seems stable, I guess? But still very off.
Doesn't look like there are any bones broken. He's still responsive and can walk alright. But he is tired. He wants to sleep and nothing else.
I've been waking him up periodically to keep checking in on his state. He was very agitated earlier. But so far he's been more or less the same. Low energy, but still responsive and aware of the world around him. If I pick him up he scratches and squirms to go back down to the bed. If I put him on the floor he runs back to a comfier sleeping place.

His eyes are strange. They don't fully open.The main eyelids do, but the inner eyelids stay partially closed now.

It feels so awful this happened. I know it's a really common thing to happen, shelter even said it's not the first time this week. But I still wish it hadn't happened and I know how dangerous this kind of thing can be for a young cat.
 

jefferd18

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Did your dad step on him or trip over him?-I am a little confused with the title of this thread and your opening statement.

It sounds like he was really scared earlier and the adrenaline rush he experienced is now calming down. I would think if he was badly hurt he would crawl under something, but I am not a vet and I am glad you are taking him to one tomorrow.

Please keep them corralled someplace safe- at seven weeks they are everywhere.
 

klunick

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Yes, I too am confused whether it was a trip or an actual step. I would imagine it was the former and rest assured we have all done it. Kittens are notorious for being constantly under foot. Had it been an actual step on from a grown man, the kitten would be obviously hurt if not dead.

Keep monitoring him and see the vet in the morning to make sure the kitten is ok but it sounds like he will be fine. Just gotta be more careful next time and always look before you step.
 
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melontine

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I'm not sure which it was. I heard stepped, kicked, and tripped over. All I really know is there was contact between my dad's foot and the kitten. My dad and sister were in a panic about it and I couldn't get a straight answer for anything about the actual incident. They've both gone to bed now too.

I think it's just internal wounds we're watching out for now from the impact. If he has something like a concussion or anything like that.
So far so good, Carrot was actually awake a moment ago without prompting, just looking around. Fingers crossed all we got here is a scare.
 

jefferd18

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I'm not sure which it was. I heard stepped, kicked, and tripped over. All I really know is there was contact between my dad's foot and the kitten. My dad and sister were in a panic about it and I couldn't get a straight answer for anything about the actual incident. They've both gone to bed now too.

I think it's just internal wounds we're watching out for now from the impact. If he has something like a concussion or anything like that.
So far so good, Carrot was actually awake a moment ago without prompting, just looking around. Fingers crossed all we got here is a scare.

I honestly never thought of your kitten having a concussion but I am concern about internal bleeding that may be the result of him actually having been stepped on, so please get him to a vet tomorrow because all animals are notorious for hiding injuries.

And yes, my fingers are crossed.
 

klunick

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I'm not sure which it was. I heard stepped, kicked, and tripped over. All I really know is there was contact between my dad's foot and the kitten. My dad and sister were in a panic about it and I couldn't get a straight answer for anything about the actual incident. They've both gone to bed now too.

I think it's just internal wounds we're watching out for now from the impact. If he has something like a concussion or anything like that.
So far so good, Carrot was actually awake a moment ago without prompting, just looking around. Fingers crossed all we got here is a scare.
Check his gums to see what color they are. Pale gums means internal bleeding which is serious.
 
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melontine

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Carrot has gone in for his checkup. I didn't remember to check his gums before then and haven't gotten the chance to update with how tired I've been. But I got a callback and here's what's happening.

Carrot has an inflamed spinal cord. His tail is a bit twitchy and they're monitoring him to see if this is showing any other effects. Carrot also has a concussion. So they're keeping him in a quiet dark room and treating it like you would a human concussion.
It's a lot for a small kitten, and he is in pain, but they're hopeful he will get better.


The incident itself; I heard more about it and was told Carrot was curled up on or under a shirt, my dad didn't notice and stepped on him. Carrot was flailing around for a while after that. The poor kitten has had it rough.
Hoping he gets better.Carrot and his littermates were a group of orphan bottle-baby kittens I had since they were 2 weeks old. They used to be covered in fleas and had an infection, but they'd come a long way since then. It sucks that Carrot came so far and was thriving, and now this happens. But then this would always be an awful thing for any kitten.
We're going to be working on ways to keep the rest of the kittens contained to one area. Our house is an old one where the doors don't always latch properly, letting the kittens run amuck even though they're supposed to stay contained. We'll be putting up a gate to help prevent this from happening again.
 

neely

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It sounds like your vet is on top of the situation which should give you some comfort. I'm so sorry Carrot is showing symptoms of an inflamed spinal cord and concussion but hopefully with time and the proper medical care he will recover and regain his strength. :crossfingers:
Sending healing vibes and special thoughts to Carrot, you and the other kitties. :vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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melontine

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I wasn't given an update directly. But I found out from the facebook group that Carrot is doing well. He went out to another foster home and I was kind of hurt by this.
I really wish they would have called me, I would have loved to come pick this guy up again. It hurts that the last time I might ever see him was when he was concussed and hurting.
But that's besides the point. The main thing we should focus on is that they say he has no current medical issues and is doing great. His new foster mom is giving him lots of love and care. From the sound of things, Carrot has made a full recovery and that is wonderful news.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Good wishes for the future going out to little Carrot! I know you miss him, but...you're a fosterer. There are always more kittens in need.
 
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melontine

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Sorry to revive this thread but I need to rant.
The shelter really messed up concerning Carrot.
He's in pain still. His foster reached out to me for information because the shelter wasn't giving any.When she brought him home, she thought he was feral! He definitely is not feral. Instead, he is in pain still. He is hurting and his foster only just found out about the accident two days ago and only just got the details behind said accident from me. Carrot has been in pain this whole time because the shelter staff can't get their facts straight and realize that he is not acting normal.
If they had given him back to me, I would have known. I'm not angry about that anymore but still.
If they had just TOLD his new foster up-front about what he'd been through- she'd have been better able to help him! How hard is it to communicate with people? Why have they failed every step of the way with communication?
 
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melontine

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No, they sent his foster back with pain meds for him.
I'm going to call the shelter when they're open tomorrow. Maybe I'm stepping out of line here and may end up burning bridges, but I'm going to advocate for Carrot and his vet care. He doesn't sound any better than when I dropped him off two weeks ago, spacing out, no interest in anything. I can't believe they sent him to foster for "socialization" and claimed he had no medical issues.
 

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I'm very sorry to hear about all of this. It sounds like you are being a great advocate, given the situation. Please keep us informed. We all care about Carrot's well-being.
 

Talien

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Sorry to revive this thread but I need to rant.
The shelter really messed up concerning Carrot.
He's in pain still. His foster reached out to me for information because the shelter wasn't giving any.When she brought him home, she thought he was feral! He definitely is not feral. Instead, he is in pain still. He is hurting and his foster only just found out about the accident two days ago and only just got the details behind said accident from me. Carrot has been in pain this whole time because the shelter staff can't get their facts straight and realize that he is not acting normal.
If they had given him back to me, I would have known. I'm not angry about that anymore but still.
If they had just TOLD his new foster up-front about what he'd been through- she'd have been better able to help him! How hard is it to communicate with people? Why have they failed every step of the way with communication?
They fail because shelters are run by people, and people do stupid and irresponsible things. I've had similar experience with shelters myself, one that I used to volunteer at had a Cat that was easily overstimulated and had redirected aggression issues. She was just labled as "aggressive and angry" and that is what potential adopters would be told. I fostered her for several months and gave detailed reports on my findings to the person in charge, but after she went back nothing changed, people were still told that she was aggressive and angry. I ended up adopting her myself a year later (she had been there for over 4 years at that point ever since she was just a few months old) even though my home is far from ideal for her, but at least this way she has a home with someone who understands her and knows how to deal with her.

If you have to burn bridges to do what's right for the animals you know the facts about, then burn them, and don't look back. If you can help his current foster give him the care he needs then good, maybe they will be able to explain what needed to be done to whoever was responsible for the lack of information from the shelter.
 

Sylvia Jones

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Well Talien it seems to me you ARE ideal for this cat How wonderful that you adopted her!
 
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