What went wrong?

poor_iggy

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Hi
well I was planning on bringing it to the vet today but it didn't make it...
Last night my 27 day old kitten died in my hands and i just cant figure out why it happened.
For the past 2 days before it seems to be slowing down. At first i thought it was just getting tired all the time but it got slower and weaker and limper. Especially yesterday... it just wouldn't want to move or eat or anything.
I was feeding it myself since it wouldn't do it on it's own.
Last night i gave it one more drop of milk, and it meowed and lied back down and stop breathing.

Why did it start slowing down until it just stopped completly.
please someone help me
 

sandie

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Kittens are very fragile. When things start to happen, they need medical attention within a few hours sometimes. Were you stimulating it to make it go to the bathroom? If not, then it could have been a blockage. What were you feeding? If it was not a milk replacer, it could have been malnutrion. It could have had a virus of some sort. I wish I could give you a definate answer, but it could have been one or more of many things.
 
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poor_iggy

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i didnt do anything to it (that would cause something like this).
It just all of a sudden started getting weaker and weaker and wouldn't get milk from its mother so I starting giving it some.

I noticed it licking around the area it lived a few days before this all happened... I think that's what caused it but i'm not sure.
*sigh*
 

catspride

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Look, 27 days is not even 4 weeks old. You needed to run to the vet when you saw that it wasn't nursing from its mother, who I take it was still available. You needed, in fact, to bundle up mother and all kittens and take them to the vet.

Possible problems:
It may well have licked up something of the floor. Many floor cleaners, disinfectants, and bug sprays can be mildly toxic to a grown cat, but quite deadly to a tiny kitten.

The mother may have had milk fever or a virus that she wasn't much bothered by that could kill her babies -- they don't get their full immunity right away.

In that line of thought, your kitten may have contracted a virus before she was even born.

Since the weakness began before you started to feed her, it is unlikely that it was whatever kind of milk you were using, but surely if she was sick, cows milk would just add to her problems, since cats don't really digest it very well in its regular form. (older cats can enjoy yoghurt)

With small babies you need to give them a special cat-milk formula.

For future reference, never let a kitten go more than a day without getting to a vet. No cat should be lethargic to the point of limpness. The inability to eat is also a give-away. Kittens don't have any reserves to live off of for a few days. They constitute an medical emergency if they don't take food and moisture in frequent small doses. I take even grown-up cats to the vet if they stop eating and drinking -- the time I wait depends on how the cat seems to be. Limpness is a medical emergency even if you have to go to an all-night vet hospital.

Don't try to force-feed any cat without checking with the vet. There may be a lot of reasons why the cat won't take food or water (or milk formula) -- they might have a physical obstruction in the throat (licking on a wooden floor might have them swallowing a splinter).

If it were me, I would take the mother and remaining kittens to the vet for a checkup. Or if the mother cat is a friend's, then do some persuading.

Experience is sometimes a harsh teacher.
 

tigger

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Poor_Iggy,

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten. Please don't beat yourself up over it..... You tried your best, IMO
 

imagyne

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In addition to that...

What were you feeding it? Kittens can take regular milk up until a certain age, BUT, the milk we drink doesn't have near enough of what they need.

All babies (cat/Dog) need to have a constant source of sugars, among other things, without them they slow down become listless and pass away.

It is a hard lesson to learn, and odds are that there was something wrong with the kitten anyway, but a vet visit within the First day you saw something wrong was the thing to do. You didn't know, alot of people don't, like I said, it is a very hard lesson to learn.


Ken
 
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poor_iggy

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yes, experience is a harsh teacher. but it's pretty bad when you have none at all


You see, the first day it was looking weak, I thought 'yea well he's probly just tired out'. The next day it looked really bad, but I noticed it (looking really bad) at about 11 PM last night so it was too late to bring it anywhere. I was planning on bringing it to a vet asap the next day.... but it only made it til 1:30 am


I was feeding it can milk.....

I wasn't the one feeding it though.
I just want to know why the cat just went from crawling around and eating to always sleeping and never moving... much.

It kept making these scratchy meows... that was also the last thing i heard from it.

I think Sandie was right when she mentioned the kitten getting blocked up. In the 2 days it was sick i didn't notice either the kitten doing anything or the cat cleaning anything, but licking up anything from the floor could also be what happened.


I can't believe this happened because I'm sure there were so many things I couldn've done to keep it from happening, especially the way it did.

thanks
 
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poor_iggy

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the mother is a small cat
It only had one kitten. Yes, that is unusual isn't it? Well, i suppose it isn't when you don't got the room for 3 or 4
 

Anne

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Young kittens are very fragile. If you notice anything wrong at all, you should consult a vet ASAP. They can deteriorate and die within hours let alone days.

I guess you'll never know why the little kitten died. It can be so many things it's really hard to tell. At least he was in your hands getting love and attention.

By the way, I hope you were feeding him kitten formula and not regular milk.
 

debra myers

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I am so very sorry for your loss of such a young friend. It is never easy to lose a beloved pet. I hope that you will feel better in time. Your little friend has gone to the Bridge.
 

feralguardian

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I think I can answer this sad question for you. There are a few different reasons why kittens that old will die. One main reason is if it's system gets backed up and septic poisoning sets in. Backed up meaning ... The kitten has not eliminated solid stool ... or pooped for a lack of better terms. Or for that matter urinated. The second reason, parasites in the system. The third reason could very well be that the kitten was born with a very week immune system. Mother cats seem to know this and won't waste their milk on the weak so they won't feed them and will let them die. They won't even help them eliminate their waste. This alone will kill them. Newborns must be stimulated to pee and poop before and after every feeding ... This promotes a healthy bladder and prevents any problems with them eventually learning to do the same on their own. I'm so sorry you experienced that ... I know how heart breaking it is to have them die in your hands ... I had five newborns the mother had while walking and wouldn't even turn back to look at them. I had to remove them from their sacks and start the mothering process immediately ... Unfortunately three of them were born with intestinal parasites ... Nothing I could do ... I cried like a baby. Your average veterinarian isn't equiped to handle newborns or doesn't have the staff to preform what must be done just in hourly feedings. I have taken that task on for the last 13 years. Fortunately I have only lost those three ... The other two survived and are my biggest babies .. Sabrina and Sugerbear. They are two of my biggest joys
I hope the others you have are doing well and little fatties


FeralGuardian
 

Anne

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I just noticed there was a duplicate thread in the SOS forum, so I'm merging the two.
 

Anne

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By the way, please get the mother spayed ASAP before she goes into heat again. Don't wait - make an appointment with your vet for this week.
 
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poor_iggy

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there was only one kitten

that was the one and only
 
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poor_iggy

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Well thank you all for replying to this thread

I think your suggestions helped me figure out what went wrong with poor Iggy. Since the mother Ziggy seemed to stop feeding it, and stopped licking around it's 'area', I would say there was a blockage or low immune system.
I guess some things just aren't meant to be

Thanks everyone
 
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