Author Topic: Poor kitten!!! (Read 8722 times)

Sinorejas · « **Reply #30 on:** August 27, 2008, 04:01:10 AM »

Kitty went back to the vet today..................her appetite has been less & less, and all she wanted to do today was lay in the sun, almost unmoving, for hours on end. She wouldn't even purr . She didn't eat a thing - we;d offer her fresh food, and she'd just sniff at it & walk away. Called the Cat Hospital & spoke with the tech - this was about 3:30 p.m. - they had no vets there!! The tech said kitty should be seen - she'd be almost afraid to make her an appointmnt for tomorrow a.m. (implication being that kitty migt not survivie the nigt.0 So, you tell me THAT, and you have no vets that are there? What am I supposed to do??? How do you suppose that makes me feel??

Anyhow, called the clinic that sees our dog & has our goat vet.............they were finished w/their last appointment for the day. I was about to cry at that point. They did ask one of the vets if he could stay, and luckliy he did. He examined kitty (now, this is the 4th vet visit since the 14th, and the 3rd vet kitty has seen). This one found flea dirt on kitty, although she had no fleas & ticks. He was able to get a poo sample from kitty by going inside & scooping out a tiny bit (UGH!! - looked like that would HURT!). She has no fever, but is severely anemic. I feel so bad about this...................I know what white gums & eyelids mean on a goat, & guess it's the same level of severity in a cat. Why didn't I notice this before???? I kept thiking her eyes looked weird but couldn't put my finger on it - he said it's because her 3rd eyelid is very pronounced, it's covering quite a bit of her lower eye, and that is white as well. That's what I was seeing but it didn't regiaster.

Anyway, he told us to continue the NutriCal (good call, Nic), gave us something akin to Fort B-complex, with iron, and we should give kitty 1/2cc daily. And he's gave us another kind of Hill's science diet canned food, and showed us how to force-feed kitty. He said we have to try to build her back up, and from a couple of things he said but didn't say, it may be too late. Kitty was totally infested with fleas & ticks when she went for her 1st vet visit - she saw 2 other vets since then..............why didn't either of them start to treat for anemia? We have a couple of former, current, or future vet techs on here...............can anemia continue, or worsen, even after the parasites have been removed??? She does NOT have coccidia, BTW.

And back to the vets.......................cat hospital couldn't get blood from kitty - guess maybe she was too dehydrated at this point? But the next vet she saw, the very next day, was able to draw blood from her. Cat hospital was unable to get that stool sample from kitty..............vet today got it/s I'm just upset, depressed, & frustrated - this cat hospital is supposed to be very well rated - Steve & I are quickly losing faith in these "experts", and are quickly becoming angry!! Not being a vet tech, I'm trying to step in their shoes, and am sure there are certain conditions that are not optimal for getting blood, stool, etc. Poor kitty doesn't look too good. Vet today said that her weakness, wobbly gait, lack of balance, and no desire to eat are all due to her anemia. I sure hope we can get her through this. Steve did most of the successful force-feeding tonigt - I just made a mess, & kitty actually bit & scratched me, so she isn't helpless, LOL. That was very frustrating, too.

Chaty · « **Reply #31 on:** August 27, 2008, 12:41:32 PM »

Well it sounds like she is starting to make a turn around and it might take a few days but sounds like she is on the mend now....some just cant see the forest for the trees. Thats what it sounds like at that 1 animal hospital and maybe they thought you didnt want to spend that much money on a stray...I guess they need to rethink it huh? Hang in there DOreen...if she is scratching you and nipping she is feeling better. Just takes time..

GoatTalker · « **Reply #32 on:** August 27, 2008, 12:44:04 PM »

Quote from: GoatTalker on August 18, 2008, 05:43:59 PM

Sweet little kitty. I wonder if they thought about Prednisone? There is also a tube of high calorie, high energy supplement you can give her to boost her calories and energy. Once you have finished the tube, she should be eating on her own. Both the Pred and the supplement should be available through your vet (Pred is rx). Were her lungs clear, did they give her iron?

I have no idea why they didn't give her iron or run a fecal the first time she presented, both seem pretty basic to me. The drawing blood thing, with cats and dogs is just like with people, some people are good at it, others are not. Doreen, you didn't notice the pale gumes and eyelids because YOU were relying on the vets, the experts, and that is what you are supposed to be doing. Unfortunately in this day and age you often have to ask questions to get them to check deep enough. Hang in there, if you have a feeding syringe, force feeding will be easier, just tuck kitty's feet down against her body, wrap her in a towel with only her head sticking out, and feed the little snot. She'll thank you for it later.

Little Farmer Debi · « **Reply #33 on:** August 27, 2008, 02:57:55 PM »

you sound like you need one of these !!!!!

GoatTech · « **Reply #34 on:** August 28, 2008, 12:52:13 PM »

Ahh Doreen, I'm sorry, sounds like yesterday was very frustrating!!
Not all vets examine/diagnose/treat the same way. Their brains all work differently and I would be very upset with this situation myself. It could be that they figured she was anemic, but once the fleas were gone and she began to eat, her body would build back up. That's just a guess. IMO, when you pay $$$ and are standing there with a dying kitty, they should have admitted her and made darn sure the cat was stable before releasing her. BUT, in animals, this is not always how this goes. I'm sure that would have costed much more $$ and that's not always feasible.

The first vet missed the ear abscess that was infected, which was really dumb IMO.
Sounds like the cat hospital isn't one at all. Hospital to me means OPEN 24 HOURS. That's ashame.

From my understanding(without digging through a book, which I will do that later if I can), it takes around 21-24 days for the body to correct anemia once the fleas are gone.

Sinorejas · « **Reply #35 on:** August 28, 2008, 02:34:19 PM »

Kitty has taken a turn for the worse...........................we tried just about everything, and she would spit out the wet food almost as fast as we could get it in...............Steve had limited success in getting her to eat little nuggets of dry food, but last nigt & this morning, no more than two. She is now limp & weak.............so we're taking her back to the animal hospital, for evalution & supportive care, but she's gone downhill so fast, I think this might end up being it for kitty.

GoatTech · « **Reply #36 on:** August 28, 2008, 02:41:06 PM »

doublebowgoats · « **Reply #37 on:** August 28, 2008, 02:41:19 PM »

Oh, poor baby! I'm so sorry for you guys. Will be praying. You've come so far and worked so hard. Maybe the vet will be able to do something to help her.

GoatTalker · « **Reply #38 on:** August 28, 2008, 03:12:19 PM »

Doreen you guys have done a lot for this little girl, now I hope the vet can get her going, but sometimes the damage to their internal organs is too severe from the neglect they suffer before being found. If that is the case, then there is really nothing that can be done, except to make her comfortable. I'm praying she comes through all of this, cats are remarkable that way.

GoatTech · « **Reply #39 on:** August 29, 2008, 11:11:05 PM »

Hows Kitty Doreen? I was afraid to ask, but I'm worried about her.

Pepper · « **Reply #40 on:** August 30, 2008, 12:52:44 AM »

Sinorejas · « **Reply #41 on:** August 30, 2008, 04:47:42 PM »

I wish I had better news......................

- we had kitty put down late this morning.

We'd been talking several times a day to the vets & techs who'd been working on kitty, and she just never got much better. Thursday afternoon/evening, when I talked to the vet, her temp. had been 90........they gave her warmed SQ fluids & put her on a hot water bottle, but it just never got higher than 92, and that stayed the same until just now. She never did go back to eating on her own, although she would swallow what the tech put it her mouth, she got her to eat about a teaspoon of food. She was just so severely anemic, and was getting somewhat jaundiced, so they were pretty sure her liver was involved. Her kidney function was down, you name it, it was going bad. They could not get enough blood from her to run several tests to check for stuff; the last vet that treated her was our goat vet, doing his turn in the clinic..........he said he was pretty sure she may've had some sort of internal parasite (don't remember the name) that attacks the kidneys, but couldn't verify it since they couldn't get that blood. Probably a moot point.....................although her red blood count was up a little, she just wasn't really getting any better, so we decided it was kindest to let her go.

I'm somewhat comforted knowing that we did do literally everything we could for her, but I think she was probably doomed even before she came to us.

Poor little kitty...............the only thing we knew about you is that you were so sweet, and very, very cuddly. I'm praying that we'll see you again someday, and with your health restored, and we can get to know you a little better.

Thanks, guys, for all your advice & support.

Little Farmer Debi · « **Reply #42 on:** August 30, 2008, 05:08:37 PM »

you did your best. !!!

GoatTalker · « **Reply #43 on:** August 30, 2008, 06:28:30 PM »

I'm so sorry you lost her, but Doreen, you're right, you really did everything there was that could have been done for sweet kitty.

Pepper · « **Reply #44 on:** August 30, 2008, 10:02:52 PM »

sorry you lost her Doreen, but you made her life a little better the short time she was with you.

sanderterry2 · « **Reply #45 on:** August 30, 2008, 10:20:19 PM »

So sorry you lost the little kitty, but nobody can say you didn't go to bat for this little girl to try to restore her to good health. You were there for her all the way.

GoatTech · « **Reply #46 on:** August 30, 2008, 11:18:30 PM »

Well, wasn't meant to be then. Doreen, you did more than many, many folks would have for kitty. You were her angel.

KCOBB · « **Reply #47 on:** August 31, 2008, 01:35:29 AM »

So sorry to hear about your kitty.

doublebowgoats · « **Reply #48 on:** September 01, 2008, 01:49:35 AM »

So sorry about that beautiful kitten! Y'all were so good to take her in and give her such good care.

Chaty · « **Reply #49 on:** September 03, 2008, 01:00:38 PM »

So sorry...

Farmer's Pride Dairy Goats · « **Reply #50 on:** September 04, 2008, 04:07:45 AM »

Sorry to hear she did not pull through. You gave it your best and that is more than most people do.

Greg F.

Sondra · « **Reply #51 on:** September 10, 2008, 09:10:00 PM »

Ah that is too bad.

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Author Topic: Poor kitten!!! (Read 8722 times)