Well, after medications and tests, the third kitty, the little boy I named Suriname, is going to the vet to be put down today.
While progress seemed to be getting made, he and his sister looked a LOT better than when I took them in, he seemed to reach his peak a couple days ago, and then began rapidly backsliding.
The vet took some blood, and he tested negative for feline AIDS, negative for feline leukemia, and negative for a number of other known fatal and not-so-fatal diseases.
According to the tests, he's a perfectly healthy kitten. But his lungs are filling with fluid, and his gums are so pale they're white. He has no strength left at all.
I decided to call in this morning, because for the past two hour, the mom cat has been standing over him, crying. My dog is so worried about the whole situation, he's in there laying down with them right now and whining periodically. I know he's sick, I can see that as plain as day, but the other animals whose opinions matter, are also telling me it's time for him to go.
About an hour ago the kitten started crying, it sounds like he's pain. I don't doubt it for a moment, so I made the call. I'll be taking him in on my way to work if he hangs on that long.
This does point towards the issue being viral in nature. The only problem is, the vet doesn't know what it is. It all seems WAY too familiar with what my roommate, Darius, was describing as having happened to the cat he got from this woman a couple years ago. The same symptoms, the same test results, the same end result.
What a way to start the day.
There is only the mom cat, and the one little gray tabby kitten left. Despite being put on a high-quality cat food for nursing mothers, and getting wet food and cooked table meat supplementing that, and eating like a horse, mom cat is getting progressively thinner as well. The vet suggested an appetite stimulant, but the mom cat eats like it's going out of style. She doesn't have worms.
I am so bummed out about this whole thing. I was really hoping I could do something... I can't believe they're all so far gone. The only one that I think -might- make it through all this is the gray tabby kitten. She's rambunctious and playful, and leaps around the room like her own personal playground. She's got energy and then energy to spare.
I really hope whatever the other kittens had, she doesn't.
