Kitty update

[Xeikeness]

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.

[Lucille]

Xeik, you've done so much for these kittens. I'm so sorry that they have this illness. If anyone could have made them pull through it would be you, it was not meant to be

[Xeikeness]

I know... I just got my hopes up. I'm going to be bummed all day.... a big part of it, too, is that I am so angry that the kittens even got to this state in the first place. It makes me SO angry, which only makes me sadder on the whole.

[LukaTisus]

The poor kitties! And that poor mom.. could it be pneumonia or something?

Considering the conditions they must've been living in, it could've been bacterial or viral or anything.. I wish the vet could find out, and I hope that little tabby girl makes it at least..

poor things, you're doing your very best, Xieke.. *hugs*

[HARTSOCK]

Xeike, know it is disappointing, but you've done more than what most people would. I hope they pull through for you and I hope the situation will work out. Good luck.

[Xeikeness]

Thank you. The vet said according to the swab he got, it isn't pneumonia. I wish he did know. He said he's working on it though, and I trust him. At the very least, after this kitten is euthanized, I'm going to give him go-ahead to do testing on it. Hopefully he can find something more out.

Thank you, Scott. I'm really hoping this last kitten makes it. She seems like a fighter, and she continues to flourish so... I've got my fingers firmly crossed.

[Adrya]

I'm so sorry, Xieke, but be glad that you did everything you could and that you got them away from that horrible situation. You might not have saved them from whatever is affecting them, but you saved them by giving them another chance. I really hope that little tabby kitten pulls through for you.

I'm curious about something, is the mother cat (or any of them) urinating excessively when she goes to the bathroom? Have they been tested for kidney failure? I don't know if there's a common name for it, but there's a fairly common condition that happens with some cats where the kidneys will start failing and so the cat drinks so much water, but it just goes right through... sometimes if it's caught early, it's possibly reversible, but in the end the body starts taking protein from the muscle and deteriorating the cat because it can't absorb protein from food and water because of the failure of the kidneys... one of our cats had to be put to sleep because of that several months ago, despite subcutaneous fluids.

Is your vet working with any other vets to try and find out what the problem is?