Sick kitten

[gpamela3499]

Hi
I have a very sick kitten. My DD found it 2 days ago. It is a pretty little thing a girl I think. I continues to be very playful but it has diarrhea and now it is vomiting There is blood in the vomit and the feces do not know what to do I am flat broke and can not take it to the vet. The shelter told me that they were going to charge me $50 or I could leave it in a drop box. The weather is near 100 F so I would not do that. If I can help it We might keep it but Not if it is contagious I have another cat. It does not act sick. What are the possible causes of the symptoms? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[BrattishTaz]

It sounds like this kitten needs vet care asap. Have you tried calling rescue groups in your area? A local vet may be able to give you a list, or take pity on the poor thing and offer to treat. My guess would be worms but that is only a guess.

 

[CupOJoe42]

The kitten needs immediate vet care, should be wormed and is at the least dehydrated and needs fluids.

 

[equine623]

Say you found it on the side of the road and drop it off at a vet. Legally they have to perform life saving measures and/or humane euthanasia. Could be anything from worms to poison to yes contagious disease. Better to have it humanely put down by a vet then let it suffer to death from vomiting and diarrhea. I know it sounds like I'm cold, but I'm just being realistic. Even if it is say hookworms, and you deworm her, without supportive care like fluids and at this point antibiotics, she is likely to die anyway.

Sorry

 

[carolinagirl58]

I agree with the others....drop the kitten off at a vet. I'd like to issue a caution to anyone who feels tempted to pick up kittens off the side of the road. On the news yesterday they reported a woman and her two young children are ungoing rabies treatment (edit: not treatment....shots to prevent it....)after they attempted to rescue a sick kitten from a parking lot.

 

[gpamela3499]

She is still as playful as ever biting my toes and pouncing on my feet. She drinks a tiny bit of water and a small amount of milk. She is not lethargic naps like a baby then wakes up to play. I have no problem with euthanasia but I want to be sure that is the best choice. Right now the Kitten is about 4-5 weeks old and seems very health except for the vomiting and diarrhea yesterday. Could it be her system is still in shock I am not sure it she was even weened?

 

[Chickengal505]

Okay, whip an egg in a bowl, then take a slice of bread and cut it into fourths. Soak it in the egg untill completey desinagrated. Give that to her. That will take care of it if it's poison. After she eats as much as she wants, dump it, don't try and save it. Continue this for a few days. It works (My choco. lab Molly got into some rat poison and she's fine, we used the same method except on a larger scale). Go to wall-mart or the feed store which ever you prefer, and get some all purpose kitty wormer. Worm her about two to three days after you give her the first egg if she doesn't stop vomiting/ running to the litter box. The whole time, she needs some kind of electrolite in her water 24/7. Pedialyte works okay but un- flavored baby electrolite would work best. If you have no access to a store in the next 4-5 hours, mix (about) 1/4 of a teaspoon of suger and a 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt in kitty's water dish. Heat the water before mixing salt and suger and cool before giving to kitty. Hope this helps. If all else fails call the vet and ask if he has any advice. They might give you more detailed insturctions than I did. I've saved many kittens with this stuff up here and trust me, She'll clear up, one way or another. If this doesn't work. PM me and I'll send you more remidies that might help.

 

[halfwaynowhere]

with symptoms like that, it could be distemper (panleukopenia). if your cat is updated on shots, she should be okay, but still, be careful, its a nasty disease to deal with. she really needs vet care at this point. She needs to stay hydrated, and if she's as bad as she sounds, the best way to do rehdyrate her would be through sub-q fluids. DO NOT GIVE HER MILK. Milk generally causes diarrhea in kittens, and will just make her worse.

We did have a litter with symptoms very similar to distemper, and it turned out to be a severe allergy to corn. we were feeding them Science Diet kitten food, which contains a lot of corn. the two smaller kittens didn't survive, they got so sick, but the stronger one was fine as soon as we switched her food. There are so many possible causes for her to be this sick, that a vet is really necessary. See if you have any cat rescues that might be able to take her in. You can look on petfinder.com for local rescues, or even just calling your local petsmart/petco store and ask there. they generally have a contact list of local groups to refer people to in cases like this.

 

[bagendhens]

1: cats sould NEVER be given cows milk, raw goats milk is safe, but otherwise they should get only milk from a mother cat...cats are actually lactose intolerant like most animals, they can haive their own species milk or goats/sheep/llama/alpaca milk in emergencies but cows milk is bad bad bad and can make kittens very sick.
she should be having water, and a high quality WET food. (no byproducts, no corn)

2: even if kitten was not sick it needs to see a vet NOW, it needs deworming and shots at the very least and should be checked for FIV which is hghly contageous between cats...

3: blood in the stool and vomiting are NOT normal for kittens, if it was just blood in stool id say likely worms, but vomiting as well could be anything from a reaction to the milk to distemper.
a healthy adult cat up to date on shots should be safe from any communicable diseses (though its never 100% certain) but this kitten needs to see a vet, vomiting and diahrrea wihtout blood is a big concern as kittens dehydrate to death quickly, add blood in there and it suggests either a heavy parasite load (which can kill) or distemper (which can kill)

please get the kitten checked by a vet.
if you cant afford it surrender her to a shelter that will get her the nessicary vets treatment...
no rescues in the area take it to the vet and say you found it on the side of the road and cant keep it...

 

[Duckchick2011]

I would also say it sounds like a very bad parasitic infection, we had a puppy doing the exact same thing, he turned out to have really bad hook worms and passed away despite everything we did...in other words she REALLY NEEDS A VET poor baby...how do her eyes look, are they kinda crusty or runny, is she thin, is her fur scruffy or sleek, all things that will tell you if she is really bad off or not.
Cats are tough creatures, they are also small critters that don't normally let on when they are feeling sick or injured, she may actually be in a lot of pain but doesn't want to let on about it...either way, blood in poop or vomit is certainly a sign of something being seriously wrong...maybe you could find someone willing to take her in who wouldn't mind the vet bill...or just drop her off at the vets...

It would be best to avoid all contact with your other cat, wash you hands after touching the kitten, don't let them use the same litter box and keep them in different rooms. Give the little kitten her own corner with something to keep her warm and something to cuddle with and follow chickengal505's advice for feeding her and keeping her hydrated...

That's about the limit as far as advice I can give though