Kitten Chaos

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  • #822077
    Rachelfosters
    Participant

    Hey guys!

    I haven’t been on in quite a long while. Kitten life at my house is getting a little chaotic. I believe last time I updated you all I had 15 kittens, 3 litters of 5. Well, 4 of the oldest litter, Peeta, Gale, Prim, and Effie, got to 2 pounds a week and a half ago and they have all been fixed and adopted. The runt of the litter, Bolt wasn’t quite 2 pounds so he came home with me to gain some more weight before he could get fixed. Ever since, he has been sleeping with me at night and has become my buddy.

    I have one kitten, named Maggie. I got her and her litter mates on October 6th, and they were aproximately 5 weeks old. I didn’t need to bottle feed them, but needed to help them eat wet food as I don’t think they had been weaned yet. They took to it pretty well and were soon eating like champs. Maggie is the only girl in her litter, and she is very needy. She is the runt, and whines at me constantly during the day, she needs constant attention. At first we thought there could be something wrong with her because she whined so much, but we could not find anything, she just needed more love and attention than the others.

    About three weeks ago I noticed that there was something wrong with her, she was shaking, not wanting to eat, and was barely moving. I quickly grabbed some karo syrup and gave her some to help spike her blood sugar and rushed her to the vet. They weighed her and she was only 10 oz, she had a temp of 103.7 (a bit high for kittens) and she was in pain somewhere. She was a champ, she purred through the entire visit, which was a problem because the vet couldn’t hear her heart beat. They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her so they sent us home with Clavamox (anti-biotic) and a pain medication. I babied her for the next two days, and she started getting better, starting to eat more, walking around etc.

    Since I was babying maggie, I put the other kittens in the kitten room for half the day. They had all they needed, food, water, and litter. Now when I open the door to let them out, it is like a stampede, they all want attention from me. Two nights after Maggie’s rush to the vet there was an accident. As the kittens were loving on my legs I tripped and stepped on one of the kittens. His name was Ben, he was all black, one of the boys from Maggie’s litter. Realizing what had just happened, I scooped him up, wrapped him in a towel to keep him from spazzing, rushed to the living room and grabbed one of Maggie’s pain meds and gave it to him. He died in my arms 15 minutes later. I was a wreck. While he was in my arms he was crying so I know he was in so much pain. Hopefully the medicine I gave him helped ease that before he passed. I buried him under a tree in my yard.

    I felt awful of course, but did my best to recover quickly because although Maggie was doing better, she still needed monitoring. Maggie got much better over the next couple of days, and was soon back to her old self.

    About a week ago, after the older litter was taken back to get adopted, I noticed that Lex (one of Sophie’s kittens that were born at my house) was having some pretty nasty uncontrollable diarrhea. I took him to the shelter to get checked out. They tested him for Giardia (a parasite passed through feces). He tested negative, but they gave me Metronidazole (the medication to help get rid of Giardia). They gave me enough to medicate all 10 kittens because it was only a matter of time before they caught it. The next morning I noticed that Bart (One of Maggie’s brother) also had the same symptoms as Lex. Over the next few days all but one kitten got the parasite. Maggie suprisingly did not get sick, and still hasn’t.

    Most the kittens just got the diarrhea, but still had energy to play and were eating well. But yesterday I noticed Fred (another one of Maggie’s brother) was very lethargic and had looked like he passed everything he had in his system through the night. I quickly gave him Karo syrup, thinking that he passed too much and his blood sugar was crashing. He didn’t want to eat at all, and I had to force feed him but eventually took him to the shelter. They gave me a new medication for everyone and took a stool sample to test again. He eventually started eating on his own last night, and this morning he has some more energy. He is still a bit lethargic, but is gaining his strength.

    The past month has been quite a ride, from almost losing Maggie, to losing Ben, and then having all the kittens sick. And through this sickness, most of the kittens don’t make it to the litter box, so there is quite a bit of cleaning to do. Hopefully the stool sample will tell us what is going on in these little kits and we can treat them. But for now I am making sure they are getting enough nutrition and keeping them clan.

    #822090
    katzenjammer
    Participant

    My goodness Rachel,
    Just reading what you’ve been through exhausts me. So sorry for Ben’s passing. 🙁 Our furries who have gone before him are welcoming him to the Meadow and in his short life he experienced only love. But glad that you are getting the rest of the kit clowder sorted out. Know that peeps like you make our world just a bit better!

    #822093
    Moonshadow_NZ
    Moderator

    Wow, you have had a full on month with the various furkits Rachel. I’m so sorry about wee Ben’s passing. Good to hear that Maggie is getting stronger. May the rest of the fosters keep well and put on weight without any more dramas.

    #822099
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    What a wonderful story! Love the pictures in my head of the kitten stampede! In my mind I can hear them and see them running with their little spikey tails straight up! So sorry about little Ben, and Maggie’s sickness and then the whole tribe being sick. You are a saint in my book, and I agree with KJ and think the world is a better place because of you!

    #822105
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Wow-you have been busy! I remember when my kittahs were in the spare room and the door (THAT THING) opened-stampede! Of course, I only had two. Glad to hear that Miss Maggie is doing better. I’m sorry about wee Ben-at least he was in your arms.

    Gosh-all that kitten lovings and play and icky stuff…you are awesome and I thank you for making sure the babies are healthy and have loving furever homes.

    PG

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