 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2004Wasting Kitten?
Does anyone know what this is? Is it a syndrome, disease... a friend of mine is raising kitties, and the littlest one in the current litter has this. He's been smaller from the beginning (he's now 3 mos. old), not as well developed (my friend says he didn't bake long enough) :-) and he's tended to be sickly. Unfortunately this little bugger stole my heart, and it's very hard to see him suffering. Is there any treatment? Or is it very likely he's going to die? He is so doggone sweet, I held him when he was not ten minutes old, and I've followed the growth and development of this litter. It's very hard to see this sweetest soul suffering. Thanks. > Does anyone know what this is? Is it a syndrome, disease... a friend > of mine is raising kitties, and the littlest one in the current litter [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Thanks. Has the kitten seen a vet???? There could be something. In what way is it sickly? More details and please see a vet. >Has the kitten seen a vet???? There could be something. In what way is it >sickly? More details and please see a vet. I wondered also how old the kitten is. I've heard of "Failure to Thrive" (may not be the correct term)...that's basically a blood type mis-match deal, but I think they die in the first few days. Sherry > >Has the kitten seen a vet???? There could be something. In what way is it > >sickly? More details and please see a vet. > > I wondered also how old the kitten is. She said 3 months. > I've heard of "Failure to Thrive" (may > not be the correct term)...that's basically a blood type mis-match deal, but I > think they die in the first few days. There's just so much that could be wrong, from something minor and controllable by antibiotics or diet, to something that will kill later on, like heart problems or other organ defects. A vet (and tests and money) is required.  Signature-- ~kaeli~ A plateau is a high form of flattery. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > There's just so much that could be wrong, from something minor and > controllable by antibiotics or diet, to something that will kill later > on, like heart problems or other organ defects. > A vet (and tests and money) is required. Hello! The person who owns this kitten is a friend of mine, she's working with a breeder who is also a vet (and a geneticist), but we're in Michigan, and the vet/breeder just moved to California (part of Pfizer downsizing). This is a purebred American shorthair, silver-ticked. Beautiful cats, and only a couple of breeders in America are doing this particular strain of the breed. When I visited the litter last night (there are four kittens total, three seem to be hale and hearty, the fifth one died two weeks after birth, and now this fourth, little one, seems to have life-threatening problems. Anyway, when I visited last night, my friend told me when she got home around 4 yesterday, she noticed this kitten was not moving or responding, and this was a very fast development, he was fine on Jan. 27. She was on the phone with a local vet, who told her she couldn't do anything more than my friend, and all she could do was keep him warm, away from the other cats in the house (three other kittens, and the two parents), try to feed him a little pedialyte and chicken broth, and hope for the best. I'd just never heard of "wasting kitten" before. This is kinda new for me. I am buying one of the kittens from this litter, so I was with them the day they were born (Nov. 7, 2003), and I've kept up visits to watch them grow. First I had chosen this little one because he was the runt, but I soon realized he was sickly and not as strong as the others. He still tries to keep up with his brothers, but they are so much larger, they tended to overwhelm him. There's no sign that he got into something and ate something he shouldn't, but he's had intermittent problems with loose stools, most especially after his first two injections (normal kitten inoculations). No signs of being bitten or mauled...it's just kinda sad. I know the breeder/vet views these guys as commodities, but I can't, I'm too soft-hearted :-) This will be my first (and only) purebred cat purchase, I don't want to do this again. Judy > > There's just so much that could be wrong, from something minor and > > controllable by antibiotics or diet, to something that will kill later [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Judy Kittens crash fast. It's not necessarily unusual. I'm glad to hear that you'll adopt from shelters in the future. So many need homes. Karen >I'd just never heard of "wasting kitten" before. This is kinda new for >me. I am buying one of the kittens from this litter, so I was with >them the day they were born (Nov. 7, 2003), and I've kept up visits to >watch them grow. Wasting or fading kitten is heartbreaking -- and it doesn't only happen in purebreds. I've seen ferals lose entire litters to it. There is a theory that a bloodtype mismatch in the parents can contribute to it, but no one knows for sure. I am so sorry that this happened to you. :( >I know the breeder/vet views these guys as commodities, but I can't, >I'm too soft-hearted :-) This will be my first (and only) purebred cat >purchase, I don't want to do this again. If your breeder views her kittens as commodities, she's a crappy breeder and shouldn't be breeding. Of course, it's also a red flag that you picked your kitten at birth, instead of her matching you to a kitten that is going to fit best with you, your lifestyle, and personality. Regardless, I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid Hi Judy :) That is so sad about the kitties. I hope the little guy makes it through. I know you'll keep us posted. I've never gone the purebred cat route, but I know you're right about breeder/vets thinking of them as commodities. Kinda sad, isn't it? We had a purebred Himalayan years ago. We were very young (which doesn't excuse a whole lot, I've learned) and we thought she would make us some quick cash. LOL Boy were we wrong. But the most important lesson we learned was she HATED being a mom and should never have been forced to be. She tried to kill two of her babies, whom we had to bottle feed and keep away from her because if we gave em back (which we did, twice) she'd shove them under the refrigerator! The other two she had a little interest in. It was an experience and we decided we'd avoid all purebreds from then on. I don't have anything against them, per se, I just did not want to raise one or breed them! So all our DK's have been shelter refugees or came from an unnuetered mom owned by a friend. Wow,I digressed LOL I like people's kitty stories though, so hope ya don't mind! I sincerely hope the tiny kitten makes it and is adopted :) It deserves it! Good luck with the one you're adopting, too :) Hailey > Hello! > [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > Judy ***Oh that made her feel so much better Sherry.**** > I wondered also how old the kitten is. I've heard of "Failure to Thrive" (may > not be the correct term)...that's basically a blood type mis-match deal, but I > think they die in the first few days. > > Sherry << ***Oh that made her feel so much better Sherry.**** >> uh-huh, go away. The kitten is 3 months old; Sherry was saying that the syndrome she was thinking of kills kittens when they are only a few days old so that if the kitten had that, it would be dead already. Therefore the kitten doesn't have "failure to thrive." So...you not only misinterpreted what she said or misread it but you also have a juvenile little vendetta going against the people on this newsgroup who you perceive to be "mean." Boohoo. I'm sure in your delicate emotional state, you're used to be mollycoddled by your friends on your little moderated newsgroup but we just don't care about your little stresses of life that you need to deal with in a nice, delicated, protected little newsgroup. Go away, you're a waste of bandwidth. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) So...you not only misinterpreted what she said or misread it but you also have a juvenile little vendetta going against the people on this newsgroup who you perceive to be "mean." f.cking right........ http://www.geocities.com/chrissy_1228/ourkittycats.html > << ***Oh that made her feel so much better Sherry.**** >> > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other > than human." (Loren Eisely) << f.cking right........ >> But it could be something as simple as your meds not being adjusted right. Give your doc a call in the a.m. Tomorrow might be a better day. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) > So...you not only misinterpreted what she > said or misread it but you also have a juvenile little vendetta going > against > the people on this newsgroup who you perceive to be "mean." > > f.cking right........ I think it is time for some recipes! Chicken With Rice for Sick or Ailing Cats: 3-4 whole large chicken thighs, rubbed with canola oil sprinkle lightly with garlic powder. Place chicken thighs in roasting pan, cover about 1/3 with water, and roast covered at 325 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Uncover and brown under broiler an additional 5-7 min. Cool. Strain broth and set aside. Meanwhile cook 1 cup white rice according to directions, until very soft. Cool. Debone and chop chicken very fine. Mix with rice and a little broth until fairly wet. Alternately, bone chicken, and add to food processor with rice, adding just enough broth to process. Process on low setting (chop) until pretty uniform in texture. Store covered in fridge for up to 4 days. Can be prepared ahead and frozen, but should be used within about 10 weeks. For extremely ill cats that have not eaten for a few days, omit garlic as it can cause stomach upset. For most cats, it acts as an appetite stimulant, though. Turkey also works quite well - increase cooking time about 1/2 hour for large turkey thighs. -L. > Does anyone know what this is? Is it a syndrome, disease... a friend > of mine is raising kitties, and the littlest one in the current litter > has this. He's been smaller from the beginning (he's now 3 mos. old), > not as well developed (my friend says he didn't bake long enough) :-) > and he's tended to be sickly. There are, to quote my vet, a hundred and one things that could be wrong with her. See the veterinarian with this little guy as soon as you can, Judy. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input. The parents of this litter are brother and sister, but not from the same litter. They do have the same parents. This is Alta's (the queen) second litter. The first litter, with the same parents as this one, all did fine. Alta is a great mother. I have heard of stories of other cats rejecting kittens. I've been fortunate enough to be around these cats, I remember Alta as a kitten. As far as going purebred this time, I did it because I thought they were lovely cats, wonderful personalities, and the owner is a friend of mine. In the past, I've always gone with mixed breed cats, either given to us by friends, a kitten I rescued, or ones we picked up from a loving fosterhome situation. I heartily support those programs, instead of animal shelters. Don't blame Amy (the owner) though, for letting me pick one right away. I'm going to love whichever one I end up with, and in the meantime, I get to play and love all of them (life doesn't get much better than that). I understand about personality matches :-) We have a ten-year old cat now (one from a foster situation), and she's still as active as a kitten. Our new cat is a playmate for her, and as the little kitten grew, I was realizing that he was pretty shy, and our current cat is quite outgoing. Fortunately, the other three kittens in this current litter are -very- outgoing, and any of them would be a good match for Tansey, our current cat. This won't be a new thing for her, we put her brother down in April 2003, so she has been very accustomed to having a companion. It's clearly apparent that she's lonely, even after nearly a year. One of the kittens is very big, he has the potential to hit and exceed twenty pounds. I'd rather not get that one, if I get a chance. The cat we put down topped twenty-six pounds, and he was so big that when Basil would play with Tansey, he could sit on her :-) Boy would she yowl....so I'm not crazy about bringing a cat with potential to become a moose, into the house. There are still two others in that litter that are smaller and very healthy, and would mesh nicely with Tansey. My friend Amy didn't come in to work yesterday, my guess is she was home with that kitten, or at the vet. I wanted to call and find out, but I also don't want to bug her. I'll find out soon enough.News flash...she just came in. The kitten is on antibiotics, he's seeming to respond, and they are waiting for test results on blood and stool samples. So he is still fightin' (good for him) If any of you wish to take a look, they have a "kitty cam" set up. I'll send the url to any of you who ask, please contact me privately so we don't clutter this list. Judy > Does anyone know what this is? Is it a syndrome, disease... a friend > of mine is raising kitties, and the littlest one in the current litter [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Thanks. Can you arrange to adopt this kitty immediately and then get him to a vet immediately? You said he is 3 months old, and he clearly isn't thriving at present. You may be able to make adjustments that will help this little guy. You also might be able to make arrangements to adopt without paying the regular price because this clearly is not a healthy cat, and you might literally be saving his life. Make it clear that you will have him neutered as soon as he is healthy enough. Incidentally, I'm glad to see from your later message that you are going to use shelter when you adopt cats in the future. At least, that's how I interpreted your comment that "This will be my first (and only) purebred cat purchase, I don't want to do this again." There are many wonderful cats that are put down because there are not enough people to adopt them. MaryL > Does anyone know what this is? Is it a syndrome, disease... a friend > of mine is raising kitties, and the littlest one in the current litter [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Thanks. How big is he? It is entirely possible that his digestive tract isn't progressing properly. Ask the vet about a gut innoculant for him - also called a probiotic. You can purchase them at pet supply stores - such as PetSmart. The vet may poo-pooh the idea, but I have seen them work wonders for failure to thrive kittens. Another alternative would be to supplement him with a little plain yogurt (a couple of licks) about everyother day, if he will eat it, and if he tolerates it (make sure he doesn't develop diarrhea). I would try both of those for a week or two each (independently) before trying anything else. If they are working, you should see an increase in appetite and weight gain. Also, be sure he has been checked for worms, giardia, coccidia, etc. All of those conditons can cause wasting. Best of luck - let us know how he does. -L.
|
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.