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Cat Forum / General Topics / August 2004Adopted kitten from shelter has high fever, will not eat
Hello everyone-- Last Friday, August 13, my husband and I adopted an 8 month female kitten/cat from the local Petsmart. She is a real doll, is solid black, and weighs 5 lbs. Her history is as follows: July 31, 2004--was brought/surrendered to an animal shelter, as a "stray, at large". On Aug 5th, she was spayed. I believe she was transferred to PetSmart on Aug 13 (day we adopted her). We brought her home (we've got 2 male cats) evening of Aug 13. She slept with us all night (our other 2 cats slept in the living room). By Saturday morning (Aug 14), she had developed a very high fever, was sneezing and had watery eyes. Took her to our vet Saturday morning--looks like she has an upper respitory infection--kitty is now taking antibiotics (once a day--doxycycline 25 mgs), eye ointment (twice a day), and has been recouperating by sleeping on our bed. We are keeping our other 2 cats away from her, as she is contagious, and also needs a lot of quiet. We've got the humidifyer on, hoping this will make it easier for her to breathe. She has been sleeping non-stop--she does get up to go to the litter box--and this afternoon, she finally drank some water. My concern--she has not eaten anything since Friday, Aug 13. We've tried hand feeding, smearing the food on her paws (in hopes she licks it off)--we've tried the science diet kitten food the vet gave us, tuna, chicken broth. We've tried heating the food up, etc., to no avail. She will not eat anything. Tonight I'm going to try giving her chicken broth (spirted in her mouth with a dropper), and some non-lactaid milk. I'm also going to take her back to the vet tomorrow morning, as she still feels hot to me--I'm not sure if the antibiotic is working. My question: have any of you experienced anything like this with an animal from the shelter? If so, how did you get your pet to finally eat? And what could this be? Thank you all for your time.--r3 In the fine newsgroup "alt.cats", r3-rrr@earthlink.net (r3) artfully composed this message within <news:c72f599.0408151501.30a30acb@posting.google.com> on 15 Aug 2004: > My question: have any of you experienced anything like this > with an animal from the shelter? If so, how did you get your > pet to finally eat? And what could this be? I'm sorry kitty isn't feeling well, but if its any consolation, it is very common for cats from shelters, and any other place where many are exposed to each other to get URIs and other things. I took in a feral and she contracted a URI from the clinic where she was spayed. She also quit eating and I finally got her to eat by heating up kitten food with some all-meat (no onions) baby food and offered it to her on a long spoon. With it directly under her nose she was able to smell enough of it to lick it off. Incidentally, I put L-lysine (250mg 2x per day) in the food for a couple of weeks until she was well (and after for a bit) because it helps with a very common cat virus, feline herpes virus. Good luck.  SignatureCheryl I second everything that Cheryl said. Go and get some Gerber baby food in a jar. Meat flavors, of ham, chicken, turkey, beef. Adding some tasteless, odorless L-lysine is excellent! I would put a dab on her nose and let her lick it off. Keep trying. If this does not work, then you really will need to get an eyedropper and start syringe feeding her. If her sense of smell is totally not there, then she probably will not eat. If this is the case, add a wee bit of water to the baby food and syringe up a couple of cc's and squirt it into the side of her mouth. Make certain that she goes through at least a jar a day. She needs to eat. Also, BLESS you for adopting her!! Did you know that black cats are notoriously the last to be adopted at shelters? That color has the highest rate of being euthanized. I love little black panthers, (I have three) but evidently the general populace do not. By the way, a very large percentage of cats adopted from the shelters, immediately develop URI's, simply from the stress of the "ordeal" wrecking havoc on their immune systems. Please keep us posted on her recovery. Have you named her? Carol > In the fine newsgroup "alt.cats", r3-rrr@earthlink.net (r3) > artfully composed this message within [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > well (and after for a bit) because it helps with a very common cat > virus, feline herpes virus. Good luck. >My question: have any of you experienced anything like this with an >animal from the shelter? If so, how did you get your pet to finally >eat? And what could this be? That's normal. I gave my cat Nutrical gel for sick cats and kittens sold at Petco in medical aisle. I smeared it on her lips and mixed it with chicken brother and injected it in her mouth with oral syringe. I also gave her hydrating fluid with an oral syringe, unflavored pedialyte with chicken broth. She would just lay there for days then she got better. It takes a few days to start to see the antibiotic take effect sometimes. URI is very common in shelter cats. I use Clavamox antibiotic to treat this. Hi there, We brought home a URI cat 2 years ago from the Humane Society. They were going to have him euthanized, since it was his 2nd bout while there. We isolated him from our other cats and he recovered. Six months later, he had another bout and this time all of our cats were exposed. One cat, the one with diabetes, stopped eating. We mixed wet cat food and water in a blender and force fed him the mixture. Dogs can go a few days without eating but cats very quickly get other problems from lack of food (fatty liver disease.) Since cats won't eat if they can't smell, you're going to have to get her to eat come hell or high water. Get a big syringe and liquefied food, and do your best. I wrapped Bob up in a towel so he could not scratch or bite me, and held him in the crook of my arm like a baby. He fought me but I was bigger. After about 2 feedings, he started to bring his head forward when he saw the syringe. Later, he started purring. He still would not eat on his own, but came to realize that what I was doing was making him feel better. Good luck getting that food into your new kitty, Rhonda > Hello everyone-- > Last Friday, August 13, my husband and I adopted an 8 month female [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Thank you all for your time.--r3 >Hello everyone-- >Last Friday, August 13, my husband and I adopted an 8 month female [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > >Thank you all for your time.--r3 As has been said by others replying to your post, the not eating is a significant problem. It has become an emergency if she has not eaten by now. If you have tried all the other food suggestions, also try fresh fish. I have used a mild white fish, like cod, and a stronger fish, like tuna. They need to be cooked, lightly, and are to be served warm, but not hot. You could do the same with chicken as some cats don't like fish. Although cheese is not good for cats, I would try some as a last resort, this is an emergency. Everything should be served slightly above room temperature to a little warm, never hot nor cold. The high protein paste is also a good idea. The cat will probably not eat it on her own and you will have to force feed her. You might think this is torture, but it is necessary, you are saving her life. The negative aspects of URI can show up years later, so it is necessary to do what you can to feed her now. URI is common at shelters for the same reason that colds, flu, etc. are common at children's day care. You have a lot of kid/cats/whatever together in a small location. Many of them practice very poor hygene, because they don't know any better. This is a breeding ground for any germs that wander by. You are right in keeping her isolated. Be sure to wash your hands well when you leave the room. It wouldn't even hurt to change shirts when leaving. Obviously, you will wash all utensils that are taken from the room. Everything can pick up and spread the germs. On a side note, think about how many billions of germs are spread by one sneeze. It is beyond comprehension. Now think about the fact that many people don't cover their face when the cough or sneeze. Around half of the people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. Scarry, huh? >>Took her to our vet Saturday morning--looks like she has an upper >>respitory infection [...] >>My concern--she has not eaten anything since Friday, Aug 13. I had the same problem with a kitten last week. She was getting oral antibiotics and eye ointment but she was so congested that she was blowing bubbles through her nose. Naturally, she didn't have much of an appetite - would YOU want to eat under those circumstances? She was eating a bit, but very slowly. I bought her some Authority canned food because my other cats have always adored that brand. I was warming it up and hand-feeding it to her. She ate that better than any other food I tried (except the Hill's A/D), but it still took me 2 hours to get her to eat just 1/3 of a can. I took her to the vet after staying up all night feeding the kitten and wiping her nose, and he gave me some tobramycin eye drops to put in her nose. One drop in each nostril twice a day. After just one dose, she was a new kitten. Ate and started playing, wanted to explore. She gained over 3 oz in two days. (The vet also gave me some Hills A/D, which is very soft and smelly and I think that also helped.) Maybe some saline drops in the nose would also work to get rid of some of the congestion. Good luck with your baby, SignatureMagda Plewinska Miami, Florida, USA email to MPlewinska at mindspring dot com (case sensitive) <snip> > Took her to our vet Saturday morning--looks like she has an upper > respitory infection--kitty is now taking antibiotics (once a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > to breathe. She has been sleeping non-stop--she does get up to go to > the litter box--and this afternoon, she finally drank some water. We use doxycycline 25mgs twice a day for our URI cats at work. Usually for 14 days. If her symptoms aren't getting better (and I'm betting she's terribly congested and that's why she won't eat - doxy works wonders on congestion) after a few days, perhaps your vet would be willing to try twice a day instead of once? > My concern--she has not eaten anything since Friday, Aug 13. We've > tried hand feeding, smearing the food on her paws (in hopes she licks [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > animal from the shelter? If so, how did you get your pet to finally > eat? And what could this be? Most likely just basic upper respiratory infection. For the not eating, when you go back to the vet, you can ask for a few cans of prescription a/d. It's a high calorie goopy food that's easy to mix with water and heat up. Otherwise, just keep an eye on her. Shelter animals are exposed to a variety of things that housepets rarely encounter. We've had a lot of problems with calici this year, so if she starts drooling heavily or her tongue looks really red, get her back into the vet asap. Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and concern. This looks like a very good group. I took Lilo (my cat) to the vet today--she still was not eating (my husband and I fed her some chicken broth via syringe last night), and had a fever of 103. She was more vocal this morning, and more mobile (she hopped in the shower this morning), but I could tell she had lost weight since Saturday. I just heard from my vet a couple of hours ago--the news is pretty bad. Lilo has Panleukopenia (viral infection). Her white blood count has been depleted, and the virus is attacking the GI tract also (the reason she wouldn't eat). She is staying at the vets--she is on a stronger antibiotic, fluids, I.V.s, and is in isolation. Right now we are just praying that she makes it through the next 48 hours. Again, thank you all for your advice, and I will keep you posted. > Hello everyone-- > Last Friday, August 13, my husband and I adopted an 8 month female [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Thank you all for your time.--r3 >Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and >concern. This looks like a very good group. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] >> >> Thank you all for your time.--r3 I will pray for her recovery. In the fine newsgroup "alt.cats", r3-rrr@earthlink.net (r3) artfully composed this message within <news:c72f599.0408161603.69aed230@posting.google.com> on 16 Aug 2004: > I just heard from my vet a couple of hours ago--the news is > pretty bad. Lilo has Panleukopenia (viral infection). Her > white blood count has been depleted, and the virus is attacking > the GI tract also (the reason she wouldn't eat). Good to have a diagnosis. Also, at 8 months old, she has a really *good* chance to beat the virus and clear it. You should know that once she has panleuk and clears it, she is immunized for life from it (so I've been told). > She is staying at the vets--she is on a stronger antibiotic, > fluids, I.V.s, and is in isolation. Right now we are just > praying that she makes it through the next 48 hours. Hang in there! It sounds like she's in good hands, and with a virus it is best to have supportive care, which she is getting. Let us know how it goes over the next few days, ok? SignatureCheryl Poor baby. Our most recent stray turned out to be very pregnant and was just getting over feline distemper. She recovered and is happy and healthy, I'm hoping the same for your new girl. That's a good sign that she felt good enough to jump into the shower. Let us know how she's doing, Rhonda > Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and > concern. This looks like a very good group. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] >> >>Thank you all for your time.--r3 You have my prayers and purrs. There is an article on the Saginaw County (Mich) Animal Care Shelter's web site about PANLEUKOPENIA: Also called feline parvo, feline distemper, cat plague and several others. The link is http://thepetscorner.com/scacc/ There has been at least 800 death among strays caused by this in Saginaw County, MI and has spread to at least 2 other counties in Mich. They have had articles in the Saginaw News 2 days running about it. The shelter on one occassion had to put down all the cats in the shelter because they got an infected cat and it spread to the rest. Good luck and God bless http://members.aol.com/larrystark/ >Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and >concern. This looks like a very good group. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >Again, thank you all for your advice, and I will keep you posted. >Best regards--r3 > Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and > concern. This looks like a very good group. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Again, thank you all for your advice, and I will keep you posted. > Best regards--r3 My thoughts are with you, r3. We had a similar experience (cat from shelter, came down with unknown illness four days after being adopted, WBC < 500, put on IV fluids and IV antibiotics, etc). She is now recovered and apparently healthy and normal, though it took WEEKS for her appetite to come back, and it only returned after we stopped the oral antibiotics... Apparently those were making her nauseated. She is the world's best cat (though I'm sure some here would argue this) and I'm really glad we put the energy in to getting her better. One thing she did have a problem with was diarrhea... which slowly resolved over a period of MONTHS (yuck)... supposedly it was because the virus attacked her GI tract, too. Luckily she always made it to the litter box at home (though not at the vet's I was told). One sad side note was that while she seemed healthy and was in being spayed, she gave the virus to 3 other cats who were in the room with her... two of whom ended up dying. The vet knows they had been vaccinated, as they had been vaccinated at his clinic. Now, the clinic won't do any elective surgery until the animal has been vaccinated at least two weeks prior. Anyway, I would think that Lilo being more active today was a good sign... when Tasha was ill, you couldn't get her to do anything. Good luck and keep us updated. Shelly Hello everyone--a couple of you asked for an update on Lilo. Lilo is still alive--but she has one of the worst cases of Pankeukopenia the vet has seen. Since Monday, she has been on I.V.s, fluids, force feeding, antibiotics. Not only is her white blood count almost non-existant, but her red blood count and platelettes are also severly depressed. From what I'm reading about this disease, this can happen due to loss of blood in the GI. Tuesday and Wendsday she had diaoreah (sp?)--however, she has not vomited, and is keeping the food down. Yesterday she had a blood transfusion. I don't want to put her through undue suffering, but, she has fought this hard so far, my husband and I want to give her every chance we can at coming through this. I talked to the vet this morning. Lilo, for the first time since Monday, stood up and meowed at the vet techinician. It's a glimmer of hope. I've been so heartsick and angry all week. On Monday I called the shelter Lilo came from and told them she had Panleukopenia. Girl I spoke with seemed concerned, and said she would contact the folks who adopted Tweek (a cat Lilo came to the shelter with). However, my vet called this animal shelter, and left a message requesting they call her back concerning Lilo. So far, no one from that shelter has called me for an update or returned my vets calls. You guys on this newsgroup (and my coworkers) have shown far more concern about Lilo that the animal shelter. Lilo obviously had this sickness the day we got her (she didn't become symptomatic until the morning after adoption). I can't help but wonder how many other animals in that shelter are infected. Thank you all for your prayers and concern. If she makes it through all of this, she will live the life of a queen. ======================================================================== > Hello everyone--First of all, thank you for your responses and > concern. This looks like a very good group. [quoted text clipped - 56 lines] > > > > Thank you all for your time.--r3 Yeah! I hope Lilo continues to get better every day. What a little fighter. That's terrific that you're standing right beside her, helping to do all possible to get through this. Not everyone would go to such lengths. Keep us posted! Rhonda > I talked to the vet this morning. Lilo, for the first time since > Monday, stood up and meowed at the vet techinician. It's a glimmer of > hope. In the fine newsgroup "alt.cats", r3-rrr@earthlink.net (r3) artfully composed this message within <news:c72f599.0408190936.5afc6fbf@posting.google.com> on 19 Aug 2004: > Thank you all for your prayers and concern. If she makes it > through all of this, she will live the life of a queen. Sorry so late replying to this update, but I'm so glad to see that Lilo at least meowed at the tech, and I hope by now that she's doing much better! Don't be mad at the shelter; sometimes they are just so overwhelmed by cats, both well and sick, that its sometimes hard to keep up with it all. The sick ones who have a chance need people like you to take them out of all that and into a home where they have a chance to pull through. Bless you! SignatureCheryl I doubt if your pet will eat until she is better, we dont eat if we're very sick, hopefully the vet can find out whats ailing her, I do hope so, poor little thing,must feel real bad if she doesn't want to eat Jean.P. > Hello everyone-- > Last Friday, August 13, my husband and I adopted an 8 month female [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Thank you all for your time.--r3 |
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