Last night, Brian and I started to worry a little: the kittens didn't seem to be getting better at all- quite the opposite. Kittens who were sick before, are worse. Kittens that weren't sick at all, are now sneezing. One kitten is even wheezing. After what seemed like an endless game of phone tag with the foster coordinator, she told me that it isn't uncommon for them to seem sicker, that they must go through the entire cycle. She also informed me that many of the fosters taken out last week have 'kitty colds' and some aren't going to make it.. PANIC MODE!
I've since separated the kittens into 3 groups: not so sick, sick, and SICK! 'Not so sick' have been in their cat playpen in the living room, while 'sick' was placed into the spare bedroom, and 'SICK!' are in a kennel in the bathroom, receiving steam treatments. They will all be getting some 'Little Noses' decongestant when I get off work. I'm so worried.. =(
I share you pain; I went through this with my last litter and I did loose one :( Just stick with the antibiotics and know that it is all you can do. Usually, if one passes, it is going to happen no matter what you do when they are that small. If I recall, I had one wheezer too and they prescribed her a different antibiotic when the one everyone was on wasn't working for her.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteI went through this spring. I'm by no means an expert but I had a lot of expert help/advice and some things that I did that I think made a difference were steam treatments/humidifier (my spare bedroom was like a rain forest), hot water bottles to keep them warm because they had the worst mother ever, Pedialyte to fight dehydration, A/D (I think) vet food which is very calorie dense and easily digestable mixed with kitten formula and force fed down their throats 5-6 times a day and massages with a warm barely damp wash cloth in place of mother tongue which is said to keep things flowing (ew I know).
Best of luck with your fresh batch of babes
My Mommy just found your blog after you commented on mine.
ReplyDeleteWe foster too, and just had a kitten leave today. It is SO rewarding, and yet I know just how hard it is on Mommy, especially when they get sick, or no one wants to adopt them, like Lexy, who has been here over a year now.
It's hard, but hang in there! Purring for those tiny kittens, hoping they get better and make it to wonderful forever homes!
Oh yes, like Shannon said, I did that too. We fed the A/D wet food (you need a prescription to buy I believe from PetSmart - the rescue I foster for gets it) and we mixed it with KMR milk replacer.
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