Kitten isn't growing

Irish Stones

Three weeks ago I rescued two kittens four weeks old, a male and a female.
I took them to the local vet who has been taking care of them since.
I go visiting them two or three times a week and I noticed that the female is growing regularly and now she's 1 kg, but the male isn't growing at all and his weight is always the same, 450 g.
The kitten doesn't seem to be fond of food and I almost never saw him eating. He tends to stay quiet in a corner of the crate and sometimes he shakes for cold. During the first week he showed some symptoms that could have looked like cerebellar ataxia, but in the following days these symptoms became rarer and eventually disappeared.
The vets have put a IV port in one of his legs and gave him fluids and vitamins for some days.
Now they told me that probably it's better if I take him home where we could treat him like a family cat, with more love, attentions and all.
I have two cats home that wouldn't be happy to have another small thing in the house. My cats are elderly and have their needs that don't match the needs of a kitten. More, nobody knows whether this kitten has some infective and potentially dangerous disease.
But I can't sleep knowing that the poor kitten is in need.
Have you ever had a similar experience? What can I do? Is there anything that can be done to help this little creature?

ferretone

Oh dear, it doesn't sound too great for that little guy. To be honest, I'd say his best chance for survival would be if there were someone who could carry him about with them, keeping him against their body for heat, feeding him regularly, convalescent food with a syringe if necessary, and massaging him at intervals for the BMs and so forth. It's a big ask, but I have seen kittens like that turned around that way in the past.

When I worked as a vet nurse, there was another lovely nurse who used to take tiny kittens and do this. I don't suppose they have a sweetheart in the vet clinic like her, who is just waiting to be asked? Or anybody else you could think of that would have the time for that? Otherwise, I don't know that he would have any real chance, and the kindest thing might be to just let him go in that case I'd love to do the job myself, but am somewhat taxed to the limit with animals right now (including ones that aren't mine already.)

Irish Stones

ferretone wrote: »

I'd love to do the job myself, but am somewhat taxed to the limit with animals right now (including ones that aren't mine already.)

Thanks from the bottom of my heart, Ferretone!
The info you are giving me are useful though not happy.
Your offer is kind, but that would be impossible to do, as you probably saw, I am an Italian and live in Italy, I'm kind of an alien in this forum but the fact that you thought about it proves your great heart! Thanks!

jeanrose770

Could be the runt of the group, along with being the smallest, they kind tend to have health issues. Make sure the kitten doesn't have worms and gets vaccinated as soon as she is big enough. Feed her separate with some yogurt. If she is eating well but still not gaining weight, then I would check the vet again.

angelfire9

jeanrose770 wrote: »

Could be the runt of the group, along with being the smallest, they kind tend to have health issues. Make sure the kitten doesn't have worms and gets vaccinated as soon as she is big enough. Feed her separate with some yogurt. If she is eating well but still not gaining weight, then I would check the vet again.

I wouldn't feed yoghurt? That's dairy and cats are lactose intolerant

ferretone

angelfire9 wrote: »

I wouldn't feed yoghurt? That's dairy and cats are lactose intolerant

Plain yoghurt, as it has been fermented, does not have lactose in it anymore. That's what the yoghurt-making process does. It's best to start with little bits to make sure they do ok with it, but unlike fresh milk, yoghurt is fine to give to animals because the lactose is gone.

DBB

As a lactose intolerant animal, I can vouch that yogurt is fine
That said, and this comes with the warning that I know feck all about this in non-human animals, some people are allergic to milk proteins, as opposed to milk sugars (lactose). These are the people who are seriously hampered in life, because milk proteins are in so many foods.
I wonder can dogs and cats have the same problem?

ferretone

DBB wrote: »

As a lactose intolerant animal, I can vouch that yogurt is fine
That said, and this comes with the warning that I know feck all about this in non-human animals, some people are allergic to milk proteins, as opposed to milk sugars (lactose). These are the people who are seriously hampered in life, because milk proteins are in so many foods.
I wonder can dogs and cats have the same problem?

Yep, that's pretty much why I said that if anyone wants to try feeding it, they should start with just a little, to make sure the animal is ok with lactose-free dairy

Edited to add: Yoghurt was one of the things I was able to feed my elderly ferrets, when they were sick in their last few months, as it was difficult to get them to eat too

Irish Stones

jeanrose770 wrote: »

Could be the runt of the group, along with being the smallest, they kind tend to have health issues. Make sure the kitten doesn't have worms and gets vaccinated as soon as she is big enough. Feed her separate with some yogurt. If she is eating well but still not gaining weight, then I would check the vet again.

The kitten isn't with me, he's with the vets. So I presume they are feeding him with the proper food.
They said that he hasn't worm, but they suspect, at this stage, that he might have dry FIP.
Yesterday they took a sample of blood for a complete panel, the first results could be in today.
They asked for a complete blood panel, a FIV-FeLV test, a PCR for FIP and a toxoplasmosis test.
The first two should be here today, the last two are expected in the next week.
Yesterday the kitten was a little weaker than usual, isn't eating on his own, he prefers water than food.
His sister, which is with the poor kitten, is getting stronger and bigger everyday.

aonb

poor little kitten. poor you having to watch/wait

Themadhouse

has he been wormed? had a dose of antibiotics? kitten gloop is really good when they are ill.
really hope there has been some improvement.

Irish Stones

Themadhouse wrote: »

has he been wormed? had a dose of antibiotics? kitten gloop is really good when they are ill.
really hope there has been some improvement.

The vets didn't find any worm in his poop, but I can't remember whether they treated him for parasites.
Now the kittens are both at my wife's mother's home, where they look happier and the smaller kitten is now eating a lot.
Yesterday I got the results for the blood panel, FIV-FeLV test and toxo test.
The two tests are negative.
The blood panel shows slightly high values for Creatinine (1.6 mg/100 ml, range: 0 -1.5) and BUN (33 mg/100 ml, range: 18 - 32). Also AST (52 mU/ml, range: 0 - 47) and Albumin (3.5 g/dl, range: 2.2 - 3.2) are above the limits.
The vets told me that everything is alright, but I am starting thinking that this poor kitten might have kidney and liver problems. I wonder if these problems could cause a slow or no growth.
At the moment the kitten is still like one month ago... We're still waiting the result for PCR test for the FIP which should be in before the end of this week.

boomerang

Just this week we spayed a kitten 7-8 months old (known age, we've been monitoring this colony.) She was only 1.15kg but in great fettle! (There is a history of congenital abnormalities in this colony.) And four female cats, all over a year old, weighing max. 2kg and they are all flying it too.

Irish Stones

Tonight I will weigh him and I'll keep a log of the weight day by day. So far the vet has weighed him but he used a platform scale, one of those used to weigh dogs :rolleyes:

boomerang

Those table-top scales are over €300. I would love one.

Irish Stones

boomerang wrote: »

Those table-top scales are over €300. I would love one.

I'm talking about one of these

http://www.pwmc.co.za/client-news/captain-haddock-sails-into-first-place-2014-hills-pet-slimmer-of-the-year/

A large platform laying on the floor with a display on the wall
Those scales don't read grams or tens of grams.
My kitten's weight was 0.5 kg, but it could have been 0.480 or 0.510 kg and the reading would have been the same

ferretone

boomerang wrote: »

Just this week we spayed a kitten 7-8 months old (known age, we've been monitoring this colony.) She was only 1.15kg but in great fettle! (There is a history of congenital abnormalities in this colony.) And four female cats, all over a year old, weighing max. 2kg and they are all flying it too.

Oh, that is true. My mother-in-law's cat is under 2kg, at a year and a half, tiny little thing, but in good health.

Sadly, as she was struggling with undiagnosed cancer, she let the poor thing have kittens by accident (I was trying to get her to get it done, but she lives in Donegal, her vet has been away now for the guts of a year, and it was all too much for her to make alternative arrangements.) But I've had her spayed now for her, and she's in great form, but tiny as ever! Her one surviving kitten is pretty little for his age too, and in even better form, as he is prepared to partake of the raw food

boomerang

Irish Stones wrote: »

A large platform laying on the floor with a display on the wall
Those scales don't read grams or tens of grams.

You took me up wrong, I know what you're talking about - what I would love is one of the paediatric, table-top scales, suitable for weighing cats/kittens/puppies.

Irish Stones

boomerang wrote: »

You took me up wrong, I know what you're talking about

I'm sorry about that

what I would love is one of the paediatric, table-top scales, suitable for weighing cats/kittens/puppies.

For this purpose I bought this

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MzI1WDI3NQ==/$(KGrHqJ,!pQFBWf4uEThBQbVgwnr8!~~60_12.JPG

though I have to put the pet into a carrier for the few seconds I need to weigh it.
It's very precise and reads the tens of grams. The error is less then 10 grams.

Yesterday I weighed the tiny kitten with this one
http://www.arredatutto.com/en/images/icecat/6043411-48816.jpg
It's 510 grams...

boomerang

Don't forget that having a full tummy (or a full colon, lol) can make a difference, so I would weigh once a week rather than worry too much day-to-day.

Irish Stones

boomerang wrote: »

Don't forget that having a full tummy (or a full colon, lol) can make a difference, so I would weigh once a week rather than worry too much day-to-day.

Of course I will log this weigh for not less than one week, even two if I can. I don't think that waiting one month could make a difference. In the last month he didn't grow an inch.

Irish Stones

First info about the kitten's weight:
Tue: 511 grams
Wed: 476 grams
Thu: 456 grams
Fri: 461 grams
Sat: 456 grams
It seems that the kitten is losing weight...
At the last visit the vet told me to force feed him and to do injection of saline solution under his neck skin (sorry for not using the proper words!).
I followed these instructions for the last three days, but I don't see any improvements.
I give him 10 cc of baby food four times a day, the kitten also eats something from his bowl.
What is really strange is that this morning I weighed him before feeding him, then I weighed him again after his meal and the difference in weight was less than the quantity of food he had. That is strange, and I cannot find any valid explanation.

The vet wants to see the kitten again on Monday and assess if further tests need to be done.
They are talking about an ultrasound scan of the abdomen to check his kidneys (possible kidney atrophy) and a thyroid test to check the FT4.

Nody

First of all increase the number of feeding times a day; feed every 3h (24/7) and try to get in at least 10ml each serving as 40ml a day is way to little (a 400g kitten should get about 100ml a day if on kitten milk only as reference). Secondly get a syringe and use that to put in 2ml at the time in the kittens mouth (more is likely to be to much). Also let it take time; our three kittens (also 4 weeks) did not really want to eat at first, then they would have some, we're still taking breaks in their feeding for a few minutes and then return to it and they regain some hunger again.

Irish Stones

Nody wrote: »

First of all increase the number of feeding times a day; feed every 3h (24/7) and try to get in at least 10ml each serving as 40ml a day is way to little (a 400g kitten should get about 100ml a day if on kitten milk only as reference).

This is a problem.
I already give him 10-11 ml of food each time, but I can't feed more than 4 times a day.
Unfortunately the kitten isn't in my home, he's in my mother-in-law's home and I have to go there every time.
I can't keep him here because I already have two elder cats, we don't know it yet whether the kitten has some disease that can be passed on to my cats, we're waiting for the last result from the lab.
More, my wife is hard to persuade... I'd like to have this kitten with me, she is firm on her "no way"...!
So going there, to my mother-in-law's home, is a big effort already, I can't do more.
The kitten eats something else when I'm not there, he eats dry food for kittens.

Secondly get a syringe and use that to put in 2ml at the time in the kittens mouth (more is likely to be to much). Also let it take time; our three kittens (also 4 weeks) did not really want to eat at first, then they would have some, we're still taking breaks in their feeding for a few minutes and then return to it and they regain some hunger again.

This is what I'm doing. The baby food is put into a 10 ml syringe top filled, then I push this food in the kitten's mouth a bit at the time, in about 5 minutes I complete the operation
The kitten is very co-operative and does not fight the syringe

I'm adding some vitamin B in the food in order to improve the assimilation of the food.

Irish Stones

At last today we have had an ultrasound scan of the kitten's belly. The scan was made at my vet's surgery, not where the kitten had been followed in his first days. Those vets weren't committed enough on this kitten, their approach was too timid in my opinion.
What came out is that the poor kitten has both kidneys malformed. They are both as big as in an adult cat, though he is tiny, but their shape is irregular, almost star-shaped, with a very thin cortex.
All the rest is normal, no traces of free fluids in his belly or chest, so the FIP should be ruled out.
According to the vets the kitten will have a short life, a few months, two years at the best, and I'll have to give him medicine, renal food and hydration every day for all his life.
He has no pain or else at the moment, he only needs to be forced for food, I hope that he will eat on his own in the near future.

Yesterday we moved the kitten to our home, in the bathroom, but my wife is really upset for this situation and doesn't want him in our home, she says we have two cats and they're enough.

More, the kitten's got a conjunctivities yesterday and he's not allowed to meet my elder cats because one of them isn't covered with vaccine (a long story). So, until the kitten isn't out of it he has to stay in our bathroom and I and my wife are prone to fight over this situation!

I asked my vet whether she knows someone who could take care of him, but she replied that she knows only one samaritan with such a patience, and that's me. Nobody else, in her opinion, could do better for him.

I'm stuck and desperate...

aonb

IrishStones, thats really tough - on you and on the kitten
I hope you get to sort it out - especially when its causing problems with your wife - can see where shes coming from...
There are times when maybe you need to think about the outcome vs quality of life for the poor kitten. Especially when you have your own cats to consider in the equation, and if you cant find someone to take the kitten with its medical issues.

Sometimes is really tough being a softie animal lover

Hope you get something sorted soon.

Irish Stones

Today I received the results for the blood test we asked for during the ultrasound scan.
Creatinine and BUN are way over the limits, the red and white cells counts are very low. The situation has much worsened than we thought and is very different from the blood test results of two weeks ago.
According to the vet this poor kitten's days are numbered, and she thinks he has few weeks to live, and in the best case he won't get one year old

He's so lovely, we named him Leo because he's so tiny, but his front paws are a bit bigger than the proportions of his body and look like a lion's paws.
Every morning Leo kisses my face all over and purrs at me while I'm taking care of him with his eyes and his syringe of food. He looks at me in adoration, I can't believe that the nature can be so cruel

My wife seems a little more careful about him and it seems she's going to accept him. When she saw the images from the scan she felt really sorry for him.

aonb

Poor little Kitten, but you are giving him love and care and gentleness. You know, that may be unpopular, but if the poor kitten is not going to survive anyway, maybe its time to think of putting him to sleep, rather than cause strife with your wife, and other cats, and yourself - there is a lot of care to invest in the kitten, and if he is so unwell, maybe it would be easier all round to let him go before illness/symptoms set in

They are so trusting and loving when they are little - he obviously knows you are taking good care of him

What ever you decide, I send you hugs and realize the effort and care you have invested in this little kitten, which is really good of you

Irish Stones

aonb wrote: »

You know, that may be unpopular, but if the poor kitten is not going to survive anyway, maybe its time to think of putting him to sleep, rather than cause strife with your wife, and other cats, and yourself

My vet told me that it's not time yet, because the kitten's quality of life is still rather good.
Though my vet is against the use of palliative or useless treatments, she still doesn't think it's time to do that.
She told me to keep an eye on how the kitten copes with food and playing time, and when he is tired and refuses his food, that should be the right moment.
A few minutes ago he enjoyed a short walk outside to see the sun (at last, it's been raining for weeks over here!) and sniff the air

EDIT: 5:10 pm - At the moment the kitten seems a bit sick, his eyes are sad, he didn't want to eat and his hind legs are a bit stiff. His back is hunched. I hope it's just a passing moment...

aonb

Hows your kitten doing??

Irish Stones

Thanks for asking!
The kitten is going through some high and low points (is it a correct term?).
On Sunday he seemed he was going to leave me... I was sure it was his last day.
Then on Monday he was much better, he was playing a lot and was rather hungry.
Yesterday he was almost the same, but later in the evening he didn't want to eat much. Tonight he threw up his last meal, though this morning he was quite lively.
His weight has been steady at 465 grams since Saturday, this morning he had lost 10 grams, but during the night he used his litter tray a lot.
He pees even 15 times a day, but in the last two days he poos 3 or 4 times a day and I think it's quite unusual.

It's very hard to think that such a lovely furry ball has to leave this world so soon