Has this kitten been tested for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)?
Did they do any testing at all at the ER?
Lynn
Thank you for your prompt reply! Here is a more detailed description of the situation.
But he did not get tested for any of those. The vet's "best guess" was that he may have a respiratory infection.
Last Friday,
We took him to the vet emergency clinic. He was dehydrated and had a fever of 103.5.
They gave him Antibiotics and liquids and sent him home with amoxicillin for 10 days. That diagnostic alone was over 300 dls.
They wanted another 700 to run full tests on him to determine exactly what he had.
I have not a penny left so I had no choice but to go home and hope for the best.
Since then, I've been giving him water and pureed tuna fish (Sheba) through a syringe as well as his medicine.
I really see no progress aside from his breathing slowly, very slowly getting back to normal.
I am desperate and cannot afford to return to the vet.
Anything, anything you can suggest would be helpful.
Hi,
Thanks for the additional information. While I cannot tell you exactly what is wrong with your kitten I can tell you what you need to do for him. I would get some canned cat food to use for the force feeding instead of tuna. He needs to eat about a 5 ounce can per day, obviously spread into several small meals. Mash it up with warm water. You can also give him unflavored pedialyte rather than water to help keep him hydrated if you want. It is really important to keep him fed as this will be his best chance of recovery. Continue his antibiotics until they are gone. I think there is a little hope because of the improvement in his breathing. If he seems congested at all you can run a humidifier in the room he is in.
However, there is a possibility that there is something serious wrong here. He could have one of the two viruses that I mentioned above especially given the fact that he was a stray. Here are links to pages about them:
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/felv.html
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html
If he should start to decline then I think it may be likely that something more serious than a respiratory infection is going on.
Don't feel guilty that you can't afford to go back to the vet, that is a lot of money, and you've done great taking in a stray kitten and doing as much as you have.
If you have further questions let me know. If this answers your question please click accept. Thank you.
Hi Lynn,
Thank you so much for such an informative reply. I will definitely follow your suggestions.
I skimmed over the links you provided. Both viruses list diarrhea as a common symptom.
I haven't seen him defecate at all. Does that mean he may not be eating enough?
He also doesn't have gray gums so I am hopeful is neither of those.
The only symptom they list that I think my kitten has is the loss of appetite and minimal weight loss.
Is diarrhea a must for both of those viruses?
Also, would you recommend a high calorie liquid fluid?
I called PetCo and they said that the KMR kitten formula is high in nutrients and is often used for cases like mine.
He likely hasn't defecated because he hasn't been eating enough food to need to. Diarrhea is not always a symptom with the two viruses. No cat will have all the symptoms, they just tell all the possible ones that a cat can have.
I don't think I would use KMR, because that will probably give him diarrhea. The canned cat food would be much better. However, if you absolutely can't get the canned food in him, then yes, try the KMR. There is also a high calorie nutritional paste called Nutri-Cal that you could give him. Most larger pet stores carry this.
Veterinary Assistant
worked at a vet clinic for 15 yrs, BA in biology, have had cats most of my life