steadily down hill in a few days.? My husband found 3 orphaned kittens last week in our heifer barn. We figured they were about 2 1/2 weeks at the time since their eyes were open and their ears mostly open. All three were doing wonderfully until about Tuesday and the little boy's appetite decreased to the point where I more or less had to force feed milk with a eye dropper to make sure he wouldn't get dehydrated for these last two days. This morning I honestly thought he was dead because he wasn't moving and was cold. He couldn't seem to keep warm at all since Tuesday so I would put a heating pad in the pen with him and he would lay on that. He basically slept all the time and I had to wake him up most of the time to feed him. Then this morning after feeding him, I put him down and he tried to walk, but it was like the left side of his body was paralyzed. His front foot wouldn't move and he couldn't lift his head and he would tip over on his side and couldn't get up. After that incident, his breath became really shallow. My husband wasn't home, and I didn't have the heart to put him out of his misery, but he died shortly after.
For those who might say he had pneumonia from dropper feeding him, no, that was not the case. I have raised orphaned kittens before and dropper fed them and they grew to be perfectly healthy cats. He was doing fine, eating well out of a bottle and a dish until Tuesday. Then after that he just went downhill fast.
His two sisters are doing wonderful and are thriving. Does anybody know what this could have been? I read about feline leukemia, but if their mother had it and passed it on to them, wouldn't all the kittens be dying? Their mother did a good job of taking care of them, their eyes were nice and clean and have been the whole time. Their mother was a healthy-looking cat, but my father in law found her shot. I'm worried about the other two, and my adult male cat in the house.
For those who might say he had pneumonia from dropper feeding him, no, that was not the case. I have raised orphaned kittens before and dropper fed them and they grew to be perfectly healthy cats. He was doing fine, eating well out of a bottle and a dish until Tuesday. Then after that he just went downhill fast.
His two sisters are doing wonderful and are thriving. Does anybody know what this could have been? I read about feline leukemia, but if their mother had it and passed it on to them, wouldn't all the kittens be dying? Their mother did a good job of taking care of them, their eyes were nice and clean and have been the whole time. Their mother was a healthy-looking cat, but my father in law found her shot. I'm worried about the other two, and my adult male cat in the house.