Paralyzed street kitten

[BendyMom]

well the no diarrhea part is good
the fur falling out I would expect.
the lethargy is concerning. she may be very worn out from havng diarrhea for so long. it is hard on kittens. do you have a small syringe or eye dropper or soemway to drp fluids into her mouth? chicken broth is good. do you have a heating pad of any kind? you can put dry rice in a sock, tie a knot n the sock and microwave it for a minute or two to make it warm and use that. i usually wrap a towel around it to make sure it isn't too hot agaisnt them.

this kitty has had a tough go of it, and you are really great to keep trying so hard. i know how tough it is. I wish I could say that everythign will be fine but I just don't know. kittens are fragile. you're doing all you can and she knows she is cared for.

[critters]

In other countries, diapers can come smaller, called preemie sizes, but they can be hard to find. I wonder if a drug store might be able to get you some? Some people have also used small socks cut with holes for body parts and fitted with sanitary napkins.

It's terrific that your baby has made it so far!! Like BendyMom says, babies can be hard, but you're doing great!

[CarolC]

Oh dear. It is hard to know what is going on but I am worried. Can you get the vet to take her temperature and check her for fever? Or call them and ask if listlessness is a side effect of the medication?

What is the name of the medication? If it is in my medication book I can look up the side effects.

With fly strike the maggots can burrow into the skin and have to be removed surgically, is it possible one got in before you cleaned her up so well? According to this information on fly strike (in rabbits), listlessness is one symptom.

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-12/fly-strike.html

[Allilang]

The baby isnt doing well. I took her to a different vet today. She has FHV... she wont eat or drink. I tried to force feed water with a dropper but she started coughing. When I got her up in the morning she made a V line for the usual box she likes to sleep in. But she hasnt moved since the vet. She feels cold to the touch, so I have a space heater i turn on sometimes in the bathroom with her.

I cant find any resources about FHV in kittens or a single word about recovery times.

How can i get her to eat and drink? Is the space heater enough to keep her warm? I have a pillow bed for her to keep her off the tiles, but she prefers my lap. Really messing up my workout routine... but if kitty needs me... ㅠㅠ

[Allilang]

She died...

I was laying next to her in the bathroom when it happened. I tried my best to get her warm, and give her fluids. She had been doing so well with her back legs. Every day they moved a little more. Even last night i had put her in a shoe box to sleep so i didn't crush her during my exercise. She couldn't get out of the box, so she dragged herself and the shoe box all the way to the food bowl on the other side of the room. The only sign of the FHV was lethargy until the others started yesterday. She had a series of non stop diarrhea and constipation. After watching her legs improve so much I really wanted her to pull through.

[BendyMom]

I am so so sorry. You did your best.
I"m not sure what they meant by FHV, little kittens are so hard to treat once they get really sick
It's a huge heartache but at least she knew she was cared for, and it was far better than her dying on teh street cold and alone.
I have lost kttens too and it is just awful. there is so much hope for them and then...it is all dashed.
hugs across teh miles.

[Allilang]

FHV is feline herpes.

It's not the first time I've lost a kitten. Even my current cat Luna was very sick when I found her. But this kitty looked to be getting better then went downhill so fast. I just wish it was possible to save them all.

All I can do is hope she had a happy week in my home.

[Allilang]

I cant thank everyone enough for their help through this difficult week.

thank you

[CarolC]

Oh, no... I am so sorry. It seemed like she was doing so well. It seems kittens are susceptible to so many viruses. It's like they are exposed to so many things and stressing them can cause whatever they have been exposed to previously to flare up. It does not sound like she was feral, but they estimate 75% mortality in feral kittens, and a lot of that is from stress and disease, there are just so many diseases out there. Another estimate is that 40% of all kittens will not survive. I am so glad this little baby was warm and safe and loved and fed and happy during the week you had her. The way she went was so much better than it would have been. I am so sorry. It sounds like with the care you were giving her she was going to continue to improve. I'm glad she got to be with you for as long as she could, she was lucky.

Dr. Addie is the website I go to for viruses in cats. She recommends lysine to help prevent FHV. I am not big on supplements but I do use lysine for cats. I would probably do that for Luna for a few weeks, just to give her extra support. I have had adult cats with herpes (I have one now). Mostly you may notice small sores in the mouth from time to time, but in my experience it has not been anything serious in my adult cats.

http://www.dr-addie.com/Respiratory.html#fhv

I am so sorry for your loss.

[Allilang]

Luna's voice is hoarse right now. I took her to the vet today right after I took the baby. He updated her shots and I'm going to keep a close eye on her. I think she realizes something is wrong now. She became very interested in the bathroom suddenly before I scrubbed it all down. Then she started to try to get my attention and jump around randomly. You might have heard her hiss on the youtube video, but I think she started to like the kitten.

[BendyMom]

herpes, ok. yes i have three cats here who were blinded by that virus when it attacked their eyes.
if you can get l-lysine there, it is great at helping with the virus. it prevents teh virus from reproducing. i get it as a powder to put on their food and also tehre are l-lysine treats whch some cats lke and some don't.

[Allilang]

If it really is THAT good I can order it online if nothing else. Korean pharmacies are nothing like an American CVS style ones. It's always a crap shoot as to what I will be able to find. I have a whole drawer full of Claritin-D that I bring from the US. The drug in tylenol PM is also illegal here because people were committing suicide with it. You have to visit a shrink the be prescribed with any kind of sleep aid.

Is lysine known by any other names? I searched for it on the Korean version of amazon and stuff specifically for cats came up. I was assuming this was something made for humans. All the bottles seem to be foreign, so there is definately no chance that normal stores would carry it. the price is about $15.50 with shipping and would aproably arrive on tuesday if I order it tomorrow.

http://item2.gmarket.co.kr/item/detailv ... ord=lysine

[CarolC]

I can't read Korean, but that looks like the right thing.
I buy it from the human health food store, in capsules I can separate and sprinkle out the powder.
They do not seem to notice it on food that I can tell. This is the one I get.

http://www.vitacost.com/solgar-l-lysine ... capsules-1

They do make it specially for cats here, too.

http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/ ... &division=

http://www.kvsupply.com/search.html?sea ... searchPrep

[BendyMom]

I have found that L-lysine is very helpful for the herpes vrus, but if it is another vrus it won't help.
that looks right to me, it says l-lysine

it comes in both human and pet formula. there is no difference except the packaging and dosage.
for a grown cat i give 500mg/day.

I would definitley give it a try.

[critters]

I'm so sorry. It's especially hard when you try so hard to save a little one and they die anyway.

There are many herpes survivors in my house, including Spunk my blind punk. If it attacks the eyes, a Third Eyelid Flap is a cheap thing to do that can save the eye or eyes.