I have a kitten that is apparently sick.?

Question

I just got in town and my "house sitter" has told me that the kitten hasn't eaten in two days. She had to force feed it and then bathed it b/c of the mess created with the feeding. She told me that she may have gotten some water in the cat's ears and that it started "panting" (yes, that sounds odd to me too). At any rate, there are no vets open here but I will take tomorrow. The kitten is very sedated with shallow breathes but is not moving at all--I mean the cat looks dead except for the stomach moving with the breaths. Any advice?

Answer 1

Sounds like the sitter caused her to aspirate some of the food when she 'force fed' her (Why would she force feed her after such a short time of not eating anyway!!!). It is a bad idea to force feed cats as it is so very easy to get the fluid into their lungs. Get the kitten to a vet ASAP if she survives the night unless you can find an Emergency vet, this kitten is drowning at the moment.
Good luck, I'm sorry I don't have better news :-(

Answer 2

Look in the phone book to see if there's an emergency vet clinic near you, but if there isn't one and you have a regular vet, look for their home number (should be in the phone book) and call them. This is an emergency!

NEVER let that house sitter take care of your kitten again - they should NEVER have force fed the kitten, or bathed it. They obviously are not able to take care of a cat properly, or they would know that cats will eat when they are hungry, and that the stress of bathing and the subsequent chills would only make whatever might be wrong worse. If she was that worried about it not eating, she should have called a vet or you, not taken things into her own hands like that.

Answer 3

First of all, take the animal to an emergency vet clinic. If one is not provided there are medical guides for ill animals on the web. You just have to assure sponsorship or authenticity of the site. Basics: check the animal’s body temperature (you can contrast it with your own, I would hope you know the average temperature of a healthy cat is), keep it calm (lain still and flat on the side generally), apply soft pressure to parts of the body as you search for the cause of injury and watch its reaction, consider the fact you left the animal (possibly a reaction of withdrawal) as well as who you left it with (was that person an imbecile who could have purposefully or accidentally injured or poisoned the animal in any form or fashion) and etc. Make sure the kitten has plenty of water available. Look for symptoms (among a few): coughing, sneezing, straining or excessive urination, labored breathing, and vomiting. Consider if your kitten is kept indoors or released out of doors. Has your cat come into contact with other animals? What sort of item (pet or human) such a shampoo and etc were used during the bath? This could be poisoning if digested or an allergic reaction of sorts. You should retract all services rendered by the neglectful and uncaring “sitter.” Personally, I think you could and should charge this person with animal neglect for not rendering aid to the animal while sick.

Answer 4

GET THE CAT TO AN EMERGENCY VETERINARIAN RIGHT AWAY!!!!!!!!! i dont know for sure, but the cat may have gotten an infection that has been taking over its body! the kitten might not last until morning, so take the cat to a vet NOW!!! if there aren't any open that you can find, call the vet at home if you know their name (and if they're listed in the phone book).

Answer 5

You need to take your cat to the emergency vet, the poor baby! Cats usually pant when they are active in the heat, so they are overheating. It sounds like your cat wasn't active at all so those are all definite signs of emergency. If the cat looks dead, don't you think that's an emergency?

P.S. I would love to force feed your house sitter some rat poison and shove her head in the toilet because of the mess of feeding.

Answer 6

first of all, beat the house sitter about the head with a heavy blunt instrument. if a cat is too sick to eat, it's never health to force it. there is a very good chance your kitten may not make it through the night. if there is a local humane society, there should be someone on staff that can help. and if that cat dies due to what would appear to be neglect, you better hope you can prove absolutely that you were not there when it happened, or the ASPCA will be on you like ticks on a rat!!

Answer 7

It sounds like it might be on it's last legs...Keep the kitten warm, wrap it up in a blanket, and keep petting it. They are going to give it fluids when you take it to the vet anyways, and you don't want it to become dehydrated, so it's wise to make it take water, and better if you can mix in some canned cat-food-after a while...because it could just have something stuck in it's throat so I'd get some water down the kitty. It could have gotten into anything....you just don't know...but water is the best bet for right now.

Answer 8

Call your vet's office and see if they have an emergency number, because this kitten needs to be seen IMMEDIATELY. It could be any number of problems, but when cat's stop eating, it is a bad sign, and can also cause liver problems.

Answer 9

The cat really should go to the vet. I know you said you can't afford it, but they have a lot of trouble digesting corn, generally it shouldn't be given to animals. I don't have any other suggestions for you other than see if you can borrow money from someone to get the cat medical attention.

Answer 10

It sounds like your kitty is pretty sick. Here's a link to a vet that you can try calling. The link is to his contact page. He can probably tell you if there is something you can do until your vet opens.

Good Luck to you and your kitty.