What caused our 7 week old kitten's death?

Question

My husband and I found a stray kitten who wandered into our yard the other night. Seeing how small & innocent he was, we let him stay on our front porch so he wouldn't run into the street and get hit by a car. The first day & night he was happy, playing with everything he could get his paws on & eating & drinking regularly. I went to work yesterday, and when I came home, he was laying beneath a christmas tree we had on our porch, & was looking up at me weakly. I picked him up, & he began crying. I figured he was just tired & wanted to sleep, so I put him back & forgot about it. Later that night, I found him sitting in a pot filled with potting soil (which he had pooped in) breathing heavily. His eyes were watery, and he had vomited and defecated everywhere. We took him inside, cleaned him up & tried to give him water, but he threw up again. All night, he suffered labored breathing & gagging, also yelled in his sleep. When we awoke he had died. How could a healthy cat die in 1
day?

Thank you all. One of you mentioned that pine needles might have entered his digestive tract. Does anyone know if the needles of a Douglas Fir can kill a cat via consumption? What about Miracle Grow "Moisture Lock" potting soil? He had it all around his mouth when I found him. I am just beside myself, and wish I had had the money to take better care of him. Even more, though, I am appalled that not a single vet/emergency hospital can bill you. Where is the compassion?

Answer 1

I'm so sorry for your loss, it does sound like the kitten had a dieses like panluke or feline distemper. These dieses are prevented by vaccinating and if the cat is not protected it can kill fast. Make sure you bleach the areas where the kitty was sick to help prevent spreading it around.
I know you feel bad for the little kitten, but rest assured he died in a warm safeplace and that is better then if he was on the street.

Answer 2

Keep an eye on the kitten - I think you might have to hand rear the one that's being singled out - don't give it cows milk - that can cause diarrhoea and death, you can get kitten formula from any large pet store or from your vet. Sometimes a mother cat will single out a kitten and push it away or kill it - they can often sense when something is wrong with the kitten and killing it will conserve food and energy for her other surviving kittens. Or it could just be that the litter is too large for her to cope with. Ask your vet for a print out of how to hand rear kittens (they often have leaflets or info to give out to clients for free). It's important that hand reared kittens are kept warm and cleaned (they can't poo without being rubbed/stroked on their bellies and around the rear end). However, with a bit of extra help with feeding the kitten (and maybe one or two others), she might not reject this kitten. Try not to meddle too much with them as she may get upset and move them. It's difficult to find the right balance and I'm sure you'll know if and when you have to separate the kitten that's being singled out. Good luck.

Answer 3

Whenever you bring a stray cat in, or save one. You should get it checked right away, cats can have diseases. My b/f and I saved one a few weeks ago and brought it straight to the emergency vet... I'm sorry :( that story was sad

did you have pointsettas on your porch? they are very poisonous to cats and dogs

EDIT: I just read your recent post, I know what you mean about the vet emergeny room, I brought my kitten there for a check up before i brought her home and it was 150 dollars. There is NO compassion in America, Americans are all dirty greedy for money a*holes. As for the pine needles goes... I don't think that would effect them, but miracle grow potting soil has fertilizer in it, and may have caused his death.

Answer 4

That was a very sad story. He probably wasn't healthy. The best thing to do when you find a stray is take them to the vet to be checked out right away, if you don't want to spend the money on a cat you can take him to a shelter, they will make sure he's healthy and then if you want to adopt him you can fill out the forms and adopt him from there. We did that with our oldest cat. It saves on the cost and it makes sure they're healthy. It's also possible he was poisoned by something on your porch. When you saw this strange behavior you probably should have taken him to emergency straight away. I know that can be expensive, but if you weren’t willing to endure the cost of a kitten you probably should have taken him to a shelter instead of keeping him.

Answer 5

I'm new, but I happened to see your post, and though I'm sure others may have more specific answers, I do know that a little stray kitten of 7 weeks certainly could have various health problems - though you said initially the kitten was playing and eating and drinking regularly - You made no mention of what you gave the kitten to drink or eat, and I don't know where you live, but a kitten of seven weeks needs warmth - as well as proper nutrition and fresh water - to survive. In any case, the symptoms you described indicated that the kitten was in serious trouble and needed to see a Vet immediately. Kittens are fragile little creatures, and this post brought tears to my eyes as this baby ovbiously suffered - there is no way of knowing if a Vet could have saved this kitten, but it is very sad to read this.

Answer 6

Well, if he died in one day he wasn't healthy. It's unlikely you'll ever know for sure how or why he died. He was a stray, something he got into a few days ago could have killed him. He could have had worms, an infection or virus or a blockage somewhere in his digestive tract. He could also very easily have got into something on your porch. Kittens are like babies very curious and completely unaware of dangers. It's sad that it happened especially since you were trying to help.

Answer 7

Obviously this kitten was not healthy. Severe upper respiratory infections in weak kittens can cause death. It may have had an issue that was not really noticeable (a congential defect of an inner organ, an unknown tramua ect). With out a vet doing a necropsy it is doubtful if an answer will be known.

Answer 8

Most likely that kitten had a disease. Coccidia is one that comes to mind. Young kittens can dehydrate very rapidly. Also parasites can make kittens very sick (sometimes feral kittens are born with parasites). The kitten also could have been poisoned. Some people (still!!!) do this on purpose, but often, it is accidental. This time of year, many people may be spilling anti-freeze on the ground. This is very tasty and very deadly to animals. :(

I am sorry the little kitty died. At least you tried to do what you could for it. Please clean up any areas the kitty was in - just in case it was a communicable disease. Good luck. :)

EDIT: Are poinsettias poisonous?

For people, no: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/poinsettia.asp

For cats, kind of:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1722.asp
http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/poisonousplantsdogscats.pdf?docID=109&AddInterest=1101

http://www.paws.org/about/emailnetwork/archive/actionline/actionline_2002_12_13.html (bottom of page)

Answer 9

he could have eaten some pine needles off the christmas tree and it could have gotten caught in his digestive system. Seeing as he was a stray he could have already had a disease also.

Answer 10

He was either poisoned or had panleucopenia, but it is unlikely that panleucopenia would become lethal in one day.
Small kittens are sensitive to diseases, accidents and poisons. next time, if you find a kitten, take it in the house, and make a trip to the vet, to make sure he is fine and stays fine until he is a bit older.