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I just got her some pure meat babyfood and gave her a teaspoon of the beef. She licked it but was a little unsure of it. I left a little out so she could lick some more. She drank a little water, so we'll see if she can keep it down. The vet wants me to give her a dose of her antibiotic starting tonight if she can keep it down. She feels once that fever reduces then kitty's tummy will settle and her appetite will return.
I do wonder what meds -- and especially why she's on antibiotics -- when the vet does not know what exactly is wrong (infection?), so it may be prudent to google any meds she's been on, to also be aware of any possible side-effects to look out for.
I agree with OW seeking a second opinion, preferably by a Feline and/or Holistic Veterinarian if there is one anywhere near you because this just does not sound right when nothing specific has yet to be diagnosed, yet the A'biotics.
If one of you know something I should be doing right now that I'm not doing, and something the vet hasn't done so far but should be doing, then please speak up.
Getting "a 2nd opinion" right now is probably not needed since other than fluids, antibiotics, rest and access to food & water, I don't think any vet is going to try something different.
A kitten we adopted from the rescue agency was very very sick (sounding just like yours!) within 48 hours of being spayed.
She wouldn't eat, couldn't keep anything down, lost all energy, became very groggy and unresponsive. Turns out (gotta love it) this is a risk you take when you spay or neuter at too young of an age. The vet that performed the procedure had "messed up" her insides. They wouldn't explain in detail, so I won't be able to either for you! The general "gist" of it was that they had to re-open her up (even though she was healing just fine on the outside) and re-seat a few of her organs that were shifted that were causing her to be very uncomfortable when she tried to eat/digest things.
The horror of it was, again, just like with yours - she was fine when she came out of surgery for the first day.
This may not be what's wrong with yours - just offering a head's up on what's happened with mine.
It took her (Twix) longer to recover from the second surgery, but she is fine now. Best of luck, and my prayers are with you and your little one.
Kitty was fine the first 72 hrs after her spay surgery and it was only on day #4 that she started acting lethargic. She has a temperature, which is how the vet knows that she needs an antibiotic. Sometimes animals get sick and a vet doesn't know exactly what they have and they get a broad spectrum antibiotic to kill any infection. I realize that is a foreign thought to those of you who only practice holistic medicine, but a temperature is an indication of the body fighting an infection.
Travel'r, she wasn't on any meds other than a tiny dose of pain medicine after her spay. She ate, drank normally, played normally, used her litterbox normally, everything seemed fine. So there's no drug history otherwise.
MarlylandKitten, I hope it was nothing from her surgery, but who knows. I'd hate to see her go through a 2nd surgery just to explore her insides, unless it's absolutely necessary. The vet is calling and checking in on her and we are watching her closely.
She was just over 13 weeks old when spayed and the vet said she didn't think the kitten was too young at that point. There is risk with any surgery at ANY age. Anyway the spay can't be undone so we just need to move forward and get her well now.
Kitty successfully kept down her 1st liquid antibiotic (Clavamox) dose last night, and I saw her drink a little water, but she wouldn't eat anything this morning...not even the pure meat baby food, so I mixed some of the baby food with some warm water and a tiny bit of fresh probiotics, and started syringing the liquid mixture into her mouth to force some nutrition into her. She's only 3 lbs so she's got to eat.
I gave her about 10 cc's of the food mix this morning and she tolerated that well. I will puree some of her wet kitten food + some of the meat baby food + some warm water and syringe feed another 10 or 15 cc's of food when I go home for lunch and, assuming she's keeping everything down, I'll do it again after work and then again a few hrs after that.
I'll just keep feeding her via syringe as long as it takes to get her normal appetite back. She also has free access to plates of wet food, dry food, and a little baby food in her bathroom, along with fresh water.
I'm sorry Lotta but I would be seeing a new vet for a second opinion. My Sidney was very sick, he was a stray and him not eating was the most stressful thing I was going through at the time. I had cans of wet food from the vets office that they were able to get him to eat when I first took him in, then I was forcing him to eat by putting some on my fingertip and forcing his mouth open. Yes, he would vomit, but every chance I got I forced food in his mouth, every 2 hours at the least. Most of the time it was about the size of a penny the amount he would let me force in, but every bit helped. Sidney however has not been fixed yet due to my vet not liking to do it until they are about 6months, and I agree with them completely. Sidney also got IV fluids to make sure he was getting everything that we could offer him. If the vet wouldnt recommend those things, I would have gathered by baby and took him elsewhere. Babies can take a really bad turn for the worse very quickly, and quite honestly, I'm a little concerned about this one. Do you really think your vet is going to say "Maybe I made a mistake?" Sorry, but my cats life is more important to me than my vets ego. And I've been a cat owner my entire life, been through a lot/seen a lot, and saved a lot of strays..this baby needs a 2nd opinion in my opinion.
I'm so sorry your baby is ill, I know how stressful it must be for you right now.
I want to stress that this post is in no way meant to make you feel bad, it's obvious you love your kitten and that you're trying to do everything you can to heal her...
BUT I wholeheartedly agree with all the above posters who suggested a 2nd opinion! 2 months is a common age for shelters, etc. to spay/neuter, but I have seen problems with doing these surgeries too young again and again, it's important for their reproductive systems to be developed and their immune systems strong before putting them under and messing with their insides. A lot of people disagree with me on this, but I truly believe that waiting until at least 6 months of age is the safest way to go, and your vet should have explained all this to you, the risks of doing it too young and the advantages of waiting.
Yes, cats eating is VERY important and the vet should have stressed this fact as well...
you are correct that high temperatures are indications of the body fighting an infection, but IMO a good vet would have made sure to get a catheter into the kitty to rehydrate/nourish with fluids & administer antibiotics IV rather than by mouth...especially because she was vomiting, and the faster you get those nutrients & meds into her system to fight the sooner she'll be craving food on her own. Most cats screech and put up a fight when you do anything like drawing blood or placing catheters, but with proper holding techniques and good assistance, it can usually be done, and on the rare occasion it can not, you have to put them under to get it done. Even the most hostile cats can be gassed down in a "cat box" in order to get much-needed work done on them. This vet either doesn't have very good training/experience with cats, or doesn't have the necessary tools and assistance to do the job right. Sorry to sound harsh, but I am a vet tech at an animal emergency facility, and I can tell you for sure this vet is not someone I'd want tending to any of my animals...the ones in my home or the ones at work!
This all being said, I do commend you on your efforts and especially the syringe-feeding...I'm glad you're getting nutrients into her body and that you're clearly a very caring & diligent caretaker. There's a product called "Enercal" which is a high-calorie nutritional supplement that is very palateable to both cats and dogs...when I run into disinterested eaters at work, I try mixing a bit of it into their canned food, (usually Science Diet A/D formula because they also really like the way it tastes...BTW, I'm not really a Science Diet fan, but in cases like this where they won't eat the holistic stuff, it's definitely better than them not eating at all.) If all else fails, tuna is the one thing I've seen the sickest/most disinterested cats eat. Don't give much, just enough to get the appetite going.
PLEASE see another vet, I'm very concerned the kitty won't get well under your current vet's watch. Her immune system is weak at this age, and being sick and on synthetic meds is weakening it further...she may need to be hospitalized and monitored, and there may be something much more serious going on which you won't know about unless diagnostics are done to determine what the root of the problem is. I wish you all the best in healing your little one, and if you have any questions feel free to DM me.
I'm sorry your baby is ill. I think you need a vet with a clinic. Not a mobile vet.
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