[purplestar]

Today I woke up and checked on my mother cat and her 3 newborn kittens and I was horrified by what I found. One of the kittens was dead! I picked it up and it was cold and stiff but worst of all one of it's legs was missing! It was horrible. There was blood on the blanket too but the leg was no where to be found. I have no idea how it happened. We have other cats around but I don't think the would do this because they just hiss at them and not dare come close because the mother lashes at them. I suspect she did it, But why! Just yesterday the three of them where moving about so lively :(

Then I checked on the others and one the kittens left wasn't moving as much as the other so I picked it up and it had like saliva or a yellow tinted liquid on its little mouth and is breathing abnormal. It is not moving like it was yesterday. I am afraid that this one was also bitten. What can I do? The mother just licks it but the kitten can't even lift his head, let alone suckle milk. Please help I want to save this kitten! I have no money to take him to the vet.

[purplestar]

I tried giving him a mixture of water and evaporated milk with a kitten bottle but it doesn't gulp it down. It won't even open it's mouth, it's very weak. :( Sometimes it just moves a little.

[shazamataz]

First thing, don't give them evaporated milk!
They cannot handle cows milk, they have to have special kitten milk.

Yu have the right idea though.
I would separate the kittens from their mother and hand bottle feed them.
You have to make sure you get a bottle with a tiny hole in it so they don't choke on the milk.
Keep them warm at all times, kittens so young can't regulate their body temperature.
You will also need to get a warm wash cloth and wipe thir girl/boy bits and anus to stimulate them into going to the toilet.

This needs to be done every few hours.

Best thing is to get them to a vet though, you might be able to work out a payment plan with a vet if you call around.

[purplestar]

The sick kitten is skirming and whining a little bit and its breathing is abnormal. I think it is dying :'( help!!

[shazamataz]

This may sound gross but it has worked with puppies we have had...

Put your mouth over his nose and mouth and suck fairly hard...

It will get any fluid out of his lungs and help him breathe.

[purplestar]

Is that safe?

[purplestar]

Are you being serious? I never heard of that before.

Now it's squirming his body and swaying his head gasping for air. It's so sad to see him suffering like this and not be able to do something to help him.

[purplestar]

Please help he's crying out for help :(! He can't breath!

I just called an emergency vet clinic and they just told me to bring him in as soon as possible but I have no money not even for transportation and this place is far. I asked for advise and they just kept transferring me and never told me anything.

I already tried feeding with the kitten bottle but it doesn't eat. It is dying!

[shazamataz]

Did you try the sucking?

Yes it is safe... it brings the fluid up out of his lungs and will help him breathe.

If you can get him to an emergency vet then obviously that is the best option, what I said was only a temporary as if there is a problem with his lungs it will keep happening...

I wish you all the luck n the world with your babies, I hope they pull through.

[purplestar]

The kitten died yesterday :( I didn't do it because I wasn't sure if it would work and I didn't want to make it worse or hurt him. It was very sad. Now there is only one kitten left. He is very strong and active, I think he is going to make it. If he does, we are calling him Hercules.

[Alty]

This makes me a bit mad. Im sorry for your loss, but you got advice and refused to do it because you weren't sure it was safe? Well why did you come here then? You didn't want to make it worse? Worse then what? Death?

My main question is why you are allowing your cat to have kittens if you can't even afford vet care.

I know how you're going to respond, you think I'm being mean, well, maybe I am, I just don't understand why people allow their animals to have a litter when they can't afford to give them the care that they deserve.

When will all this backyard breeding stop? When will people realize?

[purplestar]

Please don't judge me, you don't know how bad and guilty I feel :(. I tried all I could do at the moment to save him, I even called an emergency vet for advise but they couldn't help me. I didn't try that sucking thing because I was advise not to by someone else and I was afraid of hurting and making him suffer even more. I am not experienced in this and I was afraid.

My cat's pregnancy was not planned, she got pregnant before we could take get spayed. I know that's still not an excuse. I am a spay and neuter advocate myself.
I regret being such a coward. Maybe he would have made it.

[Alty]

Making you feel guilt wasn't my intention. I'm sure that you feel bad enough already.

I've never met a vet that gives advice over the phone, much like us they have to be able to see the animal in order to help it and usually just advise that you get the animal in to a vet asap.

I know times are tough, money is tight, a lot of people barely have enough money to put food on their table, but should you add a pet into the mix if you cannot ensure that it gets the care it needs when it needs it?

The pregnancy may not have been planned but it could have been prevented. If your cat isn't spayed then don't let her outside until she is. Voilà, no unwanted pregnancy.

I doubt he would have made it. Shaz's suggestion was a good one and safe but the best it would have done is buy you more time to get to the vet. Even then, it's unlikely that your kitten would have survived, so don't beat yourself up about it, but keep your eye on the remaining kitten.

When we answer questions like this we feel very helpless. There's only so much we can do, so much we have to offer and our heart goes out to every animal and owner. When we hear "no vet" over and over again we get upset. We can't fix something over the internet, even if we had the skills and know how of a vet.

I'm sorry that I was harsh. I deal with questions like this all day, so much so that I've taken a bit of a break from the pet forums, it was getting to be too hard to keep my cool.

I hope that the other kitten is okay. Please, get your cat spayed asap, no more unwanted pregnancies. Okay?

Good luck.

[shazamataz]

I am very sorry to hear that the kitten didn't make it, I'm sure he has his own little pair of angel wings now.

I send you lots of luck and love for the last little kitten, watch him and look after him, he sounds like a fighter.

[purplestar]

Thanks, yes the kitten is doing very well. The moter nurses him all the time and he is growing very fast.

[blessedandthank]

Hi hun, mother cats will eat their young if there is something wrong with them or whatever her reason, they know what and why they do what they do. It is just nature. The living kitten might have an infection if that is the case, without antibiotics it will die, you could see if the mother will let her feed if not go to walmart or anywhere and get baby kitten formula a kitten bottle and try to feed her yourself. Good luck

[JudyKayTee]

hi hun, mother cats will eat their young if there is something wrong with them or whatever her reason, they know what and why they do what they do. it is just nature. the living kitten might have an infection if that is the case, without antibiotics it will die, you could see if the mother will let her feed if not go to walmart or anywhere and get baby kitten formula a kitten bottle and try to feed her yourself. good luck

Do you actually read the questions and responses before you post?

[purplestar]

The kitten is fine, It is doing very good and has grown a lot, but I am worried because he still hasn't opened his eyes and they look weird. I have a feeling he is blind :(

[Miz_Banks]

no sweettie he is just fine, one thing u should know if that baby cats are born blind and deaf, his eyes are sewn shut and so are his ears, but he won't be like that permanently, after the first week when u are ibto the second week u should see the eyes starting to open from the corner of his eyes and they will look funny like litle aliens because it takes time for the eyes to open fully,but once they do, they will look blue, mostly all kittens eyes look blue,and u will see a sheer covering over their eyes,that means they can see a bit blurry, you will be able to tell, because once that goes away then u will see crystal popping eyes and they will look just fine, the eyes won't look so fuzzy anymore, but don't worry, I thought the same too before when I wasn't experienced,once they were born I was like where the hell are their eyes? lol until I did some research and realized that it takes time for their eyes to open, but don't worry it's a perfectly normal thing =]

[hheath541]

Thread is a year old.