Expert: Jessica - 1/14/2010

Question
Hi jessica. I have 5 cats in my house. One of the kitty got ill about 5 days back. He is about 3 months old and was very healthy. He seemed to have respiratory infection as he was coughing, but we did not concern much at that time, as we thought he would get better himself. But then he went outside and came back after 3 days. He had stools stuck around his anal canal and that area was very much inflamed..with some maggots moving in it. I cleaned him up and found a wound just near the anus, which is actually an opening. I cleaned all of that. Now the problem is that I do not know how to manage it. There is no veterinary doctor here. My brother is a doctor himself. He gave the gram negative and gram positive coverage today. But we did not know how to administer it so we just gave it subcutaneously, as the kitty can not eat on itself. He has no fever. But he is very lethargic and can not walk. I am afraid that if he does not drink or eat anything he would probably die from dehydration. So I would like to know which medicines to administer and how should be they be given(eg if IV, where can i find veins most probably) and what should be used topically..and how should I energize that kitty??
Please do reply. I would be waiting anxiously for your reply.
Thanks :(

Answer
Hi Arfeen.  Sorry to hear the kitty is doing so poorly.  Although I'm not a veterinarian, I feel okay giving you this advice since you have no access to one.

Your brother can give the kitten Lactated Ringer's Solution to prevent dehydration.  To a three month old kitten, estimated to weigh about 4 pounds, I would give 50-75 ml (ml is the same as cc) each day.  This should be subcutaneously (under the skin but not in a vein).  The easiest place to give these fluids in in the skin between the shoulder blades.  This should also help him with his weakness, since it contains sugar.

For the antibiotic, I am only knowledgeable in the dosages of oral medications.  I would use one such as amoxicillin, if available, to treat these kind of infections (cats do not tolerate regular penicillin well).  The kitten should have 5 mg of amoxicillin per pound of body weight(I'm not sure which unit of measure you use for weight, but there are many converters online).  So if he weighs four pounds, he should get 20 mg.  The amount of liquid amoxicillin you give would depend on how strong the mixture is.  I recommend that you mix 500 mg of amoxicillin powder with 10 mls of chicken broth, then use a syringe to give the kitten .4 ml of the solution.  Your brother might have access to an amoxicillin that is for children which contains 250 mg of amoxicillin per 5 ml.  This is also fine to use for the kitten.  He would receive the same dose - .4 ml.

If you have access to chicken baby food for human babies, try to feed him this with a syringe.  This will be important to help him gain strength and recover from his illness.

I hope that all makes sense!  I wish you and your kitten the best.

Jessica