Expert: Becky - 2/21/2006

Question
I had  an abandoned cat that had a litter of kittens (6).  At first they all seemed fine and then at about 3 weeks of age one was suddenly found dead in the nest. Once again everything seemed fine untill they were about 6 weeks old.  One of them was not thriving like the rest.  We seperated him and began giving him all our attention, took him to the vet (it looked like he had loose bowels).  They gave him antibiotics and he was dewormed (even though his stool was neg. for parasites). When I cleaned him up I noticed a large painful lump on his hip.  It ruptured when I bathed him and drained large amounts of pus.  We went back to the vet as I thought he might need different antibiotics and possible debriding of the wound.  It was done and we continued care at home.  Two days later I noticed three more abcesses.  One on the inside of each thigh and one at the base of his tail.  Back to the vet and they were lanced and cleaned.  Home again with daily routine of irrigating wounds special diet, medications, and lots of love.  Was gaining weight, almost 300 grams in less than 2 weeks but then began having difficulty breathing.  Of course this happened at night on a Saturday so we took him to the Emergency Vet Clinic.  They took him from us right away but we never saw him alive again.  He stopped breathing while they were examining him and preparing to draw blood.  What could he have had?  They also told us he had mouth ulcers.  And why did they take him from me?  He died all alone and I know he must have been terrified.  He had come to think I was his mother and would not leave my site.  Would curl up in my hair to sleep and purr all night long.  What else could we have done in an attempt to save him?  I am heartbroken and feel so guilty that I was not there for him.  I hope you can offer some suggestions for future reference.  By the way the remaining four kittens are thriving and seem to have no problems at all.  Sincerely, Grace

Answer
Hi Grace,
I know what you have been through is very tragic and painful.  They probably took the kitten from you because they saw how bad off he was and knew they needed to get him back there quickly, and without interruptions.  I don't mean for this to sound bad, but sometimes the owners get in the way when the vets are literally trying to save lives.  I'm so sorry this happened to you.  I don't think there is anything else you could have done, as a matter of fact, you did more than most... I promise you that!  I don't know what the source of the abscesses were, unless one of the kittens were biting him , being playful.  Your vet would be able to answer that question much better than me since he is the one who worked on him.  Just know that you gave this little kitten a good life while you had him.  I wish more pet owners were as caring and responsible as you!

God Bless,
Becky