Hello,
First it is important to give yourself a very firm and big pet on the back. You have gone above and beyond and saved these kittens from a slow awful death. Next this isn’t a question about the colon this is a question about what is causing all of the clinical signs you are seeing. Ileus (slow or absent moving gi tract) has many many causes but something caused it. Probably has everything to do with the same something causing everything else you are seeing. There is a huge list of possible causes. Infection, congenital disease, malnutrition before they got to you. Infectious disease like rabies, etc etc. my recommendation is to stick with the basics of keeping them warm, fed, and treated for parasites (internal and external). After that (or before your preference often dictated by amount owner can spend) is to keep asking for second opinions and keep running. Diagnostics. I really applaud your dedication and I have to say as much as sometimes we try we just aren’t able to save them all. This is especially true with kittens. Which have been some of the most rewarding and most heart breaking of all the cases I have seen.
I work front desk at a vet and a client brought in a stray. No chip and shelters wouldn’t take her. She was going to be released outside since no one would home her and it’s so cold in VA.. so I took her in. I got her shots and tested for FIV, FeLuk, etc to know if she’s safe around my 10 yr neutered male cat. Then the vet said she seems to be pregnant but the ultrasound was inconclusive. But she definitely matches the description of “pinking” and has no hair around her nipples. But I have no idea how far along she is! Last week we didn’t see kittens on ultrasound but now they think she looks pregnant for sure. How do I know? Vet doesn’t want to stress her with more imaging. Also, what do I do when she goes into labor?? Will my male cat be okay around her? They’ve been ok the few times I’ve let them interact but will she change personality when she has kittens? Is she’s likely nicer now than she’ll be after just since she’s “nesting”? Is the stress too much to introduce her to my cat? She’s scratching through the door to get to the rest of the house so I’d like not to keep her cooped up 24/7. Also, when do I know labor is starting? Will she pick a place? How can I make that not be the bed or couch? Or can I cover them? And she eats like she’s STARVING! She looks so tiny to be pregnant.. I read you feed them all they want at a certain point; when is that? How much should I give her each stage? I have Hills ultimate care adult. I went ahead and got some Iams kitten food but when do I start mixing it in? I’m even more lost not knowing how far along she is. I’ve had her 1 week so at least that far along but I could use as much help as possible. Especially regarding labor. I know she’ll most likely do it all on her own but I see so much of what can go wrong working at a vet and I’d like to be prepared. I’ve attached pictures of her. Please help me help her.
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Kitten with completely atonic colon, possible causes? (Long text ahead)
So Nov. 3th in the evening we got 2 kittens, estimated 6 weeks old, thin. However due to being cold outside they already had very thick fur, so it wasn’t visible how thin they were. Weight was 550 & 650gr.
The finder said they have been more active before and only now they were able to get those two. They borrowed to live traps to get the mother and another kitten.
Both were seen eating. They were treated against worms (Milbemycinoxim/Praziquantel) and fleas (Lotilaner)
Nov 4th: Overnight everything was eaten, poo was solid. Kittens were responsive and alert. To the evening only half was eaten. Poo was still solid.
Nov 5th: Nothing was eaten over night, the little one seemed a bit weaker. I started to feed them with a syringe. They started with diarrhea, but that sometimes happens when feeding with a syringe.
Nov. 6th: They still don’t eat by themselves. The smaller one still seemed weaker, but otherwise it seemed fine. A bit diarrhea. In the evening I found it the litter box, not being able to stand, barely reacting. It hat vomited (at least it looked like it), and still had poo stuck on it. It was immediately brought to a vet. It received glucose solution s.c., something against vomiting, pain and an antibiotics. Lung sounded free, heart (ultrasound) was fine, too. A test of parvovirosis came back negative. I took both of them home that night, so I could feed it smaller portions more often and to give more fluids. 2 hours later to was able to stand again. I fed them every 3-4 hours, fluids every 6 (only small amounts obviously). It was lying on a warmth mat. The bigger one was fine, but avoided it’s litter mate.
Nov. 7th: No further improvement. None of them was eating on their own. The smaller one was still lying down most of the time, sleeping, but would react when I came to feed them. It would stand up and walk to the litterbox between the feedings, but the poo had a weird consistency. Not really diarrhea, but veeeery sticky, so it always carried it back to it’s sleeping place. So I had to clean it before every feeding. A test on giardia was positive, treatment started with Carnidazol. Continue to feed them with a Syringe and fluids for the smaller one. Fluids were always absorbed to the next feeding, but it still was a bit dehydrated (skin fold test). The bigger one would play in between and seemed fine otherwise.
Nov. 8th: No changes in the smaller one during the day, still weaker, able to walk, sit and stand, but sleeping most of the time. Today there was rarely poo in the toilet. I assumed that the treatment started working and it was a good sign (although I already had the feeling that something was wrong… wish I would have trusted that feeling). In the evening it seemed weaker, but would still accept being fed with a syringe. It felt different, less body tension, but would still walk away/go to the t. 10pm feeding. More calm, didn’t want to eat that much, peed on me. Meowed louder during giving the fluids than usual and tried to get away. 2am clock, the fluids weren’t absorbed completely, it’s abdomen felt like a sponge. I only fed a tiny amount. 6am weaker, would lie down immediately, breathing was shallow and faster, meowing, I didn’t feed it, fluids still not absorbed. Rushed to the vet.
-> Heart had a low frequency, breathing fast and shallow
-> X-Ray lungs were free, only a tiny amount of fluids in the abdomen, however the complete colon and stomach were filled with food. There was no visible blockage or air.
-> Ultrasound: Absolutely no movement in the colon/stomach, no blockage or air seen either. Kidneys and liver seemed fine
-> Punctation of the abdomen: ca. 3-4ml of fluids, lots of proteins, a bit of blood. Didn’t look like FIP. Possible that the fluids came out of the colon.
It was given something against vomiting, pain, antibiotics, something to help the cardiovascular system and something to get the colon moving again. To help with its breathing got a mask with additional oxygen. However in the next hour it got worse, so we decided to let it go. After it was gone food came back out of it’s mouth. And it didn’t even smell like it had started to digest.
It’s littermate is still with me and fine. It started to eat on its own yesterday.
Now I obviously ask myself what i could have done better/different. By now I think I should have started with additional syringe feeding earlier – at least with the smaller one. And I should have reacted when my feeling told me that something was wrong, even when there were no obvious changes yet. I somehow have the feeling that I sis something wrong and killed it. Did I give too much fluids (but lungs were free and only a bit fluid in the abdomen)? Did I feed too much? Other kittens eat even more without problems – and the other one is fine.
And what can be the causes for the complete stop of movement in the colon/stomach?
I know that FIP can cause this and an ileus (but there were no visible blockage, everything was filled with food), are there other causes? Can giardia do this?
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Has anyone’s kitten been diagnosed with entropian? If so, did you have the surgery performed?
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Having difficulty with our new pup and cat.
About two months ago I introduced a new puppy to our family. We have an 8 month old kitten, and a 2 year old German Shepherd, and the new guy, 6 month old Chance, an American Bully.
We rescued Chance from an abusive situation, and he is just a sweet and snuggly boy with us and our German Shepherd. The problem we face now is that we’re worried about our cat. They have been separated by a baby gate. He doesn’t bark or growl at her, but rather whines and stares at her. He does chase her, but we’ve always nabbed him. When she is on the other side of a regular door, she’ll put her paw under as any cat would to play. He hasn’t attacked it at this point. He just gets very still and quiet and just stares at her paw and begins to tremble/shake. He has broken a bar on the baby gate to be near her.
She is unenthused to meet him, after he’s chased her, which makes her run, which makes him chase. We aren’t really sure what to make of all of this behavior or what to do. I feel over saturated in information.
Our german Shepherd was happy to be with her within a week or two. He chases her once in awhile, but all in all they co-exist and like each other. I don’t know if I need to find a new home for bully puppy.
Please help
Good morning-
She’s a cutie!! Seeing as you work at a vet’s office, I would ask my colleagues there. I’m sure your vets and the techs and other staff members are very happy that you have opened up your home to this kitty and would be happy to share their knowledge. I would start to introduce the two cats more often- the more comfortable they are together or around each other, the less stressful things will be all around. I would also keep an eye on where this new cat likes to settle down most often and put either a box with a blanket or some other nice nesting bed for her and hopefully she will use it. As far as knowing for sure about pregnancy- again I would talk to the vet. I am guessing another ultrasound and then maybe you can even count babies to see how many you might expect to have. Best of luck!????????
Thank you. I have been asking but I feel bad when they have busy days with surgery and so many clients. But I’ll keep asking. The only thing they did give an answer on already that you mentioned is ultrasound; said they don’t want to do another or even X-ray when she’s further along. They want to avoid stressing her out. Though in my opinion she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s very dog-like. Would rather get out of the house or she starts being destructive. They said I could board her there for thanksgiving since I’m leaving town and don’t know if she’ll be ready for labor. They’re helping me out like that but pinning down a vet or even a tech for a slew of questions is harder than you’d think. I appreciate your help! Have a good day!
Is a spay abort an option? If so, I’d go with that.