New kitten health issues?
Chris N asked:
Hello, my gf and I just picked up a 8 week old kitten today. The living condition of the house we got her from was less than clean, all the kittens were in a large enclosed dog crate and 5 adult cats living there too. When we first saw her she had some discharge from her eyes, and was breathing kinda fast. After we got her home we relized that she had fleas, not that bad, but enough to scare me. So we got the only shampoo that was ok for any age cat. She still has most of the fleas. Anyways, she was sprinting around the house and being a kitten all night so I kinda think that she isnt as bad health wise than I thought. But when she slept for about an hour next to me she had so much gunk in her right (our left) eye she couldn’t open it. It was green and slimey. So I read that I can use saline solution as temp help. Is this ok till monday or so? Also, her breathing seems normal, but how fast should it really be? Shes very active but hasn’t really eaten, drank, or went to the bathroom in 7 or so hours.
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Hello, my gf and I just picked up a 8 week old kitten today. The living condition of the house we got her from was less than clean, all the kittens were in a large enclosed dog crate and 5 adult cats living there too. When we first saw her she had some discharge from her eyes, and was breathing kinda fast. After we got her home we relized that she had fleas, not that bad, but enough to scare me. So we got the only shampoo that was ok for any age cat. She still has most of the fleas. Anyways, she was sprinting around the house and being a kitten all night so I kinda think that she isnt as bad health wise than I thought. But when she slept for about an hour next to me she had so much gunk in her right (our left) eye she couldn’t open it. It was green and slimey. So I read that I can use saline solution as temp help. Is this ok till monday or so? Also, her breathing seems normal, but how fast should it really be? Shes very active but hasn’t really eaten, drank, or went to the bathroom in 7 or so hours.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks
March 4th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Take her to the vet for a checkup… you’ll get the best advice and ensure your kitten is off to a healthy start.
March 7th, 2009 at 1:29 am
For right now plain old saline soultion is fine to flush her eye out with. If she does still have the fleas you should probably keep her confined to a small easy to clean area. She might be a little stressed out and might not want to eat or drinki, but you should try to get her to eat. As long as she starts eating and drinking she should be alright til monday but if she doesn’t you should take her in.
March 10th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Hi there.
You can keep the eyes clean over the weekend with saline. Best solution would be a small teaspoon in a large cup of warm water. Just clean them with some cotton balls. Worst case scenario is your kitten has cat flu, but it sounds like it could be conjunctivitis. Ensure you wash your hands thoroughly after playing with her.
Get her to the vet on Monday for a health check, if it isn’t cat flu and she is healthy, get her vaccinated then. Make sure she is wormed as well, this should be done every fortnight til she is at least 12-14 weeks. It can then be done every 3 months.
A normal heart rate for a kitten is quite high and hard to count (over 100 bpm). It sounds like she could have been in a stressful environment when you collected her.
If she is still eating and drinking ok it is probably not cat flu. Common signs of flu are sneezing, runny nose, weepy eyes. They don’t eat and drink very little. Fingers crossed its just something simple.
Good luck with your new little kitten. I hope you gets lots of enjoyment and everything works out ok
March 13th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Congratulations on your new kitten! You should use just plain room temperature water to rinse out her eyes. Just wet her eye gently then wipe it gently with something soft. You do not know if the ingredients in the eye drops are safe for cats. Wait to get her flea control products until you are at the vets. Not all over the counter products are truly safe for kittens (i.e. Hartz). He can give you something safe and effective. Kittens have faster than human respiration and heart rates. What you should be checking for are sneezing, coughing, trouble breathing, discharge from her nose as well, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation. You should have a good kitten chow for her (any major brand will do) and plenty of fresh water. If her nose is congested she will not be able to smell her food. If so, then just to get her eating you can supplement with a wet kitten food. You can heat it till it is just warm — not hot –to make it smellier for her. She might take a day or two to get used to the change in diet. I will bet they were not feeding a good quality kitten diet to her. The litter box can be a temporary one that allows easier access for a small kitten. I used disposable cake pans with my kittens because the sides were low enough to allow easy access — you can always switch to a larger one as she grows. Please remember to scoop it once or twice daily. Cats will not use a dirty box normally. Your vet should give her a thorough physical; check her temperature, check her for worms, deworm as needed. If she has a temperature you should wait until she feels better to get her vaccinations started; just a week usually does it. You can get her spayed between 4-6 months. Young kittens heal really fast. I hope you and your kitten have many years together!
March 14th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Take her to the vet. If she had green discharge she probably has an infection and needs antibiotics.
March 16th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Coming from conditions like that…you can be pretty sure she has worms. She’s due for a checkup with a vet in any case. Call up the vet and make an appointment, and tell them about the eye problem and ask about shots and worm treatment.