Calling all kitten owners.....

[fruit]

PLEASE HELP!!

I got a kitten 1 week ago today.She was so healthy and happy when we first got her(or so i thought).But after 3 days of having her she starting to sleep all day,not wanting to eat,she has not used the restroom in like 35 hours or so.She wines and wants to be held like a baby all day long.I really do not have the funds to pay for a vet.I dont know what to do we are so scared for her.Has anyone ever had this happen to there precious kitten? Any answers out there please.. Oh i might mention that she eats a normal kitten diet(sad).

[Ireland]

How old is she? If she was taken away from her mother prematurely and isn't going to the bathroom...she may need help. A mother cat and mother dog as well (perhaps other animals) have to stimulate their babies to make them pee when they're really young.
I learned this when I was taking care of 10 doberman puppies who's mother died when she was hit by a car.

If this is the case then take a warm, wet washcloth and wipe her down below. She should pee gallons if she's been holding it in. If that doesn't work, you have a problem and I have no clue.

Also, try feeding her with an eye dropper. Warm goats milk is good or probably any kind of raw milk if you can get it.

I hope you figure things out quickly.

[Zuzu]

PLEASE HELP!!

I got a kitten 1 week ago today.She was so healthy and happy when we first got her(or so i thought).But after 3 days of having her she starting to sleep all day,not wanting to eat,she has not used the restroom in like 35 hours or so.She wines and wants to be held like a baby all day long.I really do not have the funds to pay for a vet.I dont know what to do we are so scared for her.Has anyone ever had this happen to there precious kitten? Any answers out there please.. Oh i might mention that she eats a normal kitten diet(sad).
Sounds like leukemia (sp), it is common in cats. Often one can be a carrier and not get sick but infect others. Before you get another cat throw out everything the cat ate from and used as a litter box and clean your home with bleach.
Sorry that happened! It is heart breaking!

Edit:
Sorry, I thought you said she had died!
You RELLY need to get her to a vet!

[fruit]

I was told she was 8 weeks old,but then again i was also told she was potty trained and that was a lie,So im thinking that she could be younger then i was told cause she is so little.

[fruit]

Oh yea and i forgot to mention,She's been vomiting.

[pdx kris]

Your cat needs to go to the vet immediately. Most vets have payment plans or credit options, often interest-free, so you can sign up for one of those. It is absolutely not fair to her to let her suffer. Animals ARE expensive.

[codajess]

I agree, animals are a big responsibility. Take her to a vet and see if you can work out payments, put it on a credit card, or see if they have their own financing. It's one of the bad parts of having animals. You'd take your kid to the doctor no matter what, you should look at the kitten the same way.
My first thought was that she was younger than you think and unable to go to the bathroom, as well. I was going to suggest taking a damp cotton ball and wiping her bottom. She should go. The vomiting might be part of the fact that she can't go (if that's the issue.) Luckily when I took in my foster babies (a week old, 6 of them), I had their mother as well, so she did all the work. I feel for you. It's tough! Good luck!!!!!! Keep us updated.

[fruit]

I did call and speak to the vet office,I hope and pray that she will be okay till early in the morning til i can get her to the vet,I would go tonight but i have no license and i have no ride.My dad agreed to take me in the morning.He is gonna come over when the office opens and hopefully we can be seen asap.Any prayers would be greatly appreciated..

[Sheryl]

If she's sick and not peeing she could be massively dehydrated. You might want to try to get her to take some water. Even with an eye dropper. Dehydration can be a serious problem.

I'm running to get some water now!!!
Sheryl

[Pansy]

I don't mean to be cruel, but as an animal lover and communicator of animals, here are a couple of questions for you:

Why does someone have an animal if they can't afford to take it to the vet WHEN needed?

Is that fair to the animal?

Something to be aware of!

Pansy

[Zuzu]

I don't mean to be cruel, but as an animal lover and communicator of animals, here are a couple of questions for you:

Why does someone have an animal if they can't afford to take it to the vet WHEN needed?

Is that fair to the animal?

Something to be aware of!

Pansy
From one pet lover to another, As a child our family could never afford pets but they ALWAYS wound up on our door step. We never turned away because we had no money! :rolleyes:

[dawLs]

hope all is well with your kitten.
when i lived in ecuador we took in many strays...kittens way too young to leave their mothers...i often fed them with an eyedropper and wrapped them in small towels to keep them warm.
i am wondering if maybe she is not able to digest her food? is she losing weight? does she feel cold?
i'm glad you are going to the vet though. otherwise, she will probably die.

[Tiggerwoos]

If she's that young she shouldn't be without her mother. An ideal age is 12 to 13 weeks plus.

Fingers crossed and hugs to you both. Make sure she stays hydrated and keep us posted as to how she gets on.

[auroral]

Sending positive vibes to the kitten. Please be aware that it is a HUGE responsibility to care for a companion animal. Be sure that you can afford to care for it properly and provide a safe, clean, and healthy home. That includes being able to care for its health needs.

Good luck and please keep us updated. :)

[Sharon in Colorado]

Maybe you can borrow an adult female cat or dog as a surrogate?

[Tom]

Hi

There are web sites that take you step by step with orphaned cats which you may have if it is tiny. A two month old cat would weigh over two pounds. You really need to get some instruction. Litter training is very simple which tells me that this cat has not had any care or it may be sick. My wife and I got a two week old cat recently and it required constant care like feeding every two hours with substitute cat milk which is $4 a can and they drink that much in a day. They usually don't eat solid food until a month old. They also need to be stimulated before they can pee or have a bowel movement.

Good luck
Tom

[fruit]

I don't mean to be cruel, but as an animal lover and communicator of animals, here are a couple of questions for you:

Why does someone have an animal if they can't afford to take it to the vet WHEN needed?

Is that fair to the animal?

Something to be aware of!

Pansy
If a animal was homeless and had no where to go and you did not have alot of money,Would you still take that animal in?
I dont see how you could say something like that,Is it better to just let an animal suffer and be homeless and possible put to sleep just because someone does not have the funds to take that animal to the vet.
I am on welfare thank you very much,But i dont want to see a little animal not in a loving home....We love this kitten like it is our child...And just because we do not have a lot of money to take her to the vet then we should no have her...What are you saying she should be somewhere else instead of here where she gets all the love and attention in the world...She is feed and has a roof over her head and will never in her life be abused by anyone in this family.....

[codajess]

Fruit, please don't be offended by what people are saying. We are well-meaning when we say companion animals take a lot of care AND a lot of money. I think it's great that you took in a kitten that needed a home (I assume it's a rescue, I might be wrong.) But it IS a lot of responsibility; including financially. Again, I think it's good that you gave the kitten a home; but like a child, if it needs to go to the doctor, then it needs to go to the doctor and you do what you can to pay for it, WHATEVER it takes. Love is fantastic, but love doesn't pay the bills; and having animals increases the bills.

I know you've already said you're taking her to the vet tomorrow, but I'm just responding to earlier posts.


To the earlier posts about not having money and not turning animals away: Depending on the situation, it might be for the best to help find a home for an animal you cannot afford. Giving an animal a roof & food is fantastic; but if they're suffering and you can't figure out what's wrong, then the animal deserves a visit to the vet. If that means financing, charging, or making payments, so be it. If you refuse to do that, then yes, the animal needs a better home. Love and attention doesn't heal a cat who is vomiting or can't go to the bathroom. Loving an animal enough to make sacrifices to pay vet bills does.

Anyway, thank you for making the vet visit tomorrow. The kitten deserves that.

[Sharon in Colorado]

You CAN take it to a local animal shelter and they will treat it, or at least tell you what they need to do. Call the local humane society and let them know what's going on, I'm sure no one will refuse treatment.

[codajess]

To add onto sharon's post:
Most animal shelters i've known won't help with companion animals unless you're surrendering him/her.
However, ask them for referrals to discounted/low-cost/sliding-scale clinics. They will have those.

[fruit]

Well im am so happy to say that the my Kitten is 100% better now.
She did go to the vet and the doctor could not find anything wrong with her,And i did bring her back home and monitor her non stop.She started to eat first,Then drink and so on...Now she is that energetic lil kitten that she was the first couple of days i had her.So me and the kids are just so happy that she is feeling all better now. :D

[luckitri]

One time a wild cat brought her sick kitten to me for help. She didn't know that I had no money! It is true that the mothers do lick the areas to aid in elimination - it is gross but you will see no kitten waste in the bed where they are laying.

So glad the kitten is better! Got better on her own did she? Well with love and prayers?

[salsababy]

I'm really suprised to see some of the answers to Fruit's questions. Mainly the ones that question her ability to own a cat at all. I honestly don't think that she would deny taking her kitten to the vet IF people told her that she must, must, must take the kitten in (and she did!). I feel vet bills (and human doctor bills) are outrageously expensive. I can't afford to take my cats to the vet at certain times in my life- excpet when they need shots or are truly sick. I always seek advice from others with knowledge first because sometimes all that is needed is a simply remedy and you just saved a lot of money on a vet bill. I think that was Fruit's delimea. This is a site for people who think alternatively BEFORE just hoping on over to the doctor. Now, I have read many posts from people who have visited the doctor so I know most people are not against doctors, just want to make sure there is an issue before going.

People advised her to take the kitten to the vet because of her age. That's the kind of advice she needed. And she was great and took the kitten to the vet and is happy the cat is okay. But I totally understand and respect her for asking for suggestions from cat owners before just shelling out the big bucks if it might be something that she can easily do herself. I know readers can't see my tone from writing, but I am not being mean or anything just wanted people to see how I would interprete her situation. :o

[Tiggerwoos]

Great to hear she's better now. Thanks for letting us know.

(((Hugs))) to you and the kitty. :)

[Sharon in Colorado]

I'm really suprised to see some of the answers to Fruit's questions. Mainly the ones that question her ability to own a cat at all. I honestly don't think that she would deny taking her kitten to the vet IF people told her that she must, must, must take the kitten in (and she did!). I feel vet bills (and human doctor bills) are outrageously expensive. I can't afford to take my cats to the vet at certain times in my life- excpet when they need shots or are truly sick. I always seek advice from others with knowledge first because sometimes all that is needed is a simply remedy and you just saved a lot of money on a vet bill. I think that was Fruit's delimea. This is a site for people who think alternatively BEFORE just hoping on over to the doctor. Now, I have read many posts from people who have visited the doctor so I know most people are not against doctors, just want to make sure there is an issue before going.



I have to agree with you here. So many times, we wondered if we should take our dog to the vet and plunk down a large chunk of money just to hear that "it'll pass". The last time we took her, she had a huge piece of fur & skin ripped off her from running through the woods and the flesh was exposed. DH was hoping to just tape her up, but it was so bad we did have to take her in to get stapled up. Eventually we had to take her to another vet over the weekend because the wound opened up and it had to be re-stapled.

There have been other times where she would limp around like she was crippled. DH just massaged her and she was better in a day or so. We realized it was from her running around way too much and probably just pulling a muscle. I could not even imagine how much it would have costed to get and exam and run tests for a stupid pulled muscle! Now we know when she does this, it is right after she has been running around all day, chasing rabbits.

[Forever Young]

If a animal was homeless and had no where to go and you did not have alot of money,Would you still take that animal in?
I dont see how you could say something like that,Is it better to just let an animal suffer and be homeless and possible put to sleep just because someone does not have the funds to take that animal to the vet.
I am on welfare thank you very much,But i dont want to see a little animal not in a loving home....We love this kitten like it is our child...And just because we do not have a lot of money to take her to the vet then we should no have her...What are you saying she should be somewhere else instead of here where she gets all the love and attention in the world...She is feed and has a roof over her head and will never in her life be abused by anyone in this family.....
If you would reread your first post you would see why pansy posted what she did, you didn't say the cat was a stray or otherwise. We have taken in every kind of animal in our part of the woods never turned anything away, but we also have the money to take care of them if it needs to be done. You said you didn't have the money to take it to the vet, so what kind of response did you expect, we see it all the time people get animals and don't take care of them or have the money to take care of them if they need it. Forever young :cool:

[luckitri]

I have taken in many strays when I could not afford it. Somehow the monies always come. At one time a local animal no-kill shelter understood what I was doing and they gladly cared for the animals for me for free.....spay, neuter, shots.....like that. I guess they were so happy that I was giving them a safe home and good food.