# fading kitten



## tillysmum (Dec 5, 2008)

what do i do with this kitten. the vet said just let nature take its course but i cant sit by and wath him die!!
he doesnt move at all, doesnt feed, just moans quietly.
shall i take over feeding?
mum is trying to get him to the breast nudging him over but he just wont feed. he seems really weak.
there doesnt seem to be any physical reason, the vet just said he is the runt and so not destined to survive.
i dont buy this as he is just as big as the other babies.
can i buy formula for him and a bottle
please help me.


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## shortbackandsides (Aug 28, 2008)

if its not feeding and is making noiseslike u say either ty to handfeed hm with a syringe and formula,if he wont swallow,which if he is weak he probably wont,u may choke him,may be best to have him pts,its heartbreaking to hear them like that


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## archiebaby (Feb 25, 2008)

shortbackandsides said:


> if its not feeding and is making noiseslike u say either ty to handfeed hm with a syringe and formula,if he wont swallow,which if he is weak he probably wont,u may choke him,may be best to have him pts,its heartbreaking to hear them like that


I have to agree with you, there may be a underlying problem
how many did she have in the end? i keep checking the other posts


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## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

if vet says there is no physical reason then why not try feeding him? Get him nice and warm and try formula.


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

Biawhiska said:


> if vet says there is no physical reason then why not try feeding him? Get him nice and warm and try formula.


Definitely the right thing to do and quickly.


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## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Try goatsmilk - get it from the supermarket. I have spoken to other breeders who, like myself, have never succeeded with formula milk.

With goatsmilk, all you do is give it a quick blip in the microwave: 10-15 seconds AT MOST. You want it the same temperature as your tongue - ie if you get a drop of it on your tongue it should feel no colder nor warmer. If you have a thermometer, get the milk to around 38 C. 

If you cant use a pipette/syringe and haven't got a feeding bottle (you can get these at [email protected] or Jolleyes - Sherleys make them) then dip a sterylised fine cotton hankie into the mixture and let baby suck. 

If using a syringe, I recommend 1 ml at a time and take your time giving it - it should take at least ten minutes to feed this amount. Feed every hour and a half if the baby will take it or every two hours at least.

Good luck.


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## London Dogwalker (Oct 27, 2009)

Keeping them snuggled in your bra is meant to be a great way of keeping kittens and puppies warm. Plus they can hear your heartbeat so it makes them feel secure. 

Wishing you lots of luck. :thumbup1:


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Had this problem when a stray I took in had a litter, I took on feeding him and he got alot stronger as time went on. I never left his side  I don't by the vet 'destined to not survive' either. Yes in the wild some won't survive because they all fight for milk and food but in a environment were humans are here and helping they can survive and I proved the vet wrong with Elvis who now lives a happy normal life in a family and has no problems. Is he warm? Make sure he is nice a warm, feed him with the milk every 2 hours. I used Sherleys Lactol and they have specially designed feeding tubes, have a look in your local pet shop or [email protected] If he is a fighter he will survive but if he doesn't he tried and so did you. xxx


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## ChinaBlue (Feb 3, 2008)

Hi

Would suggest that first and foremost you ensure the kitten is warm - have you got a heat pad (covered) that you could place him on? You could try some nutridrops - sometimes this helps give them a little energy. All the suggestions re feeding are good but I fear you may lose the battle here but I sincerely do wish you the best of luck with him.


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## Mochali (Sep 29, 2008)

If mum is washing him and still interested in him, then there is hope


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

shortbackandsides said:


> if its not feeding and is making noiseslike u say either ty to handfeed hm with a syringe and formula,if he wont swallow,which if he is weak he probably wont,u may choke him,may be best to have him pts,its heartbreaking to hear them like that


Agree on this

However i would try anything first.

Before you go rushing to try and get him to feed, get him warm first. He cant and wont feed if he isnt warm, and it can be dangerous to feed a kitten who is too cold.

Once he is warm, then you can start offering some formula. I would try via a syringe to start with (dont plunge it too fast), so he doesnt have to work hard sucking, and then move onto a bottle.

These tiny ones can and do make it, but just be prepared for the worst. If he wont/cant feed, then the kindest thing would be to put him to sleep.

x


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

HAND REARING KITTENS

*Note:*
For anyone who is having in a litter in the next while get the formula milk and feeding equipment ready before the birth, so you are always ready to hand-feed sickly kittens.
Sickly kittens or small ones that just need topping up are very common and you should always be prepared.


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## tillysmum (Dec 5, 2008)

he`s gone.
i carried him in my bra for a while and once he was nice and warm i tried to feed him, i noticed his mouth seemed odd. i rang the vets to get an urgent appointment.
then he started crying low moaning kind of cry and within seconds he had died.
im so upset....poor tiny little thing.
i cancelled the vet appointment, thought there was no point. i had a proper look at his mouth afterwards and his tongue was attached to the roof of his mouth so he had clearly starved to death.


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## Emmag (Apr 4, 2008)

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you did everything you could.


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

Aw im so sorry  you must realise that you did help him alot, but there was nothing you could do.. you tried that's what you need to remember. x


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

It sounds like he had a cleft palate .

The strange cry, the inability to feed all point to this.

Unfortunatly without veterinary specialists, thousands of pounds and alot of heartache (and even then no guarentees), there really is very little to be done.

You did your best.

x


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## fairy74 (Aug 20, 2009)

So sorry for your loss.

I went through this not so long ago with my 4 day old kitten..he was fine and feeding(or so i thought) untill when i checked on him he was just making random moaning every few minutes.

He passed away at the vets within the hour.

I was told it was probably a defect he was born with and he was starved.

Its so so sad and upsetting.

How many kittens did your girl have?


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## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

Oh I'm so sorry. RIP little boy x


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

That's sad - but the best for him in the end - he would have only suffered longer to pass on eventually anyway - cleft palette is very, very difficult to mend and would cost thousands and cause a lot of pain to the kitten igf the operations were possible; so possibly it is better he has gone now. HUGSSSSSSSWSSS


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## dharma66 (Oct 25, 2009)

Thats really sad.

I'm a bit surprised the vet didn't spot it. He could have saved the cats suffering and your anguish.


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## archiebaby (Feb 25, 2008)

sorry to hear about your little one


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

Young kittens need weighing daily to make sure they are getting milk. Any weight loss is not normal and can alert you that something is wrong and you can then start topping them up, or get some fluids into them at the vet if they are dehydrated. Look for kittens on their own this can also alert you that something is not quite right. Kittens cannot maintain their body heat well so they need to be in a warm room and they need to be snuggled up together or with mum.

Non-feeding or cold kittens go downhill really fast, so you need to act quickly to save them.


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## tillysmum (Dec 5, 2008)

lauren001 said:


> Young kittens need weighing daily to make sure they are getting milk. Any weight loss is not normal and can alert you that something is wrong and you can then start topping them up, or get some fluids into them at the vet if they are dehydrated. Look for kittens on their own this can also alert you that something is not quite right. Kittens cannot maintain their body heat well so they need to be in a warm room and they need to be snuggled up together or with mum.
> 
> Non-feeding or cold kittens go downhill really fast, so you need to act quickly to save them.


hi i dont think you read the post properly...the kitten could not feed his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. i made him a vets appointment at soon i saw it, but he died before i could get him there.
mum had pushed him out of the bed which is when i took over warming him and trying to feed him with kitten formula, i tried everything i could.
i feel a bit upset at your post actually its like you are saying i could have done more to save him.like it was my fault.


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## ellie8024 (May 4, 2009)

tillysmum you did everything you could


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## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

Hi Lauren - I believe you were just trying to be as helpful as possible as QUICKLY as possible but forgot to read the thread properly. Would you like to pop back on to say sorry? I would give you rep if you did that - it would show that your post was in error and not out of naughtiness. 

Tillysmum - most of us realise that you tried really hard, and I am pretty sure you were already trying before you popped on here to seek advice. Mother Nature took over, that's all. You did everything possible. I hope you are feeling a bit better today.


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## MADCAT (Nov 21, 2008)

I am so sorry to hear you lost him but please remember you did everything you could to help him xxx


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

In no way was I criticising Tillysmum, sounds like the kitten had cleft palate. it was just an observation and some info for other new kitten owners. Sorry it came across that way.


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## katnjakey (Oct 11, 2009)

big massive hugs so sorry for your loss, you did everything you could hun xx


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## Bellini (Mar 30, 2009)

that's so sad... RIP poor little mite


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

Rraa said:


> it would show that your post was in error and not out of naughtiness.


  sorry, but thats bit patronising !!

I think Lauren just made a statement of fact. No blame apportioned to anyone. Fact is to have any chance of success, and its slim at best sometimes, you have to act quickly when you notice something amiss, but in some cases that is not always evident.

I went to a seminar that discussed fading kittens and I was shocked at how just a short period of being slightly too cold can set off a chain reaction inside their body that starts slowly shutting down, meaning even if they are feeding they can not metabolise what they are taking in and in most cases its silent and irreversible. Regularly weighing them sometimes can give you a heads up to the process allowing you to step in earlier than maybe otherwise, but success is still not guaranteed.

The % of kittens that die in the first week of life is worryingly high in a survey they took of pedigree cats the average was 25% mortality rate, which is quite shocking really.

Losing a little soul is never easy, you always have doubts about whether you could of done things differently, its only natural. Mother Nature is incredibly cruel at times, you wonder why she allows these little souls to come into the world alive only to have something go wrong and have them fade away. I always think they are souls who got in the queue to come back before their time, and have to go back to wait for the right time to return (((hugs))) Tillysmum, every breeder goes through this at some point, and it is incredibly hard as you do feel so responsible, but somethings are just not meant to be no matter how hard we battle for them.


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## Abooksigun (Oct 16, 2008)

Hi Tillysmum,

I have just been reading this thread & I am so sorry for your loss. It is natural that you feel like you blame yourself as I would be the same. I can see why you took Laurens post the wrong way as you will be feeling I suppose the word is paranoid, that others will be blaming you. I took Laurens post in the way that she came on to explain, ie information for others who may have a litter due soon & how important it is to have these things to hand.

I hope you are feeling better today R.I.P Little man sweet dreams xx


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## sjreilly72 (Jan 8, 2009)

Oh Tillysmum, I am so sorry. I have been reading all your threads and it breaks my heart you lost one. You did all you could hun and nobody on here is being critical about your handling of the situation at all.

How are the other lovelies doing? Cant wait to see pics, will understand if you don't want to put pics on at the mo.

Take care, thinking of you.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

re post #13 - tillysmum 

i am so very sorry - poor tot. :---( 

but it could have been any number of things - in the womb, their O2 + nutrients are provided for them, so is waste-disposal, detox, etc, via mums bloodstream. 

he may have dehydrated, but starvation takes longer than fluid loss - heart valve or lung malformations, maybe inhalation pneumonia from inhaling birth-fluid, a kidney shunt, liver-shunt, gut-abnormality, a rampaging infection via the stump of his cord, he got CHILLED early + mum did not notice?... 
there is no way to be sure what took the tyke, without a necropsy. 
who knows, poor babe. 

do not beat Urself up, the other infants + Mum need U! 
that little angel left others who are healthy + thriving. 
all my best, 
--- terry 

terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, IPDTA, TDF


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

re post #30 - saikou 

>> 
The % of kittens that die in the first week of life is worryingly high in a survey they took of pedigree cats the average was 25% mortality rate, which is quite shocking really. << 

yes, that is true - in dogs it is an average of 30%, so a puppy born or kitten born alive, is no warranty that they will ever open their eyes, sadly. 

and this may not be ANYthing that anyone *does* -- 
i have heard vets theorize that some fading pups or kits have a low-grade infection that their immature immune systems are incapable of fighting, but whatever the causes (i think there are more than a single root), this is often Not! Any bad reflection on the care or the competence of the midwife! 
:---( we can do as much as we can - and hope and pray! 

i hope Ur heart can find some happiness in the other kits, 
--- terry


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## dharma66 (Oct 25, 2009)

We've already been told what the problem was. The kitten was born with a defect whereby its tongue was attached to the roof of its mouth, so there was no possibility it could have fed or taken on fluid.

This was discovered after death, but even if it had been discovered earlier, it's very doubtful anything could have been done, and even less likely it would have had a successful result even if surgery was attempted.


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

dharma66 said:


> We've already been told what the problem was. The kitten was born with a defect whereby its tongue was attached to the roof of its mouth


That could have happened as a result of dehydration, the mouth dries out very quickly as the kitten hadn't been feeding, not necessarily a defect. Only a necropsy could say what the true cause of death was, but even those are not reliable in tiny babies.


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## lauren001 (Jun 30, 2008)

I may be wrong but I have never heard of a defect where the tongue is attached to the roof of the mouth.
You get tongue ties where it is attached to the bottom of the mouth, but not to the top.

In cleft palate the tongue can also adopt a strange position due to the palate defect, but is not really stuck to the roof of the mouth. 
As Saikou says drying of the mouth due to dehydration can cause the tongue to stick to the roof. 

If anyone has any more info or literature, I would like to see it.


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

lauren001 said:


> I may be wrong but I have never heard of a defect where the tongue is attached to the roof of the mouth.
> You get tongue ties where it is attached to the bottom of the mouth, but not to the top.
> 
> In cleft palate the tongue can also adopt a strange position due to the palate defect, but is not really stuck to the roof of the mouth.
> ...


This is why i think it was more likely a cleft. The strange cry is also a classical sign of a cleft kitten too. Its very sad, but you did everything you could.


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## lorilu (Sep 6, 2009)

tillysmum said:


> hi i dont think you read the post properly...the kitten could not feed his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. i made him a vets appointment at soon i saw it, but he died before i could get him there.
> *mum had pushed him out of the bed *which is when i took over warming him and trying to feed him with kitten formula, i tried everything i could.
> i feel a bit upset at your post actually its like you are saying i could have done more to save him.like it was my fault.


The mama knew something was wrong with him, and that is why she pushed him out. It's nature's way of ensuring "survival of the fittest". Because of you the little baby knew love before he went, and he is at the Bridge waiting to thank you. I doubt the little one suffered much, if at all, his little brain most likely shut down fairly quickly.

I know it hurts, all the same

xo


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## spiffy (Jun 30, 2009)

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Poor little mite.  You did all you could.


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## GeordieBabe (Apr 7, 2009)

aw poor little thing, little confused though,vets are supposed to check inside mouths etc when checking them over arnt they,so why was this not noticed

Tillysmum you give him the best love he couldv'e had in his hour of need,you did all you could,your not to blame hun, like its been said mum knew something was wrong this is why the leave them by themselves
*Hugs*


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## ellie8024 (May 4, 2009)

geordiebabe the kitten hadnt been checked by the vets (was only a few days old), tillys mum booked an appointment with the vet but the kitten passed away before it


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## tillysdream (Sep 23, 2009)

GeordieBabe said:


> aw poor little thing, little confused though,vets are supposed to check inside mouths etc when checking them over arnt they,so why was this not noticed
> 
> Tillysmum you give him the best love he couldv'e had in his hour of need,you did all you could,your not to blame hun, like its been said mum knew something was wrong this is why the leave them by themselves
> *Hugs*


I don't think the kitten had been to the vets, maybe the OP just called the vets for advice...As she said kitten died before getting to the vets...

IMO this kitten starved/dehydrated to death...very sad!

A trip to the vet sooner, may have saved its life.

Laurens advice on here was great, people who breed their pets should ALWAYS buy in formula for kittens who may not feed from mum cat (quite common). Soooo many kittens can be saved by this, also it could be the kitten aspirated the milk when feed with syringle. People need to be very careful when doing this, and go in via the side of kittens mouth and slowly. Not through front of mouth...

Poor wee kitten, my thoughts are with him....


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

how very sad, R I P little one,xx


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

tillysdream said:


> I don't think the kitten had been to the vets, maybe the OP just called the vets for advice...As she said kitten died before getting to the vets...
> 
> IMO this kitten starved/dehydrated to death...very sad!
> 
> ...


...........and even after this they can still go if it's not meant to be. It's heartbreaking. I am sure you did all you could. RIP little baby. x


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## sjreilly72 (Jan 8, 2009)

Hi Tillysmum, hope everything is ok not heard anything for a while :confused5:. How are the other babies doing?


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

sjreilly72 said:


> Hi Tillysmum, hope everything is ok not heard anything for a while :confused5:. How are the other babies doing?


I was just thinking the same thing. Haven't heard and really wondering how the rest of the litter is getting along. Also hoping for some pics


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## becbec31 (Jun 26, 2009)

So sorry to read your story, its heartbreaking. Hope the rest of the litter is doing ok.


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