Mouse is 24 days old today. She had her 4th veterinarian appointment today, and she is due back on Monday.
In the past week she has gained exactly 1.5oz. A normal kitten her age would have gained around 3oz. The fact that she is gaining weight is a good sign and we have been trying to look to the positives.
Two days ago I noticed her stomach looking bloated and that it felt hard to the touch on one side. I was very worried and yesterday when we took her to the vet. The doctor didn't know what it was so they did some x-rays. The inside of a kitten's abdomen is filled with fluid so it was impossible to tell what the mass was. We ruled out her kidney because the area was closer to her ribs than where he thought her kidney was. We also ruled out a tumor because of her extremely young age and the placement.The only thing the mass could be then is severe constipation or an enlarged organ.
The vet yesterday gave her an enema and IV fluids. And last night she did have some bowl movements, but not much. Today we went back and they showed me how to administer fluids under the skin and to give an enema at home, since home treatments are less expensive and I am going into medicine and injections are not new to me.
Today after her enema she had some really awesome bowl movements (I know, not the word i would have used to describe poop before last week!). She went a lot and we are hoping that indeed the mass is fecal matter backed up and that with these treatments will get better.
The problem with constipation in kittens is that the longer the poop stays in her colon the dryer and harder it becomes, making it even harder to move. This in turn makes the wall of her colon weaker and could bring on a whole nother situation.
I gave my first injection of fluids to her tonight, it was not as easy as they make it look. I did it though, and am confident that tomorrow it will be easier. And tomorrow after I administer the fluids I also have to give her an enema...oh joy...
I cant take video right now, and I'm sure not many people would want to see me giving Mouse an enema or injections anyway. But I will take pictures, because you all should know by now that I am not faint at heart to post some extreme pictures. This is after all her story and right now poop is a big part of her story!
Here is a picture of her after her bath yesterday. We will be taking more when we are less stressed about her health.
In the past week she has gained exactly 1.5oz. A normal kitten her age would have gained around 3oz. The fact that she is gaining weight is a good sign and we have been trying to look to the positives.
Two days ago I noticed her stomach looking bloated and that it felt hard to the touch on one side. I was very worried and yesterday when we took her to the vet. The doctor didn't know what it was so they did some x-rays. The inside of a kitten's abdomen is filled with fluid so it was impossible to tell what the mass was. We ruled out her kidney because the area was closer to her ribs than where he thought her kidney was. We also ruled out a tumor because of her extremely young age and the placement.The only thing the mass could be then is severe constipation or an enlarged organ.
The vet yesterday gave her an enema and IV fluids. And last night she did have some bowl movements, but not much. Today we went back and they showed me how to administer fluids under the skin and to give an enema at home, since home treatments are less expensive and I am going into medicine and injections are not new to me.
Today after her enema she had some really awesome bowl movements (I know, not the word i would have used to describe poop before last week!). She went a lot and we are hoping that indeed the mass is fecal matter backed up and that with these treatments will get better.
The problem with constipation in kittens is that the longer the poop stays in her colon the dryer and harder it becomes, making it even harder to move. This in turn makes the wall of her colon weaker and could bring on a whole nother situation.
I gave my first injection of fluids to her tonight, it was not as easy as they make it look. I did it though, and am confident that tomorrow it will be easier. And tomorrow after I administer the fluids I also have to give her an enema...oh joy...
I cant take video right now, and I'm sure not many people would want to see me giving Mouse an enema or injections anyway. But I will take pictures, because you all should know by now that I am not faint at heart to post some extreme pictures. This is after all her story and right now poop is a big part of her story!
Here is a picture of her after her bath yesterday. We will be taking more when we are less stressed about her health.
Here are a couple pictures that I snapped today at the vets office.
Here are some pictures from today (also taken from my phone) of some of our other pets. The cat is Kiko (2 years old) and the dog is my baby Kody (5 years old).
Hi! Thank you so much for helping this wee one. I've taken care of newborn kittens before,none with quite this many problems. What are you feeding her? KMR fluid is better for kittens with constipation that the powder reconstituted kind. Please ask your vet but just plain vaseline(petroleum jelly) might be better on her little butt than A&D.
ReplyDeleteI know it's worrisome taking care of a little one this sick,being almost afraid to take pictures but I had a tiny 2 week old kitten survive pneumonia,dehydration and heat exposure. He has a hearty appetite thank God and although he isn't as big as his brother,he's a strong delightful little dude.
You're doing a great job keeping her warm and meeting all her needs,I wish you the best. I found you from The Daily Kitten btw,there are many knowledgeable people there and you can email me if you wish. Again all of you have my prayers.
Thanks for your kind words. Just for the record, we did use plain vaseline for her behind, but it is all better now.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't know about baby creams, but our wonderful vet set us strait about what we should be using :)
And I agree, Daily Kitten is awesome. I enjoy the community there very much!