Sick Kitten Saga

Visitor's Sick Kitten Saga

We just bought a Persian kitten that is about five weeks old. We noticed that he had watery eyes, so we took him to the vet. The vet gave him shots for three consecutive days, and sold us cat food, a mix of chicken and fish.

The kitten, "Spider," became even sicker and vomited one time. We took the kitten back to the place where we purchased him from and the man told us that we should not give the kitten any sea food, and that the doctor should not have given it any shots because he is still too young.

Any way, what I should do? My kids and I are hooked on Spider, although he has only been with us for one week. Your prompt reply is highly appreciated.

~~Fahad

Expert Reply

Where do I begin?

Let's start with the place where you purchased your kitten. In the first place, if a kitten is too young to receive its first vaccination, it's too young to be sold. A kitten receives immunities from its mother's milk until it's time to wean. First vaccinations are usually given between five and six weeks.

Do you know exactly which shots your kitten received for three days? They should be listed on your vet bill. I can't advise any further on this aspect until I have that info, but some vets prefer to break up combination shots into separate vaccinations because they are easier on sick or elderly pets.

Did your cat have any other symptoms than just watery eyes? Persian eyes will tend to water due to their large size and head shape. This would be fairly normal, unless the eyes are crusting over and you can detect a foul smell from the area. These additional symptoms might indicate a respiratory infection, something your vet should have been able to diagnose when he examined your kitten.

Now, let's deal with the food issue. What brand did your vet sell you? In dry cat food, seafood flavoring is usually achieved by spraying just a small amount of fat on the finished product right before it is packaged. There is usually very little actual fish or other seafood included in the recipe because that would boost the production costs, something most pet food manufacturers avoid because it cuts into their profits.

Canned cat food containing chicken and seafood would be mostly chicken, again, since seafood would be the more expensive ingredient.

The only problem I can foresee with this food is if your kitten turns out to be allergic to it, therefore I recommend that you take the kitten back to your vet's and let him know that the kitten is continuing to go downhill. He should re-examine Spider to determine the next course of action.

My best wishes for your kitten's full recovery~~ Kelly

Follow Up

Hello Kelly,

Unfortunately there's nothing written on the vet bill, so I do not know what those shots were. I really do not trust the vets here in Kuwait, and that is why I am calling for your help.

After they gave Spider the shots, he started rejecting his food and became lazy. He does not play and run around like he did at first. The canned food that the vet sold us was Whiskas Salmon and Chicken Blend for adults. We changed his food now to Friskies Supreme Supper for adults and kittens as written on the can.

Please advise me on what to do next. I really do not trust the vet over here.

Thanks~~ Fahad

Expert Reply

Hi Fahad,

It sounds like Spider is growing weak. Is he drinking any water, and is he still having bowel movements and urinating? See if you can get him to take some water, and if he's able to do that, try giving him a little milk. If he's not eating, then he needs to get some nutrition into him, but I'm sad to say it may already be too late.

I share your frustration with the lack of information from your vet. He should be able to tell you exactly what he gave your kitten. I'm also not impressed that he sold you an adult diet for a kitten, but that by itself wouldn't have caused this condition.

You may have heard that here in the US we are experiencing a very large cat.html cat food recall. While Whiskas brand is not on our current recall list, there have been reports that Whiskas manufactured in some parts of Asia has been recalled, so you should try to find out where the Whiskas you fed your kitten was manufactured and if it has also been recalled. A number of cats have developed kidney failure in a very short time period after eating these foods.

Is there another vet in your area that you could take Spider to? He is likely in need of emergency care at this point. I wish I had more help to offer.

~~ Kelly

Recent Update

Hello again,

We looked around to find more veterinarian hospitals in Kuwait, and we finally found one. This one was recommended by the USA Veterinary Care Association in Kuwait.

We took Spider there, and the doctor said the same as you said before- that Spider should not be separated from his mother. She found that Spider had high fever of 40.5 C. She also said that his weight is only 300 grams, but he should weigh at least 600 grams.

She gave Spider a shot to reduce the fever, but said it might be too late to save him and she could not give him more medicine. The doctor kept Spider in the hospital.

Today was the first day Spider started eating on his own since he became sick. He also walked around and used the bathroom.

Expert Reply

I'm so glad you found a veterinarian who appears to know what she's doing. Do not hesitate to have her explain Spider's treatment every step of the way. A good vet will be more than willing to do that.

I sincerely hope that Spider will be able to recover. He sounds like he has a strong desire to live. If your new vet was able to give him IV fluids in time, she may have been able to reverse the dehydration before it was too late.

Please let us know how your situation turns out.

~~ Kelly