Baby kitten Rosemary passed away about an hour ago š Iām not sure what made her start declining last night, she was being tube fed for days so she hadnāt aspirated. The only thing I can think of is she couldāve burped and aspirated that way or whatever reason why she wasnāt strong enough to eat on her own in the first place was the cause. She was already on preventative antibiotics because her brother Basil is dealing with an infection so Iām stumped on what exactly went wrong with Rosemary. Basil had gotten infected anal glands the past 2 days and has been getting warm compresses to help drain the infection along with the antibiotics. I was worried about him having this because Iāve only had one other kitten experience this 5 years ago from awful diarrhea and he passed away from dehydration before I was able to get him fluids. This litter doesnāt have diarrhea and I donāt know how it got infected but the swelling (and pussš·) have gone down over 75% since starting to treat him and he seems much stronger today. If that wasnāt enough, Basil also has a weird issue with his tongue where half of the tip has turned white. We think it could be an ulcer but really not sure, he has started eating on his own again which is a good sign because I thought it couldāve been why he wasnāt latching but it must be feeling better/the antibiotics may be effective in helping the tongue along with his other infection. Only time will tell as he has all the supportive care he can get but he seems to be getting stronger so far!š¤ Link in my bio to help donate towards a large incubator that would allow for more features to help the babies! Itās been a tough start to this season and will likely only get tougher during the coming summer months #theherbs kitten@teenytinyfosters said.
kitten Tom ,kitten Basil and kitten Sage have passed away one by one the past 2 days. Tom was doing way better but his diarrhea suddenly returned so bad that it was literally like water. He stopped eating so I tube fed and gave fluids but he passed within hours.
Next day, Basilās anal gland infection still looked better but his tongue remained oddly white on the tip. Then his paws began to swell. If you remember my #forrestkittens litter a few years ago, they were the only other kittens that Iāve seen paws swell and cause these types of symptoms. For that litter it was caused by sepsis from an infection so I believe the herbs all got an odd infection that wasnāt treatable with the antibiotic they were already on and had spread it to one another which then developed into sepsis. Rosemary probably also passed from the infection the day prior but it was only visible on Basilās tongue until it was already too late to try treating. Sageās paws started to swell after Basil passed, he started refusing to eat, and suffered some weird neurological symptoms the same way his siblings all did when they passed. He too got fluids and tube fed for hours before passing away last night.
Iāve been tube feeding most of the babies every 30-45 mins over a week just sitting and staring at them 24/7 watching them decline not even laying down more than 10 mins at a time and am SO exhausted. Iām heartbroken that nothing couldāve saved them, we didnāt know what the underlying cause of sepsis could be which would need to be treated to save them and they went downhill too fast wait for any kind of results or try other meds. Still glad they were able to have a second chance and were warm, loved, and cared for when they passed away instead of outside or at the shelter.
Lucy is still doing great as all litters are kept separate for this reason. Iām detail disinfecting everything to be sure whatever infection they had is out of the environment and canāt spread to future kittens, and will try to get some much needed rest for a little to reset before taking on a new litter. @teenytinyfosterskitten said.
