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Warning: Sad Story | Fading Kitten Syndrome (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 7 months ago by fraydabson@sopuli.xyz to c/cat@lemmy.world

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About 3 weeks ago I rescued two kittens. Maybe about 3 weeks old. They were in an abandoned garage and we tried to catch the mom but couldn’t. Crew took everything down the next day so we had to get them.

Over the last three weeks they’ve been doing great. Until Monday evening when he suddenly became super lethargic and was looking weak because he was refusing to eat. He felt cold. I wrapped him up in a towel and heating pad to warm him up. After a bit of that, he finally started eating. The next morning he was hungry as usual and ate well. A few hours later he looked very cold and frail and refused to eat. We tried to warm him up but it wasn’t looking good so we took him to emergency vet. They immediately saw him and checked vitals. His blood glucose was high, especially for a sick kitten. His temp was 91°. They heated him up and gave him so hot liquids and he looked better.

They agreed that it looked like fading kitten syndrome. It’s unlikely he makes it. Since he isn’t physically sick there’s really nothing they can do. They did offer to put him down. We decided against it and will keep him warm and hydrated and hope for the best. I know it’s very unlikely. I’ve never cried this hard before. I know that even if you do the best and give him perfect care, he still might not make it. It’s not my fault. Doesn’t make it any easier.

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[–] bcgm3@lemmy.world 33 points 7 months ago

You're trying, and that's more than anyone could have asked for. To love is to mourn. It's hard to open up a part of yourself, knowing it could hurt you later, but you're doing it, and no matter what happens, you've made a difference. Good luck.

[–] Shellbeach@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

Ohhhhh, sweetheart! My heart hurts for you guys. Losing a furry friend is an incredible heartache, no matter how long you've known them, and if love was enough, it sounds like he would have lived forever.

How his sibling doing?

[–] QualifiedKitten@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

I'm so sorry! It's so tough when they just don't have the strength to pull through, even with all the support you can give them. If they don't make it, at least you know that you gave them their best chance at survival, and that they were able to experience love, instead of dying alone in the cold.

[–] fraydabson@sopuli.xyz 8 points 7 months ago

Thank you so much for all the kind words. It does help. This is so rough for us. He’s eating a very little bit but it’s still not looking great.

Thankful to say his brother seems to be doing perfect.

[–] Zectivi@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

I hope for the best! Sounds so sad, but you being strong may give him a chance.

I have a little guy I adopted. He checked out of the shelter fine, but as soon as we got him home, he wouldn't eat. We tried different things and tried what the vet advised us to do. Three days and he ate nothing. Became fairly lethargic and barely responsive.

We started force feeding wet/pate cat food and baby food through a syringe. He fought slightly, but ate it and kept it down. Then one day I just happen to be working with some shredded chicken in the kitchen and he came over and meowed at me. I gave him a little and he actively ate it himself. I gave more and more and he ate all that too. I went to the store and grabbed a couple cans of wet shredded chicken cat food, brought it home and served it to him. He ate it up.

It was such a relief to see. That was a year and 5 months ago and he's doing amazing. He still meows at me when I'm in the kitchen at lunchtime because he wants a little bowl of his chicken shreds, as that time of day is when I usually made it up for him when he was a kitten.