I found a stray kitten outside my door, and decided to take it in...?

Question

He looks about 4 months old, but his body looks healthy. He has a big fat tummy, and his fur is nice and clean. The only thing I'm worried about is that he had been coughing since we brought him in, and his eyes have a lot of gunk in them. I just want to make sure he's not really sick or anything, and I thought maybe someone knew if these were symptoms of something?

Answer 1

Keep him separated from any other pets you may have and heartbreaking as it might seem you should probably at least notify your local humane society; someone could be going crazy looking for him.

The big belly could be an indication of worms and the coughing with gunky eyes could be an upper respiratory problem.  Best to get this checked as soon as possible by a vet.

Answer 2

awww he may have a little cold. or more than a little cold. but i would suggest calling the vet. a phone call cant hurt.

Answer 3

sounds like he belongs to someone, put up fliers, run ads.

other then that, it sounds like he has normal cold, easily fixed at the vets.

Answer 4

I definitley think this is a "kitty" cold or a upper respiratory infection.  As for his coughing, these symptoms are brought on by lower respiratory track problems and can be caused by everything to his inhaling of irritants like gasses or dirt, to bronchitis to the Cat Flu. The cause can be a viral, a bacterial, or a parasitic worm infection, or just an allergic reaction. Because he has been coughing the last couple of days you are best off taking him to the vet to get him treated soon. The sooner you take care of any respiratory track infections the less likely that he will have permanent damage and future problems in that area.  This is something that you MUST see a vet for otherwise the outcome will not be so pretty.  I'm sure that it won't be extremely expensive, prolly $50 for the visit and then the anti-biotic, it's nothing they have to spend a lot of time or money on so the final bill shouldn't be more than $150.00 or so.  Call a vet and see if you can get any type of estimate.  Glad to be of some help...good luck!

Answer 5

a lot of times a big fat belly is an indication of worms.  don't worry, that can be cured easily.  take it to the vet as soon as you can for a check up.

Answer 6

Firstly well done for being such a loving & caring person & accepting responsibility for this little feline.  

I cannot OVERSTATE enough how imperative it is that you take this kitten to a vet-or if you do not drive/have little funds ring an animal sanctuary emergency & request they collect & treat him/her appropriately.  I'll deal with several issues subsequently but all you need to know for now is that you can't leave this infection to gain strength overnight & potentially overwhelm this tiny feline. Please.

I'm not sure where you;re based, but by law you must advertise that you've found him/her (I'll refer to him/her as 'kitty' from now on).  Kitty may be a feral cat (they can be quite tame early on) but may belong to a family, got lost & not be developed or rooted enough in the previous home to sense the way back.  I had this happen with my kitten NuNu & my children were devastated.  Thankfully we got her back through a local radio appeal.

You must consider your position as this kitten needs attention *straight away".  If you undertake this& invest the cost of veterinary services you may still have to give kitty up at a later date as you have to advertise the kitty as found (inform police station too). The cat owner is not liable to reimburse you.

Whatever you decide you need to get kitten seen QUICKLY.  I'm experienced in caring for small/young mammals & they can deteriorate rapidly.

Re eyes: Poss eye infection, easily rectified.  You may see a white membrane/'third eye' (triangular piece of skin originating in the inner corner nearest kitty's nose) become more prominent/inflamed & it start closing over the eyes/iris, as infection progresses. But combined with a cough the symptom's more worrying. Not to scare you but there's a little furry life at stake. A cough or sneeze if repeated is an indicator of cat flu or some other nasties. If these types of virus's are caught early & treated with antibiotics, prognosis is better, but do NOT get this cat vaccinated YET as a vaccine is live small strains of the virus's the animal needs protecting against.  Healthy animals develop antibodies, unwell animals can be wiped out due to low immune system and overall weakness.

If you have another cat (vaccinated or not) KEEP IT SEPERATE at all times, wash hands to avoid cross contamination. be fastidious about food, bowls & litter tray.  Please do not give milk of any description (except possibly Lactol weaning suppliment by Sherleys) cats don't need milk, it's not good for them.  Water's best & swiftly utilised by the body to rehydrate. For a puppy I've used Dioralyte rehydration in an emergency (not balanced perfectly for cats but assists hydration & balances electrolytes).  At present give wet KITTEN ONLY food it contains moisture, assists hydration & is palatable & tempting to taste buds if kittys appetite's waning (adult food's hard to digest & strains kidneys).  Mash it up & seperate to make it easier to eat as kitty mouth may be sore if it's Rhinotracheitis. This can be fatal in kittens.

http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rhino...

If you cannot afford treatment don't leave kitty unexamined & hope to manage this yourself. Please contact an animal shelter, PDSA, RSPCA, BLUE CROSS or CATS PROTECTION LEAGUE.  You would be acting very ethically & be assured that kitty would be much more closely monitored around the clock with expert professionals on standby to administer what could be needed to recover to good health. Also if no one claims kitty ask to be considered as a potential new owner. This way you'll be able to see the situation throughwhilst protecting yourself & the furry feline concerned. Incidentally as someone else mentioned worms cause a fat tummy, so it may not be due to being well-fed.

Please pay particular attention to Feline Calicivirus & Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis as symptoms you mention are described as the direct effect of these. If kitty gets lathargic & finds it hard to eat or drink due to a sore mouth/breathing difficulties they'll dehydrate rapidly. I've used 'glucostop' gel for diabetics on tiny Chihuahua pup to prevent the risk of hypoglycemia as well as maintain energy/sugar levels thus giving them a burst of energy, hopefully enough to feed.  However there's NO substitute for adequate veterinary attention & antibiotics to assist a tiny body to fight off the virus/infection bombarding it.

Edited due to space - please read the 1st set of links below. I've enabled email contact please let me know how kitty gets on x

Answer 7

it is a possibility.

i had to get medication for my cats eye when he had gunk in them

maybe take him to a vet and see

Answer 8

He most likely has worms (the big fat belly) and the symptoms you are describing sounds like an Upper Respiratory Infection which is common in cats and small kittens. Take him to the vet and they will give you an antibiotic for that which will clear it up quickly.

Answer 9

Get him to the vet so they can tell you what to do. If he is sick, you can get him properly treated, and if he's not, it will put your mind at ease.

What a great thing you did!