Kitten mystery...

Question
I know you might not be able to give me an answer... my regular Vet couldnt, as well as the other two I took my Cali to... My Fiance Joe and I took in this Calico kitten- she was the greatest little thing for the first week... by the seccond week she started acting strangely.. shed run and hide all the time.. or sneak off into her litter box. We finially got her to calm down and she started socializeing more with our family. By the middle of the seccond week we finially decided that I was fine to keep her ( im allergic to cats). We took her to the Vet and had her tested for everythign we could think of because she had a feaver of 105 and they werent able to administer her shots. The vet sent us home with some antibiotics and gave her a fluid shot because they feared she might be dehygerated. Two days went by and we noticed severe swelling in her face, neck, and eyes. Also, Cali refused to leave her litter box and we had to pry her mouth open to dig out kitty litter ( the poor thing couldnt lift her head and had a ton of it stuck in her throat). I immidently took her back to the vet, her temperature had gone up and they decided to give her a steriod instead to help with the swelling. The instructed me to discontinute use of the antibiotic. The kittens face continuted to swell... and I took her every day to get fluids and another shot, the Vet, assureing me I was doign the right thing. We finially got her temperature down to 102 but the swelling was becomeing unbearable. She lost total controll of her back legs as well as her head. Cali didnt sit up or attempt to walk near anyone else other then myself...and it broke my heart to see her even try. For a week and a half i cleaned kitty litter out of her mouth daily and took her to get her fluid injections. The vets still couldnt figure out what was causing her head to swell... - they did however extract some fluid from between her eyes.. and resulted in more swelling, so bad that it appeared that her skin around her nose had split and was unable to contain the swelling..? I finially put her down this morning and I need you to understand that it was the hardest thign i ever had to do.... Even tho the kitten was with us for a short time her and my Shiba Inu were two peas in the pod. I now have to answer to him when he paws at her pillow and whines. All I want to know is if I did the right thing... and if I did... if you might possibly know what could have been wrong with her..? Keep in mind she was a stray cat and we dont know if she was ferrel or not and she tested negitive for every test the Vets could think of...


Sincerely,
Ashley.

Answer
It sounds like you did the right thing.  Most likely she had some genetic defect with protein metabolism causing fluid to leak from her blood vessels into her skin leading to swelling.  Was she tested for FIP?  I am guessing the kitty litter in her mouth was not from her eating it but from her laying in the litter and potentially having some type of seizure.  Sorry for your loss.  I know how hard it is to lose a pet.