Mysterious Kitten Death

Question
Hi.  My kitten was 12 weeks old when he died suddenly this past Sunday.  He had a respiratory infection and was being treated with antibiotics.  He still ate, drink, and ran around the house like a normal crazy kitten.

We left the house on Sunday and everything was normal.  When we arrived home he was dead on the kitchen floor.  He was bleeding out of his ear.  What could have caused him to bleed out of his ear besides trauma to the head?

Answer
Hi Tricia,

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.  Unfortunately without more info on where you got the kitten from, how long you've had it, vaccinations, and an exam of the body, I'm not going to be able to tell you anything definitively.  All I can offer is speculation.  So  hear goes.  More than likely, your kitten had one of the conditions that suppress their immune system: Feline Leukemia, FIV, or FIP.  Honestly, it's more likely FIV or FIP are the culprit.  There is also a little understood condition called Fading Kitten Syndrome, which I've provided a link with information about.

Fading Kitten Syndrome
http://www.petplace.com/cats/fading-kitten-syndrome/page1.aspx

Now you should also understand that ANY of these diseases/conditions are quite uncommon and you just were very unlucky.  Where did you adopt the kitten from.  Wherever it was, I would let the person or organization know immediately so they can take action to warn people who adopted your kitten's siblings to have them tested and kept separate from any resident cats.  Do you have any other cats at home?  If so, you need to have them seen at the vet immediately.  You can Google FIV or FIP for more information, but let me give you further piece of mind.  I worked in at a humane society for 8 months, and for all the cats and kittens we tested (about 80-100 a week), we only ever had one 4 year old adult test positive for FIV, and one kitten test positive for Feline Leukemia.  That's approximately 1 in 3200 for each condition.

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) Facts
http://www.berkeleyhumane.org/Hospital/FIV_Facts.htm

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) Info
http://www.vetinfo.com/cencyclopedia/cefip.html

Best regards,

Holly Martin
Cat Care & Behavior Counselor
Texas A&M University
B.S. Animal Science