kitten severe illness?

Question
QUESTION: i have a 4 month old kitten that had an upper respitory infection, i just finshed giving him clavamox it seems gone . Recently he has been taking trasaderm and terramycin for a yeast and bacterial ear infection. He did seem to feel better at first , but now on day 8 of taking his meds for the ear infection just yesterday he could hardly walk seemed very weak, has been inactive since he had the
ear infection. today he is very weak ; i have stopped all meds ; what could be wrong with him

ANSWER: Hi Sande.  I'm not sure what could be wrong with him.  There are so many illnessse that can cause these generalized symptoms.  It could be simple dehydration if he's not drinking what he should be, or if he has an unrecognized fever.  It's possible that the Terramycin has not cleared up his ear infection and that he's having vertigo and balance issues because of this.  One of my cats had an ear polyp that caused frequent infections, and when a bad infection occurred, he would stumble around until he couldn't walk at all.  Removal of the polyp cured his infections.

However, I'm wondering if the little one could have something more serious.  Has he been tested for the feline leukemia and feline AIDS viruses?  If not, I would have this done.  These deadly viruses can lead to chronic secondary infections and cause other complications, like cancer.  Leukemia is more likely to make a young kitten very ill, whereas AIDS is a slow disease process.  

If both of those are negative, you may want to discuss the possibility of a disease called FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) with your vet.  This is a condition caused by the immune system's reaction to a certain viral infection.  The symptoms can include neurological problems (blindness, seizures, loss of balance), weakness, stunted growth, persistent fever, anorexia, and in certain cases, fluid build-up in the belly area.  The disease eventually causes the blood vessels to leak, and kittens will often be anemic and have organ failure.  There is a test for the group of viruses that causes this condition, called the corona viruses, but a positive test does not mean the kitten is suffering from or ever will suffer from FIP.  So this test is of little benefit unless the kitten is showing signs of the disease.  Then, a positive test may help you make a decision as far as treatment.  The disease is uncurable, but in some instances, antibiotics and steroids can help prolong life for a short time and help the kitten feel better.  Fortunately, FIP is pretty rare, and it's likely something less grave is wrong with your kitten.

Your vet might recommend blood tests to check his blood cell counts and organ function.  I think it would be a good idea to follow through with this.  His blood cell counts alone will let you know if the Clavamox cleared up the infection he was suffering, or if there still appears to be some disease process going on somewhere in the body.  Your vet can determine a lot of what may be going on (bacterial infection, viral infection or simply inflammation) just by reading a complete blood count.  If his monocyte count is high, for instance, it may indicate the Clavamox did not clear up a bacterial infection that the kitten has, and a stronger antibiotic may be used.

I would get him to the vet right away, since babies this age have little time to work with before they are in very serious condition.  I hope all goes well!

Jessica



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  I am a little confused; the vet that put my sweetie to sleep said that he was born with this disease should not have been born and never had a chance. He also had the habit of rolling in the litter box and trying to play in it alot , but i did get him out of the habit quick. What are the symtoms because one day after I brought him , he had the respitory infection , one month later it was back not as bad, and then the ear mites and the ear infection . I have a half persian male kit one month older and he is very healthy, in fact he only got aliitle eye infection caught from my new kit and had ear mites but they went gone quick (neighbors may have had ear mites my new kit only went out in hallway.  Where can I find very acurate info on this disease? Thank you again. Peace. ( He was tested ; negetive for lukemia and no conclusive answer on feline aids not until after 6 months for sure said vets )

Answer
Hello again.  I'm so sorry to hear that your kitten had to be put to sleep.  If your vet feels the kitten was born with the condition it was affected by, I don't believe they suspect FIP.  I am wondering if they believe your kitty was suffering from a condition called Cerebellar Hypoplasia.  This is an underdevelopment of the part of the brain responsible for muscle coordination, called the cerebellum.  It's almost always caused by the mother's contracting distemper while pregnant.  Kittens are born with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, and the condition generally does not improve nor worsen as they get older.  Sadly, the disease is misunderstood.  Kittens with this condition, while clumsy, don't have a poor quality of life.  Their brains and minds are fully developed in all other areas - they simply aren't coordinated.  You can watch this You Tube video and others to see if this is what your kitty may have had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJQG6V1MOVY

As for FIP, probably the best page you can find on the internet is a brochure put out by Cornell University, one of the top veterinary schools in the U.S.  Here's a link to that page:

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fip.html