About My Kitten (Answer this as soon as possible, please)

Question
Hi, my name is Liz. My cat is a first time mom and she gave birth to a litter of four. The first died a day after it was born (it was the runt). The next died a very odd death about a month later - it had shortness of breath, then the next day I found it on the floor really cold. It kept meowing and I gave it to my boyfriend to take care of because I had to go to class and apparently it started freaking out and bit him really hard (drew blood) and he put it down on it's side and it started running around in circles on it's side and then died a little while later. Now another one is really sick. The mom refuses to feed it and she's really skinny. She barely eats anything and I've been force feeding her soggy food and milk, and she'll drink some water on her own. The problem is she never gets bigger. Now she's really starting to get lethargic and meows when we pick her up. She's always sleeping and refuses to play with her other sister who the mom didn't reject and is very strong, fat, and playful. I don't understand what's wrong with her. I've practically turned into her mother and it still isn't helping. Please help me with this question. She's very skinny and I'm about to have to take her to the vet if I can't get a solution soon. I don't want to lose her too.

Answer
Hi Liz.  It sounds like a vet visit is definitely the right thing to do at this point.  I would bring the mother as well as the kitten who is sick.

There is an occurance called Fading Kitten Syndrome.  It's a term given to litters who seem to start off strong, but then their health begins to fade, and the kittens soon die.  The cause of Fading Kitten Syndrome isn't known, but in many cases, an unidentified infection is to blame, and the whole litter is lost.  Your remaining kittens are a little older than most fading kittens, but I can't help but think there must be a common link between all their failing health.

An antibiotic may help in some cases of fading kittens.  I have to say that reading your question, my first concern is that your kitty and her kittens are infected with either the feline leukemia virus or feline AIDS.  These are two viruses that are contagious between cats (but not to people or other types of household pets) and are considered terminal diseases.  They are a major cause of stillbirths and kitten deaths.  Both diseases can be tested for with a simple blood test.  Most offices carry tests that will give you results in 10 minutes.  It's important to know your cat's status regarding these diseases so that you can keep her away from other cats and be able to give her the special care she may need (these cats are more prone to infection and benefit from vitamins and careful attention to their health).  There is also a less common disease called feline infectious peritonitis that is always fatal, though there is no simple test for this one.

Hopefully none of these diseases are to blame, and a course of antibiotics will save your kitten's life.  Sometimes more simple things like a bad worm infestation or protozoan infections can be too much for a kitten to handle and become quickly life-threatening.  Fortunately, these are more treatable than viral diseases.