Strange behavier in kitten

Question

Hi there :)

My queen gave birth to 7 kittens about 3 weeks ago. She is an awesome mother, or was until recently. I made a penned area in a room in my home, and I have a feeling she is not happy with the area. However, I have no choice, considering I have a baby and feel that these kittens need to be in an area that is secure and safe. I bring mother to her kittens, and she will not go to them. however, when the kids are asleep I bring the kittens out, and she is more then happy to clean, and feed them all.

About a week ago, I found a dead kitten in the area that the kittens live. It seemed to be lively and thrively, then for some reason over night it passed away, and I found it in a corner away from the other kittens. I suppose my queen moved this kitten away from the rest of the litter until I found it. I was sad to see this happen, however I am perfectly aware that sometimes this does happen unfortuently. So although I was saddened, I wasnt terribly shocked by it.

Tonight, I brought the remaining 6 kittens out for a feeding with their mother. After they nursed for about 15 minutes I allowed them to walk around, and play with one another. While they did this, I went to their area, and cleaned it, before putting them back for the night.

When I came back I sat and watched them play. I noticed some strange behavier with one kitten in particular. He would walk 2 or 3 steps, then sit on his backside, with his back legs kind of sticking up in the air. I picked him up and touched his hind legs, and he didnt appear to be in any discomfort. So I placed him back with the others and just observed.

After a few minutes, I realized this kitten was extremely non responsive. It sat in an opposite direction of the other kittens, and stared off into space. I then got on the floor, and waved my finger back and forth infront of its face. Again, it didnt follow my finger, it stared blankly . So, I did the same experiment with the others, and ofcourse they all followed my finger, back and forth.

I make "clicking" sounds as well, and the rest of the litter. Ofcourse there ears quirked in the direction, of the sound. But the one kitten, was non responsive.

I picked up the kitten and took it under a bright light. It did turn its head slowly, to the direction of the light. I again, in the light moved my fingers back and forth. Again, it didnt follow the direction.

I sat down with the kitten, and talked to it, and cuddled it. It seemed to know that it was being held, and carassed. After a few minutes, it did start to pur. However again when I spoke to the kitten, it was like staring into a glass face. Its eyes are still blue, and the pupils were big and round. Its a little smaller then the rest of the litter, so perhaps its possible this could be the runt. Is is possible that this particular kitten could be developing a little slower then the others, if it is the runt?

When my husband came home, he examined the kitten. He said, it was almost like it was handicapped, and had some type of retardation. It broke his heart.

Have you heard of this situation before? Should we ride it out a little longer and see if this cat perks up?

The rest of the litter is fine. They are playful, happy and seem to very close to one another. The queen, has not rejected any of her cats, even the kitten whom seems  non responsive, she feeds, and cleans.

We are on a limited budget, and I dont know what to do if there if this kitten has some kind of handicapp. I know it will be impossible to find a home for kitten, and I certainly cannot keep it (I wish I could :() because I have 2 kids, and this cat if indeed is challenged would require a ton of attention, and care.

My husband is going to call the Humane Society tomorrow and discuss this cats symptoms. We simply, cannot afford to take this kitten to the vet. This has become very worrysome for me, because I dont want to see this animal suffer, yet have a very hard time thinking about this animals possible future. We just dont know what to do.

Am I jumping the gun? Should we give this little one some more time? This litter was born May31st.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I did some research on the net about blindness, muteness, in kittens, but couldnt find a thing :(

Any advice or information you may have would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thankyou in advance, and I apologize for the lenth of my email. But sometimes its better to be perfectly clear as to what a situation is.

-Kristy

Answer
Before I get to the core of your question about the one little kitten, I have to comment on the routine you are following. If the mom is not able to feed the kittens as frequesntly as is needed because of your children's sleeping schedule, that may have an adverse effect on their continuing to thrive. Kittens need to eat every two hours ROUND THE CLOCK until the age of one to two weeks and thereafter need to be fed every three hours round teh clock until the age of four weeks. After that they can begin to eat some canned kitten food and be fed two to three times per day. So at three weeks, they still should be fed every three hours around the clock - if mom isn't with them, they aren't receiving proper care unless you are taking over and bottle feeding them on schedule. Needless to say, if not receiving proper nutrition, as well as assistance with urination and defecation that teh mother provides, the kittens may fail to thrive and even die. In addition, young kittens need vet care to ensure survival. They need dewormings, tests and shots. In feral animals this does not happen and quite frequently all the kittens will die from "fading kitten syndrome" a catchall diagnosis for all the unknowns that can cause death at such a young age. So in sum, the kittens need their proper scheduled nutrition and care and they need veterinary attention - all of them, not just the one that is having trouble. But he most certainly needs it immediately considering the vague nature of what seems to be wrong - it may be neurological or genetic of course but it may be failure to thrive due to circumstances that can be remedied with proper attention. I am sorry if this is not the answer you had hoped for but it is the only responsible advice I can give you. The last thing, considering your openness about not being in a financial position to seek vet care, I must also bring up the absolute necessity that mom be spayed to prevent any future litters. If the vet is too costly, the local SPCA frequently can provide low cost spay/neuter services. Finally, as far as blindness in kittens, a kitten's eyesight is generally not fully mature until the fifth week of age. If it turns out the kitten remains blind (if in fact that is the problem), you can read more about it and the ability to care for such a pet here:
http://www.messybeast.com/disabled.htm#blind
As this article states; "If the owner takes care to provide a safe, stimulating environment then a blind cat or kitten can have a life which is a rich and happy as any sighted cat." It is not a disability that requires euthanasia.