Kittens death

Question
Hi Christina. We had rescued a kitten which'd been abandoned by it's mother. We got it home when it was 2 days old. And we got it home because it would've been ripped by the dogs or the rats around. We were told by many people that its chances of survival are slim as it needs to be with its mother for 2 weeks after birth.
We however took a lot of care for it and saw it grow till it was 16 days old.
We were giving it Nan Milk (substitution for mother's milk). It had opened its cute eyes and was trying to walking everywhere in a few days. Just when we thought it was past the crucial 2 week period, one day it drank very little milk.
The next day (yesterday) it drank hardly much and was not able to stand up on its feet and use its hind legs' pushing power like it did usually.
We called a vet home and he said it was due to the worms it had in it. He said stray cats pass worms during birth to kittens and mentioned that stray kittens rarely make it to adulthood because of the worms problem.
Anyway, when he came home, he administered a shot of some antibiotics and cortizone.
About half an hour after he left, it was extremely listless with hardly any activity. After an hour, it was breathing, but wasn't blinking. It also had it's mouth open.
A half-hour after this, it began gasping. There was no up-and-down of his stomach then.
After every 4-5 seconds, he would gasp.
Eventually minutes later, he breathed his last.
We buried him then.
What concerns me is that the doc said the worms had blocked the intestine, which is why he didn't survive. (Yes his belly did get bloated after the shot).
This is our first time when we decided to resucue an animal and when we thought we'd given it life, all of a sudden, things changed in a matter of a day and it's not with us anymore.
Is what the vet says about the worms causing the intestinal blockage correct?
Or have I done something wrong here which could've saved the kitty?


Answer
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You did the right thing and taking the little one to the vet was the best you could do. It is possible the de-worming meds could have been given sooner. That is the only thing that might have worked. Of course the worms are only one of many possible thing sthat could have caused your loss. Many strays carry other diseases such as feline leukemia and feline aids immune deficiency. I cannot tell you for certain what caused the death. Feeding the prepared formula was correct. Were you stimulating urine/bowel movements? Kittens at that age cannot normally regulate their own waste. You need to rub their bellies after every meal to cause them to eliminate their wastes. Failure to eliminate waste can result in toxicity building up which could cause serious illness. Many people do not realize they need to do this and think that if food goes in, waste will come out. But it is not the case. I can tell you that recently I saved 5 two-day old kittens from the street. I was warned by everyone that they would not all survive. The reason being that many people I know who rescue often have had similar experiences to yours; inexplicable deaths at very young age. I was fortunate and all five kittens survived. But it could have gone the other way with any one. There are many variables. Please do not be discourgaed and keep up your good works with saving animals. You should feed prepared formulas, you should stimulate waste after every meal, you should feed young kittens every three hours until they are at least four weeks old, and you should take them to the vet withing the first 10 days of life for de-worming. Your vet should be able to give you a schedule; all kittens need several dewormings and several vaccinations and tests. Kittens need mothers care or your substitute care until at least 5 weeks of sge, preferabley 6, before being adopted to new homes. Now you know the basics. Continue your good works but remember that some things are inevitable and if a stray kitten is carrying something fatal, you may not be able to do anything about it. All you can do is give it your very best and I am sure you did and will do that.