hurricane kitten

Question
This morning I found an approx 6-8 week old kitten. The first thing I noticed was the necrosis around her genital area-along with foul odor. The second thing is she is deaf. I am in FL and believe she was injured during IVAN. My vet is closed due to damages, and I really want to help her until I can get her to the vet-this may take a couple of days. She is drinking water, but not eating, I tried kitten food, then tuna fish.  She has urinated 1x today, but no defacation. Any advice about cleaning the area-I have povidone solution, and also injectable penicillin that I use for my horses. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! She is not wild,very loving....none of my neighbors (I live in a very rural area) are missing a cat.Thanks so much, and have a great day.....oh by the way, I have 2 other cats...my bottle babies, so the kitten is locked in the bathroom, an area I can thoroughly disinfect, and prevent any disease from spreading. I was a vet tech for 6 years, but it was so long ago, I just want to be sure.Again,thanks....

Answer
Hi, Brandi.  I'm sure your means are extremely limited with all the store closures, etc., in your area due to the weather.  But, try to get right to work on those sores.  I have never used Povidone and can't tell you whether I'd suggest that or not for these types of severe wounds.  From what I understand, it is meant for surface scrapes?  If you feel comfortable using it, then by all means do so.  I'm not familiar with it at all, so I just could not say either way.  

I would suspect these to be fecal burns, personally, brought on by serious diarrhea, and these I do have a LOT of experience with.  Though she has not defecated since you've had her, this may be because she hasn't eaten.  Or, perhaps these sores are due to a recent bout of diarrhea she's overcome.  Perhaps I'm wrong altogether and they ARE due to trauma sustained during the storm!  At any rate, I'm sure you are aware with your vet tech experience that not only is this kitty in serious pain from these burns, but she's also very open to infection and dehydration.  According to my vets, the best treatment for fecal burns is to flush the area several times daily with Chlorhexiderm flush, available at vets or pet stores if any are open.  Then pat dry and apply an antibiotic ointment.  If not, wash the area only 2-3 times daily with antibiotic dish or hand soap (more often will dry it out and prevent healing).  Hopefully, you have some of that.  Then, if you have it, apply a very thin layer of antibiotic ointment several times a day.  If you happen to have Panalog (nystatine) for your horses, use that rather than the ointment.  In my opinion, a water-based antibiotic cream is better than a petroleum-based ointment.  Only downside - you'll need to apply it a little more often.

As far as her not eating, I'd sort of guess that this is due to gastrointestinal problems, as well.  Could be due to her traumatic experiences, but kittens of her age are usually much more resilient than that.  For now, give her a small amount of Karo syrup (1/2 ml is fine), if you have it, every 6-8 hours to keep her from going hypoglycemic.  If you don't have Karo, mix a teaspoon of sugar into one cup of water, shake well, and give a couple mls of that.  Then try anything you can think of to entice her to eat.  

When the first store opens, go out and get some jarred baby food - chicken, lamb, turkey, or beef.  It should be stage one, meat and broth only (no veggies, pasta, gravy, etc.).  This is usually pretty tempting and can be forced, if needed, with a syringe if you have one.  

Ideally, though, feed her boiled chicken breast and white rice.  This is harder to force-feed than baby food but is much more nutritious, since baby food is 90% water.  Continue the chicken and rice diet until her diarrhea, if she has it as I suspect, is gone.  If you have a blender, pulverize the mixture and force-feed it with a syringe, if available.

You might also consider forcing some Pedialyte to get her rehydrated, if you can get your hands on some.

I also have no experience with administering injectible penicillin, but I found in an online search that the dosage is just under 10,000 units per pound.  Again, there is no way I could suggest to administer it, personally, with no training or experience.  However, you do have vet tech experience, and if you feel this kitten is fading and is in danger of dying before vet care is available, then you are certainly capable of making a decision there.

In the meantime, I'm glad you have her locked in a bathroom and I hope your other two are up on their vaccines, just in case this anorexia and diarrhea (if present) are due to distemper.  If your cats aren't vaccinated, wash your hands and arms with a dilution of bleach between handling this kitten and your own cats.

Of course, I know you'll seek vet attention as soon as it is available.  Good luck, and please let me know how you do with this little one.

Jessica