Sunday night, Violet, the smaller calico of the new litter of kittens, passed away.
She had lost weight and seemed weak and tired for a day or so. When I checked on the kittens Sunday evening, Violet was really weak and wouldn't nurse from her mother. I tried feeding her with KMR and a syringe, but she drank very little. Her nose, gums and paw pads were very pale, white rather than pink.
Later that night, she was lying on her side, cold and stiff, and her sister Pearl was sitting next to her, just looking at her. Poor baby; she was so playful only a couple days ago!
I wonder if she was anemic, since the kittens do have fleas. I had seen some fleas on Lucy, their mom, but after treating her with Frontline, she didn't seem to have them anymore. I had been worried about treating Lucy, since she's nursing the kittens, but according to both a veterinarian and the Frontline package, it's OK to use on nursing mother cats.
Unfortunately, the kittens are too young to treat with flea medication, according to the vet. I have been combing the fleas off the kittens daily with a flea comb, and washing their bedding daily, but there are still some fleas on the kittens.
Most of the flea products I've seen said the kittens must be at least 6 to 8 weeks old, some say at least 12 weeks old. I did find one flea spray for kittens and puppies that said it could be used sparingly on 4-week-old kittens, by spraying it on a cottonball and wiping in on their tummies. These kittens will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday, so I guess I'll try it then.
Poor Violet! I feel so bad; maybe I missed the signs that she was having problems, but until the past day or so, she seemed to be playful and was starting to walk pretty well. And even though the other kittens had sniffles for a day or so (Lucy had sniffles and then the kittens started), Violet wasn't sniffling and her eyes were still bright and clear, right up until the end.
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