Rescuing Kittens and Toxic Milk Syndrome

 I have been rescuing kittens for around 44 years off and on. As a rescuer there is one thing I know and it is NEVER easy to deal with. I cannot save them all. There will be kittens who pass away no matter how much love and medical attention they get. Many people cannot handle a kitten dying on them and this is why they avoid rescuing. Those of us who do rescue understand this but we are willing to take the heartbreak to save the ones we can.

The single most thing that threatens YOUNG kittens rescued by someone inexperienced is good intentions! Too many people think if they find a young litter that still needs mother's milk that it is ok to give them cow's milk. What do I mean by cow's milk?  The milk YOU drink or give to you child is cow's milk. Sadly, giving cow's milk to a young kitten can be a death sentence and was for one kitten in a litter of 4 I rescued 2 weeks ago today and another is fighting right now. I called her Blossom, she would have become a medium hair calico. So much personality and sass that I knew she would have to have a perfect family. 

The young family who saved the litter from the flash floods in Barstow had good intentions and amazing love for their fellow creatures!!!! Unfortunately, they gave the kittens an unknown amount of cow's milk before they were made aware of the dangers of this. Blossom paid with her life and her black and white sister Ebbs is very very sick right now.

 

They had no idea that their attempt to help would have such grave consequences because they had never been educated on what to do if they found such young kittens. This litter was roughly 3 weeks old when I picked them up, meaning for at least 3 - 4 days they had been ingesting cow's milk in unknown amounts, along with wet food. Neither of which is good for such young kittens whose system at that age is only designed to digest mother's milk. 

 

All 3 of the little ones have what rescuers refer to as the "flaming shits". If the mental image is not enough to describe it - here goes - swollen little butts, raw and sometimes bleeds, diarrhea they cannot control, loss of weight, sickly appearance and inability to stand anything touching their sore little butts, among other symptoms. This was complicated by the fact that they also had worms, and as a rescuer I had to make a hard decision at 4 weeks of age - let the worms keep living in them or deworm them KNOWING it would make the flaming shits WORSE before it gets better. I chose to deworm because parasites steal all the necessary nutrition a kitten takes in thus they need that nutrition to fight the issue created from the cow's milk. It can be a double edged sword at times. 

 

For this litter, it wasn't until the dewormed kicked in full force that the full effects of the cow's milk did too. Blossom was hit the hardest. Once the parasites were expelled there was literally no "kitten" left. She was skin and bone, literally. Her ravaged system could not recover no matter how many hand feedings, fluids, antibiotics etc that were given to her. Towards the end she wanted to eat but couldn't. All I could do was comfort her until she passed. Thankfully, I have some pain meds that made sure she wasn't suffering those last few hours, but it did not make it easier on ME and my heart!

Some people wonder why I allow my other cats around "sick" kittens. What these babies have is NOT contagious and the other cats cannot catch it. Also, the older cats help in keeping the babies clean! Saves the kittens from "evil water torture" (aka a bath) - which they are not fond of. It also gives the kittens a little bit of the motherly touch they lack from losing their kitty mama. All of these things can aid in a faster recovery for the kittens.

But, as a long time kitten rescuer, if I could stress one thing to someone who finds a little of young kittens - NEVER give them anything made from cow's milk!!!! There are times I would love to go on a campaign of printing flyers and handing them out door to door just to get this single point across to inexperienced rescuers with good intentions!!!! For those of us who deal with the aftermath our hearts break for every kitten we have to watch cross the rainbow bridge!!!

Below are some links that explain these dangers, what it does to the kitten and the difficulty in treating this issue. Please tell a friend, share this article and hopefully - we can save a future litter from good intentions!!!

• Cow’s Milk

Cow’s milk is a prime cause of kitten diarrhea because kittens can’t digest it. “Milk is probably the most common thing that people give to kittens that causes diarrhea. Everyone thinks that’s what they need, but it’s not. It will affect them very quickly,” says Dr. Mears.

So nix the milk! Instead, after weaning (at 4-6 weeks), use a kitten milk replacer mixed with kitten food. By 6 weeks of age, kittens can be fed dry and canned kitten food.

 

 

https://bluepearlvet.com/pet-blog/kitten-diarrhea/

 

https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/inflammation-of-the-rectum-and-anus

 

Treatment of Inflammation of the Rectum and Anus in Cats

Treatment will need to first focus on alleviating the discomfort, and then on treating the underlying cause of the symptoms. If the anus is inflamed, the vet may gently clean the area and apply a topical ointment to soothe the skin and reduce inflammation. If the cat has been licking, an Elizabethan collar will be provided.

 

 

https://scarysymptoms.com/2015/12/kittens-swollen-irritated-anus-causes/

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7149963/

 

https://www.vetniquelabs.com/blogs/vets-corner/why-is-my-cat-leaking-brown-fluid

 

But this is  the single most common cause ---

 

https://pictures-of-cats.org/found-kitten-with-swollen-belly-and-a-red-anus-advice-please.html

 

Red and Swollen Anus

The book says that toxic milk syndrome causes symptoms that include: diarrhea and bloating commonly. “The anus is often red and swollen from continual diarrhea.” A complication is kitten septicemia.

 

 

 

The switch from mama kitty's milk to COW milk or other food their system is not ready for!!! 

Toxic Milk Syndrome kills! Be wise and when saving kittens - remember NEVER give them anything made from cow's milk - PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!