Why did my kitten die suddenly after flea treatment? Was it the medicine?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I’m so sorry to hear about Misty! If you want an answer you need to have her neceopsied (autopsy for animals). Fleas can kill a pet if there are so many they suck all the blood out of the pet. Typically we don’t see this in adult pets but it can happen. Because Misty died suddenly I would be more suspicious of underlying heart disease. Cats can have undiagnosed heart problems which can arise suddenly. If not, I would be concerned of a toxin. Again, it’s hard to say for sure but at least you know she didn’t suffer. My thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten! How awful. To answer your question, the odds that his death was related to the dewormer he received at the vet are essentially zero. All of the commonly-used dewormers in the US are extremely safe, and I have never seen a single serious problem related to a dose of dewormer in my entire career. It's much more likely that your kitten had some type of unrelated illness that caused his death. If you want to try and find out what happened, the only way to know would be to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you on where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for loss.

Kittens can be given flea treatment at 8 weeks of age. One important thing to do is make sure the spot on treatment is for kittens only. You can't give dog flea treatments to kittens because cats have a higher sensitivity to the active ingredients in flea medications. Vomiting and diarrhea are signs of a both a mild and moderate to severe reaction to flea treatment, and I would recommend taking Simba into your vet immediately for treatment. These symptoms can get worse and lead to death if not treated promptly.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I definitely understand how you feel and I am so sorry for your loss. It is very unlikely that this happened from applying too much flea medicine. This is more likely due to the other symptoms you mentioned including the diarrhea, difficulty urinating and fatigue. This could have been due to a disease that had not been identified. Again I am so sorry for your loss and I will keep you in my thoughts as you go through this difficult time.

Do not think the revolution is involved. It is more likely to be related to an hyperacute accident, possibly an underlying cardiovascular disease (thromboembolism for example) possibly related to the kidney failure.

It's really difficult to know the cause of her early demise without having seen her. I will say that it's not uncommon for kittens to be born with a problem that causes them to be unhealthy and prone to an early death. Often times, there's really not much you can do about it. If her appetite was declining, then there must have been some disease that was making her feel really bad. I would not worry about the flies and roaches, because they have little chance of causing a disease severe enough to kill her. It is not always obvious how to care for a cat, but I'm sure you at-least gave her a comfortable place to stay and plenty of food; so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. I've given a link to an article below that has good information about how to care for a kitten in case you want to get another one in the future. https://www.petcoach.co/article/new-kitten-101/ I hope this helps.

I’m so sorry for your losses. The only way to determine what the babies have died from would be to have a necropsy or postmortem exam done. I understand with foster pets this might not be financially feasible, but it may give answers and potentially help the remaining kittens. If all from the same litter they could have a congenital Disorder causing the seizures and death, or they may have been exposed to a virus while in utero or shortly after birth. Some toxins, exposure to flea control products, or medications can cause seizure and death. Diagnostic testing can be difficult with kittens this little but it may be worth discussing running a Health screen or viral panel on the remaining kittens to assess their health. Otherwise, the best thing to do is make sure they are on a good plane of nutrition, use only Anti-parasite products recommended by your veterinarian, and vaccinate as they get old enough. Thank you for taking care of these kittens, best of luck with the rest of the litter. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.