My stray kitten is very sick and weak. What should I do immediately?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Storm. Applying some Karo syrup or honey to her gums and tongue will provide some rapid glucose for her body to burn. You should try to force feed her with a good kitten milk replacer via bottle or syringe but if she is weak she might not nurse. Your best bet would be to get her to a vet immediately so they can evaluate her and then treat her accordingly while trying to figure out what is going on. Make sure she is nice and warm since small kittens cannot regulate their body temperature. Their normal temp should be around 99 degrees to 102 degrees farenheit. Not sure how old she is but you need to be stimulating her genital area also to get her to eliminate. Again these little guys can get sick very quickly and it's important you get her help as soon as you can. Good luck with her. I would also advise deworming her unless that was already done. Deworming should be done every 3 weeks after 2 weeks of age for at least 3-4 times.

Please take your kitten to the vet immediately. It sounds like she may be having neurologic symptoms, which could be due to low blood sugar associated with not eating and drinking, and she is very likely dehydrated. This is potentially deadly, and your kitten should be seen right away to check her blood sugar levels, assess for dehydration, and address the cause of her weakness. Another very serious concern in a stray kitten is the possibility of rabies infection, which is transmitted from the saliva of infected mammals, can be passed on to humans, and is fatal. There may also be other underlying neurologic causes for her condition, and a veterinarian can help determine the cause and start treatment .

Poor Oreo! My main concern would be a possible viral infection that is affecting the nervous system. I would recommend making sure Oreo stays warm. You can take her temperature at home and monitor for a fever. I would start supplementing with taurine just incase she is deficient. I would recommend syringe feeding can cat food and you can even give her small amounts of maple syrup a few times a day. Unfortunately with such a small kitten supportive care if going to the best option until you can get her back to the vet for blood work to evaluate her organ function. Hope that helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m so sorry to hear about buttercup. You have her listed at 1lb so I am assuming she is a kitten. I can’t diagnose her over the internet but i can tell you that her situation sounds very grave. A cat -especially a kitten- who will not eat, seems blind, and is not moving, needs intensive testing and care- and may still not make it. Hypoglycemia and hypothermia (they often go together) are first on my list. Congenital brain or heart problems and infectious diseases are also possible. If she can still swallow you can continue the water. You can place a little white Karo syrup or honey on her gums for some blood sugar stabilization. If she perks up with that, keep her warm and continue small amounts of water and Karo syrup every half hour or so. But if she doesn’t perk up within a few minutes of warming and karo, she may have bigger problems. And in that case, those won’t be enough to keep her hydrated or from losing weight. She would need a vet for anything beyond that, and you may need to make a tough decision to humanely euthanize her. :( I’m so sorry and I wish the best for you and Buttercup.

Unfortunately no, there is nothing you can do without taking her to a vet. She sounds quite ill, and she truly has to have veterinary care; in fact, I would consider her current symptoms a medical emergency. She sounds very weak and she's likely starving, and she needs veterinary care now if you want to help her. Please take her into a vet right away.

I am very sorry to hear about your kitten. From your description it sounds like it could be very anemic (low red blood cells) and it may actually be agonal/dying if it is crying out every few minutes while otherwise being weak. This kitten needs veterinary care and will not survive at home. I would recommend relinquishing the kitten to a veterinarian or rescue/shelter/humane society if you cannot care for it as there is nothing at home you will be able to do if this kitten is as ill as you describe. You can also consult this website for ideas on affording veterinary care: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/having-trouble-affording-veterinary-care . In the meantime keep the kitten warm and you can try rubbing karo syrup or honey on his gums in case his blood sugar is very low.

Honey or karo syrup can be placed on the gums every 30 minutes to prevent hypoglycemia, but you have to be careful not to use too much if she has trouble swallowing as it can go down into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. If she is not doing better in a few hours, though, I would recommend taking her to an emergency vet. Small kittens can get dehydrated very quickly, and it appears that she is very sick.