Okay so on the first of June I started fostering two stray kittens for a rescue. They had been found outside when it was well into the 100s and they didn't seem to be more than 3-4 weeks old. When I finally saw them, it was very obvious that there was something wrong with one of them. He was very lethargic, didn't move much and wouldn't eat. The other kitten hissed at me and hid but this one didn't. He was taken to the vet where they told us he was anemic and dehydrated and gave him some IV fluids then sent him home, he died a few hours later. Didn't think to much of it, thought he just didn't have much of a chance so I started focusing more on the other kitten.
He came around in a few days and turned into a really friendly little guy. He was very tiny and the whole time I had him he never gained any weight. So on the 16th of June I came home and noticed he was making noises when he was breathing and his nose seemed a little congested but he seemed okay. The next day he slept all day and sneezed a few times but he didn't have any noticeable discharge but he was eating. I called the rescue lady and she said it was probably a URI and she'd bring some antibiotics to give him. That night he seemed to get worse. He was still eating but his breathing was worse and he started breathing through his mouth a little and he couldn't sleep. He was still alert. I kept him in a kennel all night to keep an eye on him. The next morning the rescue lady came over with the anti-bs (clavamox) and I gave him some and when I was trying to get him to take it, he bit me but it was not on purpose. His breathing was still bad but he seemed a bit more alert and seemed to be doing a little better to me. So all day I checked in on him and then that evening I looked at him and he wasn't moving or anything. I took him out and he was almost gone. He died a sort time later.
This was all like 3 weeks ago. I'm not really sure why he died. It seems like he might have had something that his brother had but I don't know. I'm a hypochondriac and since he bit me, I've convinced myself he died of rabies. You don't think it could have been rabies do you?
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Extremely unlikely to be rabies. Yes - that seems like an URI at the end, but I wonder if something else wasn't going on behind that.. a kitten that is not gaining weight is not right - even if there were no other symptoms. In two weeks a kitten that age should have gained around half a pound. It is not likely to be rabies though..perhaps something like leukemia, which the kittens could have gotten from their momma. Good luck! Please don't let this experience turn you off from fostering. I've lost a couple of kittens fostering and I'm guessing it never gets easier. But for the few that don't make it, you will save lots of lives!
Could have been cat flu, the symptoms sound similar, its quite common in kittens especially ones that have been living outside exposed to the elements.
I'm sorry to hear your loss, it could of been something minor like a fly that turned into something worse