We
almost lost Squeak last night. He aspirated/inhaled a bunch of formula and
couldn’t breathe. I managed to get his lungs clear and his breathing is
back to normal, but it was a close call.
We headed up to the shelter this morning to get him looked over and give him some preventative antibiotics. His heartbeat was strong and breathing sounded good. The antibiotics should help keep him from getting pneumonia or a respiratory infection.
There’s still a chance that his body could react poorly, but it looks like he may pull through.
Situations like this are why it is SO important to make sure that you are bottle-feeding correctly; if a kitten aspirates (breathes in) the formula, even just a small amount, it can be fatal. If the liquid in their lungs in not cleared immediately their breathing could stop. This is not the kind of care/advice that I feel comfortable sharing online since I am NOT a trained professional; talk to a vet about what to do if your pet/foster stops breathing.
The after-care is just as important as the immediate emergency response. Any amount of liquid in the lungs can cause pneumonia or a nasty respiratory infection. Get the animal stable and then get them to a vet! Squeak was given an injection of penicillin, but the antibiotic used may vary depending on the age, weight, and size of your animal.
About three years ago we lost our little foster kitten Evelyn to this exact nightmare scenario; she aspirated her formula and stopped breathing. We managed to get her breathing again and she survived the night, but the stress to her body was too much and the next day she went into shock and died.
Sometimes even knowing the right actions to take can't prevent something bad from happening. The hardest part about fostering bottle babies is that some of them aren't going to make it. I'll be completely honest and say that it makes you question whether or not you want to keep doing it. A lot of rescue people and fosters won't take bottle babies because it's very scary and very intense. Always remember to take as much care of yourself as you do of you animals; without you they wouldn't have the chance to live.
We headed up to the shelter this morning to get him looked over and give him some preventative antibiotics. His heartbeat was strong and breathing sounded good. The antibiotics should help keep him from getting pneumonia or a respiratory infection.
There’s still a chance that his body could react poorly, but it looks like he may pull through.
Situations like this are why it is SO important to make sure that you are bottle-feeding correctly; if a kitten aspirates (breathes in) the formula, even just a small amount, it can be fatal. If the liquid in their lungs in not cleared immediately their breathing could stop. This is not the kind of care/advice that I feel comfortable sharing online since I am NOT a trained professional; talk to a vet about what to do if your pet/foster stops breathing.
The after-care is just as important as the immediate emergency response. Any amount of liquid in the lungs can cause pneumonia or a nasty respiratory infection. Get the animal stable and then get them to a vet! Squeak was given an injection of penicillin, but the antibiotic used may vary depending on the age, weight, and size of your animal.
About three years ago we lost our little foster kitten Evelyn to this exact nightmare scenario; she aspirated her formula and stopped breathing. We managed to get her breathing again and she survived the night, but the stress to her body was too much and the next day she went into shock and died.
Sometimes even knowing the right actions to take can't prevent something bad from happening. The hardest part about fostering bottle babies is that some of them aren't going to make it. I'll be completely honest and say that it makes you question whether or not you want to keep doing it. A lot of rescue people and fosters won't take bottle babies because it's very scary and very intense. Always remember to take as much care of yourself as you do of you animals; without you they wouldn't have the chance to live.
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