2 sick kittens

[Claw3]

I have 2 kittens who are 23 weeks old. One kitten has sores in his mouth, bad smell and dribbling, he is still quite active, but not his usual self.

Other kitten is limping, very sleepy, no sores, but i smelt by her mouth and bad smell.

They have both stopped eating and drinking today. I cant get to vets until tomorrow. I have googled symptoms and it looks like cat flu (they have been vaccinated)

I got some sardines, pilchards, tuna and kitten milk to try and tempt them and im keeping them warm.

Anything else i can do until tomorrow, any advice please?

Mitmoody was me being silly. Claw have you seen this thread?

Thanks Coldsancerre, no i hadnt seen it, thanks for the link.

Oh I do hope purring & being more alert means they're recovering! Poor you, you must be so stressed out..
At least they've taken some food this morning so you know they've had something in their little bellies, and the rehydration syringe things means they have to keep drinking. And if they're feeling crap I'm sure all your cuddles are comforting them. Fingers crossed the antibiotics will do their job and hopefully the vet can give them some more painkillers tomorrow to perk them up again.

Stinky, thank you, im feeling more hopeful, they have both just eaten and drank a small amount a few moments ago. They have certainly perked up, compared to how they were

Ive just added some pictures of them to my profile (just in case i do have to rehome them) so everyone can fall in love with them, like i did!

They're very lovely, I'm so glad they seem brighter.

They are sooo beautiful, I'm so glad they seem brighter. Sending you lots of luck..

Thank you everyone for your comments and support, its much appreciated. Hopefully it will be good news tomorrow.

How are they?

Hi hope you had good news at the vet today - do let us know once you can!

Thanks for asking how they are. Good news, back from vets, they have shown signs of improvement (i dont think last vet was expecting them to) Saw a different vet today, and although the infection is still bad, it has improved. She is sure they have calici virus, but is still concerned the underlying cause is FIV (although she didnt sound as definite as previous vet)

The first vet we saw said she had never seen calici virus that severe, is the milder strain of cat flu, usually with milder symptoms, so was convinced it was FIV (plus kittens havent been outside or mixed with any other cats, but my other 2, who havent shown any signs of cat flu)

So the only way to know for sure, is a blood test, which this vet doesnt want to do until they have recovered fully from this infection. Vet gave them another injection of antibiotics, gave me some oral antibiotics and pain killer to give to them at home and we have to go back in 10 days.

They are eating and drinking, not quite back to normal, but 90% there

Oh I'm so very glad which is slightly ridiculous as I've never met these animals but have actually been quite worried
Clever little kittens, and bless you for looking after them so well.
Please give them a tickle under the chin and a tin of tuna from me

Bless you Stinky, you sound as bad as me, a sucker for a sad story, hence ive ended up with 4 cats, a dog and a hamster! (all unwanted animals from elsewhere)

Hi again - how are the kittens? Hope they're getting better & better..

Hi Stinky, thanks for asking. They are both still taking antibiotics, but are much better than they were. Mouth ulcers have almost cleared up, they are both eating and drinking normally now. Male kitten still has a sore on his mouth and a big lump behind his ear. Female still has sores on two of her paws.

Back to the vets on Thursday, hopefully both would have fully recovered by then and it will be nothing more than the cat flu virus. Vet still wants to test them for FIV regardless.