Fading Kitten Syndrome

Fading Kitten Syndrome is a life-threatening emergency in which a kitten “crashes” and begins to fade away. Kittens under 3 weeks old and/or kittens who are, or were recently sick, are most susceptible to FKS. Oftentimes, it occurs in kittens who have been eating poorly, and losing, or, not gaining, weight. This is why it is VITAL that you weigh your kittens every time they’re fed. Although it is rare, FKS can also occur in healthy kittens at any age. 

Symptoms of FKS: 

• Extreme lethargy — unable to stand or hold head up, not responding when touched 

• Body feels cool to the touch (not just insides of ears – all over) 

• Panting or gasping for breath

 • Meowing/crying out in distress

If you see these symptoms, it is crucial that you take the following steps NOW: 

Step 1: GET KITTEN WARM 

Grab your heating pad and a towel. Place the towel over the heating pad, and place kitten on top of towel. Roll heating pad up to create a “kitten burrito” – like you’re swaddling an infant. Leave the kitten’s face exposed, and do not remove kitten from the burrito even if he/she struggles and cries to get out! Make sure the heating pad is still on the low setting. 

* If you don’t have a heating pad, you can either: a) Keep your dryer running full of towels. Grab a new hot one every 5 minutes and wrap it around the “burrito” towel. After 5 minutes, trade that towel out for a new hot one. Don’t remove the “burrito” towel. b) Fill 2 socks full of rice, tie the ends so it doesn’t spill out. Throw them in the microwave for 3 minutes. Keep them next to the kitten on the outside of the burrito towel. Every 30 minutes reheat one sock and leave the other next to the kitten so she doesn’t cool off.

Step 2: GET KITTEN’S BLOOD SUGAR UP 

Grab a small bowl and fill it with either corn syrup (Karo, etc), or sugar water. The more sugar content, the better. Make sure you have your syringe handy. Warm the contents up in the microwave for a few seconds until the liquid is a bit above room temperature. You will administer this sugar water (with the syringe) to the kitten while he/she is in the burrito. Give the kitten about 1 drop every 3 minutes. You can also give Nutrical.

Prognosis 

We generally have a higher success rate with these kittens if you follow the above steps! The process can take hours, so be prepared to administer the steps outlined above for anywhere from one to three to even five hours.  

We DO NOT recommend you rush your foster kitten to the vet for many reasons: 

• You have the motivation to sit right there with them and make them your top priority. A vet clinic has multiple patients who need help and won’t be able to give your kitten the 100% undivided attention you can give them. 

• Your kitten will continue to be cold/hypoglycemic on the way to the vet, in the waiting room, and in the hospital while they try to determine what is wrong, etc. Most kittens won’t last long enough for them to begin treatment. 

• Most clinics would do the same thing – try to keep the kitten warm and get their blood sugar up. There isn’t much else you can do.  

• Keep in mind that it can sometimes take hours for them to come out of this state and start acting normally again. Don’t give up! Once they do come out of it, make sure you contact the med techs to discuss what could have possibly caused them to fade in the first place, and make sure we have the kitten on all the right medical treatments for any illnesses they have that may have caused it. 

Unfortunately, even if you’ve employed all of the steps outlined above to a tee, some kittens just won’t make it. Cats get pregnant very easily, and have A LOT of kittens, specifically because they are so fragile. If a kitten passes in your care, don’t blame yourself – these kittens would have had about a 0% chance of surviving if it wasn’t for you. Bottle feeding babies specifically have a higher rate of not making it unfortunately. Contact us if your kitten has passed and know that you did everything you could for him/her!