About two weeks after we got Mew, one afternoon he started to get a bit warm which made me check up on him more often. I was cleaning my room so I could move the cat tower inside cos he likes it that much. He and my dog were in the hallway playing or something when I heard a loud screech from Mew. I went to check on them immediately and he was running down the stairs.
I was worrying he got accidentally hurt by Ethan since the dog is big and very playful. I checked Mew and he didn't seem to show any signs of physical pain.
30 minutes after that, I put him in Acid's room so he could be looked after since I wasn't done cleaning yet. Acid told me he was sleeping on the chair and just staying there which was cute but quite unusual at that time. He was already a bit warm too.
Ethan and I went to a walk soon after and when we came back, Mew was already warm enough for me to know he's having a fever and he was lethargic. Normally, he would not run out of energy but at this time he was kinda weak so I took him to the hospital immediately.
I was worried he might have internal injuries since I didn't see what happened to him earlier that time with Ethan. I know there are also cat viruses that he can catch since his vaccines weren't complete yet but my suspicions were more on the internal injuries since we never let him out anyway.
Upon arriving at the hospital, we got checked immediately since there weren't other patients at that time. This is a 24h hospital so thankfully we can just go even at 7pm.
First thing the doctor did was ask me about how long he was feeling this way or when we noticed it. I told him he only started getting warm like 2 hours ago or something. He then took samples of his poo to and blood to test for infections and there you go, all 3 infections turned positive!
I was kinda shocked to see even the feline panleukopenia virus was positive. It's a parvovirus and it's very deadly as well especially to kittens. The doctor said he must have gotten the virus just recently since he's not showing any other signs yet like not eating, diarrhea or vomiting.
Since there are 3 positive infections going on, (Giardia, Feline Coronavirus, and Feline Panleukopenia Virus) the doctor said he only has 10-20% chance of survival. :< I knew kittens don't really survive with FPV and since there's no cure for it, they could only help the cat strengthen their immune systems and hope that the body would make antibodies for it.
We admitted him to the hospital since they can take care of him there and give the proper vitamins and IV necessary for him to survive.
I didn't think I would be going home without him. I was so worried and sad but I was more on the positive side that he will survive.
He was scared of all the injections and stuff so he went to the very back of the cage.
Blood test results were okay and just slightly below the normal but overall good. It was really good that I took him there pretty early so that increased his chance of survival but still a lot of things could happen.
The next morning at 7am, they called me to give an update about his condition. I was really nervous at that time cos they called so early... I thought they said the next update was at 4pm when the assigned doctor is able to check on him. They said he was eating well and being responsive. His fever subsided and he had no vomiting or diarrhea and looked like he was overall good.
We visited him after a few hours to see him still pretty well. He smelled pretty bad because he probably peed somewhere and laid on it. 😅 The doctor said he wasn't pooping yet at that time so we just waited for that as well.
We gave him wet food and he ate it all. He always had a big appetite especially for wet food and thankfully he was still eating normally.
Me telling him he needs to fight off the virus
Another day went by and he was still the same. lol. Still responsive, not really showing signs of weakness, eating well... but there was still no poop or pee. We were already getting worried as to why he wasn't pooping yet so we called the doctor for another update.
His doctor wasn't there so we had another doctor to check on his stats and to answer our question as to why he might be constipated or something. He said all seemed good and he was acting normally. I asked about the kitten's bowel movement cos normally he would poop 3x a day and he said some cats really just don't poop or pee when there's no litter box... Really... so we were worrying about his constipation or whatever was happening and he said it might just be the litter box. -_-
We asked if they could put a litter box and sand in there and even while the staff was pouring the sand, I could tell he heard it and started to look for it. When it was placed, he used it immediately. He was holding it in for 2 days. -_- All this time he only wanted his box.
He looked so relieved and was even eating while his other leg was inside the box lol.
He looked so sad and he wanted to go home so bad. T_T He was probably thinking he's back inside the pet shop again and wanted to come home with us. We made sure to visit him everyday while he's there.
After staying at the hospital for 3 days, we finally took him home. :D The doctor was a bit surprised he was able to survive despite having all 3 infections at the same time. He was prescribed 3 antibiotics, 2 vitamins, and an appetite booster that he needed to take for 7 days. We had a follow-up checkup after 7 days too and all is well.
It seemed like he didn't even get sick at the hospital which was really good. I think part of it was because we were visiting him everyday, reassuring he's not being left there to be given to someone else or something... which lessens stress hormones and boosting their immune system as well.
He fought it really hard and good and this is him now a month after. :D He's becoming big really fast.
As to the cause of the infections and how he contracted the virus, there's really no way to tell. I have 3 adult cats as well and they might have carried the virus since they go in and out of the house. I've never seen them become sick but it is possible since the virus can survive really well even in a harsh environment. Even normal bleach won't kill the virus and they can be dormant for 6 months up to a year. I had to cancel my birthday party at the house so my friends won't carry the virus and potentially infecting their cats. He was also having some yellowish snot from his nose and was farting a lot when we first got him but my mistake is that we didn't send him to the vet for a check up during those times.
For the ones who have pets out there, it's so important to have your pets vaccinated. Puppies and kittens especially are the most susceptible for infections so they need to be protected especially now that there's an outbreak all over the world. There is also a blood parasite outbreak so it's very important to take preventative measures for that as well.
We are just lucky he has a strong immune system and was able to fight it off but these viruses are fatal and I've seen many pets die because of this. Don't take it for granted.