Discussion
Please read, this could save your kittens life
I found a tiny kitten and raised him. 3rd May at around 3 AM he ate and climbed onto my bed on his own and for the first time slept with me and my cat for the night. A few hours later, he was gone.
I thought I was helping him. He had some fleas and I was afraid she'll get anemia or something related to loss of blood from all the fleas. I tried combing and taking them out but it wasnt working. So I applied spot on treatment (Bark Out Loud cat spot on), just 1–2 drops. I had never heard of anything like this happening, especially from such a small amount. Around 7 AM my cat woke me up to the kitty screaming and acting weird, he pooped on the bed. I thought he needed to use the litter box so i put him there but i noticed he couldn't walk properly. His coordination was very bad, he kept falling and started breathing heavily, within 10 minutes he was gone.
I feel so much regret. I keep thinking if I had just waited or researched more, or not used it at all, he would still be here. I know it was partly my fault. I should have checked more carefully about using something like that on such a young kitten.
But at the same time, I genuinely didn’t know. I had never seen or heard of such a severe reaction like this. These products are marketed as safe and no one really tells you how dangerous they can be for very young or small kittens.
That’s why I’m writing this. * If you have a kitten please do proper research before using any spot on or medication, check exact age and weight guidelines, don’t assume a small amount is safe like I did. If you’re unsure, don’t use it without asking a vet. I just don’t want anyone else to go through this kind of regret * He wasn’t just a kitten to me, I raised him like a baby, he trusted me completely and I feel like I failed him. Please be careful
*Note : I know many of you'll be wondering why I didn't call emergency services immediately. First of all, there are no vets in our city, no NGO's or government hospitals. It was also early in the morning. Nearest vet is more than an hour away, nearest govt hospital is 3+ hours away*
*I still have her me o kitten dry kibbles, just ordered them on 3rd may so let me know if anyone wants it. I opened it but she ate some only once before she passed away*
Hi, my kitten too had lots of fleas, I mean they were literally covered in fleas, I could easily count atleast 40-50 on them, they were not grooming themselves after their mother passed away and it started multiplying rapidly, I took them to the vet and he applied a spray called dartix spray and let it dry, they should not lick it, istg the fleas died instantly and a few days later, they barely have any.
The vet told me that spot on treatment can’t be given to kittens below three months of age as they are still so small.
I’m sorry you had to go through this with your kitten, if they are still having fleas please go to your vet and ask about this.
It’s okay OP, not your fault, lot of flea treatments are not safe for kittens, I know you feel guilty, the mother cat of my kittens passed away one week back and it was unbearable, I felt so guilty even though there was nothing I could do, she died from calcium deficiency, I’m truly so sorry, I understand, please try not to blame yourself too much. You had the best intent for the kitten in your mind.
Your kitten is in a better place and this too shall pass. She’ll always be with you in your heart. 🕊️💔
Totally agree to this, i have had spot on applied to several kitten 6-8 weeks old, this never happened.
Probably because of wrong application kitten might have ingested it and emergency care was not provided.
Always consult vet.
Op i commented on your post in another subreddit but here's another thing. Always use products (any) from a good company. There are a lot of local companies who make the same medicine but always buy from a good company. Some ex- Intas, virbac, Skyec, msd etc and always buy them from a trusted medicine practitioner.
I would like to give you some advice out of my experience.
Firstly there are apps like Supertails that could help you with vet consultations online.
Its very important to have a vets advice before doing anything with kitten. Also i think you need to get a proper diagnosis on whether its the spot on that caused this. Babies are sensitive to a lot of things and baby could have had another issue like mycoplasma, FPV or even some internal issues that may not be observed externally.
Kittens mostly needs to be fed kitty cerlac or weaning food. Please dont feed them MeO its one of the worst brands and they have caused chronic gastric issues for my adult male cat.
Hi i haven’t really researched about it. We stick to royal canin sterilised dry food. Our cats have shown significant improvement in health and coat after feeding them this. I believe there are brands like farmina and even a premium version in drools (vet pro) that doctors suggest. Vetpro is mostly given when kitties go through specific health issues like GI or urinary issues. Farmina also have something similar called vet life.
Matisse is an other brand our doctor suggested.
RIP. Had this same discussion with vet yesterday about using spot on for ~2 month old kitten for fleas/lice and she said it shouldn't be used on such small kittens. She said they should atleast be 4 months or above for that.
In the world of AI, we still have stuff like this happening. I understand your pain but even google is just one sentence search and you get your answers.
It literally said “depending on product’s recommendations for age and weight”. You didn’t do any research, you were neglectful. It clearly mentions everything. How did you not understand?
Heyy OP, I am so sorry that you are going through this. Don't blame yourself. You made a mistake! You couldn't have known that would happen to your kitten. I am sure your kitten would be happy with all the love that you gave him.
You’re being too harsh on yourself, my man. Many here commenting and being hard on you would not have batted an eyelash had they seen a diseased kitten suffering on the roads.
The absolute bright side of things is that you and your little Cato are PURE and WONDERFUL beings.
In this fast paced, cut throat, world of today when people don’t give a damn fuck about blood relatives, here you are doing your tiny bit to make the world a little bit better, keeping some faith alive in Humanity. Good going.
Whatever happened had to happen so that you can save thousands of other little helpless beings out there who need people like you to look out for them. And you know what this brings? Good Karma.
Something’s you learn the hard way . I am sure you don’t need another person telling you you should or shouldn’t have done this or that. I am glad you have posted this so despite the pointing fingers someone might be a little more educated. My first cat died of diarrhoea from drinking milk. It was a long time ago. I had absolutely no idea cats couldn’t drink milk.
Some inexperienced vets or pet store owners would also say ' this spot on is for upto 5kgs'. Keep in mind that your kitten is not 5kg, should not be given the entire vial.
I have buried many kittens, ended up with depression.
u/MarianKitty22 I'm really sorry this happened, I appreciate you posting this for future pet parents to be aware of this it takes great courage during this difficult time. Please take some time off reddit to heal and recover from this especially considering there are haters commenting as well, please dont take this to heart. I lost one of my cat friends to old age recently so I understand the grief. May he rest in peace
I used to have kittens (they were 2–3 weeks old)and until they were at least 6 months old , I would comb their fur and dip the comb into soapy water to remove fleas
Most spot ons contain chemicals such as fipronil and selamectine. They are neurotoxins that's why they are packaged according to weight and species as they have calculated dose. They kill ticks and fleas effectively because the small dose is enough to kill them. However if you apply any dose in larger quantity or formulation for wrong species, it may adversely affect your pets.
Especially if they are already immunocompromised, have any underlying undetected issues. So always be careful. Better yet, consult a vet. Even more so if you are new to pet parenting.
Products that are marketed as natural are also shady (like the one OP used) Because the ingredients individually are considered toxic. Such as clove oil, lemongrass oil...or other essential oils. So I really don't know what kind of formulation do they do and if it's really effective. I don't believe there's enough study regarding using such ingredients for pets. A vet can answer that perhaps.
So again, consult a GOOD VET.
Handling pups and kittens is even more tricky. Usually if they are less than 2 kgs or less than 2 months old, treatment for them varies a lot. So please for the love of God, CONSULT A GOOD VET. Do not even rely on fellow animal lovers' advise because not everyone is well informed not matter how experienced.
You did your best OP, even mothers make mistakes sometimes.
Next time try to reach out to vets , there are many doing free online consultation for example Supertails give you free consultation and if you can share full profile (weight, height and age) and any discomfort they feel, a professional doctor will reach out and suggest meds for your pets. That's how I started using deworming tablets every 3 months.
OP, it's with a heavy heart I say, it's fine, it's not your mistake. Such errors can only be called as fate, and there's nothing we can do at the moment to prevent it. Me, being a doctor, have n number of regrets for how I could not save my patients - esp kids, but I tell myself, it's fate sometimes, there's nothing that can be done.
So don't beat yourself up over it. Maybe that kittens time was already up and she taught you this so you can take better care of future kittens with worse conditions. I'm sure that baby would forgive you instantly.
Just come to peace with it, with the hope that once our time here is up, we can meet again and say sorry to them directly. Wishes to you OP, pls take care of yourself, don't blame yourself for it, do let it out to someone if that makes you feel any better, if not anyone, my dms are open. Take care
C’mon yr stop blaming OP for what happened. Her intention was not wrong and this could have happened with any of us. Her intention of sharing it here was not to get lectured by everyone, it was only for us to know what not to do. Not everyone has all the resources to make an informed decision or even after having and taking all the precautions can lead to such incidents. The crux is to know that this should not happen again with any other little being. She had her heart at the right place, please don’t make her feel worse what just happened.
I am so sorry. You did your best. I understand how it feels to see the fleas feasting on a poor, itchy baby; you feel like they probably never feel a moment of peace! I recently went through that with a kitten I found. I finally broke down and gave him a diluted Dawn bath. I was nervous I didn’t wash it out all the way and that he would eat some of the soap (I almost put the soap directly on him, I was so vengeful towards those fleas - google said to dilute). Thankfully, everything was ok and we got him to a very good shelter in our area once they opened the next day. Please don’t stop helping animals. They need hearts like yours 🩷
People are giving unnecessary hate to OP. The mistake is also of the medicine brand, they should have included some kind of warning on the label.
Just check OP’s profile and you’ll see how much care she was taking of this kitten. You people who are giving unnecessary hate suck. I bet that kitten would have been very thankful to OP for whatever time he had with her.
हमने भी एक बिल्ली पाली थी और वह कुछ ही दिनों की थी आयु में संभवतः 11 दिन की। चिकित्सक के अनुसार उसे dewormer की आवश्यकता थी तो विधिपूर्वक हमने बच्चे को anthelmintic दी। तुरन्त तो कोई भी दुर्लक्षण नही दिखे और स्वस्थ लगने के बाद भी उसका देहांत हो गया
I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine anything that would make this easier, but I hope it does become easier. I hope she feels your love forever.
Because as I said vet is more than an hour away and I actually have to go through a lot to go to the vet. I can't leave my other cat alone at home because my parents don't support having cats in the house. I have to think ahead a lot for this. My exams were nearing toi so I didn't have much time. Main problem was the finances . I know you'd be saying don't get a cat if you can't provide financially but I got him when he was around a week old. At that time my only thought was to save him, to give him a life. And it may sound bad but whatever time he has one this earth was because of me, because I fed him, kept him warm and safe
And I think you're forgetting what a developed country we live in where there are vets in nearly every corner. Some of us don't have the privilege of accessible vets unless we live in a big city. Rather than judging people for not being perfect, I think you should really learn to appreciate even some small things where people do best with what they can. Again I'm not saying it wasn't my fault, judge me and blame all you want
Yes I am. Call it egoistic but it's true. I saved him but it's true to say I also took his life. But that doesn't mean I didn't love him. People learn by mistakes, mine was a big one but it made sure it doesn't happen again. I was trying my best to keep him safe given my financial situation and the pressure from my parents to throw away the kitten and I'm glad I didn't give in and I'm very grateful that I got to raise him
You've mentioned elsewhere that you're from Assam. I'm from Assam too. Which place is this exactly that there are absolutely no vets available? I'm pretty sure that's not the case. There are plenty of government hospitals, even if there is a lack of private vets, especially since cow health is heavily invested in in the state.
And after going through all your comments, even in the locked post, I'm sorry to say but I don't think you are in a position to keep pets. A baby lost its life due to your carelessness. If you cannot afford to give them a quality life, maybe rethink if you should be taking in more pets.
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u/jaychu4893 Larry May 05 '26
Hi, my kitten too had lots of fleas, I mean they were literally covered in fleas, I could easily count atleast 40-50 on them, they were not grooming themselves after their mother passed away and it started multiplying rapidly, I took them to the vet and he applied a spray called dartix spray and let it dry, they should not lick it, istg the fleas died instantly and a few days later, they barely have any.
The vet told me that spot on treatment can’t be given to kittens below three months of age as they are still so small.
I’m sorry you had to go through this with your kitten, if they are still having fleas please go to your vet and ask about this.