Kit coughing up liquid?

[Mandy]

Hi,

The female kit was just chewing hay when I heard her having this nose-blow sounding fit?
When I looked over she was rubbing the side of her face on the fleece and nose-swiped a few times. When she moved I saw an off-white colored liquid on the fleece. It doesn't smell like anything. I was thinking it could be the milk, but I fed her a while ago and the mix I give them is not thin.

Is it even possible for them to cough up liquid or throw up something? Could this have been from her eating so much hay just now..and her belly is adjusting to it?
She's acting normal now.

Thanks.

 

[Ash]

Chins don't throw up. I don't have any ideas on what you have seen, but it wasn't anything coming back up from an earlier meal. If she was sneezing, there's a possibility it could be mucus from her nose, so I'd watch for more sneezing with discharge and get her to the vet if you notice it again.

 

[Mandy]

Ok. Thanks.
I thought it was urine at first, but it didn't smell, and her tail and back end weren't wet at all.

 

[AZChins]

She may have aspirated some milk from her mother and it's coming out of her nose now. How old is this kit?

She definitely didn't throw up. It could be an upper respiratory infection or some of the milk was aspirated. You need to keep a close eye on this kit because fluid coming out of her nose is not normal and is not something to ignore.

 

[Mandy]

She's 17 days old. Will be 3 weeks next Wednesday.
I'm keeping a close eye on her. What should I expect to see if it is coming out her nose? Will it dry and crust on her nose or something?

 

[AZChins]

Hopefully she got it all out. It could dry up and crust or just not come out again. You can wipe it off of her nose if you like. Even if nothing else comes out, you need to continue to observe her to make sure that she's breathing properly. Listen to her and if she has rasping or clicking as she breathes, there could be an issue.

If it's an infection or an infection gets started from aspirating milk or water or whatever, she should go see a vet for some antibiotics.

 

[Mandy]

I held her chest up to my ear and didnt hear anything but her heart beat. Shes making tiny peeps while she sleeps. Did you mean hear the breaths in her chest or out in the open?
And one more question. You were talking about an infection. Are there symptoms that one is occurring or started? Will they act any different or have obvious signs like being lethargic?

Thank you.

 

[AZChins]

You won't see the chin acting lethargic until it is too late if she develops an infection. The signs to watch for are if she has any slight discharge from the nose or it sounds like she has a stuffy nose or her breathing sounds raspy.

Right now the milk or whatever coming out of the nose COULD indicate an infection or that she basically shot milk out her nose or aspirated milk or water. It could be mucus. Sometimes they can aspirate and get it all out so that there isn't a problem and sometimes aspirating liquid or even something solid can result in aspiration pneumonia. It could be that whatever was in her nose was just in her sinus and didn't get in the lungs.

Just keep a close eye on her for anything that is out of the ordinary.

 

[Mandy]

Ok, thank you.