Creating The Parker Protocol By Carolyn Bishop

Sadly, most fosters know about Fading Kitten Syndrome because they've lost a kitten. FKS is a constellation of symptoms that usually ends in death, not because it's always fatal but because few people know how to treat it, even vets. Seemingly healthy kittens would stop eating, become listless and lethargic, lose consciousness, then slip away.

While some people think FKS is inexplicable, it can be caused by bacterial infection, parasitic infection, flea infestation, congenital deformities, or genetic conditions, but it is most often caused by simple things like dehydration, malnutrition, hypoglycemia, hypothermia, or a combination of those four things. If caught early enough, fading can be successfully treated and kittens can recover very quickly.

I started fostering in August, 2016. My training consisted of...well, nothing. I was really lucky because I didn't lose any babies my first year, although there were a few close calls with some kittens. When I talked to the shelter clinicians, all they told me to do was give them some corn syrup on their gums. “Kittens die for no reason,” they said. “There's not really anything you can do about it.”

I refused to accept that there was nothing I could do. The next time I had a fading kitten, I googled FKS looking for any treatment options. I figured anything was better than nothing. I couldn't afford out of pocket vet visits so I needed something I could do at home. While I firmly believe in veterinary medicine, it is expensive and not everyone can afford to see a vet for a fading foster kitten. I eventually came across a protocol used by Austin Pets Alive that suggested making sure kittens were warm while giving them “a few drops” of “some syrup in water” every three minutes until they regained consciousness. I tried it a few months later when a fat ginger, Freckles, became so lethargic, he couldn't stand or even sit up. After an hour of following the protocol, I was thrilled when he perked up and went along like nothing ever happened!

It wasn't until my second year of fostering, when I started taking younger kittens, that I came up against a case of Fading Kitten Syndrome I couldn't win. I lost two siblings to dehydration. They were both fine one minute, deathly ill the next. There was no explanation, only reassurances that, “at least they knew love for a while and didn't die alone in the shelter.” I had followed the protocol exactly, or at least as exact as “a few” and “some” can be but it made no difference. They had been healthy, vibrant six week-old kittens. It made no sense.

That year, I lost several to fading due to illness, but I managed to save more than I lost. Along the way, I refined the APA protocol to be more exact with measurements. I decided to use electrolytes instead of plain water for the syrup mixture to help combat dehydration. Most importantly, I learned that a few drops of syrup wouldn't work if a kitten was older or fatter than the average four week-old. I spent 36 hours working over one kitten, dripping syrup every three minutes, but he just wouldn't come around. I considered that he was older and larger than all the other kittens I'd saved. I increased the amount of syrup from a few drops to 0.3ml and sure enough, an hour later he was bouncing around. I suspected hypoglycemia which the vet confirmed; I gave him .1ml of corn syrup every eight hours until he was almost 12 weeks old and he never had another crash. I know this for sure because Marcus became my sixth foster failure.

Then the bat twins, Bruce and Wayne, came along. At five weeks, the two Russian Blue kittens barely weighed 150g each. They were brought to me severely dehydrated and emaciated. They looked like tiny, shriveled baby bats. I knew that dextrose and electrolytes were a good start but these guys needed food. Their digestive system was shut down (never feed a lethargic kitten!) so I had to figure out how to get them from syrup to formula without overwhelming their systems. I quickly did some math and came up with a schedule of decreasing dilutions over several hours. While it was touch and go for the first day, once the twins were back on formula, they recovered and within a few weeks were caught back up with where their weight should be. When they hit two pounds, they were spayed and neutered and were adopted within minutes of hitting the floor.

That year was when saving fading kittens became my passion and I saved over a dozen in that season. I eventually wrote up my protocol so I could reference it easily but a protocol is useless if it can't be successfully used by others. I was able to test it a few weeks later when I saw a post on instagram about a foster who was saying goodbye to her fading kitten; Sydney said she was holding Aurora in her last minutes because there was nothing left to do for her. I sent her a message giving her my phone number and said I might be able to help. She called and I walked her through the protocol. We messaged back and forth for the next day and a half until Aurora started to recover. She's now a healthy, sassy, one year old.

The Parker Protocol can be implemented at home with things you should always keep in the house if you are fostering; electrolyte powder, corn syrup, a heating pad, and some syringes. If you are trained to give subcutaneous fluids (ask your shelter vet techs for training), that can increase your kitten's chance of recovery but it is not necessary. If you are able to treat for bacterial or parasitic infection, that can help but is not immediately necessary. When a kitten starts to fade, YOU are their best chance at survival. Act quickly and don't panic. Follow the protocol as closely as you are able. The key components are heat and dextrose. Even if all you have are those two things, you still have a good shot at saving a fading kitten.

The Parker Protocol is named for my very first neonate. I found Parker in the middle of the road when I almost hit her with my car; she was four weeks old. Unfortunately, I lost her at five months when she was hit while crossing the road in front of our house. I was devastated. I needed to do something, anything, to make her death not be meaningless. That's when I decided to foster. Every single kitten I have saved is all because of, and for, Parker. Now fosters from all over the world are successfully using this protocol, meaning Parker is saving even more lives.