Mira is sooooo SKINNY!

[mira's_mommy]

She's always been a very thin cat. Just very sleek and small, kind of like a Siamese. After she had the kittens she seemed exceptionally skinny but I figured it just seemed that way to me because I had gotten so used to seeing her round belly. But in the past few weeks since then she has only gotten thinner. I can see all of her ribs and the vertebrae in her back. Not just feel, SEE. She eats alot (more than the other cats, and she's the smallest of them all even at her healthy weight) and even gets some of the KMR that the kittens get. I'm pretty sure she has worms but I can't treat her yet with her still nursing. HELP!!!

<EDIT> And I just remembered too as I walked through my front door with a McDonald's bag that I have been sharing MY food with her too. I don't normally because I know it's unhealthy, but with her being so thin I was hoping all the grease would help fatten her up. Today she ate an entire beef patty from my Big Mac and half my fries. She pretty much has been eating half of everything I get for myself, and still looks and acts like I starve her!

[meminikitty]

When my dog gave birth, she was SUPER skinny afterwards! It took a few months for her to get back to her regular body weight, I was very worried. But she never continued to lose weight... if your cat is losing weight then that might be a cause for concern. Although, feeding her McDonalds might cause her stomach to get upset, resulting in runny poo, which causes lack of nutrients, making her thinner. Check her litter box... everything look OK in there? If everything still appears fine, I'd talk to my vet. But she may also just be taking a while to gain her weight back. Especially with nursing kittens.

[otto]

If you aren't already, start feeding Mira kitten food, the extra calories will help.

Call your vet and ask if they have a safe dewormer for a nursing mother, I'm not sure but I think Drontal is safe.

[Snake_Lady]

How old are the kittens????


If she does indeed have worms, things will continue to get worse untill you can treat them.

Definately call your vet and ask if there is any safe dewormer.... if you are seeing her ribs and spine then she is way too skinny....perhaps malnourished.

I would not be feeding her people food, especially not McDonalds food.....all that grease and fillers in their patties will prolly give her diarrhea. If you want to feed her people food, give her some chicken (no spices) or raw meats (with no spices)

Kitten food for her would be a must, especially while she's nursing.... perhaps even some food from the vet that is high cal/nutritional value, as well as the KMR.

I hope she is able to gain some weight soon

[mira's_mommy]

Checked and there's no diarreah. Hmm. Come to think of it though I was giving her those darn antibiotics for her abscess, and that stuff upset her stomach and made her vomit. I've replaced all the food in the house with kitten chow already, because the kittens eat out of all the bowls (as if it's new and exciting to eat out of a different one each time) and I figured it wouldn't hurt any of the big cats (or the puppy who refuses to eat his own food). There is also a bowl of it soaked in KMR in the bedroom that I refill everyday. I'm sure she has worms though. She usually gets treated monthly like everyone else, but not since I first noticed she was preggers. Will call vet in the a.m. and maybe do some research on dewormers safe for nursing momma cats. She's down to 5.8 lbs, and she was 6.3 when I last weighed her 2 weeks ago.

Oh, and the kittens are 6 weeks old now (7 weeks on Thursday!), for those who asked.

[otto]

As an off topic aside, the kitten food is not good for the puppy. Kittens and puppies have different nutritional needs. I recommend you find a way to keep the kitten food away from puppy and make him eat his own food.

Vet may want to see Mira before giving the drontal, but it's worth a try to ask. Don't use anything over the counter. very dangerous.

[mira's_mommy]

Originally Posted by otto

As an off topic aside, the kitten food is not good for the puppy. Kittens and puppies have different nutritional needs. I recommend you find a way to keep the kitten food away from puppy and make him eat his own food.

Vet may want to see Mira before giving the drontal, but it's worth a try to ask. Don't use anything over the counter. very dangerous.

I've tried. I have baby gates that keep Milo out of the kitchen and bathroom, and I put the cat food in those rooms and only his food in the rest of the house where he can get to it. But then the cats started eating that instead of theirs. Guess they're too lazy to jump the gate everytime they want to eat. I have also tried confining Milo to one of the rooms that's gated off with only his food available but he gets so upset when he's "trapped" that he just cries and gets all worked up until he has diarreah all over himself, poor thing. So I gave up on that pretty quickly too. But as it is right now, with both kinds in reach, the dog chow doesn't get eaten at all. I think the cat food must taste better.

And thanks. I will be calling tomorrow just to make sure it's safe for her and the babies and to see if I can get it. If they have to see her, oh well, I guess $30 for the visit isn't too bad. But when I took her in for the abscess she was quite thin and the doc didn't say anything about it. That's why I've put it off so long. I guess I figured if it was that bad, he would have felt compelled to mention it, whether it was the reason she was brought in or not. I know I would have. A malnourished-looking cat coming in with wounds all over her? I would have asked questions. But I guess that's just me. But it's gotten to the point that I know she is TOO thin, even if it is normal for cats to be underweight after giving birth. I'm sure it's just the worms; other than the weight loss there haven't been any changes in her behavior or anything like that. I just feel so bad I didn't do something about it sooner. But I didn't know there was a such thing as a dewormer safe for nursing mothers. After I get her treated, how long will it be before she starts filling out again?

Third time in a month that someone has to see the vet. Man, I am never going to get my bills paid.

[carolinalima]

Why are your pets dewormed monthly? This sounds awfully excessive...
Can you elevate the cat's food, i.e. place it on the top of a box, or on the top or something like that, where the dog can't get to it? He really should not be eating it.
I might be wrong, but I don't think the kibbles should be left soaking on KMR for a long time either, because of bacterial growth.... but I might be wrong. I think if you soak the kibbles they should eat it within 30 minute or so.

[otto]

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Why are your pets dewormed monthly? This sounds awfully excessive...
Can you elevate the cat's food, i.e. place it on the top of a box, or on the top or something like that, where the dog can't get to it? He really should not be eating it.
I might be wrong, but I don't think the kibbles should be left soaking on KMR for a long time either, because of bacterial growth.... but I might be wrong. I think if you soak the kibbles they should eat it within 30 minute or so.

You're not wrong. Kibble does form bacteria when wet and should not be left to sit more than 30 minutes.

Kittens and cats should not eat dog food, and puppies should not eat kitten food, their nutritional needs are very different.

Cats need taurine and dog food does not contain nearly enough for cats, is one example. Cat food is much higher in protein than dog food, is another.

Yes, you'd better get Mira seen by the vet. I'd forgotten that she just had surgery.

[mira's_mommy]

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Why are your pets dewormed monthly? This sounds awfully excessive...

I have a major flea problem. They just keep coming back! I do live in an apartment so maybe they are still in the downstairs apartment and that's why they keep reappearing? The only thing I can think to do is to evacuate the premises and bomb the whole house, but I would need the landlord's permission and the neighbors' cooperation to do that. But my kitties have had lots of problems with worms because of it so I talked to my vet and he said it was probably best to deworm them monthly until I get the fleas taken care of, then once every 3 months should do it.

Anyhow, Mira saw the vet (finally) and it is just worms. Between that and nursing, it was just taking so much out of her. He gave me the Drontal and some high-cal food to help her gain back her weight more quickly. He also said that if I really feel the need to pamper her I can feed her certain people foods too and gave me a list of foods that are okay. She seems to really like eggs and cottage cheese (sparingly though, like the doc said!). She feels plumper but I just weighed her and she's still at 5.8 lbs. It's only been 3 days though so maybe it's too soon to tell.

[otto]

Thanks for the update! Once you can start treating all mamas and kittens with frontline plus, that should take care of the problem in a few months.

[Moz]

Here's hoping she'll gain some weight!