kitty is sick

Ok, so now one of the rescue kittens is probably sick. This is normally a very shy, timid kitten. All week he has been hanging back while the others scarf down their canned food. I've tried giving him his own bowl away from the others...no response. I had finally decided he just preferred dry food (b/c he WAS eating, just not with the others)but then last night I fed a fishy canned food and he actually got in there an ate some of that.

This morning, he threw it all up on the floor.
This afternoon, I saw him in the litter box with the runs.

So of course, I wasn't really concerned until I saw the runs. And of course, that didn't happen until after my vet closed for the weekend.

what should I be looking for? Besides this, he seems normal.

If you have any Kaopectate give him a little- not very much. I can't remember how young he is, but if he is just a tiny one- under 1cc is usually good. Don't feed him right now, but see if you can get him to drink some water. To check to see if he needs a vet right now- take the scruff of his neck and pinch his skin lightly, release......does the skin stay up? Or does it go back down? If it stays up, kitty needs a vet pronto- because he needs subcu fluids administered.

You can also check his health by looking at his gums to see if they are pink and happy or pale and bleached white? They should be pink and happy. His temperature is another thing to check, if it is elevated then he needs a vet.

Feeding good quality food and not the stuff that comes off your grocer's shelf is always the best. Some of the brands are so packed with dyes that it is hard on the stomach for some kitties. He could have worms- there are a lot of things he "could" have. He could of found an old dead bug in the corner under the couch and ate it, and upset his tummy. There are just many variables that it could be, and really only a vet will be able to tell you what is wrong if it continues or gets to a bad point.

The biggest thing at this point is dehydration. Small kittens can become dehydrated very quickly. There's a few things that may be going on, but all would need some medication by a vet. It's possible that he has a bacterial infection in his intestines, it could be worms, coccidia, or even just an upper respitory infection. For now,he needs to get enough water. If you can get him to eat some KMR, or canned food, it would be best. I would try to get to a vet as soon as possible.

Thanks for the great advice! I checked his neck scruff and it seems ok, so I don't think he's dehydrated. I looked at his gums and they are kinda whitish. I checked the other cats too to compare and they're all shades of pale pink, but his are the palest. What does that signify?

Poor little guy. These kittens are 7 months old. They were underweight when I got them b/c the original owner didn't feed ANY of the cats regularly (not even momma cat - who was already nursing another litter.)

One kitten was only 4 pounds. She has a very healthy appetite, so she is already up to 6 pounds in about 3 weeks. The boys haven't gained as much.

I'm going to keep a close eye on him and call the vet on Monday.

It sounds like you have a handful there! I can't beleive some people, to neglect a mother and thier kittens.
When checking the gums, you just push with your finger, and the faster they come back to the original color, the better.Or if they are all white. The shades of pink can vary from cat to cat.

geez, now the brother just vomited a small amount. ick. The boys are still very bony feeling. I've had them three weeks now and they eat good (except for last week...but Patrick is feeling better now!) I've been giving them kitten chow and once a week a little vegetable oil. Their fur looks better, but it worries me they are still so skinny. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and worm them. I haven't seen any signs of worms...but it's possible they have them. I just found out that the kittens were treated for fleas a couple of weeks before I got them...b/c they were 'covered' in fleas.

This is really getting too much for me. I'm not set up for long term foster care. All my rescue friends assured me that kittens always get adopted quickly...but I'm beginning to feel like I'll never find these little ones a home.

Don't give up just yet. When cats are neglected and end up with problems because of it, they can take a little time to get better. Since they had fleas, I would get them a dewormer for tape worm as well as round worm. Did they ever get a fecal done by the vet? There's a few other parasites they could have ended up with. I am sure being under your care, they will be back on their feet in no time.

Well, I'm planning to get a worm pill for this little guy. Of course, now one of my recently wormed adult cats (Rocket) is starting to show signs of the flu. He puked a little bit last night, and this morning had a few heaves. My vet says it's just a little gastrointestinal virus, and it will run it's course.

In the meantime, I'm running out of space in my quarantine room!

I do have good news. Patrick was adopted the other night by a very nice, animal loving couple. And Whiskers now has some interest!

My 5 month old came down with upper respiratory and got dehydrated and ran a high fever for a couple days and I've been mixing canned Science Diet Kitten Growth with KMR to keep him hydrated and eating properly and he's really doing well with that. Along with this the vet had to give him a shot to bring down the fever and inject fluids for 2 days also. Now that his fever is staying down, it was an easy thing to buy to get him to eat more, rather than hand feeding him and trying to force liquids down him.