Went to the vet... now I'm mad

So I took the new baby to the vet today to get checked out and it turns out he's actually 4 months old (based on his teeth - he's getting in two teeth they don't get until 4 months). Ok, the age doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that he's only 2.9lbs and for his size (he's very long) and age, he should weigh much much more than that. The poor kid has almost no muscle. I knew he was scrawny, but I didn't realize it was quite this bad because I also thought he was much younger.

What makes me so mad is... he wasn't a stray where he didn't have access to food or something. Someone had a cat, that cat had a litter, the owner dropped the litter off at the shelter about a week or so ago. So someone actually owned him and didn't feed him! Man that makes me so mad! I don't care if the person didn't want to keep the litter.... you still need to FEED them until you find them homes!! :censor::censor::censor:! Honestly, what is wrong with people!

Well... he'll be a chublette soon if my other cats are anything to judge by... but he shouldn't have had to go through this in the first place. And people wonder why I prefer animals to most humans.

Hopefully he will gain some weight soon. Zebra has always been a really small cat. Last time she was weighed she was 5.3 pounds and she is over 2 years old.

Honestly we've seen this at the shelter. My guess would be that they were not feeding kitten food, and probably not enough. Chances are good Mom didn't eat kitten food when pregnant either. People don't realize how important it is for kittens to have kitten food. I've had people say, "What do you mean they need kitten food, why can't I just feed them regular cat food?"

did you all ever notice that the people on Animal Cops shows that get in trouble for not feeding thier animals are ALWAYS well fed themselves.

that's what ticks me off. Now I'll admit, I'm fat, but so are my critters. Nobody goes hungry round here. But when I see those people bringing in pizza boxes and they have a starving dog (I'm thinking of a particular episode here) that really bugs me.

These people should be tied to the kitchen table and made to smell food while everybody around them gets to eat.

You know whats really sick about all this? We actually had a family local here a few years back that starved their child to death while they ate in the other room.

ok, I got to stop now, I"m ruining my own day thinking about it...

oh, excuse me...got carried away there...

I have no doubt that your skinny little kitty will fatten right up, and you have to promise to show us "before" and "after" photos...

I'm sorry your baby is so skinny.But, I'm sure with lots of love and good food from you,he'll be in great shape soon.

Thanks guys for listening to me rant He really is so skinny. The first day he came home I put some dry food in front of him and he plowed through it. I didn't think much of it because he was neutered that day and they wouldn't have fed him before they put him under. I thought hey, that would make me hungry too.

But he's still doing it. Right now he's sitting here chowing down on some canned food like he's never seen food before. It's really just breaking my heart. I went through this with Tryon and Mayhem, so I know once he gets used to having food around he'll slow down a bit, but its just so sad to watch.

And you're right happy cat.. I think I saw the episode you're talking about. Theres always people food around, but none for the cats/dogs! People are just insane.

On the bright side, I know one kitten that will definitely have a full belly tonight

before you get too upset about his weight...just a quick question- has your kitty been fully dewormed and tested negative for leukemia and aids??? i ask this because sometimes- intestional parasites and other issues can cause a little one not to gain weight. i foster and work at a shelter - sometimes when i have kittens who do not seem to be gaining weight properly i will take them to the vet to rule out anything serious (i deworm and test myself at the shelter before i bring most home). sometimes other things can be the cause of it. Also if you want to "fatten" your kitten up a little bit -add a bit of rice cereal (the baby cereal!) mixed with kitten milk (pro-biolac is the best but kmr is ok too) to the kittens food- it will slowly help it gain weight also- if he's eating his food too quickly (as you mentioned earlier he was eating very fast) you might need to give him smaller portions but just more often till he slows his eating down and gains a healthy amount of weight . (keep in mind his tummy is tiny right now and too much food might make him vomit)

Trust me he'll fatten up.

When we got Whitey over a year ago, we were told that he was 9 mos. He also came from an owner, not a shelter, but owner.

Yes, he was a bigger cat, but skinny like a youngen.

After a trip to the vet, we found he was 2 years old. So yes, I was in the same position as you are now...just po'd that someone would do that to such a sweet cat.

However, now - year later- we joke that he's getting TOO big

My Bubba and Willow were trapped and homed by the vet clinic. I got them when they were 3-4 months and both were thin as a rail. They're probably about 3 years now and still very slender, especially Bubba. They both eat, have had all the tests, wormed, etc, but they're still so skinny compared to the rest of my kitties. I'd worry if I didn't know better. Hopefully your new kitty just has a slight build rather than having been deprived of food. Bubby is looooooooong too.

But I also doubt that most people who turn animals in at the shelter feed them premium food before doing so. Ya think?