I'm very worried about my new kitten Taj

Hi,

I'm adopted my new 10 week old tabby kitten, Taj, last Wednesday. I'm a 1st time pet owner. I've never owned a pet in my life; however, I have pet sit for a lot of my friends (most have cats and kittens). I found Taj from a ad on the craig's list website. When I got him last Wednesay, he was acting like a normal kitten (i.e., full of energy and very playful). The person I got Taj from had 5 other cats (3 kittens and 2 cats). According to the original owner, Taj has always been an indoor cat since birth.

I took Taj to the vet the next day to begin his shots. The vet said he was healthy and checked negative for feline aids. He weighed in at 3lbs 4oz. Two days after visiting the vet, Taj started to vomit his food. I would leave a half of cup of dry IAMS kitten food (just like the bag suggest). I didn't think much of it initially because I thought that he just over ate. But then he started to throw up water! So I took him back to the vet the following day. The vet ran some tests and said that Taj was down to 2lbs 14oz and dehydrated, but that it was normal since he had vomitted. The vet also asked if the kitten had accidently ate anything he wasn't suppose to (ie, a plant leaf) and that definitely wan't the case. So the vet gave me some soft canned food to give to Taj and advised me to only give him a tablespoon of food every 3 hours. The vet also said that they have feed him the entire day without him getting sick. We weighed him before he checked out the animal hospital and he weighed 3lbs 2oz.

I took the next day off from work to monitor him. He seemed okay and was playful like his normal self. However, the next morning, I noticed he vomitted again! That was on Tuesday and this is Saturday. I now give him a tablespoon of dry food (IAMS kitten food) and hold off on the water for 15 minutes after he eats. I have heard that the food expands in the animal's stomach, which may cause them to get sick. I give him his water after 15 minutes and he manages to not get sick. HOWEVER, now he doesn't have any energy and I'm very worried. He has lost interest in playing with his favorite toys and he basically takes a nap most of the day. He still loves to sleep in my lap, but my gut feeling tells me that he just isn't feel well even if he is keeping his food down.

Is it normal for a 10 week old kitten, who use to be playful less than 10 days ago, just sleep most of the day? He gives me a said 'meow'. I don't understand what I'm wrong! I feel helpless! I feel like I should give him to someone who has had experience with owning a cat/kitten. He has a clean liter box that he always uses. He just jumped into my lap a minute ago while I'm writing this and is taking another nap.

What should I do? I weighed him again today and he is below 3lbs. I have a theory that he may have been vomitting because he was eating too fast due to possibly have to fight for the share of the food from his previous owner, but I don't know.

The vet said if he continues to vomit, then to bring him back in and they will X-ray him. However, with the exception of 1 time since the vet visit, he hasn't gotten sick.

Any suggestions and/or ideas of why this 10 week old kitten is acting like a 12 year old cat?

It really could be anything making him feel bad...side effects from the vaccines to some sort of virus. How often are you feeding him? Are you still feeding the wet food? Are his stools firm? Are you sure he isn't playing himself out while you are at work? Ten week old kittens do sleep a lot more than they play. I'm sure you are going to make a wonderful meowmy, or you wouldn't be here worrying about him!!

I'm refilling his bowl every 3 to 3.5 hours. Luckily, I live a short distance from work so I come home during my lunch break to refill his bowl. Usually, he leaves a little bit of food now. So 1 tablespoon of dry kitten food every 3 hours. It seems to work well for now. He still purrs a lot. I wonder if he is just lonely? It's strange that he no longer plays/chases his favorite yarn-stick. Taj finished up the soft cat food. When I was getting low with it, I mixed in a little bit of the dry food. He actually prefers the IAMS kitten dry food. In fact, he looked at me like I lost my mind when I had to feed him the soft canned food.

His stool is still firm and he goes regularly. I don't know if he plays when I am away. When I took the day off from work, he wasn't very active. I also had a thought that the amount of food (1 tablespoon every 3 hours) was too low even though the vet suggested it. However, Taj does leave a little bit of food in his dish.

I just wish my kitten would act like his old self. I wish he was the way he was 10 days ago. It's just strange how quickly his behavior has changed.

Poor baby. It would seem that he would be all over you and crying a lot if he was lonely. If he doesn't perk up in a day or two, a vet visit may be a good idea. that he returns to his playful self very soon!

What was he being fed in his previous home? If it was something else, maybe his stomach doesn't like the Iams so much.

I suggest you look through the health and nutrition section a bit and read up on foods. There are better brands if the Iams is the problem.
Also, keep offering him a canned kitten food. The extra moisture from it would be good for him, especially if there are still any stomach or stool problems.

He probably needed some time to get used to the Iams (mixing some of whatever he had previously with it could have helped) and it's quite common for this to happen. However, as he now seems to be better, maybe he's gotten over the newness of Iams and is accustomed to that, so see if he's ok for good now or not, rather than try anything new.

Update - Taj is doing just fine! He just had to get use to the new kitten food. He has gained weight too! Now if only his farts didn't smell so bad.