Kitten not playing and jumping anymore

My kitten is almost 6 months and is not playing. He wont run and he does not leap off surfaces anymore, he takes his time and slowly comes down with much caution. he sleeps all day and comes out in the night only to sit on my lap to sleep more.

If I dangle a toy in front of him he will reach up for it but will not run if i throw it (something he loved to do). I will mention he was recently neutered two weeks ago and although he never came back to his old running around all night self, he did play with me during our play sessions of about 20 min each night until just recently.

I called two vets. One can take him this Sat and the other wont see him till next week as they are booked and said it is not an emergency because he is still eating, drinking (although little...forgot to mention he use to drink alot but I have introduced wet food so maybe he did not need as much water) pooping and peeing.

The vet I have to wait for, is low cost, $34 for an office visit and everything else is low too and the other is $51 for a visit and the last time I went I came away spending $140 and mind you I had a $30 coupon.

Not sure if I should wait and go to the low cost vet or does this need attention like now??? I would really rather spend less money as my Dh is the only one that works.

Thanks

I would get him checked out asap as being neutered shouldn't cause him to be so lethargic. If he's eating very little and has no interest in play it sounds like the poor thing might not be himself. Is he having diarrhoea or vomiting or anything like that?

From what you describe, he might have a fever. This lethargy is not normal. Spaying doesn't do that to cats. Does he eat enough? Does he drink? When you say:

he takes his time and slowly comes down with much caution. he sleeps all day and comes out in the night only to sit on my lap to sleep more.

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These are signs of alarm: slowly coming down and sleeping all day.

I would not wait for the vet next week.

I'd get him to a vet sooner rather then later. It could be anything - hopefully its not something major, but neurological problems came to my mind when you described his behavior.

Here's healing vibes for whatever it might be

I made an appointment with another vet for tomorrow, the affordable one close to me was all booked and could not/would not take him . I searched online and found that the north shore animal league has a health center and made an appointment. The exam is only $35. I am going to bring a stool sample and they only charge $15 for that (how old can it be, he usually does is stuff at night and the appointment is in the late evening), his vet charges $50 for just a stool screening so I cancelled with them.

I have been feeding Ernie stage two baby food with water mixed in becasue I have noticed he is not really eating and drinking any more but he will have about half a jar in addition to the water I mix in. The drive to the vet is about 40 min but I will probably come away spending half the cost so hopefull it is worth it.

I am so worried about him as I know things are just not right. If I had no other choice i guess i would have had to pay a bunch of money that I could use but thankfully I found a more economical choice.

Stool samples, the fresher the better. If you have to catch it early, put it in the fridge. My vet says no more than 12 hours old.

for Ernie!

poor baby... sounds like a fever...

Hopefully it will be nothing else then a scare... Please let us know how that appointment goes. Good vibes for you baby....

How are we doing now???

I went to the vet this afternoon with Ernie and he is not doing very well. He has a fever and was dehydrated. He also has an upper respiratory infection and a gum infection (they are red and swollen). His breath smells really bad but this being my first cat I thought it was normal though horrid. It has gotten a little worse since we have had him, I am surprised the first vet I took him to (EXPENSIVE ONE ) did not catch it. Two weeks ago he was about 7 pounds, he is now 5 pounds.

The shelter that I got him from told me he was neutered and he was not, so about 2 weeks ago we took him back and they did it. A few days later he started going downhill, the vet said he may have caught something from there.

Ernie is now on two weeks of antibiotics and I am currently feeding him Human baby food (stage 2, without onions and garlic) as thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s all he will eat, so the vet said give him what he will eat, we just want to get something in him. Because he was dehydrated he also had to get an infusion of fluids into him; he hated this

I go back to the vet in two weeks but will watch him and take him back sooner if need be. Thanks for all your well wishes. Keep praying for Ernie.

poor sweet baby. It sounds like kitty is getting the necessary care now though and I'm sending for a full and speedy recovery...

hang in there

Poor baby... If he doesn't want to it, you will have to force feed him, putting the baby food into a syringe. That's very important, he must eat. To check the dehydration, pinch and pull his skin, if the skin takes time to get back on place, it means he is dehydrated. Don't hesitate to take him back to the vet if he is dehydrated. Good thoughts for your baby

for Ernie. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in quickly.

Just got the results from the stool sample i brought with me and Ernie also has roundworms. I have to drive 40 min to the vet to pick up the medication probably on Thursday as thats the only time I can go. i wonder if this is also adding to his condition and the weight loss.

I dont understand how he has them as the shelter i got him from said he was dewormed 3 times since birth with the last time being mid september. is it possible for him to still be infested even after three series of treatment. As i mentioned in the first post, they said they neutered him and did not, now should I think they did nothing at all for him?? I called the shelter with this question when i found out he was not actually neutered and they assured me everything else was done and that it was a mistake

I am a worry wort and now I feel like everyone in my house probably has them now I feel like going to the doctor and getting everyone on worm medication (crazy I know) Sould I be concerned with everywhere he walks and sits (like the couch pillows) having them on the surfaces. Or the floor in the bathroom where he tracks so much litter?

This is getting to be too much. I have spent so much money since I had Ernie and there has been one thing after another. I love him so I deal with it, but Its just alot for me right now.

omg, hang in there
once Ernie gets a clean bill of health it will all be worth it.

on a seperate note, if you're concerned about the roundworm passing around your family call the family doc. I'm sure the doctor can give you sound advice.

Sort of off subject here but by any chance are you talking about the North Shore Animal league just outside of Salem MA? I only ask because when I took my kitten there, everything was cheapish and great, but when the cat becomes 'adult' (not sure what the cut-off age is), the fees there go up a lot, and it shocked me. I just dont want you to be shocked too I actually still use them for both my cats because the vets/assistants are so nice and its close to where I live, but I dont consider them cheap anymore. x

I go to the one on Long Island. They have a standard fee schedual for all animals. $22 for vacinations, $35 for a office visit, $15 for a fecal test ect. The fees are on thier site which I like and thats what they actually charged when I went. I hope it does not increase. I came away spending about $85 on Sat. for a office visit, antibiotics, fecal testing, and Subcu fluids. I thought that was pretty good even though my husband did not. the vets on long Island charge a lot and I came away spending about $20 less than I would for just an office visit and fecal exam.

Thanks for the heads up though, I will ask them just to be sure when i go pick up his meds this week.

The worms don't surprise me. Virtually every dog, and most of the cats, we've adopted from shelters had worms, and managed to pass them to other pets. A weak bleach solution should kill any worm eggs on surfaces.

The North Shore Animal League is connected with the Animal Rescue Site: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/c...tohelp_leftnav, and you can make a free donation of food just by clicking daily. Their online store has some great pet-themed gifts, and part of the proceeds go to food for shelter animals.
(No, this isn't spam - I have no connection to the site, but I'm a dedicated clicker/shopper.)

Originally Posted by jcat

The worms don't surprise me. Virtually every dog, and most of the cats, we've adopted from shelters had worms, and managed to pass them to other pets. A weak bleach solution should kill any worm eggs on surfaces.

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will this bleach out my carpet and such or will it be too weak to do so? I dont want all my stuff changing colors. lol. My entire house is carpeted except the bathroom and kitchen.