A little bit worried about Bastian

ninacaliente

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I have an appointment tomorrow to bring Bastian in to the vet. He's not *sick* perse, but I'm just a bit worried about him as I compare him to Griffin (his littermate). Griffin is almost twice Bastian's size - their breeder said Bastian was the runt of their litter, so I didn't worry too much about that alone. He just seems so bony to me, although he does eat well. (I've been offering him lots of canned food to encourage him to eat well, and he gobbles it up.) He does make these little gagging noises sometimes, but hasn't vomited.

The other thing is that he does not seem to have the same energy level that Griffin has. You would expect a young kitten to be a little nuts and in to everything (like Griffin is), but most of the time Bastian prefers to snuggle and watch the other cats play. He seems to have lost interest in wrestling with his brother, but that might be because he always loses! He will play a bit if I initiate some interactive play with him alone, but not with much gusto.

I'm bringing a stool sample in today so they will have the results when we go in tomorrow. I'm probably just overreacting - he's probably just destined to be a small, timid cat! But I just want to make sure he doesn't have worms or, God forbid, something more serious. Wish us luck that I'm just an overprotective meowmy!
 

yosemite

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Aw, sweet Bastian. Good vibes coming your way.

Bijou and Mika are like that - he's easily twice her size but they are both healthy. She was the runt in her litter as well.
 
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ninacaliente

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Thank you for the vibes. We just got back from the vet, and it turns out I'm not crazy. At almost 10 weeks old, Bastian only weighs 1.4lbs. (In comparison, Griffin is 2.8lbs.) His temperature was too low, and the vet agreed that he's too skinny, but otherwise there was nothing obviously wrong with him. The stool sample was normal, so they drew some blood to run a few tests. He gave me some super-high calorie canned food and told me to feed him at least 3 times a day, and that I should try to seperate him from the other cats to get a clearer picture of how much he is eating, drinking and eliminating.

The vet did bring up the *possibility* that the two kittens might not, in fact, be from the same litter as I was told. He said Bastian's size and behavior is more consistent with a kitten of not more than 6 weeks, but that he can't say for sure.
The impression I got from their breeder was that she was very responsible and caring; I just don't see how you could inadvertantly make a mistake like that. The vet said supplementing with KMR is something else we could do.

I'm waiting for the vet to call with the bloodwork results. I'll let you all know what he says.
 

sadieandziggy

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I'm glad there is nothing obvously wrong with him. Can you contact the breeder to make sure they are from the same litter? Did you pick them up from the breeders house? If so, did it seem that there were more than the one litter running around?

Anyway, if you do have a six week old, KMR is a good idea, although it may not be necessary if the high-cal cans get his weight up.

Hope all goes well with the blood tests.
 
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ninacaliente

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Thanks for the vibes everyone!

Originally Posted by sadieandziggy

I'm glad there is nothing obvously wrong with him. Can you contact the breeder to make sure they are from the same litter? Did you pick them up from the breeders house? If so, did it seem that there were more than the one litter running around?

Anyway, if you do have a six week old, KMR is a good idea, although it may not be necessary if the high-cal cans get his weight up.

Hope all goes well with the blood tests.
We did pick them up from the breeder's home. She did have younger kittens as well, but she explained how she kept the younger and older litters in different rooms. She showed us around, and everything seemed very well-organized and healthy for the kitties. She told us before we got them that they were from the same litter, and the contracts we signed for each kitten indicate the same cats as their parents. I'm thinking about maybe contacting her again, but I'm waiting to see what the vet says about the bloodwork first. Thanks for your reply!
 
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ninacaliente

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I just talked to the vet. He said nothing too abnormal showed up on the bloodwork. What he did see, he said, were signs that Bastian is mildly dehydrated, slightly anemic, and somewhat malnourished. !!!!!!
The vet reiterated his feeling that Bastian seems younger than we believed him to be; if he was barely weaned when we brought him home, it would explain why he was maybe not able to eat enough dry food to sustain himself. He urged me to continue with the frequent meals of the high-cal canned food, as well as some KMR (he said to feed it just in a bowl, or maybe use it to moisten the dry food). He also said to think about keeping him warm, given his low body temp.

You guys, I can't tell you how horrible I feel right now. If Bastian truly is 6 weeks old right now, that means he was 4-5 weeks old when we brought him home! I NEVER would have taken a kitten that young away from its mother! I was a little concerned about them being just 8 weeks old, but if this is true I feel just awful.


Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. I'm just thankful that nothing seems to be horribly wrong with Bastian that some frequent feedings and some TLC won't fix.
 

yosemite

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If the pictures in your signature were both taken at the same time, I have to say Bastian looks younger to me as well.

I'm glad some love, and lots of good food should be solving this problem for you.

Hugs and love to your kitties.
 

calicoblue

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Your Kittens are simply DARLING! I hope everything checks out well with Bastian..good for you for taking him to a vet to get everything checked out so you won't have all this worry on you!

Blessings your way!!!
 

kluchetta

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Well, that would be almost a relief if he was just a bit young. Poor little guy - I hope that's all it is. How is his protein level?
 
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ninacaliente

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The protein level was a bit low. Thank you all for your kind replies. I feel really stupid right now. I feel like I should have recognized that he seemed too young, but I've never cared for a kitten younger than 7-8 weeks old, so I guess I just believed the breeder when she said he was just little for his age.
 

kluchetta

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That's actually what I was hoping about the protein level. I THINK when first Smudge got FIP the first sign was the elevation of his protein levels. Well, actually the first sign was that he stopped growing as fast as his littermates.
 
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ninacaliente

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Yes, I was very relieved that he's not showing signs of any serious illness - that was my biggest worry.

I emailed the breeder this evening. I didn't accuse her of misrepresenting his age, I just outlined what's been going on with him and what I found out at the vet today. I got a reply back soon after that was filled with suggestions and concern. This lady seems so genuine, I just have a really hard time believing that she would lie to me about Bastian's age.
I guess it doesn't really matter much as long as we can get him moving in the right direction.
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

Yes, I was very relieved that he's not showing signs of any serious illness - that was my biggest worry.

I emailed the breeder this evening. I didn't accuse her of misrepresenting his age, I just outlined what's been going on with him and what I found out at the vet today. I got a reply back soon after that was filled with suggestions and concern. This lady seems so genuine, I just have a really hard time believing that she would lie to me about Bastian's age.
I guess it doesn't really matter much as long as we can get him moving in the right direction.
What colors are their mother and father? (The ones that they supposedly share?)
 
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ninacaliente

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

What colors are their mother and father? (The ones that they supposedly share?)
Dad is blue point. I'm honestly not sure exactly what color the mom is.
Kluchetta, I'll PM you the photo I have of her, maybe you can help me figure it out.


Bastian is eating like a champ. I've been giving him the high-cal canned food and KMR every several hours, and he definitely has an appetite. Hopefully he'll start chubbing up soon.
 

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

If the pictures in your signature were both taken at the same time, I have to say Bastian looks younger to me as well.
I agree: Bastian looks to be about 2 weeks or so younger than your other furbaby does.

It's not your fault if the breeder deceived you regarding Bastian's age.
Please don't blame yourself for her dishonesty. You had no way of knowing that she was dishonest, and were putting your faith & trust in her....

I'm glad to hear that Bastian is doing better! More good vibes are being sent your way..

~KK~
 
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