VERY skinny Kitten :(

I have a 6 week old kitten, well I guess she would be about 7 weeks now. She was taken away from her mom very early, at or before 4 weeks of age. I have her now and she is nothing but fur and bones. I can feel every bone sticking out on her. I was wondering if anyone knows of a miracle-something that can pack some weight on this girl. I don't believe she has worms but I wormed her just in case. She has a healthy appetite and I believe she will be okay in the long run, it just bothers me feeling all her bones right now and I need something to put the weight on faster. She will not eat Nutri-Cal. I was feeding her dry kitten food but she seems to eat wet food more readily so I just switched her to canned food yesterday.
At this point I think high-fat and high-calorie might be more important than good nutrition.

Thank you for adopting a kitty in need!

Have you taken kitty to the vet? If not, I do think that's a good idea.

In the meantime, I'd boil some chicken in nothing but water and feed that to her. You can also feed her some of the boiled chicken. Or soak her high-fat, high-protein dry food in it. We also use baby food (no additives, just meat - we use Gerber's or Beechnut) - chicken is easy on a kitty's tummy.

You can also feed her some kitten glop: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46295

But if she hasn't seen a vet, she really should see one!

Laurie

Thanks, I want to take her to the vet but I can't afford to right now after the incident with Frosty, that was VERY expensive and I have no money left.

Originally Posted by LDG

Thank you for adopting a kitty in need!

Have you taken kitty to the vet? If not, I do think that's a good idea.

In the meantime, I'd boil some chicken in nothing but water and feed that to her. You can also feed her some of the boiled chicken. .....
Laurie

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Are you saying to feed her the water that the chicken was boiled in?

You can cause more problems by trying to put weight on too fast. Figure out the total amount of kitten food you should be feeding her a day and increase it by a 1/4 - divide the additional amount so she gets some extra in each meal.
You want to put muscle on, not fat.

Originally Posted by Mom of 4

You can cause more problems by trying to put weight on too fast. Figure out the total amount of kitten food you should be feeding her a day and increase it by a 1/4 - divide the additional amount so she gets some extra in each meal.
You want to put muscle on, not fat.

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Thank you, I didn't know that

Originally Posted by jaycee

Are you saying to feed her the water that the chicken was boiled in?

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Yes. And some of the boiled chicken is OK too.

Laurie

Also, give her time to add weight. She's young still. In addition to the kitten goop, you can feed her some KMR if you have it or have access to it. You don't want her to add it on too quickly, but gradually.

When you can, get her to the vet. If she's so tiny and she gets sick, she'll go downhill very quickly. You want to make sure she's in top physical health eventho she's a baby.

Did you give her an OTC wormer or something from the vet? If the former, a vet visit for worming (I always think tapeworm when they're skinny. Ravenous is usually a symptom too.) If you got her from a shelter, sometimes they'll provide worm meds from their vet - they may even pay for a worm checkup for her.

Originally Posted by Brokenheart

Did you give her an OTC wormer or something from the vet? If the former, a vet visit for worming (I always think tapeworm when they're skinny. Ravenous is usually a symptom too.) If you got her from a shelter, sometimes they'll provide worm meds from their vet - they may even pay for a worm checkup for her.

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I used otc wormers (the same stuff that the vet uses) and wormed her for roundworm and hookworms yesterday, and for tapeworms today. I hate to put all those meds in her but the worms need to come out or she will not get better. I got her from some people who like to breed their cat and and then kick the mama cat outside when the kittens are 3-4 weeks old and then rehome the kittens by 6 weeks at the latest.

Originally Posted by laureen227

Firefox was also underweight when i rescued her [not much different in age from yours, either]. i added KMR to her canned as a 'soupifier' plus extra KMR only in between her wet feedings. still took her forever to reach the 2 pound mark [i think she was probably 3 months old]. today, she's the smallest of my adults, as well.

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I had to give her a bath today because she had diahrrea (I think from switching her to canned food so I'm going to mix with dry next time) and it got on her fur, she has long fur. So after she was soaking wet she looked like a skeleton. I'm going to call the vet to ask if there is anything they would do for her besides what I'm already doing.