6wk old losing weight?

snake_lady

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Ok, perhaps I am paranoid.

Maybe the kitty just took a big poo...but.... I also don't think they are eating enough.

I weighed them on Thursday when I got them.

B1 weighed 21.9oz and B2 at 20.9oz.
Today, B1 was 22.5oz and B2 was 20.1oz.

The are both eating.... I have a bowl of kitten kibble in the room at all times, and 4 times daily I feed them wet food mixed with either water or Just Born milk. Both kittens would much rather eat off of my finger than off of the plate, and of course, I just want them to eat so if I need to finger feed to see them eat then so be it.

I seem to be throwing more food out than what they are eating though. I mix about 2tsps wet food with about the same in water, warm it slightly and they very seldom empty the plate.

They are both pooping, tootsie roll poo's... lots of peeing. Highly active, eyes and ears are clear, bums are clean, no health issues I can see.

I will be taking them into the vet sometime this coming week (also have to take Kizzy in too).

But for now, do you think I'm just being a paranoid new mom? Its ok to laugh about my paranoia
I just want to make sure nothing is wrong. My only thought is that the one kitten who lost a little, perhaps has worms. I've looked at their bums and see nothing, I've squished up their poo and seen little tiny specks in the poo (could be eggs perhaps). But I don't know whose poo is whose LOL.
 
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snake_lady

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anyone please?

Do you think I'm just over paranoid about the weight loss? Should I keep an eye on it?

I was thinking of vetting them near the end of the week. They are 6wks old today.

They didn't touch their breakfast, except maybe 1tsp of it off of my finger (wet kitten food mixed with water).

They did eat some solid food during the night.

Do you think I should try a different wet food? Or should I pick up a bottle since they like drinking the Just Born from a syringe (they will drink about 5CC's each from the syringe) and eating wet food from my finger. Or would getting a bottle be a set back?

They don't cry at all (meaning I don't think they are missing mom) but they do like eating food off my finger, and drinking the milk off the syringe (they lap at it, as I push it out).

Thanks for any advice.
 

mrblanche

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Well, the first thing I'd do is reweigh them at a different time of the day, just to catch them in a different point in their digestive cycle. That may eliminate some of the variation.

But if they are suddenly much more active than they had been, they might lose a little weight. Not a lot.

And yes, you are probably being a little paranoid. Or, maybe a better word would be "overly concerned." However, with kittens, things can go very bad very quickly, so watchfulness and concern are not bad things.
 

northernglow

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How long have they been eating solid food?
Sometimes when kittens start to eat solid foods instead of milk, the weight gaining can stop because they are not that into the new food yet and the milk isn't enough anymore because of their increased activity. I've been told that it is quite common and nothing to worry about unless they start to loose weight a lot. Could this be the case here?
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Well, the first thing I'd do is reweigh them at a different time of the day, just to catch them in a different point in their digestive cycle. That may eliminate some of the variation.
good idea
thanks for the suggestion.

But if they are suddenly much more active than they had been, they might lose a little weight. Not a lot.

And yes, you are probably being a little paranoid. Or, maybe a better word would be "overly concerned." However, with kittens, things can go very bad very quickly, so watchfulness and concern are not bad things.
I do think they've become more active within the last couple days. (as they run circles around me right now)

I'm planning on vetting them either the end of the week (sooner if the one keeps losing weight, or I see other reasons for concern) or next week (I think first shots are at 8wks, so that would be 2wks from now).

My scale is kinda funny.... I put the kitty in a bowl to be weighed, and the bowl is bigger than the scale platform so anytime they moved, the weight in grams would fluctuate dramatically
I'm going to try to find a bowl that is the size of the platform, to get a gram weight.

thanks so much for the reassurance
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by NorthernGlow

How long have they been eating solid food?
Sometimes when kittens start to eat solid foods instead of milk, the weight gaining can stop because they are not that into the new food yet and the milk isn't enough anymore because of their increased activity. I've been told that it is quite common and nothing to worry about unless they start to loose weight a lot. Could this be the case here?
Not sure, I picked these guys up on Thurs. (they turned 6wks today) and was told they were eating solid food. I have no idea for how long tho.

They were being fed a crap solid food + mom's milk. I have them eating a fair kitten wet food mixed with either water or milk (KMR type), and a bowl of 3 different dry foods ( taste of the wild, a few kibbles of Wellness Core, and mostly a trial bag of kitten food I had).
 
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