Please HELP! My kitten has a strange skin problem.

EDIT: You CAN give him a bit of the raw chicken you are giving him, without the Calcium, as long as it it not more than 15% of his daily diet - if you keep with that, it will add to his nutrion, and it will keep him liking meat, which will be beneficial if you decide to put him in a raw diet later on..... You can give him different meats too.....

Carolina said:

In all honesty, I do not think this is allergies.... I would put this baby on the best kitten cat food you can get him. I would also add to his diet some fish oil - if you can get krill oil in there, even better.
Give him as much kitten canned food as he wants to eat.
Meanwhile, learn about raw feeding, if that is the route you want to go. I would stop feeding chicken alone immeditely. IMHO the time you fed him chicken alone is ok..... but if you keep going, he will get into a nutritional imbalance.
Raw is a wonderful diet. If the quality of the food you have in there is subpar, by all means, go for it! But while you are learning, feed him canned food - the best you can find

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okay. I will order the whiskas wet fish food right away. I can get fish oil here(is cod liver oil okay?)... not sure about the krill oil..
And can you please tell me that in case i want to give him a raw balanced meal... you got any recipe for that???  

You're very welcome!

Oh and Whiskas is basically garbage.

What other brands of canned are there? Do you have pet supply stores?

I would have recommended a good quality canned after hearing you can't get Babycat, and I'm all for canned, my personal cats eat canned only but my first choice for you would have been the Babycat, then you could supplement with canned once a day. Can you tell I think very highly of this Babycat?? 

But you sound willing to go the raw route, which is great!

And carolina is being modest She is loaded with knowledge and I would consider an expert on raw feeding  

Oh and the bones question? Raw bones grind up nicely, and fine for any size cat, and they have nutrients that are great for him.

If you list the canned available we can advise you from that.

I do not believe it has anything to do with allergies, that came from someone who was guessing. It's most definitely malnutrition. Years ago before I encountered kittens like this I might have guessed the same thing as a possibility.

catwoman707 said:

You're very welcome!
Oh and Whiskas is basically garbage.
What other brands of canned are there? Do you have pet supply stores?
I would have recommended a good quality canned after hearing you can't get Babycat, and I'm all for canned, my personal cats eat canned only but my first choice for you would have been the Babycat, then you could supplement with canned once a day. Can you tell I think very highly of this Babycat??  :nod:
But you sound willing to go the raw route, which is great!
And carolina is being modest She is loaded with knowledge and I would consider an expert on raw feeding   :king:

Oh and the bones question? Raw bones grind up nicely, and fine for any size cat, and they have nutrients that are great for him.

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It's because she said it's hard to find a grinder in there - they don't really do well in food processor
She is afraid of feeding bones to the kitten - to the OP, many many do, and kittens do well on it - raw bones are quite pliable - they need to be completely raw - you would not be able to even boil the meat the bones are attached ot it though - cooked bones become brittle and dangerous.

catwoman707 said:

You're very welcome!

Oh and Whiskas is basically garbage.

What other brands of canned are there? Do you have pet supply stores?

I would have recommended a good quality canned after hearing you can't get Babycat, and I'm all for canned, my personal cats eat canned only but my first choice for you would have been the Babycat, then you could supplement with canned once a day. Can you tell I think very highly of this Babycat?? 

But you sound willing to go the raw route, which is great!

And carolina is being modest She is loaded with knowledge and I would consider an expert on raw feeding  

Oh and the bones question? Raw bones grind up nicely, and fine for any size cat, and they have nutrients that are great for him.

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I just checked everything available online.Again.
Its just whiskas  kitten canned food that is available here. Rest everything is Dry food.... the pet stores were filled with dog foods and pups in cages ... No cat food.

Carolina said:

It's because she said it's hard to find a grinder in there - they don't really do well in food processor

She is afraid of feeding bones to the kitten - to the OP, many many do, and kittens do well on it - raw bones are quite pliable - they need to be completely raw - you would not be able to even boil the meat the bones are attached ot it though - cooked bones become brittle and dangerous.

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In case Whiskas is the only Canned food available here. (and then there is Me-O which is worse), I might need some raw feeding as well.. what organs should i put in? and eggs too or only the shells? chop it?? how do you do it?

For raw, you can follow a recipe, or you can simply follow these guidelines:

80%of the diet is muscle meat 10% is bone (which you can substitute for Calcium) 5% liver 5% other secreting organ -
Translating:

Other secreting organs: Kidneys, pancreas, spleen, brain, eyes.... The most commons are kidneys and pancreas.

How to make your own eggshell powder:

Carefully break the eggs and make something - like an omelette :lol3:

wash the shells with water, remove the inner membrane.
Bake in the oven on 350F for 30 minutes

Put into the food processor and turn it into a fine powder. Done!

1/32 TSP (the small tea spoons) will balance 1oz of meat.
I use these tiny spoons to balance my food: Tiny Measuring Spoons

Since my cats eat 1.5 oz per meal, I use the 2 smaller spoons:
SMIDGEN = 1/32 tsp - this one balances 1oz
DROP = 1/64 tsp - this one balances 1/2 oz

Taurine is in the meat - just make sure to feed hearts often, and you will be ensuring a good level of taurine.
I feed chunks of meat, and just sprinkle the eggshell powder on the top of it. Since he is a kitten, you can cut the meat into bite size, or thin strips - but not to worry, kittens are generally good chewers

The organs don't need to be fed everyday - you can feed a couple or a few times a week, as the qtys are very small, and mix it with the muscle meats.

These "recipes" make a balanced raw diet....

Instead of Cod Liver oil, I would look into fish oil.... Salmon oil.....

You will need a food scale to make sure the percentages are correct - organs vs muscle.....

Here is a boneless recipe, if you want to follow a more structured one - done with Turkey..... However I am not fond of vegetables in a cat's diet.....
http://www.holisticat.com/boneless.html

I'm worried you aren't comfortable making the raw diet.

Please let us know if you are, we are here to help, okay?

If you need a day or 2 to get the ingredients together it won't hurt to give Whiskas and a bit of chicken, just not for long, this little boy needs much more.

I should also ask you - what meats are available there, and what meats are you comfortable feeding?
In a raw diet, like any other, variety is important.... Having at least 3 different meats in his menu would be optimum. I know you said you are in India - so I don't want to cross any lines if you have beliefs that would prevent you from feeding a certain type of meat?
Can you give us an idea of what do you have available and what not?

Oh how absolutely wonderful of you to rescue this kitten! :heart2:

Given the limited availability of food to you that is good for him, I agree your best option is feeding him a raw diet. :nod: And please do not worry about feeding him either eggshell for calcium, or small bones! If he were on his own, he'd be hunting, and he'd be eating raw meat, bones, and organs if he were catching mice rather than eating from garbage. :nod:

IF you are going to try giving him bones, give him only SMALL bones. Chicken ribs are good starter bones - if you have a large, sharp knife, you can chop them into smaller pieces to ensure he learns how to chomp on them, but small enough they won't have any trouble going down.

Of course, the eggshell is an option. You don't need to use a food processor, if you have a pestle and mortar that will work just fine too. :nod: But for a growing kitten, that calcium is ESSENTIAL. It is for any cat, but especially a kitten.

You can also feed him raw egg yolks. Those are PACKED with nutrition. It wouldn't hurt to give him one to eat several times a week.

And as Carolina pointed out, you can use any kind of meat. It's best to limit the amount of fish, but he will need more than just chicken. A growing kitten at that age will need quite a bit of food. Once he's an adult, he'll likely eat about 5 - 6 ounces of food a day (140 - 170 grams). It will be best - when he's grown up - to feed him three meals a day. Now, while he's still growing, I wouldn't be surprised to see him eat 8 - 10 ounces of food (maybe more once he's feeling better!) That is... about 225g - 280g per day. This is best fed in a number of small meals - as many as you can manage with your schedule.

Assuming he will eat 8-10 ounces of food a day (225g - 280g):

If you are going to use bones, given the 80% meat, about 10% bone, 5% liver, and about 5% kidney, spleen or pancreas, that he would need to be given

180g - 225g of meat,
23g - 28g of bone,
11g - 14g of liver, and
11g - 14g of kidney (or spleen or pancreas, etc.)

each day.

If you can find heart, you can substitute some of the meat for heart at several meals a week: this would be VERY healthy for him! Hearts are packed with taurine, and this is an essential nutrient for cats.

If you are going to use eggshell powder, you would need to give him

200g - 255g of meat,
11g - 15g of liver, and
11g - 14g of kidney (or spleen or pancreas, etc.)

Organs actually require more calcium to properly balance them than meat. So to balance that with the right amount of calcium,

If he eats 8 ounces of food (about 7.2 ounces of meat (200g) and 0.4 ounces of liver (11g) and about 0.4 ounces of kidney (11g) daily), then he'll need about 1/4 teaspoon of eggshell powder divided between the meals.

If he eats 10 ounces of food (about 9 ounces of meat (255g) and 0.5 ounces of liver (14g) and about 0.5 ounces of kidney (14g) daily), then he'll need about 1/3 teaspoon of eggshell powder divided between the meals.

If you feed him only organs at a meal, he'll probably throw up or have diarrhea, so it's best to divide the organs into portions and feed them with some meat. :nod:

You can feed him an egg yolk several times a week (like a treat) in addition to his daily food.

....and if you can't find kidney or other organs, you can simply use liver instead. It's better for him if you can find kidney or spleen or pancreas, but if not, it's better to replace that 5% with more liver than with plain meat. And it will require the same amount of bone or eggshell.

Good luck nursing your little fella back to health! And please, ask any questions!

...btw, if you don't have a kitchen scale, it will be hard to measure. But don't fret. You can see that the amount of organ is little - but it is important. Until you can get a kitchen scale, just do your best to make sure you include some kind of calcium, and at least a little bit of liver (and kidney or other organ if you can).

Laurie, you are more knowledgeable than I am on the fish oils - she asked about Cod LIVER Oil. I am only familiar with Cod FISH Oil as a source of Omega-3. In Brazil, Cod LIVER fish oil, was given to us more as a vitamin, (skinny kids got that to grow stronger kind of deal) as it is very rich in vitamin A and D, and such. So, it is not only DHA and EPA.
With that in mind, she is better off with plain fish oil, correct?

Yes, a plain fish oil needs to be found. Kitty will get too much Vitamin A if cod liver oil is used. It's better to use nothing than cod liver oil. :nod:

LDG said:

Yes, a plain fish oil needs to be found. Kitty will get too much Vitamin A if cod liver oil is used. It's better to use nothing than cod liver oil. :nod:

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That's what I thought....

Carolina said:

For raw, you can follow a recipe, or you can simply follow these guidelines:
80%of the diet is muscle meat 10% is bone (which you can substitute for Calcium) 5% liver 5% other secreting organ -
Translating:
Other secreting organs: Kidneys, pancreas, spleen, brain, eyes.... The most commons are kidneys and pancreas.
How to make your own eggshell powder:
Carefully break the eggs and make something - like an omelette

wash the shells with water, remove the inner membrane.
Bake in the oven on 350F for 30 minutes
Put into the food processor and turn it into a fine powder. Done!
1/32 TSP (the small tea spoons) will balance 1oz of meat.
I use these tiny spoons to balance my food: Tiny Measuring Spoons
Since my cats eat 1.5 oz per meal, I use the 2 smaller spoons:
SMIDGEN = 1/32 tsp - this one balances 1oz
DROP = 1/64 tsp - this one balances 1/2 oz
Taurine is in the meat - just make sure to feed hearts often, and you will be ensuring a good level of taurine.
I feed chunks of meat, and just sprinkle the eggshell powder on the top of it. Since he is a kitten, you can cut the meat into bite size, or thin strips - but not to worry, kittens are generally good chewers

The organs don't need to be fed everyday - you can feed a couple or a few times a week, as the qtys are very small, and mix it with the muscle meats.
These "recipes" make a balanced raw diet....
Instead of Cod Liver oil, I would look into fish oil.... Salmon oil.....
You will need a food scale to make sure the percentages are correct - organs vs muscle.....

Click to expand...

that was some real good info that i can use. I am just thinking that from where can I buy the individual parts. But well, I will hunt a place down . And yeah,I haven't bought an oven yet. I have the basic cooking stove. can i roast the egg shells on that? I didnt buy an oven because our cuisine doesnt have anything that needs to be baked.   
Its really difficult to take good care of a cat in this part of the world . Even had a few raised eyebrows when I brought the kitten home... They were like,"You have a "CAT"  as a pet"? 
Nevermind, I will work it out. Shadow is way too precious.      
 Thank you so much for that. I have noted it all down in my diary.

catwoman707 said:

I'm worried you aren't comfortable making the raw diet.

Please let us know if you are, we are here to help, okay?

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No no. I am okay with raw diet. Infact , okay with anything that can make him healthy again. and sorry for the late reply. It was 3 hours past midnight and i just fell asleep on the laptop.

Carolina said:

I should also ask you - what meats are available there, and what meats are you comfortable feeding?
In a raw diet, like any other, variety is important.... Having at least 3 different meats in his menu would be optimum. I know you said you are in India - so I don't want to cross any lines if you have beliefs that would prevent you from feeding a certain type of meat?
Can you give us an idea of what do you have available and what not?

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We have Chicken, Fish and Goat meat. No other option. I have never seen a store selling beef in my life and pork is also REALLY difficult to find.
I am comfortable feeding him whatever I can get. The only problem I have is that a few people in my home are strict vegetarians. So i cant chop the meats and organs a few times a day in front of them
But I think I can chop up a good amount after a day or two and then freeze it for use later. 
Is the combination of these types of meats fine?