Please HELP! My kitten has a strange skin problem.

LDG said:

Oh how absolutely wonderful of you to rescue this kitten!

Given the limited availability of food to you that is good for him, I agree your best option is feeding him a raw diet.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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Carolina said:

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?

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dpkml said:

I will visit the medical store today and try to get salmon oil. Will let you know what I could lay my hands on.

P.S- I am a "HE" . Deep Kamal from Patiala,Punjab. India 

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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 themhappy2.gif
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?

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Carolina said:

And no fish????  I thought that fish is good for cats... Since all the catfoods have it as an ingredient. 

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catwoman707 said:

I am so impressed with these ladies, and you sir as well for all of your effort!

It's not easy learning all of this and taking it all in.

 

I'm sure you realize by now that you certainly came to the right place for help!

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LDG said:

Oh how absolutely wonderful of you to rescue this kitten!

Given the limited availability of food to you that is good for him, I agree your best option is feeding him a raw diet.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Click to expand...

Carolina said:

The fish oil and the Taurine are not essential to have, but would be VERY good for your kitty....
You can get by without the taurine by cutting the meat the least you can before freezing then chopping into smaller pieces at the time of serving.... Also by serving hearts regularly.
The fish oil you can get by if you feed sardines a couple times a week - can you get sardines in there? Cooked sardines? In a can? On water?

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Carolina said:

The fish oil and the Taurine are not essential to have, but would be VERY good for your kitty....
You can get by without the taurine by cutting the meat the least you can before freezing then chopping into smaller pieces at the time of serving.... Also by serving hearts regularly.
The fish oil you can get by if you feed sardines a couple times a week - can you get sardines in there? Cooked sardines? In a can? On water?

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jennyranson said:

As I said at the begiining, the problem is most likely malnutrition. The important thing right bnow is to get him to eat as much as possible. Whiskas kitten food is not the best in the world, we all know that, but it is probably the best available where you are. That plus some raw chicken (if you are sure there are no parasites in it and that can be difficult I know) and the fish oil (cod liver oil is good) will probably be great for him. ANd the raw egg yolks - do not feed the whites. You can scrunch up the egg shells into powder aand they will provide him with calcium. Goat milk would also be a good source of calcium, also natural yoghurt or unsalted soft cheese - I had great success with that in Bosnia, where I rescued many kittens.
It is hard sometimes for people on the other side of the world to put themselves in the position of someone who is doing the best they can in difficult circumstances. In your hunt for Drontal or another good wormer, whatever you do, do not buy anything from anyone who is not medically qualified. There are many wormers (and flea medicines) out there regualarly kill cats. So if you ask for Drontal and someone in a petstore or local drugstore says they have something that works as well, do not touch it! It is better to wait till you find the right thing. You are doing well, good luck.

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dpkml said:

I am sorry but I wrote down a few posts but they are pending approval from the moderator so I am not able to reply on time.  Hope that the posts will start showing soon.

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jcat said:

They should be showing up immediately now. Whiskas, while not a high-quality food, can at least be expected to provide a balance of nutrients and be free of parasites/pathogens. Many cats have lived to a ripe old age eating it, so feeding it and supplementing it as advised appears to be your best option at the moment.

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jennyranson said:

Royal Canin is better than Whiskas, but only if it is the wet kind in pouches. It might be good to give him a mix of Whiskas canned and Royal Canin dry. It is good to feed as much wet food as possible. Mixing foods is a good idea if he will eat them - that way he will get the best of everything! I know you are doing the best you can and you are devoting a lot of time and enrgy to helping this kitten. Is he OK after the wormer? Even dosages that are OK for babies may not be OK for a cat.

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Carolina said:

The fish oil and the Taurine are not essential to have, but would be VERY good for your kitty....
You can get by without the taurine by cutting the meat the least you can before freezing then chopping into smaller pieces at the time of serving.... Also by serving hearts regularly.
The fish oil you can get by if you feed sardines a couple times a week - can you get sardines in there? Cooked sardines? In a can? On water?

Click to expand...