kitten wont eat or drink, please help!

I adopted a kitten, 4 months old, from a shelter 8 days ago. Once I adopted him I took him for a vet visit (it was free within the first 5 days). I knew he had a slight sneeze that hardly happened and had slightly crusty eyes. I assumed just a cold and thats what everyone assured me till I got to the vet. My kitten had a fever and swollen lymph nodes and was put on zithromax, an eye ointment, and enisyl-f (l-lysine HCL nutritional supplement). Two days after starting treatment, he got worse... Stopped eating and drinking, didn't play as much, and his nose got so stuffy he could hardly breath. So again, I took him to the vet so scared because he was "fine" when I brought him in but now he was even worse. So then they also put him on orbax for his swollen lymph nodes. Oh and he on his second vet trip was down 8 oz and no longer had a fever. So that was two days ago, and yesterday he started to seem like he was getting better, wanting to play and actually making meow sounds and wondering more (I had started to feed him with a syringe, so I thought he must be doing better). Today though he struggled so much with me trying to feed him and cried and now he seems worse than he has ever been. He still does not drink water and now he wont even attempt to eat food (yesterday he at least tried and did a little, but today nothing). 

I do not know what to do, this is my first pet, and I already love him but I am out of money, this has all cost so much, and I do not know what to do to help him. 

He needs to eat and drink, how can I help him? His nose is so stuffy he can hardly breath it seems. 

Should I take him off all the meds? Could they actually be making him worse? Or should I continue on them still? 

Please Help

He won't eat if he can't smell. You can try putting him in a steamy bathroom to help open his nose up and make breathing easier. He does need to be force fed and perhaps another vet trip for some sub-q fluids as he's likely dehydrated. I wouldn't be stopping the meds.

Unfortunately many shelter kitties have cat flu

I dont have much else to say but to second MissyMotus.

Forcefeeding:, in the corner of the mouth, across the mouth, NOT down. into the neck.

Let the cat be on stomach during forcefeeding, NOT on the back.

A basic and good home made pedialyte could be.

1 litre water

1 soup spoon dextrose sugar

1 tea spoon  kitchen salt

Blend and sterilize by heating up into cooking.  Let it cool down to drinking temperature.

Use at will, dont spare too long, better make a new batch after 24 hours.

Useful both for humans and cats, works fine also during heavy diarrhea..

Good luck!

It is wonderful that you adopted a kitten from the shelter. I am so sorry he is having troubles. Antibiotics can often cause problems for a cat. One of my girls was on Clavimox a few weeks ago. She developed diarrhea and lost her appetite. Of course this started on a Friday evening after the Vet closed. After asking on this forum and doing research, I decided reluctantly to stop the Clavimox. Fortunately, when I spoke to the Vet on Monday, she said I did the right thing. She was then put on Orbax and has seemingly recovered just fine. I am not saying to stop the medicine but hope there is a way you can speak to the Vet before doing so. 

It is very important that you get him to eat and drink. What are you feeding him? Wet food is best at this point because it contains water. Some ideas for food are canned food, tuna fish (in water), and baby food. If you try baby food, get Gerber's 2nd Food Chicken and Gravy or any other meat flavor. Just make sure it is 2nd Food AND contains no onions or garlic. Fancy Feast canned food also works very well. If he still refuses to eat, you have to try more forceful measures such as syringe feeding. Below is a link with some ideas about encouraging eating

http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm

Please call your Vet ASAP if no luck

Thank you for the replies.

I have been putting him in the steamy bathroom every other day, it doesn't seem to help. But i will keep it up.

I have been feeding him wet food and now he is on prescription food from the vet that is very mushy (added water so it would be easy to swallow) and still he doesn't eat...
I will try the sugar salt water this morning. I am very concerned about him not eating or drinking, he is a kitten and needs it.
I can no longer afford the vet, already have spent over 300 on just vet visits and medicine. I feel like I have been takin advantage of there, just keep making me give my kitty more drugs that he hates.

What would be signs pf him recovering? How will I know if he is getting better?

My senior cat had a tummy ache and stopped eating.  I was able to get him eating again by feeding him tiny pieces of plain cooked chicken.  Once he started eating the chicken I was able to transition him back to his wet cat food.  I don't know if this would be helpful to you or not. 

I also had a cat years ago that was actually scared to eat cat food when I adopted her due to previously being abused.  I had to spoon feed her human baby food to get her to eat.  Just make sure it has no garlic or onion in it. 

Have you tried heating up the wet food a little bit?  I have read that it sometimes makes it easier for the cat to smell. 

Also you could try putting a little bit of wet food on your fingers and see if he will lick it off.

How long are you keeping him in the steamy bathroom?  When my Starbuck was 6 weeks old she had nasty cold.  I was taking her into the bathroom with me twice a day for about 20-30 minutes at a time.  I was lucky though because she never stopped eating.  I figured out she was sick when she woke me up sneezing in my face since she was acting completely normal even though she was sick.

I hope you find something that works soon.

snow2sand said:

What would be signs pf him recovering? How will I know if he is getting better?

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A promising sign would be an appetite. You have to get him to eat something - even by force feeding. If you were feeding a wet food before he got sick, try that again. Scramble eggs, baby food, tuna water are other possibilities. Any decent Vet will talk over the phone and/or provide a follow-up visit at no charge. Don't hesitate to call and express your concerns. Ask about what time period is expected for recovery. How many days of the meds were prescribed? 

Oh he is finally eating by himself! Last night he ate the wet food/water mixture I have been feeding him all by himself. Then this morning he was eating his kibble again! He is finally starting to get better.

Still will not drink water and idk what to do about that... I can get him to drink it at all, any ideas or tips?

Thank you again everyone!!

snow2sand said:

Oh he is finally eating by himself! Last night he ate the wet food/water mixture I have been feeding him all by himself. Then this morning he was eating his kibble again! He is finally starting to get better.
Still will not drink water and idk what to do about that... I can get him to drink it at all, any ideas or tips?
Thank you again everyone!!

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They say that if a cat is getting enough fluids from their diet, they generally won't drink water.    Canned food is said to be about 60% water....so if that`s what he`s been getting (plus you`ve added water to it, right?), it's possible he's gotten enough water from the food that he won't have the desire to drink water.   If you're at all concerned that he might be dehydrated, to test for this, take your finger and slide it across his upper gums.  In a well hydrated cat, the gums will feels slippery and moist.   In a dehydrated cat the gums will feel "sticky" and tacky.    If there's any concern about dehydration, popping them into the Vet clinic and having the Vet give them some subcutaneous fluids can be very helpful  (basically it's just them giving some special IV fluids into the skin of the scruff of the neck......it goes into the subcutaneous tissue (not into the blood like an IV) and is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream over the next 24 hours.   Keep giving the food with the bit of water added to it, warming it up a little in microwave (test it first!!) is always a good thing too as warmed food (even if it's straight out of the can and not leftovers from the fridge) is more 'smelly' and palatable/attractive to a cat.   Offer canned food several times a day, more than you might normally feed a cat until kitty is fullly on the mend.

I just tested his gums and they seem dry.
I might take him to get fluids but should I wait sense he just started to eat food?

You can add water to his wet food to make it the consistency of oatmeal.  Also, elevate the water dish so he isn't bending his head down all the way.  If he's got any drainage (snot) it will run out his nose making him want to lift his head up.  He'll not want to eat or drink.  Continue warming up his wet food to entice him to eat.  Also, continue steaming him multiple times a day in the bathroom to keep his nasal passages open.
 

If you keep using the L-lysine that helps to prevent the cold from coming back. Add even more water to his wet food if you think he is dehydrated.

I think the tent test is easier than putting a finger in a cat's mouth to check for dehydration.

If you lift the lose skin at the back of his neck it should ping straight back if you let it go.  If it is slow, like the skin on an old person's hand, he is dehydrated.

hi my name is sara, i have 3 kittens ande mother the kittens are 7 weeks old and im finding it very difficuilt to feed my kittens as they wont eat, its very upsetting. to start with they was 4 kittens but 2 days ago 1 stopped eating and drinking and i had to shringe feed it as it was dehydrating. unfortunately she died of dehydration and it broke my heart i tried all i could to keep her alive and called the vet out but she died there not long after. i had no money and could not pay for the vets. the rspca paid for the pet ambulance to come out and they said i could arrange to pay the vet in a few weeks if the kitten survived. My 3 kittens have been sick now and agwin and are now and again having diarhea. i am feeding them sugar and salt water. can you tell me how old your cat is and i may be able to get some advice for you, thanks sara.

also try boil some chicken breast in a tiny bit of water and your cat with it, if that doesnt work pour hot kettle water over some cat buiscuit food and mush together then try, just keep putting it to ur cats nose. sara

sorry i ment and try your cat with it haha

just some more advice if your cat needs building up try.... a raw egg a little bit of milk and a few pinches of sugar. if you are still worried about your cat loosing weight go to your local prt store and buy some cat build uo drink and use a shringe to feed it. if your kitten is not drinking water feed it 3ml of hot kettle water cooled down every hour. if you have just stopped weeinging your kitten off its mother and it will not eat and starts loosing weight u really do need to let it feed off its mother a bit longer and shringe feed it water otherwise it could dehydrate and die, kittens go down hill and can die very quick so its important that if it starts having diarhea or been sick that you use these tips. if you use these tips and it doesnt help then take it to your vets asap and dont waste time. boiled chicken its great for cats and kittens that wont eat also fish boiled in a little milk.