3 week old kitten not gaining weight

I bottle feed abandoned kittens locally, otherwise, they would be put down.  This is my first baby I've had such trouble with.  He was the largest, weighing in at 6.7 on April 1st.  Guessing he was about 3 days old.  His highest weight was 10.90 on 4.9, today it is 10.50.  Not much on nursing.  Vet checked...no parasites, worms, coccidia, etc.  Has diarrhea .  Feeding KMR with distilled water, and 2 ml pedialyte twice daily.  Sleeping with littermates.  HELP!  He doesn't want to suckle (he did vigorously initially).  I am syringe feeding 3 ccs after he refuses nipple.  He suckles a bit, but then is finished and refuses bottle.  I am at my wit's end.  Keeping him warm, out of drafts, etc.

Any advice would be SO appreciated.

Welcome!   I will try to answer a little later.  I had a long day and Im tired now...

Although I suspect others will chime in.

In the meantime, I shall ask a mod to move this post to our Preg and Kitten forum...  - The advisors are partly the same, but many forumists not.

Good luck!

Hi and welcome to tcs!

What I see from your weights, something doesn't seem right. Between the 1st and 8 days later he would have gained a full half ounce everyday. That is way more than possible.

His weight today is very normal for his age, right in the good/average range.

I know you said he was a big baby, so it may be a bit under where he would be if he were eating well.

Many times bottle fed kittens will go through this stage. I believe it is something to do with the "not natural" aspect of bottle feeding. Instincts are incredible.

Right about 2 1/2-3 weeks old, some do go through this slump, stop thriving, restless/resisting the bottle, so I simply recommend they are syringed to get them through this slump, and they usually do, as long as they are fed the same amt as they were taking in before this started.

Suddenly, just as it started, it will pass and they go right back to thriving and growing fine.

Those who do not get through this is due to the feeders not knowing what to do/why, and don't force the additional amt needed via syringe.

By force I'm sure you know what I mean

You are doing the right things.  Just keep syringe feeding him as frequently as you can -every 4 hours or a bit more if you can is best. If you just keep force feeding him through syringe it is very very likely that he will rebound, and quite suddenly as Catwoman says Many go through this phase and you just have to be persistent in force feeding.

Thank you!  We will press on. 

We have seen this a lot with orphans and don't exactly know why but have found two things.  One is that the liquid KMR always gives the babies diarrhea even when watered down, so we always use the powder and mix it ourselves.  Another is that we've noticed this problem more often with the larger kittens in a litter.  As they get bigger, you often need to decrease the strength of the formula, water it down a bit more, because they need more fluid and less concentration since they are now consuming more than they did when they were smaller.  Mother's milk naturally changes as the kittens age, and we have to try to do that too.  If he keeps rejecting food and the diarrhea persists after you thin down the formula, you may have to put the baby on Clavamox or Albon (ask your vet) for a couple of weeks.  Good luck and let us know how it's going!

I'm new to this forum thing and appreciate all the help. Since the kitten has had diarrhea for last two weeks, would it help if I were to add 5 ml of canned pumpkin (not pie filling) to his bottle? I have diluted his formula.

I was force feeding an older kitten a couple of years ago and could not get her to gain weight over 3-4 days.  She didn't even have diarrhea, just rapid weight loss and depression.  My vet checked for everything and found nothing, but he suspected coccidia anyhow because of her other symptoms (loss of weight, loss of appetite, general depression) so he said "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and acts like a duck, it may just be a duck even if it doesn't show up on the duck tests," and he gave me some albon to try with her.  Overnight she began to improve, stopped resisting feeding, started to put on weight, and pulled through.  She had gone from 2 lbs. at 8 weeks down to 1 lb. at 10 weeks, and no one at the shelter had noticed for awhile because she was longhaired and fluffy.  I noticed because I had not seen her for 2 weeks and when I picked her up, she was just a feather, skin and bones, which was a big change.  Your kitten isn't like this, of course, but it's possible he may have coccidia.  It doesn't always show up on fecal tests because it "blooms" only sporadically.  As for the pumpkin, I can't honestly tell you if it would help or not or if your kitten is too young to start any solid food yet.

I don't think adding pumpkin at this age is the answer here.

It does sound like that time period when they sort of seem to resist eating the same as prior, plus, as Red Top Rescue said, testing for parasites is a hit and miss, as the fecal float test can only detect coccidia during cyst shedding times, so often vets will go ahead and give albon since it is such a mild, well tolerated med.

I don't know how much experience you have or how many babies you have bottle fed in the past, but kmr will not give kittens a solid stool until they're off of it.

I'm a still at my wits end. One of the five rescue kittens from a feral mom has continued diarrhea. It even falls out of him. Here is what I've done so far and any help would be so appreciated.

Took to vet (twice). Checked for parasites ,coccidia and giardiasis. Negative
Vet put him on Albon any way. No results
Panacur, no results
Did pedialite
Yogurt in formula, no change
Tried kaopectate from vet (not store bought), no change
Thought he might be allergic to KMR so yesterday got him on science diet canned kitten food
His diarrhea is still liquid...no form. It is brown. Doesn't smell

He is now almost 5 weeks old and weighs less than 16 oz. He eats well. Drinks water. Plays some, though not as much as others

I just got probiotics to sprinkle on his food. He has had that twice.

What to do? This is my sixth rescue litter and I have never experienced anything like this. Occasional diarrhea because of over feeding or coccidia. I feel so sorry for the little guy. Doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Help? Ideas???

I wonder if you could try him on a bland cooked chicken diet for two days? It's not nutritionally complete, so I wouldn't do it for long with a growing kitten, but it may help rule out/rule in food and additive intolerances. It sounds like you've ruled out parasites.