sick, skinny kitten. help?

Our little Skittles isn't feeling very good. We rescued him when he was about 4 weeks old & he's now about 4 months old. He's always been a strong eater. He was strictly eating dry food until we started feeding 2 younger kittens wet food & I would give him a little bit out of the can to eat. He got hooked on wet food but about a week ago I stopped giving him the wet food. Ever since then he hasn't really touched the dry much but he was still acting normal. I did try giving him some wet food tonight but he didn't want it. I've done the tent test & he doesn't seem dehydrated.

We don't get paid for another week and the vets we use won't let us hold checks or charge. Everything has to be paid up front. Is there anything you guys think we could try to get him to feeling better?

Warm up the wet food, sometimes they need a strong smell to get eating, amd when last did he eat

I'll try that. The last time I saw him eat the wet food was a couple days ago but he could be eating the dry and I just don't know it because we leave food out 24/7 and the cats just graze all day and he could be eating that when I'm at work or asleep.

If you want your kitty to eat any wet food, the key is avoid free-feeding dry. I know kittens require more food, but if you start a feeding regimen, like: early AM, after work, and before bed (3 times a day), it shouldn't starve your kittens. How old are your youngest ones? You could leave a handful or use a measuring cup of kibble to measure out portions during the time you're out working. If you free-feed, you don't know how much they're eating, if any, or at all! Nor can you control portions. Keeping them in seperate rooms during mealtimes can help you see and evaluate how much each cat is consuming their meals. After a while, they'll go to their designated spots for mealtimes! Just keep them seperated until they've finished eating.

Btw, I've heard that grabbing a cat by their scruff isn't really a good indicator of hydration...I'd check their gums and feel it. If it's sticky, they're dehydrated. If it's slick and smooth, they are ok. However, I personally promote feeding canned food as much as possible because I know cats are poor drinkers from the water bowl...they're just designed to get their moisture with their food.

I'd also look into getting a baby scale to keep up weights on your kitties if you're worried about how skinny they are. Most kittens weigh about 2 lbs/ 2 months, 3 lbs/ 3 months, 4 lbs/ 4 months, etc. Adding raw goat's milk to a skinny cat's diet is also something they usually like as well. Raw goat's milk are easy to digest, filled with enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and natural probiotics, and lots of fats to help nourish a young, skinny kitty, too. However, please avoid cow's milk as it's usually not recommended (more prone for upset tummies). Raw goat's milk can be found in smaller independent pet food stores and usually comes frozen.

Good luck with your kitties!

You must get something into him - replacement milk, or try all kinds of diff wet food, tuna. Our vet told us that if a cat doesn't eat for more than two days they will develop fatty liver and it can lead to liver failure . We are dealing with an illness right now. Our 15 yo lost a lot of wt, etc. Best of luck. Also , have you heard of Care Credit to finance the vet bill( or some other credit card )?