Kitten losing weight and not playing

frida

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Hi everyone.
My 14week old Cornish Rex kitten has been sick since he received his vaccines 2 weeks ago. After he received the vaccines he had what my vet and I assumed was an allergic reaction. (He was throwing up a lot). So he was given an antihistamine shot and fluids and I was given a syringe to feed him as he hadn't eaten after the shot. So things looked to be improving. He threw up once more when we got home but not again after that. He was eating and drinking but not a lot so I continued the syringe feeding
. He has lost a lot of weight in the last two weeks. He was always a slimmer kitten, not a big eater like my other cat was at his age, but his little sides clearly go in after his rib cage and his little legs have visible bone and his spine is clearly felt all the way along. He looks obviously skinny. He had stopped eating on his own the last couple of days and I am unclear wether he is using the bathroom regularly. I have a vet appointment today but was wondering if anyone has experienced this or something like it. He was such a healthy playful kitten before and now he doesn't want to chase anything.
 

stephenq

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It's possible the symptoms are coincidental and have nothing to do with the vaccine, and might be symptoms of something much more serious and unrelated.   I would do a full diagnostic work up.  Vaccine reactions tend to be immediate and short lived.  Losing weight at this age is a very bad sign.
 
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frida

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Yes it is totally possible that the vaccine reaction was coincidental or just that the reaction he had triggered or progressed something else. Rupert is at the vet right now receiving fluids. They say he is looking better this morning and will call to update as soon. He had a blood test and they are worried because it came back totally normal except a high white blood count. We are very worried that he may have FIP. I have to wait for the full blood work to come back and the test for the corona virus. I posted another thread with more details where I will update his progress good or bad. It is called "Rupert is at the vet and I'm just so worried"
 

stephenq

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Yes it is totally possible that the vaccine reaction was coincidental or just that the reaction he had triggered or progressed something else. Rupert is at the vet right now receiving fluids. They say he is looking better this morning and will call to update as soon. He had a blood test and they are worried because it came back totally normal except a high white blood count. We are very worried that he may have FIP. I have to wait for the full blood work to come back and the test for the corona virus. I posted another thread with more details where I will update his progress good or bad. It is called "Rupert is at the vet and I'm just so worried"
Let's hope it isn't FIUP, but don't count on a positive corona test to be meaningful by itself.  I'm sending vibes....
 
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frida

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Let's hope it isn't FIUP, but don't count on a positive corona test to be meaningful by itself.  I'm sending vibes.... :vibes:
Yes the vet did say that it wasn't nessasarily indicative of fip but that given his symptoms if it is positive that is likely what is going on. The nurse said he was doing very well this morning and I am hopeful that it is not fip and that we will be able to find a solution.
 

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Awful position to be in.  I am so sorry you are going through this.  I don't have any experience or advice to offer you here and can only hope that others will, but I can send you the strongest positive vibes I can, and be here waiting to hear how things progress.  All fingers and toes crossed that the high white cell count is a simple infection your little kitten is fighting off and not FIP.  

 

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aww...sounding good! I pray he continues on to a clean bill of health!!
 

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Will keep on sending the vibes. Major relief on the corona virus test.  I hope you find out what's been going on, and that he continues to pick back up.  
 

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Great that he seems better now, and the test was negative! I went through something a little bit similar recently, where my cat was vomiting and got dehydrated, and the dehydration caused her to feel sick, not eat, and lose weight. I wonder if that could be what happened to your kitten. In any case, sending vibes for his continued recovery!  
 
 
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frida

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He looks a lot better since the fluids but is still very underweight. He is eating well though and the vet gave me a special high calorie food to give him. I think it must be super tasty because my other cat is dying to get some. He is perkier but still not playful. We are going for a checkup on Sunday so the vet can check that he is still hydrated and gaining weight. I'm not sure that we are going to get a real diagnosis as all his blood work came back normal except the high white cell count. So an unknown infection or possible allergic reaction is all I have.
 
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frida

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So we just got back from the vet. I am glad to say that Rupert has gained some weight and is much perkier. He was still having some abdominal pain so the vet took an X-ray just in case he swallowed something and we discovered that he was extremely constipated. So Rupert got an anima. Yay poop! Hopefully this will help him to feel better. He is still on the antibiotics and the high calorie food. The food I have to keep giving him until he is back at a normal weight. But all in all things are looking good and the vet no longer is in fear for his life so we will just keep doing what we are doing and hopefully everything will be fine. We probably won't ever know what was the real problem but most likely it was that after his vaccine reaction he was left dehydrated and he wasn't feeling great so he didn't wanna eat and it just snowballed.
 

mservant

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You must be so relieved there is further improvement and some kind of picture of what has happened even if not a clear initial cause.  This little kitten is keeping you on your toes for sure, I hope he is going to have a healthier and more fun time from now on.  I will be looking for tales of mischief and mayhem to reassure me he is fully recovered.

I was at a cat show yesterday and there were 2 little Cornish Rex kittens there; they were hilarious how they were swinging about the pens!  Very cute.
 
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frida

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So we just got back from the vet. I am glad to say that Rupert has gained some weight and is much perkier. He was still having some abdominal pain so the vet took an X-ray just in case he swallowed something and we discovered that he was extremely constipated. So Rupert got an anima. Yay poop! Hopefully this will help him to feel better. He is still on the antibiotics and the high calorie food. The food I have to keep giving him until he is back at a normal weight. But all in all things are looking good and the vet no longer is in fear for his life so we will just keep doing what we are doing and hopefully everything will be fine. We probably won't ever know what was the real problem but most likely it was that after his vaccine reaction he was left dehydrated and he wasn't feeling great so he didn't wanna eat and it just snowballed.
Yes normally he is a little acrobat. I will be sure to keep everyone updated. I hope to be telling about his antics soon. I think he will be more himself after the antibiotics are through.
 

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Thank goodness that the FIP results were negative!  He's a real cutie!
 

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So we just got back from the vet. I am glad to say that Rupert has gained some weight and is much perkier. He was still having some abdominal pain so the vet took an X-ray just in case he swallowed something and we discovered that he was extremely constipated. So Rupert got an anima. Yay poop! Hopefully this will help him to feel better. He is still on the antibiotics and the high calorie food. The food I have to keep giving him until he is back at a normal weight. But all in all things are looking good and the vet no longer is in fear for his life so we will just keep doing what we are doing and hopefully everything will be fine. We probably won't ever know what was the real problem but most likely it was that after his vaccine reaction he was left dehydrated and he wasn't feeling great so he didn't wanna eat and it just snowballed.
I'm so glad he's doing better. I think you're right it might have been dehydration that let to this. Vaccines are generally very safe, so it's hard to tell if it's the vaccine itself or just something that happened around that time. He could have been exposed to something at the clinic, some mild virus tummy or something and like you said, it just snowballed from there. He's so lucky to have an attentive owner who took notice in time and made him all better 
 

mservant

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Thank you for sharing the recent photo. What a sweetie cuddling up on the heat blanket there, they look lovely together.  I'm sure he will soon have built up those spring loaded back legs and be bouncing around again.  Hopefully no more issues and his digestive system will settle down.
 
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