Kitten in China. Difficulties finding good food

So I'm teaching English in China and bought my first ever kitten. Maybe China wasn't the best place to get a pet since China is not known for treating animals well and in fact, eat Cats in the South! I bought her from a breeder on the street selling animals at a 'pet market'. She was around 8 weeks old. I know nothing about her breed or mother. All I know is that the breeder was feeding the kittens no name, cheap, chinese brand DOG food!!! It was for adult dogs I believe as the pieces were quite large! I can only image all the crap and fillers in them! I'm not sure how long she ate this before I bought her. The Chinese don't seem to know anything about cats as I was told by a Chinese friend to feed the kitten rice every day!!

There's a very scant selection of food here! And I cannot communicate with vets (who I don't feel are very knowledgable) without a translator. I managed to find imported Royal Canin kitten dry and she ate that for the first week.  Then I heard canned food is better. All I could find were Whiska kitten pouches (beef in gravy) and Mio9. Mio9 she LOVED! It's based in Taiwan so it's chinese brand. It has natural ingredients but ALL tuna based! She ate that for about three weeks and just seemed to love it. Then I read cats should not eat tuna every day. So I ordered Wellness online....it was quite expensive since it's imported, especially with shipping costs!  It's not wellness core, but the cans say 'grain-free' on them.

Anyway, she's barely eating it! She doesn't seem to like it. She will take a few bites and walk away. Yet she never walked away from the Mio9 tuna. Did she become addicted to the Tuna and now won't eat anything else? I can't afford to buy another brand of imported so I hope the 'Wellness" grows on her! Also the consistency is really thick and pasty..pate-like. So maybe she isn't use to that?

She also eats such small amounts and is quite skinny. she has had one shot but not checked for worms yet. Plan to do that soon.

I should also add that I've had her for about one month and she is now 12 weeks old. She hasn't really plumped out much since getting her. I feed her at least 4 times a day and leave dry out all the time but she only eats such small amounts...a few bites and then she's done!

Since I reside in Southeast Asia I can relate - inexperienced vets, pricey quality pet food and a lot of misconceptions about cats from the locals. Instead of relying on commercial pet food why not try preparing your kitten's food yourself? I cook my pets' meals which consists of chicken, beef, liver and a bit of human grade tuna or shrimp or sardines (for taste). Twice a week, they are raw fed. The cats who I raised since they were kittens have all thrived. If you are worried about missing out on supplements like taurine and calcium these links can help http://www.petremedycharts.com/Lear...ow_to_Make_a_Calcium_Supplement_for_Pets.html  and http://allnaturalpetcare.com/blog/2011/11/08/natural-sources-of-taurine-for-cats-homemade-foo/

@melvaugn
have you tried mixing the two together?
I mash the pate so it's very smooth.

Thanks for the reply. I don't really cook myself and never buy meat. I'm not even sure I trust the quality of meat here. What type of meat do you buy exactly? And you feed your cat raw? Yes, the vets are unbelievable. I took her to one at 9 weeks and he told me 'she's too young and to come back in a month! Wouldn't even look at her or give her a general check!...And no mention of checking for worms...All he said is that there are two shots I needed. When I asked about 'spaying', he laughed and said "Just don't introduce her to any male cats" No need to Spay"...'oh gee, I guess it's that simple"

@stewball,

Yes, I mashed it with some warm water and she ate more of it! So fingers crossed! But I'm surprised she's eating such small amounts in general for a kitten.

She might have worms can you get revolution drops online without a scrip?

since your options are limited and she is a kitten, i would feed her the royal canin kitten dry along with the wet food. she needs to eat and gain weight. you can always wean her off the dry food when she gets older. 

Try to get her dewormed... worms can cause her to not gain weight. It might be tricky to import de-wormer as it could fall under medical which can make it trickier to get by customs.  Revolution doesn't deworm tapeworm so try to get a de-worm that treats all worms. Some times you can find de-wormer for farm animals and just adjust the dose for cats.

In regards to food dry food is better then not eating cat food at all. You could also mix it in with her wet food. Tuna is bad because of the mercury in it, just like human's shouldn't eat tuna. But the tuna wet food probably tastes and smells better which is why she's being picky about it. The Wiskas kitten will be good for her too (not the best food in the world but way better then dog food!)

Kittens do eat a small amounts of food and it sounds like she's a grazer instead of a of a gobbler which is a good thing. Leave the dry food out for all the time so she can snack as she wants and give her wet like you have been doing. 

Sometimes when I have picky kittens I mix the wet food with tuna juice or wet food to make it more appealing to them. 

Heating up the food enhances the flavor so that's why she is gobbling down the warm food.

At 12 weeks she should be around 3lbs. Typically for kittens its a pound every 4 weeks. Girls are a little slower then boys though. And depending on her genetics she just be a slender cat.

Thanks, I'm taking her to a different vet today and will ask about worms. I'm sure there has to be something I can get here.

She still doesn't really eat the Wellness. Just sniffs it and walks away. Is it safe to microwave it? Even Whiska pouches didn't thrill her but she'd eat it. She only seemed to get excited about the tuna. And yes, she might be a thinner breed. I just know she's mixed with tabby coloring, but it seems she will be a more lean cat maybe.

You can microwave the food, just for a few seconds. Be sure to stir it before you give it to the kitten and check that it isn't too hot. You can also mix the food she likes with the Wellness, or put it on top to entice her.

Went to Vet and she was given a shot (Fel-O-Vax) that also had some deworming element in the shot. Then I was given "Revolution" topical ointment for dogs that I need to apply to her skin two weeks later. I hope it is safe for cats as well! But like a previous poster stated, revolution, especially one that's topical (and for dogs yet too) probably won't prevent all worms! But this is my only option I guess...

I'm sure more knowledgeable people will  be able to tell you about the specific ingredients in the revolution dog formula (if you can read it!!) - and whether to risk it given your situation.  But here, we are told never to give a cat, dog flea or worming treatments, as they can kill cats.

I wonder what other avenues you can take?  How about diatomaceous earth, or other natural remedies that might be able to be got (or got through customs)? Or natural remedies? Anyone know?  You might need a few as I doubt it will be a one thing for all bugs.  I hope you can find a spaying vet too!!  If not, anyone know about hormone therapy for female cats, and whether this might be able to be imported??

Food wise, I'd be strongly wanting to go home-made.  It seems the safest route and most complete.  You might be able to get fresh locally slaughtered stuff??  Ask the question to the raw feeders, as they'll have some tips for ensuring safety given your area and general raising and slaughtering hygiene.  Some low grade par-cooking, plus freezing gets rid of most things from memory.  And then some things you may want to avoid if there is no safety in the country (eg: brains, eyes carry mad-cow disease - only safe places for such items are Australia and NZ!).

Oh wow, I wasn't aware Revolution for dogs could kill a cat. I'm pretty sure the deworming substance included in the fel-o-vax shot was also for dogs. I was told to apply half of the topical Revolution ointment in two weeks with no mention of needing anything beyond that. Having cats as pets is a new phenomena in China. Dogs are more common and so everything here is geared for dogs only. Cats are mostly 'stray/wild' here. I did ask about a rabies shot since I'm thinking of shipping her to Canada, but they only have the rabies shot for dogs! Thankfully the vet did say giving the 'dog rabies' shot to a cat would be dangerous! I might be able to get an imported Rabies vaccine from Europe. 

Anyway, I'd hate for the kitten to die from getting treated at the Vet as if she were a dog! 

Unfortunately I don't cook and never buy meat (I'm vegetarian) so don't know where to begin with feeding her home-made or raw, but will look into it. Would be cheaper than imported 'Wellness"

Revolution is the same for dogs and cats. It goes by weight:

https://www.revolution4dogs.com/media/5604/revo pi.pdf

https://www.zoetisus.com/_locale-as...ts/pdf/revolution-prescribing-information.pdf

and i still think you should feed Royal Canin kitten dry. it's available, it's complete and balanced for growth, and your kitten eats it.

melvaughn said:

 
Thanks for the reply. I don't really cook myself and never buy meat. I'm not even sure I trust the quality of meat here. What type of meat do you buy exactly? And you feed your cat raw? 

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Please do not even consider feeding your kitten a home-made food without first learning how to do it. Growing kittens are particularly at risk of becoming very, very ill if not fed a properly balanced diet.  You absolutely CANNOT just feed her meat. 

There is an entire sub-forum at this site dedicated to helping people make home-made cat food, raw and cooked. Please check it out and post there BEFORE  you give your kitten any home-made food.

Home-Made Cat Food  

Yes, "dog" Revolution is safe as long as you're giving the proper dosage for her size. It's the same formulation whether marketed for cats or dogs; the only difference is dosage size (some tube sizes have a stronger concentration). Does it have the dosage printed on the tube?

In the US, the rabies shots for dogs and cats are the same, given at the same dosage. I don't know what brands the vets there are using, but if you can find out what brand they get you could look up the manufacturer's information and print it out for the vet. If she doesn't go outside the rabies vaccine shouldn't be strictly necessary but it would make me a little nervous to have an unvaccinated cat under the circumstances.

From what I can find, Fel-o-vax is only vaccine, no de-wormer included. Unless the vet added something. Can you get pyrantel pamoate anthelmintic for humans there? It's used for pinworms in children. If you can find the formulation and post it here, someone should be able to help you determine if it's the right stuff and what dose to use.

The online Merck Manual is a big help for people who don't have a vet nearby! I check that for everything. If there's something your vet doesn't know about, you can look it up and be able to show him an authoritative source for what you're saying. http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/

Oh, and for food I would probably stick with Royal Canin dry kitten food with some of whatever wet food is available, and occasionally give her some cooked meat to provide more protein. At least for now. When she's grown you could re-examine your options.

Willowy said:

Yes, "dog" Revolution is safe as long as you're giving the proper dosage for her size. It's the same formulation whether marketed for cats or dogs; the only difference is dosage size (some tube sizes have a stronger concentration). Does it have the dosage printed on the tube?

In the US, the rabies shots for dogs and cats are the same, given at the same dosage. I don't know what brands the vets there are using, but if you can find out what brand they get you could look up the manufacturer's information and print it out for the vet. If she doesn't go outside the rabies vaccine shouldn't be strictly necessary but it would make me a little nervous to have an unvaccinated cat under the circumstances.

From what I can find, Fel-o-vax is only vaccine, no de-wormer included. Unless the vet added something. Can you get pyrantel pamoate anthelmintic for humans there? It's used for pinworms in children. If you can find the formulation and post it here, someone should be able to help you determine if it's the right stuff and what dose to use.

The online Merck Manual is a big help for people who don't have a vet nearby! I check that for everything. If there's something your vet doesn't know about, you can look it up and be able to show him an authoritative source for what you're saying. http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/

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Thanks for the tips...yes, I need to administer only half of the Revolution tube for dogs. So it will probably be safe. And the vet said the Fel-o-vax had a dewormer substance included in it. I was told they don't have rabies shots for cats, only an imported brand from Europe. Rabies are rampant here so I think it's important. And I may ship her to Canada on the plane so would need a Rabies shot.

She's eating the Wellness now, thankfully and she eats Royal Canine the rest of the time so I will stick with that now.