8wk Rag Doll Skinny?

bubblesandgum

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Hello,

Our family has adopted a rag doll kitten who is 8 weeks old. I weighed her today and she is 1lb exactly. I was concerned that she was underweight,  I can feel her bones underneath all the fur.   She also has diarrhea, yesterday it was rather watery, today a little thicker. She wouldn't eat her kitty chow, so I have been giving her Blue Buffalo Kitten wet food. She seems to like it and her appetite has picked up.

We picked up our little girl yesterday.

Is there anything I need to be concerned about? The breeder said she didn't have diarrhea when she had her.   Could it be the adjustment of a car ride and a new place?

Hopefully I am in the right forum asking the question's that I have.

Thank you in advance.
 

NewYork1303

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1 pound seems awfully small for and 8wk old kitten. When I was worrying about mine, I was told they are meant to gain around a pound each month. To help fatten her up you should feed many (six or seven) small meals each day with her eating as much as she wants and have cat chow out in case she decides to snack on it between meals. You might also try supplying KMR to her in a dish since this has a lot of vital nutrients. The diarrhea sounds like a problem since she is already underweight. It'll make it so that she isn't getting the nutrients that she needs from her food.
 
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bubblesandgum

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1 pound seems awfully small for and 8wk old kitten. When I was worrying about mine, I was told they are meant to gain around a pound each month. To help fatten her up you should feed many (six or seven) small meals each day with her eating as much as she wants and have cat chow out in case she decides to snack on it between meals. You might also try supplying KMR to her in a dish since this has a lot of vital nutrients. The diarrhea sounds like a problem since she is already underweight. It'll make it so that she isn't getting the nutrients that she needs from her food.
Thank you for your response. I will look at where KMR can be purchased and get it.
 

misterwhiskers

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Has she been seen by your vet yet? Ragdolls are big cats. 1 pound for 2 months is less than half the weight one could expect. My cat is 1/2 rag doll only and yet was 4 pounds by 3 months. I highly recommend an urgent vet visit. You should NOT be feeling bones. Were other kittens sick?? Something seems off about the breeder...aren't kittens to be kept with the mama til they are 10 weeks old and completely weaned?
 
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bubblesandgum

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I was going to take her tomorrow. We picked her up yesterday afternoon and I noticed the diarrhea about an hour after we got home. I texted the breeder about it and she said, the adjustment might be the reason. That her other kittens did not have diarrhea and she would monitor them.

I never saw the other kittens nor her parents. The breeder lives about 3 hours away from me and met me half way.
 

misterwhiskers

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Who is the breeders vet? You need a vet history of her and the parents.
 

misterwhiskers

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Can you post a picture of your kitten? By the way, congrats on your new addition!

The experts here are really good at determining things like overall age of kittens, in case your breeder is * mistaken* about the kittens age.
Personally I would isolate the kitten if there were other cats in the house until a vet clears her.

Too bad you couldn't see the living conditions of the mother and kittens first hand.
 
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bubblesandgum

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I'm not sure of the history. I was originally inquiring about a Persian kitten she had. I wanted additional photos and she said I have a rag doll left in another litter if you are interested. She sent through the photo of her rag doll and my daughters fell in love with her. So we decided to get the rag doll instead. When I met her in person, she said the rag doll had been sold to someone else, but they had stopped communicating with her for a number of weeks. I believe all her kittens are pre-sold before they are born.
 
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bubblesandgum

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1 pound seems awfully small for and 8wk old kitten. When I was worrying about mine, I was told they are meant to gain around a pound each month. To help fatten her up you should feed many (six or seven) small meals each day with her eating as much as she wants and have cat chow out in case she decides to snack on it between meals. You might also try supplying KMR to her in a dish since this has a lot of vital nutrients. The diarrhea sounds like a problem since she is already underweight. It'll make it so that she isn't getting the nutrients that she needs from her food.
My husband has gone down to get the KMR from Petsmart. I will start her on that right away.  I will reweigh her tonight after all her feedings.
 
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bubblesandgum

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I just asked the breeder when she was born. May 20th, 2015. That would make her only 7 weeks old and not 8 weeks. 
 
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bubblesandgum

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Update:

She has an appetite on her and has eaten 5 times already today. Her stools have gone from watery yesterday to now thick brown.   Her weight after going to the bathroom is  1lb 3oz from 1lb. So I'm hoping through the constant feeding her weight will come up and her stools will continue to get harder.  She seems to eat a little then walk around and come back for more food. I allow her to take the time she needs, her tiny little mouth can only take so much in.  This might be the problem she had, where after she walked away maybe the wet food was then put away. She seems to take about 15 minutes coming back and forward. She is playing right now and seems to have much more energy than earlier on. She still is not interested in hard food, only wet.

Thank you everyone who posted, my little kitty seems to be doing much better right now.  
 

misterwhiskers

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Oh she is so cute!!! She looks pretty healthy !! Eyes seem shiny and bright, no discharge. I wonder if she was a runt and the breeder wanted to get her adopted out faster for that reason? (For her own good).

Very very good that she is eating so much! How is the pee output?

Do you have a name yet? I'm in love!!!
 
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bubblesandgum

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Oh she is so cute!!! She looks pretty healthy !! Eyes seem shiny and bright, no discharge. I wonder if she was a runt and the breeder wanted to get her adopted out faster for that reason? (For her own good).

Very very good that she is eating so much! How is the pee output?

Do you have a name yet? I'm in love!!!
We named her Meeska. She is peeing very well.  Drinking and eating after every nap.   No accidents outside of the litter box.

The breeder was very concerned about her and seemed like a very nice lady. She has written me a few times today and said to keep her updated. She has the other kittens sleeping in the box next to her bed. She has been monitoring them for any signs of sickness. I feel she could be the runt and probably wasn't getting the food she needed. Because she can sure eat if you let her.  Instead of having the full home to run around in, I have her in my eldest daughters bedroom where it is quiet. Everything can be so overwhelming, especially when they are taken away from mum. 
 
 
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