Rescue baby appears underweight and may still have worms?

Hey all! I adopted my first little baby Theodore on Saturday during the Clear the Shelters event here in NYC.
So this precious little ball of sunshine is estimated to be 10 weeks old and though he weighed 2.4lbs at intake with animal control on 8/8, he now weighs 2.05 pounds. He's been moved around a bit, was on the "to be destroyed" list for 8/14 and made it out in the nick of time, so it's been a tough week for him!
I'm not sure what they were feeding him or if he was eating, so I'm not sure if the loss can be attributed to stress or worms. He began taking panacur on 8/8 at intake and has one more dose tomorrow. I'm not sure if he still has worms or if he just has kitten potbelly at this point, but after he eats he looks like he'll explode. Poop has been soft but not loose, no evidence of parasites in it and I don't see any fragments on his little booty. No blood in stool, no vomiting, appetite seems fair for such a little guy. I've been feeding him blue buffalo kitten wet and dry, but I think I want to switch him over to wellness core for the high fat and protein. I've started mixing in little bits of plain scrambled egg to sneak more water into his food to try to keep the bloat down and it's helped a bit. He doesn't seem to show any signs or symptoms to suggest pain or discomfort. He's very playful and energetic, and getting quite brave in his adventures. Does anyone with ore experience have more insight on his condition? We don't go back to the vet for 2 weeks.

What a handsome little boy! Orange cats are so handsome. Love the pictures - he looks very relaxed and comfortable.

Sounds like you have a terrific new companion.

And welcome to TCS.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]He is a gorgeous little guy and he is the most affectionate little guy I've ever met. He has my heart! I just have such a hard time giving him his meds because he doesn't tolerate them well and doesn't eat enough at once to mix it in to his food. He tolerates the clavamox for his URI more than panacur but it's also a smaller dose so it's easier to get him to take it. Eye drops are a breeze but that panacur doesn't go down. I just hope that the worms have cleared up, he's been on panacur for over a week and the vet told me to give for 3 days, making today the third dose. Does his belly look normal or still like he might have parasites? Still no evidence of anything on his stool that I can see. Here's another picture of his belly

He's adorable! I love his markings.

He does look a bit skinny apart from that belly, but it's hard to say what's causing it. If he has worms, surely the panacur will take care of it. Maybe he just wasn't eating well in the shelter and that caused his weight loss. 

I remember the last time I adopted a kitten, I was worried about how soft his stool was, and his round belly, but apparently that was normal for a young kitten. I was used to adult cats.

He was definitely very dehydrated for the first day or two. After I found out about the loss I added wet food and scrambled eggs to his food to sneak water in and that helped with the #2 since he seemed a bit "stuck" at first. I just hope the worms are gone because he loves to lay curved around the top of my head at night lol:lol3:

I'm no expert on little ones, so I'm going  to see if @catwoman707 can take a peak at your thread.  She's good with wee ones, AND know a lot about de-wormers, etc.

Thank you for participating in the event "clear the shelters"! We also had it here at our humane society and with great success.

It seems to me that his appetite is much better now than it was at the shelter, (which is fairly common), and shows in his tummy size, but it will take time for him to even out.

He will become thicker all over instead of the immediate noticeable size of his tummy.

Average normal weight is about 2 lbs at 9 weeks, then about 3 lbs at 3 months, 4 at 4 mos.

So he's a slight bit under but nothing to be alarmed at now.

You can also tell if it's emaciation or growth by feeling along his spine, especially the center, while you may feel the spine you shouldn't be able to feel actual vertebrae lumps, above the tail will often feel bony in a growing kitten so don't judge by that.

Also the base of the neck should feel a layer of muscle too, not bones.

I highly suggest switching him to Royal Canin Babycat, the one that says for mother and baby, not the kitten formula. That food is amazing and I have turned around countless kittens with it who came to me in pretty rough shape.

Did he have a fecal float done which is why the long dosed panacur?

There is no official record of what test was even done, 2 litter mates are still suffering from parasites and still have foul loose stools, they were the 2 smaller of the litter at 1 and 1.6 pounds each, though they may be 2 weeks younger and they just came in together. Today is the last dose though so hopefully he's clear. I could count the vertebrae from his neck to his tail and his shoulder blades are visible, though last night they looked a bit softer than on Saturday. he's all bones and belly. Thighs are even very thin looking. I'll buy a small bag of the royal canin and start making the shift, gotta beef him up! He is loving the eggs though, hopefully that'll help him!

It does concern me that he's been on an antihelminthic for such a long time though, the therapeutic index on them for humans is about a 1.5 so even when they're considered safe they're very destructive. Perhaps the long dose because he spits most of it out?

Your description of him sounds just like the kittens I have taken on or pulled from the shelter that were going to be euthanized, emaciated/malnourished.

Big belly.

When you see commercials for Ethiopian children, skin and bones with big bellies, this is what it always reminds me of.

He may have gotten off to a rough start in life.

However this can be turned around.

It's concerning that there is no medical record to explain why the long dosing of panacur. It's protocol to dose kittens (actually all intakes) with dewormer and a vaccine if age appropriate, but not long term as he is on.

Due to his spitting it out isn't right either, it's important for the full dose to be ingested, if using a 1.0 ml syringe, scruff and turn over with a table/counter to help support his body and shoot it as far back in his throat as possible then close his mouth. You will know when he swallows it because the tip of his tongue will come out as to lick his lips.

Glad he only has 1 dose left!

Is he flea free? Plan on having to treat him soon for tapeworm too, panacur works for one type but not the most common from fleas. It's just a single dose though, lucky for him!

I seriously doubt the other 2 are his sibs with such a big diff in size, probably came in together.

The Babycat is not cheap for sure, but SO well worth every dime paid.

Be sure to use a gradual transition too of course.

His record is brief and nondescript. Here's a screen grab of the intake exam:

He was given ponazuril at intake for abdominal enlargement, but no indication of fecal sample or testing positive for parasites, just says to continue treatment for them. One of the smaller kittens in the litter had a URI and Theo began treatment for possible URI breaking, but was still sneezing and had nasal discharge and conjunctivitis when I took him home. He's taking clavamox and tobramycin for these. No fleas found and he was treated with activyl. All kittens at this intake were negative for fleas and mites. Not sure what "BAHR" stands for
I'll transition him from the blue buffalo kitten, this little prince deserves the best I can give him.
Negative for FIV

Baby Theo feels like he's getting a bit more padding can't feel the vertebrae quite as much at the highest point in his back right over his belly and his shoulders are feeling softer

Hopefully with the eggs plus the new Royal Canin he'll start to fill out (the rest of him, not his belly)

He's so handsome.  I want an orange cat next

I volunteered for a breed specific dog rescue for years and always gave the line about the dog choosing you, so don't set your heart on one specific dog! Going in to the event when they offered me a kitten to go home with my Luna my eyes immediately went to these two tiny grey kittens. Then Theo woke up from his nap and peered one sleepy giant green eye at me and I fell in love on the spot. I scooped him up and he fell asleep in the palm of my hand :heart4:

He definitely prefers dry food, maybe he's just picky? Any wet food recommendations for finicky kittens?

sarola28 said:

He definitely prefers dry food, maybe he's just picky? Any wet food recommendations for finicky kittens?

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Does that Royal Canin Babycat come in wet food?  The best food is whatever they will eat  

Your scrambled eggs are still a good option as an addition to his food...not nutritionally complete, but darned close.  Since you are also feeding him kitten food, adding eggs should be fine.

Nutro Natural Choice makes canned  kitten food.  Lots of cats really like the adult food, so maybe he'd like the kitten food.  Just keep trying different brands until you find one he likes.

I'll go back and see about the babycat wet food options. He's just so picky already lol
I have three different types of canned by the same brand and mix it with his dry food but he only likes eats one of them. Fortunately i only bought 2 of each. He mostly just likes to munch on the dry stuff and won't eat it if I add warm water to try to get some fluid in him. I'll try the Nutro and see how he feels about it. Do cats tend to like Wellness Core? We use the dog version at the dog rescue I volunteer with and they like it

sarola28 said:

He definitely prefers dry food, maybe he's just picky? Any wet food recommendations for finicky kittens?

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That's the beauty of Babycat, they LOVE it. I've literally never had a cat or kitten refuse babycat. Ever.

Be sure of 2 things. One is to get the one that says mother and baby, not the kitten.

Two is to do a gradual switch so as to not upset his tummy.

They do have babycat in canned also, it's pricey food though and while it's great too, prefer the dry and then feed fancy feast kitten canned daily.

In canned, only ONE of my cats will touch Wellness Core.  In dry, NONE of my cats will eat it.

After a few days trying to get him to eat the canned babycat, I'm finding that he's not a fan
He loves my adult cat's Natures variety instinct canned rabbit formula though!