Kitten not eating well, need feeding suggestions

Elfilou

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I have an almost 4 month old persian kitten that I've had since she was between 9 and 10 weeks old. Wish I hadn't been so eager to take her home, because I'm getting the feeling that maybe she wasn't properly weaned off her momma's milk. The reason I'm saying this is that, although she does like licking all the juices off the food I provide for her, she almost never touches the solid bits. I'm seeing almost the same with her kibble: she starts eating, but soon stops because I see her struggling to get it into her mouth. Because she's a Persian she does have a pretty flat face, although not extremely flat like the "modern" ones. She does have somewhat of a snout to her. A few times now I've tried picking up a handful of the kibble after she's "done" eating, and helped her get it into her mouth one by one. And yep, like she'd never eaten before, she would let me hand-feed her until she was full. She eats quite a lot more of the kibble than she does by herself, when I do that.

I know kittens need to eat more (or more frequently) than adult cats, but Elfie just doesn't seem to have that much of an appetite. Or she does...? But doesn't actually want to get into the effort of putting it into her mouth and chewing. Lately more than before. She will lick all of the juices out of the bowl, and when I feed her pate-like stuff she also leaves the bigger pieces. Is she teething, is this because of her short jaw, is she not weaned by now, or is it something entirely different?

Vet says she's a bit underweight: she's a little over 1kg (approx 2.5 pounds)

Leaving out a bowl of Orijen kitten & cat kibble around the clock

I have all kinds of food, because first I thought she just didnt like the foods. 
 Which is true, some foods she won't even touch. But I've got a good selection now that she seems to like. And give her treats after combing and eye-cleaning. Sometimes that's regular little treats and sometimes I cut up pieces of chicken. She would go crazy for the chicken up until like, two weeks ago. Now I need to cut the chicken into extremely small bites sizes. Some brands that I give her are Grau Kitten (which is what she seems to like the most atm), Feringa, Bozita Kitten (she doesnt like that at all, it has huge chunks and she only licks up the gravy) and am now also trying Thrive and GranataPet. Thrive is shredded which she likes but after having fed it to her about 4 times now she also just sucks up the juices and leaves the rest. I do also give her cat milk, just a little, every day. Vet suggested one without sugar and with added taurine.

She does play a lot, runs around and still gets the kitten crazies. Doesn't seem to be sleeping more than usual. I feed her 4 times a day, but at least once out of those 4, she will take two bites and come to me not 10 seconds later. Barely having eaten anything. Every single meal she leaves food in the bowl. And I only put in about three tablespoons because by now I know she doesn't eat much. She eats maybe a bit more than half a cup of dry food a day, mostly overnight. My concern is that she isn't getting the needed nutrition and I'd love some suggestions, because at this point I'm really worried. Should I be worried?
 

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Orijen recommend half a cup per kg of weight for kittens. That means (allowing for being underweight) that she's getting at least half of her calories from the kibble, maybe more.

With the wet food - have you tried blending the Thrive to make a paste? She might then eat more of the actual meat. You could also try thinning the paté foods with some full fat goat's milk or KMR to make them a little more 'lapable'. Using goat's milk/KMR instead of water ensures you're not losing calories or nutrition by thinning them down. Warming food up a little can also make it more enticing - a lot of cats don't like cold food.

There is one brand I don't think I've mentioned yet - Nature's Menu. It's not available on Zooplus, but they seem to have several stockists in the Netherlands. It's a wetish paté, pure meat food with a pretty strong smell. They do a kitten version too. You should be able to buy a single pouch, so it's not too much money wasted if Elie doesn't like it ;) You might want to look at their freeze dried Country Hunter cat treats too. They're actually a complete food once rehydrated, and are really stinky. My girl goes crazy for them. Just a thought.

You might find adding a little structure helps too - if you give her an interactive play session just before feeding her you might find she's hungrier and more enthusiastic about her food.

By the way, the gravy-licking thing doesn't necessarily mean anything - many cats seem to like licking the juices/gravy off food and leaving the meat, as you'll see from this thread [thread="225595"][/thread]
 
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missmimz

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Have you tried different types of bowls/plates? Because she has a flatter face you may want to stick to large shallow bowls or plates to help her eat better, perhaps she's having issues getting the food out of whatever style dish you're feeding her in. In my experience some smaller kittens have trouble eating kibble, so you might do better feeding more wet food. What about some minced pates like Nutro natural choice sliced turkey or minced chicken? 
 
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Elfilou

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Orijen recommend half a cup per kg of weight for kittens. That means (allowing for being underweight) that she's getting at least half of her calories from the kibble, maybe more.

With the wet food - have you tried blending the Thrive to make a paste? She might then eat more of the actual meat. You could also try thinning the paté foods with some full fat goat's milk or KMR to make them a little more 'lapable'. Using goat's milk/KMR instead of water ensures you're not losing calories or nutrition by thinning them down. Warming food up a little can also make it more enticing - a lot of cats don't like cold food.

There is one brand I don't think I've mentioned yet - Nature's Menu. It's not available on Zooplus, but they seem to have several stockists in the Netherlands. It's a wetish paté, pure meat food with a pretty strong smell. They do a kitten version too. You should be able to buy a single pouch, so it's not too much money wasted if Elie doesn't like it
You might want to look at their freeze dried Country Hunter cat treats too. They're actually a complete food once rehydrated, and are really stinky. My girl goes crazy for them. Just a thought.

You might find adding a little structure helps too - if you give her an interactive play session just before feeding her you might find she's hungrier and more enthusiastic about her food.

By the way, the gravy-licking thing doesn't necessarily mean anything - many cats seem to like licking the juices/gravy off food and leaving the meat, as you'll see from this thread[thread="225595"]Anyone Else Have An Only Gravy Licker  [/thread]
That thread is amazing. Explains a lot. Now I don't even know why I bother with the foods with bigger pieces. I'll just stick to pate's from now on. I do warm it up for her, she won't touch it if it comes straight out of the fridge. Didn't know about the water though! I usually do use water to warm it up and to make it more gushy. Gonna get some goats milk tomorrow. That'll probably be better than the milk I give her now.

Found Nature's Menu on a different webshop, thanks! I'll try that one. Hope I can find the treats on there too, I hate feeding her the dry Tempations pockets, but she goes crazy for them, it's like cat crack. Been meaning to find a different treat.
 
Have you tried different types of bowls/plates? Because she has a flatter face you may want to stick to large shallow bowls or plates to help her eat better, perhaps she's having issues getting the food out of whatever style dish you're feeding her in. In my experience some smaller kittens have trouble eating kibble, so you might do better feeding more wet food. What about some minced pates like Nutro natural choice sliced turkey or minced chicken? 
I have tried a plate but she pushes the food forward until the point where it falls off the plate. I'd have to sit with her and turn the plate whenever she pushed the food too far back 
 It's been a few weeks since I've tried it though so I'll try that again. I did get her higher, glass bowls a few weeks ago and that really made a difference as well. She's been a difficult eater from the start, but the past two weeks its gotten worse. I can't find Nutro here, unfortunately, just the dry version of it. I'll keep an eye out though.

Thanks for the advice, I have some other things to try out now. I'm taking her to the vet this week too because I just figured out what may be another factor causing her to eat less... She was sleeping on my desk earlier and I heard her squeaking. Her breathing was very high-pitched. I'm pretty asthmatic and have alot of allergies myself, and know I sound about the same when I don't have my nose-spray on hand - or when I have a cold. Looked into her nose and saw black, dried up pieces. I cleaned her up (the sweet soul haha, she was so good about it even though still half-asleep) and she immediately sounded a lot better. It's kinda typical I find out about this right after freaking out and making a thread. Because I gave her some food after that, and she ate so much that her eyes were gooey and watery. I'm pretty happy about it.

So I'm thinking she has a cold or an upper respiratory infection, which is making her smell less? And therefore eat less? But we'll have to wait and see what the vet says. She just went back to sleep and, although she sounds better, I can still hear her squeaking and snoring. Can't believe I didn't notice earlier. But I'm blaming it on her for constantly changing her favourite sleeping spots!

Anyway I hope she's not sick, but if she is then at least I'll be able to help her. I think if I'm right that it'll solve pretty much all the food issues. Anyway thanks alot though. Until I can take her to the vet I'll try these things, and you helped me find a new great food! Hope its up to queen Elfie's standards. 
 

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Smell is VERY important to a cat when it comes to eating. It's very common for a cat with a stuffy nose to have little interest in food. Definitely get her checked out - if she has a URI it needs treatment.

Hang in there - you will crackup this with her :vibes:
 
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Elfilou

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I won't be able to take her this week because I don't have a car atm and I don't know anyone who can take me. It's snowing outside so I'm very hesitant to go with the bus :/ Should I though? She only ate one meal today and that was this morning. It's 9pm now and I've tried feeding her three times since. She took two bites and haven't seen her eating any kibble either. 
 I feel so guilty for not having seen that she might be sick earlier. I just thought she was picky about the food. I've tried 3 different pates, warmed them up, added goats milk to one of them but did the other ones with water because she's not used to it. I even put two different plates of food next to eachother so she could pick - and usually she would eat from at least one when I offered her a choice. But she hasn't eaten in over 10 hours now and seems lethargic. On top of that I woke up with a horrible cold as well lol. Should I just go to the vet with the bus and put a heating pad in the carrier? And cover it with blankets so the cold air will be minimal maybe? Or should I keep her inside until it stops snowing or until I can get someone to take us?
 
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Elfilou

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Actually wow I'm so stupid I should just call a cab.
 

Columbine

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That sounds like a good idea. Elfie really does need treatment quickly if she's stopped eating - especially as she's already underweight. Hope she (and you) feel better soon :vibes:
 
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paiger8

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Persians are also notorious for having breathing problems due to their flat noses. Some require a minor nose surgery to open up their nasal passages. I'm wondering if this is affecting her sense of smell.

Hope the vet goes well. :) 
 
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Elfilou

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She barely ate a bit of kibble yesterday and drank some of the goats milk, but she didn't eat all morning which is unusual, so I called the vet and they told me to come right in. We just got back home. She does have a respiratory infection, according to the vet she must've had it all along (when I got her from the breeder) because it's contageous only through other cats. I don't have any other cats. I didn't know and have taken her leash-training out in the cold weather a few times, after she was done with her vaccinations. The last time I took her it was freezing so we went back inside after 5 minutes, but apparently the cold air was enough to make things a bit worse, causing her lack of appetite.

I'm a little mad with the breeder but I guess these things can happen. But I also don't get why they didn't notice anything when she got her vaccinations + general exam. I'm glad she's being treated now though.

They gave me anti biotics, pain killers and some really stinky protein food. I opened the can in her face and it was like suddenly she remembered "oh I'm actually hungry
"

I hope she feels better soon and also hope she will go back to eating her normal food as well!
 
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catlover73

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I am glad you took your kitty to the vet for her URI.  Please do not beat yourself up over not catching it sooner.  One of my cats had a URI when he was a kitten and did not show any symptoms other than random once in a while sneezes. By the time the symptoms actually appeared he had shared his URI with my other 3 cats.  

I am glad your baby has medicine now and is eating again.  One thing that may help her is the steam treatment.  Run the water as hot as you can from your shower to steam up your bathroom.  Sit with your baby in the steamy bathroom for about 15-20 minutes 3x daily.  This may help the congestion break down faster so it is easier for her to smell her food.
 

paiger8

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Cats catch URI's SUPER easily. My shelter actually tells people to keep an eye out for it in the first couple weeks, because a ton of cats show symptoms of a URI when going from one environment to another. They actually give you free antibiotics during the first 10 days, it's so common.
 

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Glad Elfie's eating again. :D

Don't feel bad about not catching the URI sooner - as others have said, they can be really hard to pick up on in the early stages. The important thing is that she's getting treatment now. I'm sure she'll be back to her old self very soon :vibes:
 

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I noticed my outdoor feral had a watery eye and a little rattle so I picked up some antiobiotic to put in her food for ten days. (I can't handle her)
 
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Elfilou

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I am glad you took your kitty to the vet for her URI.  Please do not beat yourself up over not catching it sooner.  One of my cats had a URI when he was a kitten and did not show any symptoms other than random once in a while sneezes. By the time the symptoms actually appeared he had shared his URI with my other 3 cats.  

I am glad your baby has medicine now and is eating again.  One thing that may help her is the steam treatment.  Run the water as hot as you can from your shower to steam up your bathroom.  Sit with your baby in the steamy bathroom for about 15-20 minutes 3x daily.  This may help the congestion break down faster so it is easier for her to smell her food.
ohhhh! My mom used to do this with me when I was little, for my asthma. That's a great idea, thanks. I'm sure that'll make her feel more comfortable and help with the runny nose.

And I feel better knowing that it's pretty common. Even more glad that she already seems to be feeling more comfortable. She was hiding a lot the past few days, and today she laid on her usual spot on her cat tree and seemed content. It's probably too early for the antibiotics to have done anything, but I think the pain killers are helping a lot. Maybe her throat was hurting because she's already eating better too.

I also switched to a plate as was suggested. It has higher sides so she can't push the food off. She's responding well to the change.

Thanks guys
 
 
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Elfilou

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Its almost a week later now and I'm pretty sure she's all better. It's almost crazy how much her behavior has changed in a week. She has become even more cuddly and purrs all the time. She's a pretty quiet kitty but is becoming more vocal. But best of all is that she's eating better than ever. Really happy, and thanks for the advice guys. She's taken really well to eating off a plate instead of a bowl, as well as the goats milk.
 
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