3 week old kitten lost appetite now lethargic & wont eat

Shannagh said:

Please help, we've been keeping him on our chest and drip feeding dilute KMR and honey on his lips but he's still lethargic?!he's just had a course of antibiotics for the crackily chest and he was putting on tiny bits of weight but he has started losing it the last few days though being very active and climbing lots. He was 190g when we first went to the vet so huge compared to his sis who was 120g. (We were worried about her at first but she's thrived!). He was putting little weight on but some, got to about 240g and plateaued, then slowly drop down slowly then suddenly to about 210g Baby sister overtook him so quickly we actually got confused with the weigh in ! She's now a right chubba at 310g but he's losing his energy now

We rescued the babies as a friends house had a flea infestation that killed 2 of the litter really want to save this little boy. If we take him back to the vet what are they going to do? He just has never seemed keen on feeding from mum or from syringe/bottle!

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talkingpeanut said:

Are you the same user as the original poster?

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Shannagh said:

Please help, we've been keeping him on our chest and drip feeding dilute KMR and honey on his lips but he's still lethargic?!he's just had a course of antibiotics for the crackily chest and he was putting on tiny bits of weight but he has started losing it the last few days though being very active and climbing lots. He was 190g when we first went to the vet so huge compared to his sis who was 120g. (We were worried about her at first but she's thrived!). He was putting little weight on but some, got to about 240g and plateaued, then slowly drop down slowly then suddenly to about 210g

Baby sister overtook him so quickly we actually got confused with the weigh in ! She's now a right chubba at 310g but he's losing his energy now

We rescued the babies as a friends house had a flea infestation that killed 2 of the litter

really want to save this little boy. If we take him back to the vet what are they going to do? He just has never seemed keen on feeding from mum or from syringe/bottle!

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Shannagh said:

Mumma is there taking great care of him and Mini Lu sis. We started to supplement because he was losing weight and was not suckling from the mother as much as we tried.

He would just snuggle and sit by them and climb over them. He is barely responsive when feeding ! Maybe can get goats milk, i will check the supermarkets and farm shops- he just wont take anything well

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StefanZ said:

Is their momma there? so why does they need syringe feeding?

As alternative you could try to use such a little make up  sponge.  Have the kmr on it, dropping from the syringe, and him suckling.   For some it is easier.
Exactly what sort of kmr do you use?
Can you get raw goat milk?  Fresh raw is best, but frozen may be OK too.   May sometimes be the difference.


Yes, I believe its wise to go to the vet again, and probably get more antibiotica.

It may be so he is going down now, but as long he is alive, its worth fighting.  Sometimes it turns around.

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Shannagh said:

Will pasteurised do? There is a farm some miles away that sells unpasteurised that we may get tomorrow.. Theres a 24hr supermarket nearby though that sells pasteurised that we could get sooner.

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StefanZ said:

Pasteurized will do excellently as food, no problems and better than a so so kmr.

But if you want to try make a difference, raw is worth a try. Its sometimes used as the main cure on cat animals.   I remember a man telling about his lion (!)  whom got sick, and the vet prescribed goat milk as the remedy. So he got himself an own goat too...

So begin the the pasteurized, and get home the raw when you can.

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sarthur2 said:

Did the kitten improve on the antibiotics? Is he still on them?

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