Please help Kenny-chi

My kitten is at 7 weeks old now, yesterday I started her on some solid food mixed with soft food and this morning I woke up with her having diarrhea and vomiting! I took her to the vet and they only gave her id cat food. And she hasn't touched her food at all. She is lethargic and not playing as much. Is there something I can do for her??
She is sleeping way more than normal and she hasn't eaten anything since last nights solid food. Please help me I'm
So worried

K kenny-chi

What had she been on before? Kitten formula?

If so, return to using it right away. She will need some clear pedialyte syringed into her mouth as well. You can put honey on her gums to perk her up before feeding her.

It sounds like the food was too heavy for her. Try some Gerber turkey baby food until she feels better, then mix wet food with kitten milk to make it mushy. It's easier to eat and digest.

She really needs fluids right away. If she is not better tomorrow, she'll need to see the vet again.

Please let me know if she's had any liquids - even just honey water. Diarrhea and vomiting are never good in a kitten.

kenny-chi said:

My kitten is at 7 weeks old now, yesterday I started her on some solid food mixed with soft food and this morning I woke up with her having diarrhea and vomiting! I took her to the vet and they only gave her id cat food. And she hasn't touched her food at all. She is lethargic and not playing as much. Is there something I can do for her??
She is sleeping way more than normal and she hasn't eaten anything since last nights solid food. Please help me I'm
So worried

Click to expand...

Yes, honey water with some salt in is a sort of home made pedialyte...  Its not that bad.

You had got good advices.

Please continue to report.

kenny-chi said:

My kitten is at 7 weeks old now, yesterday I started her on some solid food mixed with soft food and this morning I woke up with her having diarrhea and vomiting! I took her to the vet and they only gave her id cat food. And she hasn't touched her food at all. She is lethargic and not playing as much. Is there something I can do for her??
She is sleeping way more than normal and she hasn't eaten anything since last nights solid food. Please help me I'm
So worried

Click to expand...

I have got a report on PM, and Im quoting it here, as there were no private secrets, "just" the report a such.

"She been playing a little bit and sleep more. And her sleep is more deep sleep than normal sometimes I worry she will stop breathing on me.... Also she only had diarrhea once and vomited 3 times she hasn't had any food to poop. But she did"

Good the diarrheas and vomiting have lessened, but she isnt not out of the woods yet.  Being exhausted, she sleeps more deeply of course.   And yes,  we must be positive and fight on, but there are dangers.

Follow up questions: how is it with pedialyte, bought or home made?  This is often the trick in such cases.

Second: do you have access to goats milk? preferably raw - fresh or frozen, but full fat bottled / canned / powdered are OK too...   Goat milk is mild and is often a nice alternative, especielly if you dont have access to a really good kmr.

Re homemade pedialyte, Im reusing a couple of my older posts.  If it seems lenghy, the most important recipe is at the end.

Pedialyte:

Now, as the sugar source, I use always glucose sugar (dextrose).  Its easy to get in Sweden, most well equipped food shops do carry the powder.    There are also flavored sweeties, heavily used by students and  wanna be sportsmen,  made of glucose sugar.   

So for me its no big deal to use the proper ingredient, instead of using emergency replacements.

For american forumites whom have difficulties to find glucose sugar proper, there is always white caro syrup, or even honey - honey does contain some glucose, and white caro syrup contains much glucose sugar.  In some brands its perhaps even essentially liquid glucose sugar.

Common sugar works too, but much slower, as it must be digested..  While glucose doesnt need to be digested, it goes into blood directly from the stomach, yes, even from the lips and mouth.

These whom tried both, are astonished how quickly glucose works, practically instantly.

As salt source, I use  minerale salt.  Also common in shops here in Sweden.  This salt contains  several different minerales, not just the NaCl in the usual kitchen salt. Including this potassium K salt.

A nice base for salt sources is simple a bottle of good minerale water.   These do typically contain a lotsa of different salts, in suitable concentration. Look at the label!

Let the gas out, add the glucose sugar source, and voilá!  you got a terrific home made pedialyte...

Common kitchen salt is OK if you dont have anything else, but its too "poverty"  if you use the pedialyte more than occasionally.

A third recipe is,  you use water from well cooked rice.   In practice its heavily over cooked.

And add  salt to it, preferably  such a minerale salt mentioned above...

This rice water contains lotsa of glucose sugar.   This variation of  pedialyte probably extra useful in some types of diarrhea, as water from overcooked rice is in itself  one of the remedies against diarrhea.  At least, the emergency doc gave us the recipe when I was a child and sick in diarrhea...  

A nice combination should be,  a  homemade pedialyte on such an overboilded rice, in water of mineral water.

Here we get both natural glucose sugar, lotsa of good mineral salts, and the rests from rice whom are good when having a diarrhea.  After all, such rice water is a classical home remedy for humans with diarrhea...

There is of course bought pedialyte, which can be used too.  Some of the brands have too much funny ingredients, though.  But if desperate, can be used.

My recommendation for bough pedialyte is, flavorless pedialyte for babies.   This is OK for cats.

Last, not least: diluting powder kmr with some pedialyte instead of just water, is often useful with diarrhea kittens, as reported by our forumists.

Should I force feed her with a syringe? She isn't taken in any formula food or KMR. And I don't know what to do.

How long has it been since she's eaten?

kenny-chi said:

Should I force feed her with a syringe? She isn't taken in any formula food or KMR. And I don't know what to do.

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Yes, if you cant entice her, for example to lick off your fingers, you must get in her both  kmr / goats milk, and also, some pedialyte.

Use a needleless syringe, or dropper, or even a straw.  Its easiest with a syringe.

Hold her in a towel if she wriggles much.

Hold her tummy down, head up, the body a little raised up.

In the corner of the mouth.  Slowly a few drops at a time, so you are sure she manages to swallow.

If she swallows good, it goes fairly quickly.  If she swallows just one-two drops a time, it takes time and patience...

You can begin by having a little honey water on her lips and gums - to give some quick energy to eat...

If she havent eaten lately, got no formula or kmr or goat milk, its a hurry now!   RED ALERT situation.   Danger Danger Danger.

Visiting a vet tomorrow wont help if she dont gets fluids and  food, he cant do the everyday good care.  This must YOU do.

Sorry to tell that so bluntly.

Yes, force feed pedialyte to start. But be very careful to go slow so as not to push it into the lungs. If aspirated, kitten will die.

The kitten really needs to see the vet for sub-q fluids and antibiotics. I think you have an emergency on your hands.

I went to another vet for second opinion and they did the same, no antibiotic giving or any other medication they don't think it's a emergency situation at all.

I really have no answers for you if this is the case. I'm sorry.

I force feed her 2 syringe of 2.5 cc of mixture of KMR and I/d diet food that the vet prescribed me. I also feed her some unflavored pedialyte mix with some water about 2 cc syringe to her. So far she seems more lively. When will she be able to eat and enjoy on her own?

How is she doing today?

I don't know how to reply @sarthur2 only lol. But Kenny-chi is all better she is eating on her own again! Thank you for keeping her in your mind. And she is eating normal and and no longer lethargic! Thank all of you guys! The remedies of syringe feeding her slurpy and pedialyte works wonders for her belly! She is a happy kitten again!
Thanks again!!

That's great to hear! [emoji]128077[/emoji]