5 week old kitten looks like she's only 2 weeks old

We have started momma on boiled chicken. Even though it is the first day, you can tell she is more comfortable. Her stomach isn't gurgling anymore and she actually can stay still. We will keep her on this for the next couple of days and see how she does. The hard part is trying to keep the kittens from eating all momma's food. They like chicken. Oh, and her diarrhea is brown and she is on Forty Flora probiotic.

All that sounds good! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Keep us posted!

Ellie is 13.5 ounces this morning and doing great. She has more stamina and is playing longer. She still has no fur on her belly and even tbough she is getting bigger she still does not look 5 weeks. She and Momma have a vet appointment Friday. Attached is a picture from today.

Oh so stinkin cute!! She's a doll!

Notice how her eyes seem far apart? That's because she is behind in size yet her skull is growing.

I had a foster cat like this, Buster.

He almost looked alien at one point until he got caught up some, which he did, and she will too!

Ellie went to the vet on Friday with Momma Cat. Ellie nail weighs 1.1 pound. Dr. G says that she is finally starting to look like a kitte, even if it's only a 3 week old kitten and she's 6 weeks. Her stamina is getting better, she's running faster, she's climbing, and she has finally started using the litter box on her own. She still has a mild case of coccidia which we are treating with a new medication.

Momma cat still has diarrhea so we have started her on a product called homeopet which is safe for the kittens.

danu25 said:

Ellie went to the vet on Friday with Momma Cat. Ellie nail weighs 1.1 pound. Dr. G says that she is finally starting to look like a kitte, even if it's only a 3 week old kitten and she's 6 weeks. Her stamina is getting better, she's running faster, she's climbing, and she has finally started using the litter box on her own. She still has a mild case of coccidia which we are treating with a new medication.

Momma cat still has diarrhea so we have started her on a product called homeopet which is safe for the kittens.

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That's great news she is gaining a decent amt.

What is the new med for coccidia?

The only thing I know of that will kill the coccidia is the ponazuril, unfortunately albon takes a long time when there is a weak immune system.

Having diarrhea and the coccidia is delaying her wellness actually, diarrhea means she is unable to absorb the nutrients she normally would if she were pooping normally rather than it coming right back out of her.

Also, waiting for her immune system to mature to fight the coccidia can take literally months with albon or an alternative, whatever that might be.

Which she doesn't need distractions and needs to put all of her internal energy in to catching up in size and development.

She will continue to gain and get better as time goes on, just a shame to have any issues to slow down her progress.

But we do what we can, and you are obviously doing a great job with her!

As for mom, chicken and/or chicken baby food is easy to digest, it will help her settle some, the noisy tummy is her digestive system struggling to digest her normal food.

If she has not been dewormed twice, the second time is a 2 week followup to the first time, I would say most likely is caused by worms.

Always assume worms in a cat, unless you know they had been treated recently and given both doses too.

Ellie is not feeling well today. She is eating a little bit, but all she wants to do is stay in her kennel. She does not even want to be held. We took her to the vet at 9am and they gave her fluids because she was dehydrated and a cerinia shot because when she went to eat tbe wet food she gagged. It is now 1pm and she is still not acting her normal playful self.

What medications is Ellie taking? Is the Coccidia gone?

She is on Panacur for 5 days. Dr. G said cats on sulfer medication too long can have other issues. She is too see him on Friday to check the coccidia. She has 2 days left to take the Panacur.

My sister took this picture last night of Ellie and her adopted brother Motly. They are 2 weeks apart.

danu25 said:

She is on Panacur for 5 days. Dr. G said cats on sulfer medication too long can have other issues. She is too see him on Friday to check the coccidia. She has 2 days left to take the Panacur.

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Unfortunately your vet is giving meds that are unable to kill the coccidia......

Quoted from http://www.justanswer.com/pet/1ahu9-medications-treat-coccidia-proviable.html

"Do any of these medications treat Coccidia: Proviable, Panacur, or Flagyl?"

Vet-Dr. Marie-"Hi there and thanks for your question. While the above mentioned medications are all good for diarrhea none of them are labelled for use for coccidia. We used to think that panacur treated coccidia, but it likely does not."

Panacur is known as not a treatment for coccidia, hasn't been for years now. You might want to call around and find a vet who uses ponazuril to treat so she can be coccidia free asap.

It may be the panacur that's causing her to feel poorly. The ponazuril will clear the coccidia in 1-3 days!

Please keep us posted!

I am taking her off of the panacur. She was doing great on the Albon and the coccidia was going away. The vet said the cerinia could also be making her sleepy, so i am watching her closely. She did play a little this afternoon.

danu25 said:

I am taking her off of the panacur. She was doing great on the Albon and the coccidia was going away. The vet said the cerinia could also be making her sleepy, so i am watching her closely. She did play a little this afternoon.

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Cerinia?????

catwoman707

Post #27 - vet gave cerinia shot for gagging and unable to eat wet food.

Ellie is so sweet. What a will to live she has. Best wishes coming your way for all the care she is receiving from you. She knows she is loved very much.

sarthur2 said:

@catwoman707

Post #27 - vet gave cerinia shot for gagging and unable to eat wet food.

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Thank you.

I don't care for the fact that she was given cerenia at her size. It can be given in cats 4 months and up, meaning approx 4 lbs and up.

She is 1 lb.....

https://www.drugs.com/vet/cerenia-injectable-solution.html

She's getting too many drugs. 

Albon, panacur, cerenia, vitamins and 2 kinds of antibiotics? As tiny as she is? Not liking it at all.

Just my view. She is getting overloaded. She has a tiny delicate system that must process all of this crap, most vets do not know about kittens her size and age, and seem to either say there is nothing that can be done and just wait to see if she makes it or not, then other vets who treat as if she were an older cat, don't you think ? @sarthur2

I understand, however the cerinia got Ellie eating again. Also she was taken off the Albon and put on Panacur. She is not on both at the same time. She has coccidia, which killed her brother, so we need to get rid of it because it almost killed her. We almost lost Ellie 3 weeks ago from it.

catwoman707 said:

Thank you.
I don't care for the fact that she was given cerenia at her size. It can be given in cats 4 months and up, meaning approx 4 lbs and up.
She is 1 lb.....
https://www.drugs.com/vet/cerenia-injectable-solution.html
She's getting too many drugs. 
Albon, panacur, cerenia, an antibiotic? As tiny as she is? Not liking it at all.
Just my view.

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danu25 said:

I understand, however the cerinia got Ellie eating again. Also she was taken off the Albon and put on Panacur. She is not on both at the same time. She has coccidia, which killed her brother, so we need to get rid of it because it almost killed her. We almost lost Ellie 3 weeks ago from it.

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I understand, but each drug she has to process, and there are so many......

Coccidia kills small kittens because of dehydration, so as long as she takes in plenty of fluids she will get through it fine, even when it means syringing a kitten to ensure intake while waiting for the meds to work.

Cerenia does work of course, she is just way below the minimum weight to be given it. There are other things that are not as serious a drug, like even an antacid that isn't as hard on her system.

Anyway, I don't mean to be undermining the vet, but he sure has given her alot of meds.

Why does she need the vitamins? Due to her size? If she is eating appropriate foods she will get them anyway.

Just thinking of the less she has to process.

You are doing great with her! Your story is seriously verbatim what I had to go through with Molly. @catwoman707 is right about the fluids. Molly had the same infection that took a couple weeks on Albon to fix. She was still on the bottle at that age though so your kitty is already ahead of where mine was at that age. Keep up the good work.