Weight and fur

Hello! Last week we brought home our new kitten, Jiji. I am a bit worried about her weight. She weighs 500g but is 7 weeks. She was the runt of her litter. Her fur also seems a bit thinner than her siblings. I know she is extremely young, but we brought her home early because the mother (my friend's cat) passed away from renal failure when the kittens were five weeks. She had a bad kidney that had never been diagnosed.

Anyways, Jiji came to stay with us a bit early because she wasn't putting on enough weight. We give her 1 tablespoon of wet kitten food four to six times a day (based on how often she gets hungry).

My question is, should I be worried about her weight or her thin fur? We want her to be healthy so we can consider bringing home one of her sisters in a few weeks.

J jp12

Welcome to TCS!

She is 17 ounces, and should weigh 32 ounces at 8 weeks, so she has some catching up to do! Right now, she is the size of a 4 week old.

She desperately needs kitten formula, called KMR (kitten milk replacer). It is found at pet stores, and powdered KMR by PetAg is excellent.

She may drink it from a dish, but if not, she may love nursing a bottle! She would normally still be nursing her mom at 7 weeks.

She needs 20-25 mLs every 4 hours right now, in addition to offering wet food.

Also, the Royal Canin mother and babycat dry kitten kibble is tiny pieces and easy to eat, and should be available 24/7.

I suggest that you go ahead and bring home a sibling. It will probably perk her up, and they can go ahead with bonding, playing, and sleeping together. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

My friend gave us a bit of kmr and the food she was eating. I didn't realize she may still need bottle. I will have to go get one to try.

J jp12

You can also buy jars of Gerber chicken and turkey baby food. I weaned my kittens on it. Most love it, and it is easy to eat and digest, and full of protein. Give it a try too!

She clearly needs more food more often to grow properly. Has she been de-wormed? That will also help.

Ooh! I'll look around for that. We live in Japan, so I will have to look around.

No de-worming yet. We tried to ask the vet about it today, but there was a bit of a translation issue. I may have my co-worker call.

Ah, doubtful that Japan has Gerber baby food, but perhaps something similar. You can grind boiled chicken and add KMR to make it yourself. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

If I can't find Gerber, I'll try that next. Thank you!