Kitten Not Eating

ceruleiasaurus · Dec 17, 2016

I have a four-month-old kitten, Binx who hasn't eaten in the last 24 hours. I've put out all of his favorite foods and treats and he sort of just sniffs them and then walks away. I left dry food out overnight with a few of his favorite snacks (freeze dried shrimp) sprinkled in, and the shrimp were all still there, which never seems to happen (and it looked like the dry food hadn't been touched). He finds the shrimp IRRESISTIBLE usually.

The thing is he isn't acting less energetic or anything. In fact, he's been a little more cuddly (since he was feral, every step forward in that direction is huge) and playing A LOT. He hasn't been asleep any time that I've been awake either, which is unusual for him (he tends to sleep most of the day).

It's a weekend so I can't call my usual vet, and this doesn't seem like an emergency where I'd call an emergency line or anything... How worried should I be? Should I just give it more time and see if his behavior changes or if he starts eating again? What is the problem?

Any help and advice would be appreciated!

moorspede · Dec 18, 2016

I hate to scare you cats can get fatty liver which is an extremely serious condition if they do not eat for an extended period of time. If your kitten is still not eaten please try to see a vet immediately. If you absolutely cannot take your kitten to a vet try the following:

The things I tried when my kitten would not eat were:

Crushing and sprinkling some treat on to his food.

You could try heating your kitten's food up to release the aroma.

You could also try smelly fish like sardines.

If your kitten is nauseated, the following bland food will not make her feel sick.

Boiled chicken and rice, it's calming for the stomach and the sugars in the rice give it energy.

I did not have access to baby food that was just plain meat with no salt, onions or spices. I believe Americans try a brand named Gerbers?

StefanZ · Dec 19, 2016

moorspede said:
I hate to scare you cats can get fatty liver which is an extremely serious condition if they do not eat for an extended period of time. If your kitten is still not eaten please try to see a vet immediately. If you absolutely cannot take your kitten to a vet try the following:

The things I tried when my kitten would not eat were:

Crushing and sprinkling some treat on to his food.

You could try heating your kitten's food up to release the aroma.

You could also try smelly fish like sardines.

If your kitten is nauseated, the following bland food will not make her feel sick.

Boiled chicken and rice, it's calming for the stomach and the sugars in the rice give it energy.

I did not have access to baby food that was just plain meat with no salt, onions or spices. I believe Americans try a brand named Gerbers?

The fatty liver is most dangerous on overweigh cats. If he is lean without much extras, the danger is much less.

Heating up the food is a good idea, to get it more smelly. He perhaps has something making his smell sense weaker.

Otherwise, try perhaps to forcefeed some fluid nourishment.

Try also to give by hand... it helps sometimes. enticing them this way.

StefanZ · Dec 19, 2016

moorspede said:
I hate to scare you cats can get fatty liver which is an extremely serious condition if they do not eat for an extended period of time. If your kitten is still not eaten please try to see a vet immediately. If you absolutely cannot take your kitten to a vet try the following:

The things I tried when my kitten would not eat were:

Crushing and sprinkling some treat on to his food.

You could try heating your kitten's food up to release the aroma.

You could also try smelly fish like sardines.

If your kitten is nauseated, the following bland food will not make her feel sick.

Boiled chicken and rice, it's calming for the stomach and the sugars in the rice give it energy.

I did not have access to baby food that was just plain meat with no salt, onions or spices. I believe Americans try a brand named Gerbers?

The fatty liver is most dangerous on overweigh cats. If he is lean without much extras, the danger is much less.

Heating up the food is a good idea, to get it more smelly. He perhaps has something making his smell sense weaker.

Otherwise, try perhaps to forcefeed some fluid nourishment.

Try also to give by hand... it helps sometimes.

moorspede said:
I hate to scare you cats can get fatty liver which is an extremely serious condition if they do not eat for an extended period of time. If your kitten is still not eaten please try to see a vet immediately. If you absolutely cannot take your kitten to a vet try the following:

The things I tried when my kitten would not eat were:

Crushing and sprinkling some treat on to his food.

You could try heating your kitten's food up to release the aroma.

You could also try smelly fish like sardines.

If your kitten is nauseated, the following bland food will not make her feel sick.

Boiled chicken and rice, it's calming for the stomach and the sugars in the rice give it energy.

I did not have access to baby food that was just plain meat with no salt, onions or spices. I believe Americans try a brand named Gerbers?

Ceruleiasaurus said:
I have a four-month-old kitten, Binx who hasn't eaten in the last 24 hours. I've put out all of his favorite foods and treats and he sort of just sniffs them and then walks away. I left dry food out overnight with a few of his favorite snacks (freeze dried shrimp) sprinkled in, and the shrimp were all still there, which never seems to happen (and it looked like the dry food hadn't been touched). He finds the shrimp IRRESISTIBLE usually.

The thing is he isn't acting less energetic or anything. In fact, he's been a little more cuddly (since he was feral, every step forward in that direction is huge) and playing A LOT. He hasn't been asleep any time that I've been awake either, which is unusual for him (he tends to sleep most of the day).

It's a weekend so I can't call my usual vet, and this doesn't seem like an emergency where I'd call an emergency line or anything... How worried should I be? Should I just give it more time and see if his behavior changes or if he starts eating again? What is the problem?

Any help and advice would be appreciated!

You got answer above.

How is it going?

moorspede · Dec 19, 2016

I stand my my first response. A kitten that has not eaten for 36 hours (the time when I posted my response), and now 48 hours needs to be seen by a vet immediately.

ceruleiasaurus · Dec 19, 2016

Sorry not to have replied. Everything is okay. Thanks so much for the advice.

A few hours after I posted this Binx started eating a bit a food at a time. He wouldn't eat much, but he did eat, so I decided to wait out the weekend (He ate a little bit at a time) and bring him to the vet when it opened today. It turns out his teeth are coming in and his gums are swollen so it's painful for him to eat. The vet gave him an anti-inflammatory and gave be some pain medication to give him twice a day. He's eaten quite a bit since we got home

moorspede · Dec 19, 2016

Cats have a terrible knack for not revealing that they are feeling bad. Not eating is pretty clear tell that something is wrong. I'm so happy to hear that your kitten is ok.

Kitten Not Eating

ceruleiasaurus

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moorspede

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StefanZ

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moorspede

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ceruleiasaurus

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