10 week old kitten - Vommiting and Diarrhea

Hi Everyone,

We just brought home a beautiful 10 week old Bengal with the intention of feeding him frankenprey at the start, replacing the Royal Can kitten kibble being fed at the breeder.

Picked him up Saturday, brought him to the vet and he gave him a deworming and said he was in good health.
So he has been eating raw since Saturday. He ate most of the meal, leaving behind a piece of chicken neck he was having trouble nawing through. I noticed it was the one piece of meat he was frustrated with and leaving behind.
Couple days ago, I started to cut the chicken necks smaller so he can chew it easier, but he still didn't enjoy it as much as the rest.
He was eating four meals a day since Saturday. 84% meat/ 6% bone/ 5% liver and 5% kidney
The trouble started today when he vomited a few hours after his second meal of the day, and right after ran to the litter box for explosive Diarrhea. So I skipped the third meal and just before feeding his fourth he had another vomit and again diarrhea.

So the question is, did this sound like food poisoning or perhaps lack of bone or something worse?

It may be the switch from kibble to raw so quickly upset his system. Gradual or mixing would be better. Keep an eye on him for further upsets.

Kittens get dehydrated VERY quickly with both vomiting and diarrhea. If this continues you'll need to get him back to the vet. I personally wouldn't feed necks or wings to a kitten that young. 10 week olds with their mama are still nursing and often times just learning how to chew, and don't have adult teeth. I would move back to boneless and perhaps supplement with some KMR for hydration. 

missmimz said:

 
Kittens get dehydrated VERY quickly with both vomiting and diarrhea. If this continues you'll need to get him back to the vet. I personally wouldn't feed necks or wings to a kitten that young. 10 week olds with their mama are still nursing and often times just learning how to chew, and don't have adult teeth. I would move back to boneless and perhaps supplement with some KMR for hydration. 

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@missmimz, will the KMR provide enough calcium if she feeds BONELESS?   Growing kittens needs plenty of calcium to make sure they have strong bones. She would nave to supplement calcium somehow, so" perhaps supplementing with KMR"  wouldn't do the trick, would it?  (I don't feed raw anymore, so am certainly not  an expert in this field, just know that calcium is most definitely a necessary requirement )

Well, we think we found the problem. Possible bad meat. I threw out the rest of his contaminated meat and prepped for the week without it. He was just sick a day and hasn't had any issues since Thursday.

missmimz said:

I would move back to boneless and perhaps supplement with some KMR for hydration. 

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Thanks, I'm gonna pick this supplement up.

jzcombo said:

Well, we think we found the problem. Possible bad meat. I threw out the rest of his contaminated meat and prepped for the week without it. He was just sick a day and hasn't had any issues since Thursday.

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Great news

Yes just to clarify @mrsgreenjeens is right you must supplement with boneless with something like alnutrin with eggshell calcium. Very important with a growing kitten. KMR is just a kitten milk supplement to give extra calories. However it sounds like you've solved the problem, so that's good.

Thank you, both. Kitten is doing much better now.

Do you think I am able to feed a raw diet without the added supplements?

I am using a meat masher on his neck bone portions until he can crush the bone himself. 

The supplements--vitamin E; vitamin B 50; taurine, etc., are absolutely not optional.  They must be included in a raw diet or your kitten will have serious problems.

LavishSqualor said:

 
The supplements--vitamin E; vitamin B 50; taurine, etc., are absolutely not optional.  They must be included in a raw diet or your kitten will have serious problems.

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He gets plenty of taurine from the hearts and meats I feed him daily.

There is no natural food for him to get Vitamin E or B50 from?

Liver and Kidney is also in his daily diet. Shouldn't that contain all the vitamin E and B 50 he needs?

If you're feeding a ground diet then supplements (Taurine, Vitamin E & B, Omega 3 (fish oil), possibly iodine) are necessary. This is because when you going food, the oxidation reduces the nutrient content of the batch, even if fresh.

However, if you're feeding a balanced Prey Model Raw diet (80% Meat, 10% bone, 10% Organ (with half being liver)) then supplements aren't necessary. I would still supplement with Omega 3's and Egg Yolk though

Yea, I serve him a prey model. 80/10/10
I feed him sardines a couple times a week.
How do you feed an egg? Crack and leave whole on his plate?

I separate the yolk and only feed that. my cats eat Prey Model in the morning and ground for dinner so I mix the yolk in with their ground food. You can feed it plain on a saucer though, if your cat will eat it. Only one of my cats is willing to eat it plain so I mix it