Severe CH Kitten

So my cat had a litter of kittens about 7 weeks ago. She had 3 females and a male. The male kitten has severe CH and is not doing good at all. I fell in love with him and named him Finn and it broke my heart to see him the way he is.

At the beginning of march I had to go away for a few weeks and left my boyfriend to look after the kittens. I just got home and little Finn is not doing good at all. He is all bones and I have no idea what to do. The rest of the kittens are playing and eating and doing just fine where as he just stays in the bed all day long. He has constant head tremors and cannot keep his head still at all and constantly falls over. He is unable to use the litter box and soils himself all the time and he doesn't even poo.

I'm am very willing to look after him long term and I am wondering what can I do to help him to gain some weight as his mommy will not feed him and what to do about the potty situation. Would it be safe to bathe him considering how tiny and fragile he is and how much he shakes? How should I go about feeding him? My heart is so broken seeing him and I just want to do all I can to help this kitten.

Hello and welcome!

How sad for him! Amazed that others don't have it at all, just one in the litter.

Are you sure it is CH?

He needs to be syringe fed to get him healthier, if it is CH, it doesn't make him more fragile, just seems like it.

His head shaking and all of that will improve somewhat and he will learn control and get around just fine, he knows no different or that he is different, it does not change his future, but the lack of eating will take away his chance for any future so please get some food in to him.

Syringe feed him KMR and kitten pate canned food made in to a thick shake, he may take some on his own but must be fed also since he won't eat enough that he needs.

Mom's rejection is hurtful for him too, so try keeping him with you and babying him plenty  

Tell him how he is special and needs to get better and grow to be a big boy. 

Talking is a stimulant, like momma's care is.

catwoman707 said:

Hello and welcome!

How sad for him! Amazed that others don't have it at all, just one in the litter.
Are you sure it is CH?
He needs to be syringe fed to get him healthier, if it is CH, it doesn't make him more fragile, just seems like it.
His head shaking and all of that will improve somewhat and he will learn control and get around just fine, he knows no different or that he is different, it does not change his future, but the lack of eating will take away his chance for any future so please get some food in to him.

Syringe feed him KMR and kitten pate canned food made in to a thick shake, he may take some on his own but must be fed also since he won't eat enough that he needs.

Mom's rejection is hurtful for him too, so try keeping him with you and babying him plenty  
Tell him how he is special and needs to get better and grow to be a big boy. 
Talking is a stimulant, like momma's care is.

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Thanks so much for the reply!
I'm not positive it's CH but it looks a lot like it and sounds like it from what I've read online. Are there any alternates to KMR that I can feed him for a day or two? I will not be able to get some until Thursday. And how often should I feed him? He is very very skinny and doesn't look like he has a belly on him at all so I'm afraid of feeding him too much.

Skittlesxo said:

Thanks so much for the reply!
I'm not positive it's CH but it looks a lot like it and sounds like it from what I've read online. Are there any alternates to KMR that I can feed him for a day or two? I will not be able to get some until Thursday. And how often should I feed him? He is very very skinny and doesn't look like he has a belly on him at all so I'm afraid of feeding him too much.

Click to expand...

See he should have a nice rounded tummy.

Thursday is too long, he really needs help right away for a good chance of saving him.

He's literally starving to death. 

Even 1 can of pre-mixed until you get paid if possible.

Full fat goat's milk is an excellent alternative too.

Even just watered down fancy feast kitten is okay for now.

There are some alternative homemade formula recipes online you can make, but don't feel too good about using those now for him, if any of the former I just mentioned are possible I would choose one of them, last resort is a homemade formula.

If you know or can get his weight, use that as your guide, he needs 8 mls per ounce of weight per day.

At his age it should be fairly easy to feed him with a syringe. (no needle of course)

CH happens when a pregnant cat is exposed to the panleukopenia virus during pregnancy, if she has been vaccinated as a kitten for this you can rule this out as she is protected.

Usually when mom is exposed it causes one of two things, either she aborts/miscarries them, or if it was later in pregnancy some or all will be born with CH.

It may be something neurological wrong with him if panleuk exposure can be ruled out, if she was vaccinated.

Panleuk is cat form of puppy parvo and is all bad.

If it is not CH, he may end up needing to be put to rest. If not CH there is something very wrong and it would be unfair for him to suffer, and may even be going downhill by now already.

Does he try to eat or drink at all?

He needs to stay hydrated too, very important.

Using clear pediolyte in place of water is very helpful.

Honestly he should see a vet but I can hear you don't have money for that.

Momma really must be spayed ASAP.