Sick 8 day old kitten.

I have two 8 day old kittens at the moment that both have very pale gums. The little girl also has very flaky skin all over her body, much like a case of bad dandruff. I think the pale gums are due to anaemia - I've deflead and dewormed them both. With the flaky skin, I was thinking it might be some sort of nutritional deficiency. I spoke to my vet about them a little while ago but he was a bit unhelpful in telling me to just keep on feeding them formula. Both kittens are moving around OK with me supplementing their feeds by tube feeding.

Do you guys know of a supplement that will help with the anaemia and flaky skin but is safe for kittens this young? I am embarassed to say that even though I have fostered around 90 kittens in total, I haven't come across the flaky skin to this degree before. I have something called Nutrigel which is very similar to the vitamin paste you guys in the USA use. Would giving them a little of this be helpful?

Is there another vet you can take them to? Frankly, I'd be very worried about them - anemia can kill an adult cat, and it's very serious in a kitten.

It could also be a reaction to the flea & worm meds.

I've never raised very young kittens, but if it were me, I'd think I'd want them seen by a vet.

Diddo - take them to a vet - not the one you spoke to on the phone.

Thanks for your suggestions. The flea and worming meds are ones I use on all the kittens and are safe for kittens as young as 3-4 days old so I'm hoping it's not that. The little girl's skin is actually a bit better today. I added a tiny bit of yoghurt to their formula a couple of days ago (it helps their digestion) and I'm wondering if she may have an allergy to dairy products, though giving kittens a tiny bit of yoghurt would be the only time I would give dairy products anyway. Both kittens are strong and well otherwise.

I have just done the 2:30am feed and it's the first one that they haven't needed to be tube fed. I spoke to another vet I work closely with and she agreed that there were really no supplements I can give kittens so young. Their formula contains all the vitamins and minerals they need so it may just be a case of them slowly getting better as they rebuild their red blood cells and iron. Many kittens have been anaemic when they come to me and I've sucessfully treated them but it's rarely this bad in kittens so young.

Hallie had very bad, flakey skin when I first got her. Of course, she has PKD but at the time was also badly dehydrated. The vet said that is what produced the flakes. It dissapeared fairly quickly as her intake got better. Of course I can't say that's what is wrong with your kitty but just thought I'd share that with you.

It's funny you should say that, she's much better now and only has small patches in her 'under-arm' area. Both their gums are getting a bit pinker every day and they're doing well.

Hi
I've also hand reared a multitude and have seen flaky skin a few times with kittens that have finally been brought in having been low on fluids for a while. As you are noticing, it does clear. Severe flea infestation causes a massive problem to tinies also, as the blood loss can be greater than their ability to compensate.
I wouldn't give Nutriplus to tinies as overkill on the trace elements could be a problem.

Sounds like you have it all in hand!

Another baby lives to fight another day!

Good luck!

Lil

There is a company that is well regarded in the Exotic Cat industry for the quality and knowledge of their supplements.

They make a product targeted specifically towards Neonatal Supplementation.

http://www.apperon.com/neonatal_fp.html

If it's anemia I would try to find something that would increase the iron intake for the animal.

Spotz

Edit...

There is also a product on the site that would seem to be appropriate for this situation.

http://www.apperon.com/crisis_rr.html