Please help....new kitten sick?????

Hi everyone, I'm new here. My daughter and I just got a new kitten from a pet sanctuary, and she is acting a little odd. She is (according to the shelter) 7 weeks old. Vet said she is probably a little younger, as she is very small and only weighs 1 lb. Anyways, we brought her home a few days ago and she sleeps constantly! I am guessing 23 hours a day. She will wake up, play for about 2 minutes, and go back to sleep. I asked the vet and she said that it may be due to her age....but isn't that a bit much??

Also, I cleaned the litter box today and just got home from work and after a VERY good inspection of the house.....cannot find any "accidents" (she has been very good about using the litter box) and the box is empty. It has been a good 12 hours since I cleaned it....I"M SOOOO WORRIED!!!

She does respond to us, and she is very snuggly..but is she ok? I decided that if she doesn't use the litter box by the morning I'm calling the vet...but any advice in the mean time??

Thank you all so much for listening to me ramble....I'm just worried about my baby!!!

Thanks!!!!

When did you get her?

I suspect she might be younger than they told you. Healthy 7-week-olds normally weigh close to 2 pounds. If that is the case, the behavior you are describing is normal. Young kittens sleep almost 24/7. If she is eating and active when she is awake, then there isn't a whole lot to worry about there.

With the litterbox, I have heard of kittens not going potty for a while after they are brought home. Next time she is awake, make sure you show her where it is. Her bladder is so small that you might not have noticed an accident.

Thank you soooo much for replying!!!
We brought her home two days ago.

She isn't that active when she is awake. She will eat, walk around, and find another place to sleep. I have tried to entertain her with a string and she acts interested for about 30 seconds...and then turns away.

I have taken her to the litter box a few times...and she jumps out. But she has used it over the last few days, on her own...without any help.

Thank you again!!

Anybody else??

She has used the box once since last night (pee) but continues to sleep all day/night.

Originally Posted by kct123

Anybody else??

She has used the box once since last night (pee) but continues to sleep all day/night.

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I don't think it sounds very normal for a healthy kitten to sleep that much.
Could you contact another vet with those questions?

I talked with another vet...and they just said to give her a few weeks and see how she does. But, she won't play...when she is awake she just walks around and watches us. No running around like a kitten should.

And...right now she is passed out on the couch....snoring away.

Originally Posted by kct123

I talked with another vet...and they just said to give her a few weeks and see how she does. But, she won't play...when she is awake she just walks around and watches us. No running around like a kitten should.

And...right now she is passed out on the couch....snoring away.

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I used to have a kitten that never grew, always slept and eventually passed away at 6 month. I never found out what was wrong with her.
Hopefully it's not the case with your kitten.

I believe you need a new vet, and NOW. Young kittens do NOT sleep nearly 24/7 - I've been breeding for 16 years. If I had a kitten which behaved that way, I would be very concerned. Kittens do not need to be enticed to play. You should attempt to take her temperature and see if she is running a fever or has a low temperature. A digital thermometer would be your best bet, since it will beep when it has finished reading the temp. Normal cat/kitten temperature is between 100.5 and 102.5F. How well is she eating? If she has eaten normal amounts of cat food and been drinking well, then she should be urinating and deficating in a 12-hour time frame.

If she has a fever, she needs to see a vet. Worse yet, if she is running a low temperature, I would worry even more and get her off to a vet. Both of these situations require immediate veterinary intervention, but even more so if her temperature is low.

She is really too young to have been placed out with someone anyhow, but you now have her so please take her temp. right away. If the temperature is normal, and she still doesn't urinate or deficate by tomorrow and is acting sluggish, then get her to a vet. Ask said vet to check carefully for a possible bowel obstruction, listen to her lungs for signs of possible pneumonia and provide whatever information concerning vaccines and any other notes/observances about her and her littermates which you may have received from the pet santuary.

Good luck with the little one.

Barb Amalfi

Originally Posted by tailsoluv

I believe you need a new vet, and NOW. Young kittens do NOT sleep nearly 24/7 - I've been breeding for 16 years. If I had a kitten which behaved that way, I would be very concerned. Kittens do not need to be enticed to play. You should attempt to take her temperature and see if she is running a fever or has a low temperature. A digital thermometer would be your best bet, since it will beep when it has finished reading the temp. Normal cat/kitten temperature is between 100.5 and 102.5F. How well is she eating? If she has eaten normal amounts of cat food and been drinking well, then she should be urinating and deficating in a 12-hour time frame.

If she has a fever, she needs to see a vet. Worse yet, if she is running a low temperature, I would worry even more and get her off to a vet. Both of these situations require immediate veterinary intervention, but even more so if her temperature is low.

She is really too young to have been placed out with someone anyhow, but you now have her so please take her temp. right away. If the temperature is normal, and she still doesn't urinate or deficate by tomorrow and is acting sluggish, then get her to a vet. Ask said vet to check carefully for a possible bowel obstruction, listen to her lungs for signs of possible pneumonia and provide whatever information concerning vaccines and any other notes/observances about her and her littermates which you may have received from the pet santuary.

Good luck with the little one.

Barb Amalfi

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I agree. Her behavior doesn't sound normal. She needs to be taken to a vet that actually cares instead of the ones that say "just wait and see".

Please take her to another vet asap because this doesn't sound right at all

Thanks everyone for your help!! I am packed up and moving in the next few days...so I'm not sure where my thermometer is...but I'll find it. What does it mean if it's low? Also, she did urinate once during the night...but nothing again today. It has been about 36 hours since she last deficated...and she seems to be eating pretty good. I see her at the bowl every few hours. She isn't drinking very much, but I don't know how much a tiny kitten needs.

She is still asleep....my daughter wakes her up and pets her every hour or so, but she has yet to play at all today.

Again, thank you for your concern and help!!!!!

Originally Posted by kct123

Thanks everyone for your help!! I am packed up and moving in the next few days...so I'm not sure where my thermometer is...but I'll find it. What does it mean if it's low? Also, she did urinate once during the night...but nothing again today. It has been about 36 hours since she last deficated...and she seems to be eating pretty good. I see her at the bowl every few hours. She isn't drinking very much, but I don't know how much a tiny kitten needs.

She is still asleep....my daughter wakes her up and pets her every hour or so, but she has yet to play at all today.

Again, thank you for your concern and help!!!!!

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None of it is normal.
She sounds like she has some sort of serious problem going on.

I agree that none of this sounds normal at all. Young kittens can fade very quickly. I would be very concerned. I find it strange that the vet didnt seem that concerned however.

Besides taking her to another vet, please call the cat sanctuary where you purchased her. How are the other kittens from her litter doing? Have they been diagnosed with anything? Why did they adopt out a 1 pound kitten? Do they know her exact age? She is very small, and maybe she needs to be bottle fed some KMR?

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

Besides taking her to another vet, please call the cat sanctuary where you purchased her. How are the other kittens from her litter doing? Have they been diagnosed with anything? Why did they adopt out a 1 pound kitten? Do they know her exact age? She is very small, and maybe she needs to be bottle fed some KMR?

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She could be older. She could be small because she has some sort of a defect.
With my kitten that die, she never grew, and at 6 months, she looked like a 2 month old. She wasn't active, she would sleep all the time, and she passed away at 6 months of age, but she looked much younger.

If her temp. is low, she is going into shock and her system will shut down entirely. If she has urinated and not deficated, then I would truly be concerned about a possible obstruction. Please get her to a vet NOW. If you cannot get her to a vet and take care of her right, please return her to the pet sanctuary and let them take care of her, especially when you are in the process of moving.

I too would take this baby to a vet ASAP!! This is not normal behaviour. Sure kittens sleep a lot but they also play alot. If she is younger than 7 weeks - she is too young to be away from her mama but given it was a shelter, there is likely a good reason for that (maybe Mama died or was ill) but they should have given you ionstructions on how to give her more food and KMR. And to help her eliminate. Kittens usually can do this by 4 weeks and is she is using the litter box, she is prob OK in that regard. But she needs to see a vet soon!

I agree, and to be quite blunt, any vet that gives you the wait and see routine with a kitten this small isn't worth squat.

Thank you all so much for your help. We ended up taking her into the vet last night. Her temp was normal, she now weighs 14oz, and they kept her over night and gave her some fluids (she was quite dehydrated), and made sure she was deficating and urinating. We just got her home a litte bit ago...and she seems to have more energy than she did before, but only time will tell if she is better or not. The vet gave us some food for her to eat....but she isn't too interested yet. Any tips on getting her to eat?
As far as age goes they didn't really say much, but he did admit that she is little. I also called the shelter, and the lady sounded a little shocked. She told me that my little kitty was the one who could sneak out of her cage and would run around the place like a wild woman. SO, I guess we will see.

Again, thank you all so much for your help!!!

Even if your kitten is a full 7 weeks old, it is very likely that she is not fully weaned. Therefore, she is likely to NOT be eating properly. At this age, even if kittens have previously been eating solid food, they still need to nurse; and weaning stress is very common - especially when they have been taken away from their mothers WAY too early. The vet SHOULD have given you a tube of Nutrical - this is a product which has the consistency of Laxatone which is high in calories and vitamins and may be fed by syringe. You may have to force feed this kitten if she chooses not to eat as much as is needed. She has already lost a couple of ounces. I would further suggest that you pick up a couple of jars of straight meat baby food. Kittens generally enjoy this very much and will quite willingly eat it. However, if they don't eat it down willingly, it is of a consistency which allows it to be drawn up into a syringe and squeezed into the mouth.

It was highly irresponsible for the shelter to have placed a very young, very small kitten with a new owner, so it amazes me that the woman working there had the nerve to be shocked that the kitten would become stressed and dehydrated. This kitten is not even old enough to have received her first set of vaccines nonetheless leave her mother!

However, now that I have finished my rant against the shelter, I wish you all the best of luck with your little baby. Please keep an eye on her hydration, however. You can tell whether she is dehydrated or not by pulling up the skin between her shoulder blades, letting go and seeing how quickly it snaps back down into place. If it does not instantly return to normal, then she is dehydrated, and this is a serious condition. It would be good if you could also purchase unflavored Pedialyte and give this to her in place of water. It contains necessary electrolytes which will replace those she is losing while she isn't eating and drinking properly.

Give her a big kiss for me

Barb A.