My kitten won't eat

Hi there,

I just got a kitten on friday (sunday now). She's three and a half months old, and as of me writing this, she hasn't eaten at all. I don't even know if she's drunken anything.

She's very skittish, and vocal at the same time, and while she is scared silly, she seems like she will eventually become a very sweet little girl.

Unfortunatly, she's also very skinny, and I'm worried because she hasn't eaten at all. It wasn't until this morning that she finally used her litterbin - and at that, it was just urine, no feces.

Other than being scared and skinny, she seems perfectly heathy (and eesh, she may just feel skinny because I'm used to my parents cats - twin manx's that weighed 20lbs a peice)

She's smelt the food, and knows it's there - as she also knows the waters there. I've tried putting drops of water on her nose and cheek to entice her to at least drink something, but my apartment's so warm I can't judge wether the water level of the bowl is going down due to evaporation or consumption.

She's very attached to small sheltered areas - she'll huddle at the back of the crate I brought her home in, or behind the toilet, or for a while, which I tried to discourage - in the corner of her litterbin.

She's also very, very vocal. For the first day and night she cried constantly (kept me up awake all night too) now she's quieted down quite a bit, but it's such a difference, I can't tell if it's because she's a bit more comfortable, or if she's just given up on crying.

Though it is really cute, often, I'll go in as a response to her crying, and I'll get down to her level, and she'll hiss at me, but as soon as I start petting her, she starts digging it. A lot. Purring madly, kneading the blankets, and even manuevering herself so I'm scratching her chin and cheeks. I've even managed to encourage her to chase a string (which I use to get her to go places she hasn't been yet.. which is everywhere.)

I'm not sure what to do about her not eating. I give her fresh water every few hours (again, so warm... I don't like drinking warm water, I'm not gonna make her do it.), and I think I'm gonna go mix her a new bit of food. I've got kitten dry food, and some wetfood mixed in (tuna wet food) but the wet food has hardened up, so It's hardly appealing anymore.

Goagleon..if she isn't eating...please take her to the vet.

Katie

Unfortunatly, everything closes really early around here, any suggestions on what I can do tonight to get her to eat?

she may have worms or an intestional infection. or she may just be confused. i once had a kitten that didnt eat for a while then attacked the bread my mom was holding and suddenly realized she was hungry and started eating.

until you can get the kitten to a veternarian, you could try offering small bits of various lunch meat and cheese, (one item at a time), to try to arouse the senses so it begins to be hungry.

whether it works or not, be sure to take it to the vet to make sure as it could be serious

She's eating! YAY. I touched her nose with some of the wet food, and FINALLY got her to lick it off my fingers. then I stuck the food in her crate and she practically scarfed it down. That's reassuring. I may have to keep reminding her to eat for a while, but I <i>think</i> she may start eating on her own now. I'll keep a close eye on her litterbin habits, and hope upon hope she'll be okay.

EDIT: I do plan on taking her to the vet ASAP anyways, because she needs to get spayed.

Oh yeah - her name's Ceridwen =D

I'm happy to hear that Ceridwen is eating, finally. Get her to the vet and keep us posted about her health! Congrats on the new baby!

good that she's eating!! forcibly stimulating the senses isn't always bad

She's eating on her own now, so I have to assume she's also drinking the water that's next to her food.

She's also brave enough (after bringing her into the living room and letting her find her way back to the bathroom) to come out of the bathroom on her own and look around. This morning, when my boyfriend left for work, he left the bathroom door open so she could explore in piece - she came right into the bedroom, meowed VERY loudly 4 times, and ran, when I jerked awake. heheh. She scared the bejeezus outta me.

She must have some oriental breed somewhere in her history, because she A) has the body of a less-extreme oriental and B) She's got a hefty set a lung reminisant of a siamese.

Still hasn't used the litterbin again, but I think she's doing a lot better.