Dehydrated Foster kittens?

My foster kittens seem a bit dehydrated. I called the vet and he said as long as they were acting okay (which they are) I shouldn't bring them in.
They Are still running, and playing, and eating, but they aren't drinking nearly as much as they did when they first got here.
Is there a way to encourage them to drink more?
Thank you!

Feed them canned food which is high in moisture.

You can tell if they really are dehydrated by pinching up the skin at the back of the neck. If it goes down in a second or two they are not dehydrated, if it stays up then they are. It could be that when you got them they were in need of water, which is why they took a lot then, and now they don't need as much. If they are eating wet food they will not need as much water as if they are on dry.

Just wanting to add that if you observe after you gently pinch up the skin on the back of their neck, indicating dehydration, as previously mentioned, they need to be seen by their Vet immediately for treatment.

Originally Posted by Rice-a-roniee

My foster kittens seem a bit dehydrated. I called the vet and he said as long as they were acting okay (which they are) I shouldn't bring them in.
They Are still running, and playing, and eating, but they aren't drinking nearly as much as they did when they first got here.
Is there a way to encourage them to drink more?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

add some pedilyte to their drinking water to hydrate them.

Thank you!
I picked up some pedialite today, and added it to their water.
I tried pinching the skin on the back of their necks.
The largest one, the male's went immediatly back down.
The two females who are thinner stayed up for probably 4 seconds.
I called the vet, and he said to call him in the morning.

They are eating two cans of food a day along with dry food.
The two females are still very thin, while the male is very fat.
Would it be ideal to feed them seperatly, or keep them seperate?
I am new to this, and really don't know what to do.

Do they have diarrhea or upper respiratory infections?

thier poo is a BIT loose, but still formed, just not HARD.
but still in the general shape.. just a little loose.
when I called the vet this morning, and explained to him again the situation, he didn't seem concerned. Seems to think I am a bit too worried.

They do seem to be doing better though with the pedialite.

Are they doing better now? I think any amount of dehydration in a baby is serious. Maybe to the vet, they are just outside cats, but to you they are very precious. I would consider a second opinion if the skin still stays up for 4 seconds.

(I have no idea what the amt of time that is acceptable for the skin to stay up. I just know as a Mom and a people nurse, dehydration in babies is very serious!)

Today, their skin goes back in a few seconds.
I was concerned, and Called to speak with another vet ( same office, several vets) they said If by thursday it was still dehydrated to bring them in.
Today their skin goes back quickly, and they have been running around the house, climbing the christmas tree.
I thought they were growing pretty quickly, but today I caught the last kitten of the litter ( still have to catch momma.) and he is a TON bigger than them. Still def. a kitten, and the same age, just so fat and healthy looking.
I thought I was doing a good job with the food and vitamins from the vet, I thought they were growing good.. but this kitten who was outside with his momma is so much bigger than the kittens I have had inside for nearly a month.
?
He is a rowdy one, but I will post more about that in The feral and stray section. Don't want to get offtopic.

Thank you for all your help, I am keeping them on pedialite for a while, just to be safe. I hope this is exceptable.