Need help getting kitten to put on weight.

I took home 4 skinny kittens last night. They are skinny enough to feel their ribs and pelvis bones. The ages range from 7-8 weeks old.

I am feeding them the Spa Select kitten food, mixed with a bit of the P/D from the vets. Weaning them off that, actually.

The vets gave me P/D canned, and told me to give them that.. but they don't seem to be eating it that much.

So I blended half a can in a bit of water last night, and was force feeding them by syinge. The most I could get into one was 10 ccs. And thats not alot. I've been doing it every hour- two hours. Also watching that they aren't getting dehydrated.

But this one kitten worries me. Shes skinnier than the others. I keep checking her gum color, to make sure she's alright, and they are a nice bright pink.. so I am a big worry wort.

Anyhow.. I am going to go get some KMR, to add to the blend for flavor, because I bet they will let me feed them more with it.

And see if the vets will give me some A/D canned for her, because thatsmushy enough to suck up with the sryinge alone, nowater added.

Anything to help the little boogers.

You could also try some chicken meat baby food -- I pour it over top of whatever food I want a cat to eat and it works like a charm. Also, Royal Canin Babycat 34 is good dry food, small enough for little mouths and rich enough to help assist with weight gain. Best of luck.

Thanks

I just blended a can of Natural Choice, or whatever it's called by Nutro, and they gobbled that down faster than I can count. Maybe they don't like the p/d?

Gave them a whole can of the Nutro, and they are eating it off the plate. They must not like the p/d at all then. Weird.

I'll go back to the rescue this afternoon and grab more cans of it. And we will see if that works.

*grin* They keep us guessing, don't they? Glad they are eating.

Sudden turnaround.

3 of the four are really sick. I have a vet appointment at 4.

The male has a blister on his tongue, one of the females is drooling,ad refuses to even let me force feed her. And the last female is dehydrated, and her gums are really pale.

I seperated the last kitten, hoping he will be okay.

And hopefully my own cats will be okay too.

Oh my, I hope they are O.K Please keep us posted.

Originally Posted by Leto86

Sudden turnaround.

3 of the four are really sick. I have a vet appointment at 4.

The male has a blister on his tongue, one of the females is drooling,ad refuses to even let me force feed her. And the last female is dehydrated, and her gums are really pale.

I seperated the last kitten, hoping he will be okay.

And hopefully my own cats will be okay too.

Click to expand...

Oh dear...sounds like calicivirus. I hope the vet can give you some answers. I found when my little ones had that and the blisters in their mouthes the only thing i could get them to take was the meat baby food from a syringe...it didn't seem to bother their mouths since it was already such a smooth consistency. It also seems to make them thirsty and they often go over and drink after.

Good luck...let us know!

-nods- I've just been reading online, and thats what it looks like. I knew it sounded uri like, haivng delt with it many times before. But I haven't seen it this bad in kittens.

Whatever it is, if it's contagious, then they will need to find another foster home. I can't risk my own cats getting sick. :\\
But if the vet says it's alright that a door seperates them, then I will continue to foster them until they are well.

It's not contagious, your cats would have been vaccinated against it in a regular booster. Adult cats that have been vaccinated don't seem to get it, kittens after vaccination can occasionally get a milder form of the symptoms. Our rescue has dealt with tons of calicivirus cases, unfortunately. The only thing you can give them is pain killer (a few drops of baby motrin is what we use), and then when the painkiller starts to work you can usually get them to eat something. Usually the course of the virus (if they are going to recover) is 5-7 days and it kills about 50% of kittens infected with it.

edited to add: my cats were only separated by a door through the first bout of calici in my house, and they showed no signs of problems.

Another thing you can buy is called nutrical. It is a high calorie supplement that you can force feed a little. It has all different types of vitamins, minerals, and calories. It is supposed to be highly pallatable, but I find that a lot of kitties don't love it. I still use it though.

I would consider this contagious and make sure you use different clothing when handling these cats, and make sure you are careful washing hands, etc. I agree that this sounds like a calici virus, but herpes can also have oral ulcers. Most adults that have been vaccinated should be ok, but I would still keep strict precautions to prevent disease spread. Some cats don't always develop immunity even if given a vaccine, and other viruses and strains may not be 100% protected by a vaccine.

I had a litter of 1 week old kittens come down with this last year. All eventually did very well after recovering. My vaccinated cats were kept behind a closed door and never were ill between the vaccination and using careful disease preventative techniques.

Mmkay. The vets think it's something to do with the mum. Because I left early and stopped at the shelter and checked the rest of the kittens, and all of the kittens from this litter have ulcerated tongues.

So anyway, I have liquid ammoxi for them. They get half a cc a day. a quarter in the morning, and a quarter in the evening. Also got sick kitten that was just brough in. So he gets one full cc of it. They all have their own syringes with their names on the packages.

I also got a few cans of a/d and a jar of KMR. I force fed Vida about 13 ccs of a/d, and about 6 or 7 of the KMR, before she went and gave herself a bath, before cuddling up with Ebby, the new kitten.

My sister fed Antonio about 15 ccs of a/d and only about 3 of the KMR, but his belly was probably full.

I fed Quesa only 5 ccs of a/d and 4 of the KMR. Her mouth is so sore, it's torture for her. I don't think she's going to amke it through the night though.. if she'sstill alive tomorrow, and still doing so horribly, I am going to see if the vet can do something for her. I don't want to put her to sleep if I don't ahve to.. but.. I dunno.

Vida is doing much better. The vet gave her fluids, and showed me hoe to give her fluids, and they gave me a small bag and a few IV needles.. but I'm terrified to do it. Ebby got some fluids as well.

I just wish people would spay and neuter their cats, and no kitten would ever have to suffer like this. It breaks my heart.

Poor babys. I'm glad that they haven't gotten anyworse. When Rocky was a baby and kinda sick and underweight I bought some of that powder (not sure if it was KMR or another brand) mixed it up into a pudding and he ate that.. Within a few weeks he had a little belly which still hasn't gone away. I wonder if you should mix up the kitten glop that people talk about on this site, once they will eat on their own? Just a question I would ask, I've never fostered babies.

Leto---- doing the fluids really isn't bad. we had to do it for my cat when she was in mild kidney failure and she ended up doing great for a couple mo, but then went down hill again and the fluids helped but only for a couple days so then we put her down as we knew it was time. But I am petrified (not as bad now but at the time) of needles and it really wasn't bad at all. I would do it again if I ever had to.

Quesa has just passed away

RIP Quesa, you don't have to suffer anymore. I'm so sorry for your loss Leto

I'm so sorry to hear about Quesa. Such a shame for such a little one.

Sleep well little one.

x x x x x x x

Ryu, Antonio, and Ebby are doing well. Vida isn't very active, but she's alright.

Took Vida back to the vets today... the vet (different one) thinks it may be Feline Panleuk.... hopefully it isn't.. I am going to be bleaching everything upstairs. Hopefully all will be well.

Vida is now in a quarentine room at the rescue. I feel horrible for leaving her there by herself... but it's for her own, and all the others own good.

I'm so sorry... sending good vibes to the rest of the little ones...