6 week old kittens, very underweight

[FosterSarah]

I'm currently fostering a kitten that's 6 weeks old now, however, he is only 230g. He eats really well, we syringe feed 5 meals a day and has no issues with toileting either. I've had him for a week and he's managed to put on 22g.

The vets were concerned with his lack of weight gain, but haven't found any cause yet. Mum never produced much milk and now she's all dried up but still snuggles and looks after him.

Just unsure as to what could be wrong with him and what we can do to maximise his growth. We have formula but he prefers the urgent care wet food we have.

 

[Willowy]

If he's put on weight then it was probably simple underfeeding, if she wasn't making enough milk. And has he been de-wormed? He's old enough now and I'm sure it's necessary.

Try adding some formula to his canned food, and maybe some calorie goo like Miracle Vet or similar.

 

[StefanZ]

Do you think you can give him more food? At every feeding or feeding more often? To raise up the totale?

Goats milk is a good supplement, raw if you can get it. Mix it with the food you give, some water some goats milk. (or a good kmr).

Perhaps also pedialyte instead of water; pedialyte contains some glucose sugar, so it will be some calories for free...

 

[FosterSarah]

If he's put on weight then it was probably simple underfeeding, if she wasn't making enough milk. And has he been de-wormed? He's old enough now and I'm sure it's necessary.

Try adding some formula to his canned food, and maybe some calorie goo like Miracle Vet or similar.

He's definitely not being underfed, I leave out food for him and mum plus syringe feeding every 4 hours. The food he's currently on is very calorie and nutrient dense as well, more than formula. So far we suspect some sort of nutrient uptake issue with his GI system.

His weight gain was initially normal, but then lost 50g or so rather suddenly, and it's taken nearly a month to put that back on. I'm in constant communication with the vet team (I've fostered through work) but none of us really have any clue

 

[Sarthur2]

Hopefully he will begin to catch up, albeit slowly. These littles often take time to turn the corner, but once they do, they grow to be normal sized cats. Lucky he has you AND his mommy to care for him!