Hi everyone, I wanted to come here to see if anyone had any similar expereince as me, so lets start. 2 weeks ago my girlfriend and me rescued a kitten it was 4 or 5 week old at the time, she had worm, wasn't eating properly, challenged to drink on her own, but after a hard week she started to get much better after we dewormed her fornthebfirst time because thebday before she vomited a ring worm. After that all was getting much better until few days after she gotnsick for unknown reason, the vet said shr migh have eaten something wrong. But it resolved in 1 day after i panicked and brought her to the vet he basically told me that she was fine. 1 week after that episode she got bigger, she was putting on some weight no more diarrhea. We went for her second deworming, and since then she is not feeling well, she still eat but not even half of what she use to eat, she is also lethargic but sometime wakes up and start running around and playing like a normal kitten, however she still eat less than she use to and just refuses any of dry food. Which i dont want tongive her because everytime no matter the transition smotthness she is getting diarrhea. So far she has been tested, no panleukopenia, no calicivirus. No fever, just that diarrhea that never finish, the good side is that she is drinking a lot, she look hydrated. I dont know if she is stressed and maybe depressed since she stay in the same room all the time. She is very underweighted at almost 8 weeks she is only 450 gram and losing weight. Anyone has any similar experience ?
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7 week old kitten challenging
- Thread starter kenjitk01
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- Jun 5, 2020
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Hi, I've had and have many kittens so I'll try to help here.
First off, did you get her from a shelter? If yes, then I think they should only give people kittens from 8 weeks old...however she may not have a mother near her, etc, so I guess there are reasons why.
Loss of appetite is a key thing to watch out for....there are many things that there could be wrong...she could have a sick tummy, constipation, or she could just be getting used to her new surroundings.
What I would do is keep an eye on her while you also try to experiment with the food. Try some sauces, flakes in jelly, natural food, chunks in sauce, purees, kitten soup...
You could also try some special lactose-free kitten milk, maybe she will enjoy it. Find out what she likes and eats.
I'm sure your bowl is clean but sometimes by cats/kittens wont eat if the bowl smells a bit from the previous meal or there is leftover food from the previous meal.
if she starts eating better you could slowly try to introduce/mix in dry food, but don't limit her to wet food too much until she is much better, stronger and older.
Also maybe try to play with her a bit more to stimulate her playing skills and buy her some self play toys.
Make sure to constantly keep an eye out for her and id she even gets the tiny bit worse take her to the vet again, tell them the symptoms and how she has been acting. If she does not get better after a while, also take her to the vet. She may or may not have something wrong with her.
Here are some links that may help.
My new kitten is not eating properly
Causes and treatments for a cat not eating well
Kitten toy - laser
Kitty toy - 3 level ball chaser
Best wet foods for kittens.
Hopefully this helps.
First off, did you get her from a shelter? If yes, then I think they should only give people kittens from 8 weeks old...however she may not have a mother near her, etc, so I guess there are reasons why.
Loss of appetite is a key thing to watch out for....there are many things that there could be wrong...she could have a sick tummy, constipation, or she could just be getting used to her new surroundings.
What I would do is keep an eye on her while you also try to experiment with the food. Try some sauces, flakes in jelly, natural food, chunks in sauce, purees, kitten soup...
You could also try some special lactose-free kitten milk, maybe she will enjoy it. Find out what she likes and eats.
I'm sure your bowl is clean but sometimes by cats/kittens wont eat if the bowl smells a bit from the previous meal or there is leftover food from the previous meal.
if she starts eating better you could slowly try to introduce/mix in dry food, but don't limit her to wet food too much until she is much better, stronger and older.
Also maybe try to play with her a bit more to stimulate her playing skills and buy her some self play toys.
Make sure to constantly keep an eye out for her and id she even gets the tiny bit worse take her to the vet again, tell them the symptoms and how she has been acting. If she does not get better after a while, also take her to the vet. She may or may not have something wrong with her.
Here are some links that may help.
My new kitten is not eating properly
Causes and treatments for a cat not eating well
Kitten toy - laser
Kitty toy - 3 level ball chaser
Best wet foods for kittens.
Hopefully this helps.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you very much for your reply,Hi, I've had and have many kittens so I'll try to help here.
First off, did you get her from a shelter? If yes, then I think they should only give people kittens from 8 weeks old...however she may not have a mother near her, etc, so I guess there are reasons why.
Loss of appetite is a key thing to watch out for....there are many things that there could be wrong...she could have a sick tummy, constipation, or she could just be getting used to her new surroundings.
What I would do is keep an eye on her while you also try to experiment with the food. Try some sauces, flakes in jelly, natural food, chunks in sauce, purees, kitten soup...
You could also try some special lactose-free kitten milk, maybe she will enjoy it. Find out what she likes and eats.
I'm sure your bowl is clean but sometimes by cats/kittens wont eat if the bowl smells a bit from the previous meal or there is leftover food from the previous meal.
if she starts eating better you could slowly try to introduce/mix in dry food, but don't limit her to wet food too much until she is much better, stronger and older.
Also maybe try to play with her a bit more to stimulate her playing skills and buy her some self play toys.
Make sure to constantly keep an eye out for her and id she even gets the tiny bit worse take her to the vet again, tell them the symptoms and how she has been acting. If she does not get better after a while, also take her to the vet. She may or may not have something wrong with her.
Here are some links that may help.
My new kitten is not eating properly
Causes and treatments for a cat not eating well
Kitten toy - laser
Kitty toy - 3 level ball chaser
Best wet foods for kittens.
Hopefully this helps.
We basically rescued her, this is why we had her aince such a young age, i just did what you told experimenting new good, and finally she ate some dry food that i wrongly purchased for her, now that she is about 8 weeks old i think its ok to give this to her, i crush led it and mixed it with her wetfood, and she ate the dry food but not thw wet food, i think she is 1 picky eater 2 bored with her everyday food, i think then i need to spice things up to get her eating and gain proper weight, do you have any recommandation ? Not only she needs to get to 800 gr to get a vaccination, which i find weird as some articles i read says that we could do the vaccine when she is a month old. I just observed that when i brought her to the kitchen where my two other cats were she was excited to see them and play, but also was more enclined to eat, but i'm scared that she get infected with a virus or other things
Vaccines are not given until kittens are 8 weeks old, and then only if they are at least 2 pounds and not sick. She will get vaccinated eventually so do not worry.
I suggest you take her back to the vet and ask for Albon for her diarrhea. She may have an intestinal bacterial infection. If so, this will cure it. Get a fecal culture done because she may still have parasites. In this case she would need metronidazole.
Once the diarrhea is successfully treated she should begin to put on weight. In the meantime, feed her whatever wet food she likes and as much of it as she wants. Also, take her out of the room sometimes for a change. Just supervise her when you do.
I suggest you take her back to the vet and ask for Albon for her diarrhea. She may have an intestinal bacterial infection. If so, this will cure it. Get a fecal culture done because she may still have parasites. In this case she would need metronidazole.
Once the diarrhea is successfully treated she should begin to put on weight. In the meantime, feed her whatever wet food she likes and as much of it as she wants. Also, take her out of the room sometimes for a change. Just supervise her when you do.
- Joined
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- Purraise
- 60
Yes, it may be a virus but its strange that the vet does not know what it is.
Some of the links below are from UK, some from International, so you may not be able to order from them, but have a look at the kind of food/reviews.
So, food suggestions:
Article about recommended foods
Hills science Plan kitten
My personal favourite mum and kitten food - I use this for both mums and kittens and they love it (may be a bit pricey)
IAMS wet food
Kitten milk replacement
This may sound weird, and many may not agree with me, but i would try to get some cooked meat (eg. a bit of cooked beef) tear/blend it into lots of small pieces and try offering her a little bit - just a little bit. Don't feed her raw meats until she is at least 20 weeks of age, as her immunity system is not strong enough yet.
I also highly recommend trying out some lactose free milk as it is highly nutritional and yummy. She may be too old for this, but you can buy 'mother cat milk mix' this is normally used for kittens whose mother doesn't feed them or doesn't produce enough milk, and she is probably too old now,(you could still try though) but that would have really boosted her energy when she was younger.
Some of the links below are from UK, some from International, so you may not be able to order from them, but have a look at the kind of food/reviews.
So, food suggestions:
Article about recommended foods
Hills science Plan kitten
My personal favourite mum and kitten food - I use this for both mums and kittens and they love it (may be a bit pricey)
IAMS wet food
Kitten milk replacement
This may sound weird, and many may not agree with me, but i would try to get some cooked meat (eg. a bit of cooked beef) tear/blend it into lots of small pieces and try offering her a little bit - just a little bit. Don't feed her raw meats until she is at least 20 weeks of age, as her immunity system is not strong enough yet.
I also highly recommend trying out some lactose free milk as it is highly nutritional and yummy. She may be too old for this, but you can buy 'mother cat milk mix' this is normally used for kittens whose mother doesn't feed them or doesn't produce enough milk, and she is probably too old now,(you could still try though) but that would have really boosted her energy when she was younger.
Goats milk is a very good bet. Cheaper and probably better than this lactose free kitten milk. Raw is good but usually costly. But powdered, for example Meyenberg? is OK.This may sound weird, and many may not agree with me, but i would try to get some cooked meat (eg. a bit of cooked beef) tear/blend it into lots of small pieces and try offering her a little bit - just a little bit. Don't feed her raw meats until she is at least 20 weeks of age, as her immunity system is not strong enough yet. also highly recommend trying out some lactose free milk as it is highly nutritional and yummy. She may be too old for this, but you can buy 'mother cat milk mix' this is normally used for kittens whose mother doesn't feed them or doesn't produce enough milk, and she is probably too old now,(you could still try though) but that would have really boosted her energy when she was younger.
I agree a good kmr may be an alternative. I have heard good things about Breeders Edge kmr, but there are of course others. Just Hartz is less reliable, and Pet Ags liquid premade uneven too.
In Sweden, we often give raw minced meat to kittens. But its possible the hygiene in swedish slaugherhouses is better than in most other places.
If the kitten has much diarrheas, you must compensate for salt losses. So, either give flavorless pedialyte or some good minerale water as part of her drinking. OR sprinkle a little minerale kitchen salt on her food...
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- #7
Hi guys thanks so much for all the answers, the vet gave me some antibiotics for her, she is doing super well, also we are continuing with the dry food that apparently she loves she is now 7 weeks and a half and the pack says 2 month to 6 month so i think its ok to give it to her and i'm stopping the weaning wetfood, and we just leave at disposal for her along some water, today she went back from 400 grams to 430, her diarrhea is resolved but i will.continue the antibiotics until they are done, i think the deworming was really tough on her and that she was just feeling a bit off but now she is looking much better, she never was under active, but now i can see she returned to her old self. There she is with my girlfriend ready for a good night of sleep, and during the night i heard the crackling of the dry food and the lapping of water. So hopefully for the next 370 grams to take she will be fine and get her vaccination asap, then she will be able to go with oir two other cats . I got her out of the room let her explore a bit the house while supervising her, she started to play with the two adult cats and i think it made her feel much better, so now the two older cats are allowed in our room for 20 minutes per day just so she can learn how to interact with them, luckily the oldest resident loves kitten and keeps an eye on her all the time. All of that to say she is better and thanks a lot for your help. I will continue posting some updates on her until she gets her vaccination. Cheers !!!
She’s adorable! 
What antibiotic did the vet give? By the way, if your older cats are vaccinated and indoor only, there are no worries if she is around them now. That’s so sweet that your one cat is motherly to her. They will probably develop a nice bond!
What antibiotic did the vet give? By the way, if your older cats are vaccinated and indoor only, there are no worries if she is around them now. That’s so sweet that your one cat is motherly to her. They will probably develop a nice bond!
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- #9
I'm not too sure of what kind of antibiotic, We are living in Indonesia the veterinary here just told me he would give her something for her diarrhea, and I saw later on this was some antibiotics, but after two days of treatment diarrhea already was gone, however as this is an antibiotic I think I am supposed to continue the treatment until the end of the pills. And ok then I will be more relaxed when they are in contact. Both of the older cats are vaccinated, so I hope it's safe.She’s adorable!
What antibiotic did the vet give? By the way, if your older cats are vaccinated and indoor only, there are no worries if she is around them now. That’s so sweet that your one cat is motherly to her. They will probably develop a nice bond!
And yes our male Garfield, is a great foster dad, he loves kittens, and always super sweet with them, which I was very surprised as he is not the cuddliest cat, but with kittens what a sweetheart. the first time we brought the new kitten (his actual sister) at home we did that separation thing to introduce them slowly, but after 3 days he stopped eating for a while and we thought he might have some disease, turn out he was just sad to not be able to see her and was just staying in front of the door waiting to just be able to see her a little bit, once we let her interact with him, he started to eat a again.
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- #10
Hi guys just wanted to update you guys, we passed the bars of 600 grams today she is at 610 grams, gaining a lot of weight very fast somedays almost took around 30 grams in a day, which is quite impressive, but i was wondering is it normal for a cat which was underweighted (still is by some standards) to take this much in a day ? She is still very well, the antibiotics definitely worked on her, i can see she is gaining in confidence and energy everyday. One thing that just concern me a bit today when i weighted her he gain was less than usual, she is still gaining but yesterday she gained only 25 grams and today it seems like its slowing down as well. No diarrhea not vomiting and still normal activity
She was making up for what she lacked, and now that she’s caught up a bit she is slowing to a more normal daily gain. Sounds healthy to me!
