Hi-
A litter of four kittens was brought to an open intake shelter in my area without a mother- they were about five weeks old at the time and eating mush on their own. Now they're about nine weeks. When I first got them, they weighed from .6 to .9 pounds, had bad diarrhea, so they were on a dewormer, then Flagyl for a week. This has cleared up for all of them, and they have been healthy for about three weeks. The largest one is currently 1.9 pounds; two are around 1.3 pounds, and there's one that is 1.1 pounds. I'm worried about the smallest. When I first got him, I was syringe feeding him KMR to supplement his diet, since it didn't seem like he was growing and pretty much just laid there all day. This seemed to help (in addition to the meds, of course), and he after two weeks he was running around and playing. The last couple days the smallest kitten has been lethargic. I worry because he's the smallest and doesn't seem to be growing as quickly as the others, and he has a bit of a triangular head (which he had when I got him- I'm assuming because he hasn't had adequate nutrition). I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow to get checked over, but I doubt they will find anything. He doesn't seem dehydrated, his stool looks good, etc. Up until a couple days ago he had a bit of a belly (normal kitten belly, not worm belly). I am starting to syringe feed him KMR again. Is this fading kitten syndrome? Does anyone have any suggestions?
A litter of four kittens was brought to an open intake shelter in my area without a mother- they were about five weeks old at the time and eating mush on their own. Now they're about nine weeks. When I first got them, they weighed from .6 to .9 pounds, had bad diarrhea, so they were on a dewormer, then Flagyl for a week. This has cleared up for all of them, and they have been healthy for about three weeks. The largest one is currently 1.9 pounds; two are around 1.3 pounds, and there's one that is 1.1 pounds. I'm worried about the smallest. When I first got him, I was syringe feeding him KMR to supplement his diet, since it didn't seem like he was growing and pretty much just laid there all day. This seemed to help (in addition to the meds, of course), and he after two weeks he was running around and playing. The last couple days the smallest kitten has been lethargic. I worry because he's the smallest and doesn't seem to be growing as quickly as the others, and he has a bit of a triangular head (which he had when I got him- I'm assuming because he hasn't had adequate nutrition). I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow to get checked over, but I doubt they will find anything. He doesn't seem dehydrated, his stool looks good, etc. Up until a couple days ago he had a bit of a belly (normal kitten belly, not worm belly). I am starting to syringe feed him KMR again. Is this fading kitten syndrome? Does anyone have any suggestions?
