Kitten in China. Difficulties finding good food

[Willowy]

Try to find out what brand of rabies vaccine they use. If it's a European brand I'm thinking it might be like the US brands and be the same for cats and dogs. Unfortunately I think you're going to have to double-check anything the vets there tell you since they don't know much about cats .

I can't find anything on the manufacturer's page about the vaccines containing a de-wormer :dk:. http://www.bi-vetmedica.com/main/pet/feline_vaccines.html The vet perhaps misunderstood something. But the Revolution should take care of most of the worms. If you see little rice grain type things around the rectal area, you'll have to find a way to get some de-wormer that works against tapeworms, but otherwise Revolution ought to do the job.

 

[melvaughn]

Yes, it's very possible something was lost in translation. I live more in the countryside in China and no one can speak English here. I had a translator with me when I went to the Vet. Maybe the shot was not Fel-o-vex, but the vet said the shot included some kind of dewormer.

Tonight I noticed a curved, white spaghetti-like piece in the kitten's stool! It's  the first time I've seen this! It was quite gross. Looked like round worm! Is this due to the medication working? I was told to wait and apply the Revolution in two weeks but now that I'm seeing worms, I'm wondering if I should apply it sooner! 

 

[Willowy]

If the vet gave a de-wormer, yeah, they'd be coming out now. Nasty little parasites! With them gone maybe she'll start gaining weight. Since you're seeing worms I guess a de-wormer was given so I would wait the full 2 weeks before giving a dose of something else. Don't want to overwhelm her little body.

 

[stewball]

I agree with Detmut. Give her the dry kitten food.I free feed my cats so they've always got food out - dry - and they graze. Besides it'll be good for her teeth to crunch and use them.
I get it your a vegetarian and don't buy meat. Please give her the kitten dry food. She may start eating properly and put on weight especially after the worms have gone.
Does she have fleas?

 

[melvaughn]

Yes, I leave the dry out for her all the time. I only notice that she eats a significant amount of it at night. When I try to feed her Wellness she only takes a  couple of bites but at least she's eating it.

I hope she starts gaining weight. She's around 1.4 kg now but looks skinny. (12 weeks old)

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• melvaughn
• Dec 12, 2014

 

[Willowy]

Well, that's about the right weight for her age. They do look lanky from about 3-7 months when they're growing so fast. So it's not a worry at this point. Hopefully she'll continue to grow up healthy!

She's a cutie, that's for sure!

 

[reikitty]

I see a little tummy there so she doesn't look skinny to me.  I deal with abandoned kitties all the time and she looks healthy in that picture. 

If I did math right she's just over 2lbs which is a little on the small size but if she was deprived at all growing up it makes sense. And females take a little longer to put on weight. I wouldn't be worried at her weight at all as long as she keeps growing. And if she has worms that is going to effect her weight gain.

If you saw a 'spagetti' worm it's probably round worms then.  The one you want to watch out for is the 'rice' worms that's tape worm and Revolution will not kill it. But, it sounds like roundworm so revolution will kill it.

Also it's really common for kittens to 'deflate' after de-worming them as they pass all the worms that have been in their bodies, so don't worry if she looks like she lost some weight, she'll start packing it back on.

As for her eating at night, some cats so. They want to eat at dusk and dawn as that's when their instincts tell them it's time to eat so it's normal. Just make sure she has food at night. 

Good luck with your cutie!

 

[detmut]

actually, 1.4 kg is about 3.1 pounds. so, 3 months/3 pounds is a good weight. old enough and heavy enough to be spayed if you can find a competent vet. 

 

[reikitty]

 
actually, 1.4 kg is about 3.1 pounds. so, 3 months/3 pounds is a good weight. old enough and heavy enough to be spayed if you can find a competent vet. 

Oops. Then yah she's right on target.

 

[melvaughn]

update: was cutting some raw onions today and the kitten jumped up and grabbed a small piece. I saw she ate it! Should I be worried? I'm pretty sure it was only one piece (I hope)!

 

[misterwhiskers]

She should be ok. Most cats are repulsed by onions, so it's unlikely she ate enough to hurt herself.

 

[stewball]

Yes, I leave the dry out for her all the time. I only notice that she eats a significan
amount of it at night. When I try to feed her Wellness she only takes a  couple of bites but at least she's eating it.

I hope she starts gaining weight. She's







around 1.4 kg now but looks skinny. (12 weeks old)

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• melvaughn
• Dec 12, 2014

she is beautiful. I love tabbies. She may not grow to be a very big cat. My tabby didn't. She went to rainbow bridge when she was 16 years old.

 

[melvaughn]

I'm wondering if anyone has any information on the safety of the rabies shot? I'm working on the documentation I need to ship my kitten to Canada. It's a difficult process and the rabies vaccine is the most important shot I need. The vet at first said they had an imported rabies vaccine from Europe, but now I'm being told they only have one rabies shot that they normally give to dogs but it's recognized by the Chinese government as being the only shot needed if I plan to ship her to another country. It's the only shot where I can get the proper certificate.

However, the vet said, several cats have died (including a few in his office) from this shot so there is risk involved! Is this normal? Is the rabies shot for dogs also okay for cats? Isn't there just one standard shot given for both dogs and cats? Not sure I want to risk it and I really don't think they are using a safe or high quality vaccine if several cats have died!

 

[detmut]

the only rabies vaccine i would give my cat is the Merial Purevax Feline Rabies Vaccine

http://www.purevaxrabies.com/

 

[melvaughn]

yes, that is the one I've been reading about as well and will mention to the vet. This is not the one they will give her here. They seem to use some 'free' brand that has horrible side effects. And this is the only shot I'm being told is recognized for travel out of China. No other 'imported' brands are good for travel on a plane! I've been to two vets here so far and not impressed. The vets are young looking kids that look like they couldn't care less about animals! Not even sure they can spay her properly. Beginning to think I shouldn't have gotten an animal in a foreign country!

 

[mservant]

This sounds really hard.  

Have you tried looking up the web sites both for where you are flying / traveling from, and where you are going to?  Sometimes they have regulations specifying the type of vaccine and how long it lasts as well as how long before travel it is given.

 

[melvaughn]

yes, I will do that. I travel too much so had wanted to ship her to Canada to give to family where I think she will have a better life than in China. I live in a rural city now but will be moving to Shanghai next year. Shanghai will have better vets and not as difficult language barrier so I will try again when I'm there. It's so difficult here to transport a cat because animals are not allowed on trains or buses either.

I'm now starting to worry about the three vaccinations I already gave her...I think they were all Fel-o-vax ones but you can never be sure of the quality here.

I'm worried about spaying as well. Is there a chance I could bypass having her spayed? There is some hormonal thing I could do but dangerous side effects I've heard. They do spay dogs here though so I suppose it would be a similar procedure for cats.

 

[melvaughn]

so I contacted a vet in Shanghai and found out the 'Purevax vaccine' has not yet been approved for use in China and cannot be used for export travel! So basically my only option if I plan to travel with her is to get the less safe shot (which I guess all the animals are vaccinated here with) which explains the death of the cats...yikes! Looks like I might have to risk it.

 

[mservant]

Any chance you might find another family or person in Shanghai / more locally who has a similar love of cats and who coulf offer her a positive future without the rabies vaccine (which seems to be the riskiest one)?

I'm not experienced with the hormonal treatments, and you would also have to check which were available to you in China, but perhaps reputable breeders could offer advice as many will use this as means to keeping breeding queens from going in to heat too regularly.  @GemsGem  do you know anything about this?

 

[Willowy]

Try to find out what brand of rabies vaccine it is. Cats have been getting Rabvac (Pfizer/Boehringer Ingelheim), Imrab (Merial), Novibac/Rabdomun, and Defensor for years, and while the adjuvanted vaccines do carry a bit higher chance of causing a sarcoma, an acute reaction causing immediate death would be extremely rare. I would feel comfortable enough giving one of those vaccines once in a cat's life. You might find a printout from a veterinary website about what can be done if a cat has an anaphylactic reaction (I had a ferret who had a bad reaction to a vaccine, it's easily treated if a vet knows what to give), but it's not common.

Hopefully the vets in Shanghai will know more about spayinga cat. Is there maybe an animal rescue group that does more spays than a normal vet? They might be better.