Kitten Not Eating

[Moefling]

So last night my six month old kitten, Poppy,

puked up some bile and then had some pretty bad diarrhea it was then we realized we hadn't seen her eat all day and she was refusing her food. We took her to the vet this morning and the current thought is she ate something she shouldn't have. She's on some antidiarrhea and antinausea meds and she got fluids at the vet but she still won't eat. Looking for any suggestions to entice her. Normally she eats kitten fancy feast turkey or chicken and a mix of kitten while hearted chicken and kitten chow. I got her to eat about a pea sized amount of the chicken wet food last night and she licked at some freeze dried chicken (her favorite treat) but I'm hoping she'll eat more, suggestions?

 

[susanm9006]

Try pure chicken baby food mixed with kitten milk or lactose free milk. Just stir it together till it is soupy. This isn’t meant for long term diet but it never failed to entice my sick cats to eat.

 

[duckpond]

Rotisserie chicken is always a winner with my guys deboned, and no skin, just the meat, or a rare roast beef, these are about the only human foods my guys like, and they will always eat these when sick. Lucky for them my husband like plain food, no seasonings much, so he cooks it plain and they can share.

 

[Margret]

Try pure chicken baby food mixed with kitten milk or lactose free milk.

"Pure" means no added garlic or onion. This is the kind they make for very young babies, without added seasoning.

You can also try goat's milk, if you can get it. Cats (and humans) seem to tolerate the lactose in goat's milk better than the lactose in cow's milk; no one knows why.

Margret

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go

 

[Margret]

Let us know how things go

We worry.

Margret

 

[Moefling]

So far no good. I tried the baby food but she's not really into it and now her brother is sick too. We've been to the vet again for fluids again and have an appointment for tomorrow that I think if there isn't progress they are going to give us something to increase their appetite. I did get Poppy to lick up some gravy from some fancy feast cat food we still had for our elder cat, she wouldn't eat from the bowl though just from my finger and it really wasn't a lot.

 

[Furballsmom]

Sometimes the finger feeding is the only thing that works...keep trying! Maybe something here will help;

Try making this;
tent test for dehydration and home-made pedialyte recipe - The Daily Kitten

Also, try making one of these;
Kitten Glop Recipes - Supplementing Cats and Kittens with nutritious formula you make at home: presented by Bengal Cat breeder Foothill Felines. --This website has a number of kitten glop recipes, with ingredients that you may very well have in your house.

These can be used on their own or combined with food. Also, if you heat the food a little - stir it so there aren't any hot spots from the microwave. Or you could heat some water, about a tablespoon, and add that to canned food. A shot glass works to stir it all up.

• Chicken, beef or ham flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury/low/no sodium brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon, mackerel

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet or store bought

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat 'gravy' poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes in website link above)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora
• fish oil
• green beans, asparagus mushed up

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  
• Some good treats would be freeze dried Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

• There are also Lickimats that you could spread types of soft food onto, even plain unflavored yogurt, and even freeze it. Licking something can help a cat to feel better emotionally The LickiMat - Food Puzzles for Cats
• shredded cheddar cheese
• chamomile tea, made from the little bags only, a couple cooled teaspoons a couple times a day in water or food, can helpcalm a stressed cat

 

[1 bruce 1]

So far no good. I tried the baby food but she's not really into it and now her brother is sick too. We've been to the vet again for fluids again and have an appointment for tomorrow that I think if there isn't progress they are going to give us something to increase their appetite. I did get Poppy to lick up some gravy from some fancy feast cat food we still had for our elder cat, she wouldn't eat from the bowl though just from my finger and it really wasn't a lot.

Ahh, crap. I was reading along hoping to hear things were resolved.
Does the brother have the same symptoms? It's probably a communicable bug that kills their appetite and makes them feel rotten (flu, etc.)
The vet might have some other ideas. At the risk of sounding like a terrible owner, sometimes these bugs just need to ride it out, like your 3 year old with a fever or the kid with the flu or chicken pox, so long as the vet didn't seem overly concerned..
If she's not better in another day or so, I'd call the vet and see if they can fit you in Saturday with her (and him, if you're worried!)
They're still so young they need to eat. Have you offered things like plain (onion free) broth?
The ingredients look like something out of a toxic waste pit but we've used Nutri-Cal before on cats that were ill and not eating well. It's tasty (according to the label. I haven't tried it myself LOL) and most of our cats seem OK with it. We just squeeze out a little on our finger, put it on their gums or whiskers or paw and let them clean it up. It's high calorie, which is good, and sometimes works as a way to stimulate their appetite.

 

[LTS3]

The ingredients look like something out of a toxic waste pit but we've used Nutri-Cal before on cats that were ill and not eating well.

Nutri-Cal is pretty junky but it works to get calories and a bit of nutrients into a cat. There's a Nutri-Cal product specifically for kittens https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...utri-cal-kitten-dietary-supplement-5000762--1

You can try pureeing pate canned kitten food with some water until it's almost liquid-like and slowly syringe that into the kittens. Most pharmacies sell oral syringes. Pet stores sell feeding syringes. Maybe try 5 ml of food for a meal as needed?

 

[1 bruce 1]

Nutri-Cal is pretty junky but it works to get calories and a bit of nutrients into a cat. There's a Nutri-Cal product specifically for kittens https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...utri-cal-kitten-dietary-supplement-5000762--1

You can try pureeing pate canned kitten food with some water until it's almost liquid-like and slowly syringe that into the kittens. Most pharmacies sell oral syringes. Pet stores sell feeding syringes. Maybe try 5 ml of food for a meal as needed?

Yeah, I hate recommending it because the ingredients are really crappy but it does seem to help get results and keep a cat or kitten off food from getting weak until something can be done! I wouldn't use it for a healthy cat.
I did use it for a dog (dog variety, not cat!) coming off a weight killing illness that left him skeletal. He was a mess. He loved eating it and it was a junky ingredient calorie boost for him.
But he also loves eating paper and carries old smelly socks around, so that doesn't tell us much.
Syringing the kitten food is a good idea. Kitten food and not adult cat food is higher in calories, so you get more bang for your buck (or, more calories for your syringe efforts)!

 

[Pjg8r]

There is also a product called Rebound. My vet gave it to me when one of mine wasn’t eating well and the weekend was coming. I did not need to use it so I don’t have any experience.

 

[LTS3]

Also ask the vet about CliniCare. It's a liquid diet for adult cats but could temporarily be fed to kittens or added to canned kitten food.

 

[Moefling]

So a good update is that I caught Loki (her brother) and gave him some of his normal dry food and he ate some! It wasn't a lot but its something (and he drank a little water too) we still think they ate something because we have e other kittens (slightly younger) and they seem fine

 

[Moefling]

I did syringe feed some to Loki the other night but they REALLY don't like it - there one med is syringe and they scream and gag (and foam up to try and spit it out) and there worm med was the same :/

 

[Moefling]

Good news! After finger feeding Poppy some of the gravy lovers food she started to lick up some from the bowl! Not a lot but at this point she ate something herself so I'm going to get more of the same kind tomorrow. Loki also had some more dry food that he ate without much coaxing so happy news

 

[Furballsmom]

this is fantastic!!