Kittens Losing Weight

[Eloise613]

I’ve been feeding them pedialyte and Nutri cal mixed with their food and occasionally the milk. The 2 boys are steadily gaining but the other little girl remains the same. She’s still at 0.158lbs. She eats and is always hungry when it’s time to eat but she’s just not gaining at all.

Today they have explosive diarrhea out of nowhere.

Is it possible the coccidia isn’t gone? I’m at a loss

 

[Sarthur2]

Oh my! It sounds like something has upset their systems. Give it 24 hours, but make sure they get pedialyte to replace fluids lost from diarrhea.

 

[Eloise613]

 

[Sarthur2]

Adorable!

 

[Eloise613]

Oh my! It sounds like something has upset their systems. Give it 24 hours, but make sure they get pedialyte to replace fluids lost from diarrhea.

Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

How are things going ?

 

[Eloise613]

How are things going ?

Thanks for thinking of us!! Things are going. I took them to the shelter and the vet tech said they are gaining and that they look “brighter” and not as dull, so that’s a step in the right direction, but the littlest is still barely 1lb. Sometimes she’s juuuust under. Sometimes she’s just over. For 8 weeks that’s really concerning to me, but she’s eating perfectly and has a great appetite. I’m really stumped and frustrated. Their mama was really tiny apparently so I don’t know if she’s just a small girl? But I just took in a solo foster around their age and he’s already almost 2lbs.

They finally told me the mom was feral and she was spayed and sent to live in an indoor colony.

I mix Nutri cal with their food sometimes. The vet tech said I don’t need to give it unless they aren’t eating but I’m so concerned about the tiny girl not gaining

Here’s the 3 goobers this morning

 

[Eloise613]

She’s the gray one

 

[Kflowers]

In the future refuse to foster kittens that age without their mom if their mom is still alive. the Shelter needs you more than you know, and a lot more than they will admit.

 

[Eloise613]

In the future refuse to foster kittens that age without their mom if their mom is still alive. the Shelter needs you more than you know, and a lot more than they will admit.

That’s what I plan to do. Not sure if I will continue with this particular shelter in the future unfortunately.

A second kitten passed a few days ago. Another sudden drastic drop in weight + lethargy. I took him in before he could pass. They told me they’d do a blood glucose test, but they called me the next day to tell me he’s passed away and no one can give me a solution. They’re telling me it’s probably genetic or something the mom did or didn’t do while pregnant. She was very young and very small. Apparently the litter had 5 kittens but one died at birth. I wonder if they aren’t formed right

The other 2 are ok. One is growing and is now 1.6lbs at almost 10 weeks old. The other is starting to drop weight. He weighs 1lb 13oz but he used to weigh 1lb 14 oz so we’ll see. I’m stumped

Thank you for all your help and advice

 

[Kflowers]

It is not your fault. You can do a lot for the kittens but at this age they need the heart song of their cat mother. Sometimes that is all that can keep them alive. However this ends, remember always that you did all that could be done to keep them comfortable. That is all that anyone can do. We are not the masters of anyone's fate, not even our own.

 

[Eloise613]

The remaining babies

 

[Eloise613]

It is not your fault. You can do a lot for the kittens but at this age they need the heart song of their cat mother. Sometimes that is all that can keep them alive. However this ends, remember always that you did all that could be done to keep them comfortable. That is all that anyone can do. We are not the masters of anyone's fate, not even our own.

Thank you

 

[catsknowme]

They are really cute! The tiny who slipped away knew the joys of eating happily, living well, warm, dry, safe and sound. My Tilly will be 12 weeks but is still so tiny and frail yet little but very fierce. It seemed to help her to have raw honey rubbed on her gums, more than the Nutrical. Also, I added an extra egg yolk to her formula (i was extra careful to rinse off all traces of raw egg white under a slow stream of cold water). For the egg yolk, I used free-range eggs (Grocery outlet has the best price) because the yolks are bright orange, which indicates high levels of vitamins and Omega3, plus most of them have the fertile spot (in native medicine, a fertilized egg has more 'medicine').

 

[Sarthur2]

They are adorable! How much and how often do they eat?

Sometimes kittens grow faster than their bodies can keep up calorie-wise, so they lose weight. Make sure they have as much food as they want available 24/7 to meet their needs. Then they will hopefully gain.

Thanks for the update and do keep us posted!

 

[Eloise613]

They are really cute! The tiny who slipped away knew the joys of eating happily, living well, warm, dry, safe and sound. My Tilly will be 12 weeks but is still so tiny and frail yet little but very fierce. It seemed to help her to have raw honey rubbed on her gums, more than the Nutrical. Also, I added an extra egg yolk to her formula (i was extra careful to rinse off all traces of raw egg white under a slow stream of cold water). For the egg yolk, I used free-range eggs (Grocery outlet has the best price) because the yolks are bright orange, which indicates high levels of vitamins and Omega3, plus most of them have the fertile spot (in native medicine, a fertilized egg has more 'medicine').

Thank you for this!! I’ll try it out! I didn’t think of the egg yolk idea that’s smart!

 

[Eloise613]

They are adorable! How much and how often do they eat?

Sometimes kittens grow faster than their bodies can keep up calorie-wise, so they lose weight. Make sure they have as much food as they want available 24/7 to meet their needs. Then they will hopefully gain.

Thanks for the update and do keep us posted!

I leave dry food out 24/7 and I split a 5oz can between them every 4 hours which they usually eat the whole thing. They are always begging for food and they have good appetites so it’s odd to me that they are so tiny.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens can eat amazing amounts of food as they are growing constantly. Feed them as much as they want and hopefully they will gain soon!

 

[Eloise613]

Unfortunately one of them started leaking diarrhea. Everywhere they went they left a trail of diarrhea, puddles, even getting it on the other kitten. After following her with baby wipes and changing all their bedding twice, I was like this isn’t normal.

This is how it started with the other two. The diarrhea smelled foul too. Like death.

I’m beginning to wonder if they have FIP or something I googled and that’s all I could find that matched what was going on

I called the emergency number and someone came and got them last night. Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and helped me through this. I appreciate it

 

[Sarthur2]

I hope they get the treatment they need and will begin to thrive.