Kittens not thriving :(

[levi68]

Two orphaned kittens were brought in to the shelter at 3 weeks old. They have been in foster care for 5 weeks.

They have grown..but not alot. They still look like 5-6 week olds. They did have fleas and were given Revolution and Strongid. They developed diarrhea a week ago and have been treated for Giardia/Coccydia.

These kittens took forever..and I mean forever, to learn how to open their mouth and eat on their own. Now, at 8 weeks, they will still walk through, stand in kibble and act like they are starving but will not eat it. They are hungry all the time...almost frantic. Crawling up your legs and acting like they haven't been fed for a week when it's only been an hour.

They have full bellies but feel skeletal. I believe they were treated for tapeworms with Profender soon after their arriving and I'm trying to figure out if they have been treated since.

Could tapeworms be the cause?? Is there any other reasons they are always so hungry?

At 8 weeks, they should know enough to eat dry kibble but it's like the human is their food source and won't accept anything but wet food.

I watered some kitten kibble down and after some insistance on my part, they did start to eat it. But they never seem satisfied. It's very frustrating...

 

[missymotus]

Are they being offered anything other than dry? Most kittens easily eat raw or wet long before dry food. 

If they're thin I'd be giving Pet Nutri Drops daily and force feeding Hills AD wet food which is made to put weight on 

 

[levi68]

Yes, they have been given wet food because they will not eat the kibble. They eat like cannibals but never seem satisfied. It's like the kids your seen on World Vision. Bloated tummies and just skin and bones otherwise. They are getting lots of nutrition...it's like their body isn't processing it.

I have been fostering part time along with another lady. I just got them back tonight after about 2/3 weeks. I'm trying to get them to eat watered down kibble and with encouragement they are.

But again, still act like they are starving.
 

 

[Willowy]

I had a litter like that. . .I think the problem was hookworms (no actual diagnosis, just my observations). I don't think one dose of Strongid gets rid of all the hookworms. I'd try a fairly aggressive de-worming regimen--one dose a day for 3 days, then twice a week for a few weeks, then once a week for a few weeks, something like that (I wasn't quite so organized on the twice a week/once a week thing but I did do the 3-day thing and kind of randomly de-wormed them after that, and the kittens started to put on weight). I know it's not really recommended but when the worms are doing more damage than the meds will, something drastic has to be done.

I suppose being fosters you have to get them on kibble eventually. But honestly, there's no reason for it if you don't have to. Try for as much wet food as possible. Maybe add some KMR for an extra boost.

 

[catwoman707]

I have had several litters exactly as you describe, one in my care right now.

I have yet to figure out the exact cause, but do know this-

They are born from feral moms, likely the mom was seriously lacking nutrients as in good quality food.

They are far behind the normal growth stage of other normal kittens. They stay small for much longer, but do eventually grow.

Their fur is alot thinner, another sure sign of nutrition-deficiency.

They always come down with diarrhea, I treat them with pyrantel for worms, 3 days in a row then repeat in 2 weeks, and ponazuril for the diarrhea, usually at least a good solid week to get the parasites out of their bodies.

They eat like starved maniacs, growling and guarding the food so the other won't get near it. This too does eventually pass. Also must be from lack of what their tiny bodies needed.

I also swear by the Royal Canin food, Babycat. It's tiny bits of dry, but oily and high in protein and fat.

I have turned those big bellied skeleton kittens into thriving kids, but it will take time for sure.

 

[catwoman707]

Oh I meant to add-this is not caused by tapeworms. The worm takes much longer to become a fully mature worm than what a very young ktten would have.

I also think that flea anemia doesn't help their already rough start either. They're always full of them.

 

[orientalslave]

Roundworms are the usual worm in kittens, and you can treat with Panacur which in the UK can be brought on the Internet without a prescriptions.  The liquid is horrible messy stuff, the paste might be better. I would let them eat as much as they want and agree with seeing if they will eat some raw.

 

[eb24]

 Bloated tummies and just skin and bones otherwise. They are getting lots of nutrition...it's like their body isn't processing it.

It definitely sounds like worms but I don't know enough to know hookworms from roundworms or tapeworms. 

Are you fostering through a shelter? If so they definitely need to see the shelter vet again and get a med program figured out. 

I would just keep offering them dry in the hopes that they eventually figure it out. I wouldn't water it down because it can grow bacteria really quickly. Perhaps you need to try a different brand of food? Normally I advocate for grain free food only but with fosters I find it's best not to since they will most likely get grain food in their new homes (and they get terrible diarrhea if not switched properly). Royal Canin, Nutro, and Science Diet Ideal Balance are all the middle of the road brands- not as good as some but way better than things like Purina or Friskies. Most pet stores will take back opened bags of food if the pet didnt like it. Hopefully you can find one that suits them!

I also wonder the effect that the "foster sharing" is having on them. It's probably very stressful to keep getting moved. And, while you guys do things similarly you probably don't do them exactly the same. I bet they are a little confused. If possible I would try to keep them with you for the duration. 

 

[levi68]

They eat like starved maniacs, growling and guarding the food so the other won't get near it. This too does eventually pass. Also must be from lack of what their tiny bodies needed.
I also swear by the Royal Canin food, Babycat. It's tiny bits of dry, but oily and high in protein and fat.

I have turned those big bellied skeleton kittens into thriving kids, but it will take time for sure.

 Thank you so much for your replies. It's comforting to hear others have experienced the same thing!

The boy food guards too..more so than the girl. I also love Royal Canin Babycat. I only had RC Kitten on hand when they came but I plan on getting some baby.

So, it's Panacur that they have been on. The other foster mom said it treated Coccydia, but when I googled, it's only for worms??

Considering this was their second treatment, (I was thinking it was for coccydia) I wondered of it's effectiveness. I have had many litters that end up with not thriving/diarrhea and have always found Sulfa the miracle cure. This is what my vet usually prescribes. So, I had some left over from my last litter and gave a quarter tablet to them last night.

They actually didn't seem as frantic and it was overnight.

The boy over eats in my opinion. Doesn't seem to have an off button. He is very bloated but I can feel all his little bones in his back. The girl seems to have trouble chewing the food and still tried to suckle at it...

He had liquid diarrhea last night but hers was formed. The colour looked fairly normal.

This morning I mixed some wet and dry together. The boy ate and ate...the girl really seems to have a problem chewing so I watered some down for her. They had been offered Science Diet kitten kibble but never ate it...just the SD wet kitten.

Can I give them Panacur and Sulfa? The sulfa is just a quarter pill once a day for 5 days.

They have a vet appt for Saturday.