Weaning kitten doesnt want wet food

[pipaythekitten]

Hello. My cat gave birth to her babies a month ago, and now the kittens are at the weaning stage. Two of the kittens are already eating wetfood, however the other one seems to not want to do anything with it. She just wants her mama's milk. Is there anything I can do to help? I tried offering the food on my finger but she just doesnt want any of it.

They are about 5 weeks old now, turning six weeks. Im afraid at this age she is not getting the nutrition that she needs. Any insights will be greatly appreciated.

 

[rubysmama]

She's probably just a little behind the others, and will catch onto eating food soon.

TCS has this article on Weaning - How To Get Your Kittens To Eat On Their Own - TheCatSite that may have some tips for you.

You didn't mention it, but do you have a litter box set out for them, as once they start eating food, it's time to also introduce them to litter boxes. Just ensure it's a non-clumping litter, as kittens sometimes try to eat litter.

How To Train Kittens To Use The Litter Box [A Guide] - TheCatSite

 

[pipaythekitten]

i hope so! im worried that she's getting behind her sisters and they are both growing bigger than her.

yes, i have a litterbox for them and they already know how to use it. i use tofu cat litter currently. thanks for the advice!

 

[rubysmama]

i hope so! im worried that she's getting behind her sisters and they are both growing bigger than her.

There's lots more than just these, but here are some older threads I found on kittens being slow to wean.

7 week old kitten not eating soft food yet
Eight Week Old Kitten Not Eating Food Yet
Slow to wean
Food Weaning help for some littermates

 

[Sarthur2]

She sounds like the runt of the litter. She’ll get there in due time!

 

[pipaythekitten]

Thank you all for your replies!

The baby finally ate some bits of chicken yesterday, and I think she actually enjoys it. Doesnt like kitten wet food though, but I think we can make it work.

on the other hand, one of them is experiencing some wet poop/vomiting episodes. They dont have access outside bec they stay in my room, and it's always clean here so I can say it's not from a virus. I havent dewormed them yet. However I've read on some places that mom's milk could go bad, how true is that? I see some curdled milk on the vomit, otherwise she's fine and very playful still. she eats some wet food here and there and can drink water already too. Should i continue to let them nurse on mama? Btw mama is also in heat for several days now, and idk if that plays a part in the production of her milk (and the vomiting of one of the babies) - im planning to have her spayed once my schedule looks better.

 

[pipaythekitten]

Appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.

Started about 6 days ago, my kitten, Ellie suddenly had watery diarrhea. They are three in the litter, and the other two experienced it also, but theirs was just once/twice and then it's gone. Ellie's is still going as of now, and it's been almost a week. On day 3, we consulted with the vet and she's now taking colimoxyn twice a day for seven days. We're on day 3 of medication, but so far, i havent seen good progress, though the vet said we should see improvement within 3-5 days.
Aside from this, i also give her some probiotics, and put some dextrose powder in her water. Appetite wise, it varies within the day - she usually eats in the morning, some kitten food then boiled chicken, and in the evening sometimes she doesnt have appetite so all she does is nurse from mom. Energy levels are almost the same as her siblings, however, whenever she poops I think her stomach hurts because she would keep quiet for a while then take a nap.

Anybody experience this? The reason I could think of is she might have gotten some adult cat food when her mom is eating/ or the chicken we got from the supermarket isn't very fresh anymore (i give them boiled chicken, but the one time before this happens, i noticed the chicken wasn't fresh anymore, so im thinking it could be that?)

any thoughts/insights would be appreciated. I feel so bad for ellie, she's lost weight already, but im also glad somehow that she nurses from mom even if her appetite is so-so.

 

[StefanZ]

Good you have contact with vet.
Probiotic and dextrose are fine, but add also some salts / pedialyte, because diarrhea means massive losses of salts / electrolytes.
You could try with well cooked rice water, and add to this some salts...

Remember, the basic remedy against the Mankiller cholera IS a quite basic pedialyte... Taking the death rate from 80% to perhaps just 10%. No?

Ps. Where do you get dextrose? In USA its difficult for the end consumer to buy glucose sugar / dextrose otc... Although Amazon has it. And you can perhaps buy some from a bakery.

 

[Sarthur2]

How old is the kitten now?

 

[GranolaLouise]

check for milk/milk solids in the kitten/cat food..that could cause it.

 

[pipaythekitten]

Good you have contact with vet.
Probiotic and dextrose are fine, but add also some salts / pedialyte, because diarrhea means massive losses of salts / electrolytes.
You could try with well cooked rice water, and add to this some salts...

Remember, the basic remedy against the Mankiller cholera IS a quite basic pedialyte... Taking the death rate from 80% to perhaps just 10%. No?

Ps. Where do you get dextrose? In USA its difficult for the end consumer to buy glucose sugar / dextrose otc... Although Amazon has it. And you can perhaps buy some from a bakery.

We're from Manila, PH and dextrose powder is readily available in vet clinics over here, and we dont really need prescription for that so I keep some just so I have something to give my pets when they need it. Unfortunately, we don't have unflavored pedialyte here! So im sticking to this to keep her from getting dehydrated. I'll try the rice water trick though, so thanks!

 

[pipaythekitten]

How old is the kitten now?

She is currently 10 weeks old

 

[pipaythekitten]

Update: took her to the vet clinic today bec I noticed she was just sleepy and didnt want to play when I woke up. Her vet performed fecalysis and noted she saw a lot of bacteria in the poop, but no parasite and no worms. We came home with metronidazole and we're stopping the colimoxyn because this is day 3 of medication and im not seeing improvement.
So far, she's taken her dose of metronidazole and she hasnt had a bowel movement yet, and seems to be getting a bit of appetite back, which is great. Hope this continues!

 

[StefanZ]

We're from Manila, PH and dextrose powder is readily available in vet clinics over here, and we dont really need prescription for that so I keep some just so I have something to give my pets when they need it. Unfortunately, we don't have unflavored pedialyte here! So im sticking to this to keep her from getting dehydrated. I'll try the rice water trick though, so thanks!

You can make your own pedialyte, its have a combo of dextrose and some salt - preferably minerale salt containing several different salts, Na, K, Mg Cl, and not just NaCl. the exact proportions dextrose / salt are prob not very important, but so its barely taste. Here is destrose extra useful, because its not much sweet, and thus you can have more dextrose than if you used honey.

Another recipe for pedialyte is this such overcooked rice water - such water contains quite a some glucose sugar and add salt as above.
This pedialyte is extra good in diarrheas.