weaning kitten help! Could have a problem....

[DrDolittle]

Hi all...newbee here.. I have been bottle feeding kittens that one of my mama barn-cats abandoned when they were 2 1/2 weeks old. There were 5, I lost 2, but literally brought 3 back to life! All has been great, they are 7 weeks today. I have weaned 2 out of the 3, but one has refused to eat. I have tried giving her very little from the bottle so she'd be hungry to eat the food I offered. Didn't work. We are to the point that I don't even care if she eats solid food or not, now she's not even interested in the bottle - all she wants to do is chew on it. She won't even latch on anymore - she chews to the side of her mouth and I squeeze the formula in, which she does drink. She has gotten skinny - I've looked in her mouth, no cleft palate, no teeth problems, I have tried EVERYTHING! Every mixture of soft food, warmed up stuff, kitten chow, force feeding, mixing baby rice cereal in the formula, using a tongue depressor to feed her, and oral syringe...my vet has given me all sorts of stuff.

I'm really worried about her...and will take her to the vet tomorrow if I can't get any answers or if no one else has had this problem. Any ideas are appreciated!!!!!

Thanks!

Abby from Northern Illinois

[Mona]

You certainly are doing everything you can for these kittens.

My advice would be to take her in to the vet asap. Kittens go downhill very quickly and fade fast. Your vet can give her fluids to help perk the kitten up and monitor and check her over.

Let us know what happens and post updates ok.

Mona, Honeybun and Chloe

[Tina B and crew]

Have you tried babyfood?? Just the plain meat (no onions whatsoever)...or try mixing just a wee bit of Fancy Feast in with whatever you are feeding her...sometimes the smell of FF is enough to help intice them. This happened to me with a litter I had fostered and the vet found some small ulcers in the mouth...not very big, not very noticable, but painful enough that the kittens would abstain from eating. You may want to have the vet check her again, just to be sure. Mona is right...kittens do go fast once they get weak...hope all works out

[DrDolittle]

Thanks guys...I am going to get her to the vet tomorrow morning. I have been mixing warm water with kitten canned Science diet. I'll pick up some baby food tonight - I know, stay away from any dried/dehydrated onion stuff, right? I'm going to call the vet anyway this afternoon and see if hubby will need to take her in without me...

Thanks a ton!

Abby

[Traci]

Vet visit immediately please......as Mona mentioned, young kittens can fade very fast, you can't risk this. Your vet needs to rule out a potential systemic disease, nutritional malabsorption, parasites, viral infection, URI, flea anemia, etc. Is she having normal urination/bowel function?

Check the nipple on the bottle and ensure that it doesn't have frayed edges, that it is open enough for her and that the formula you're using is fresh and not expired (we only recommend KMR). Other than baby food, you can try canned Iams kitten food with formula poured over it. If that doesn't work, ask your vet for a can of Hill's Rx A/D or P/D, this might get her tempted and would provide added nutrients and calories.

Please get her seen ASAP.

[DrDolittle]

Thank you for the advice. I am really worried about her. She seemed to be really energetic and ate well from the bottle tonight (chews from the side and I squeeze the formula in) Her belly got full like it used to and then I cuddled her up on my shoulder only to have her poop on me. Diahrrea (sp?). It's midnight now my time, I'm calling the vet first thing in the morning...hope I'm not too late. Hope no one thinks I'm an awful person for not taking her in tonight, but she really seemed to be doing well....all I can do at this point is pray, and I will. She doesn't seem deathly ill, but you all know that bad feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you just KNOW something is wrong! I live in the boonies, so there is no way to get her in tonight. I'll be doing pedialite through the night if she seems to want it. There wasn't a bunch of poop, and she may have just filled her belly too much, too fast, but I'm not taking any more chances. I'll update when I get home in the am...

Thanks again for everything everyone. Please pray.

Abby

[Mona]

Please get her in asap. This really cannot wait, I do hope she is ok
Let us know how she does.

I am praying for her.

Mona , Honeybun and Chloe

[Abby]

All is good with my baby. She needed to be wormed. She actually took some of a Friskies moist cat treat today. She is very energetic and bright eyed. The are all six weeks old as of yesterday and are having fun living in my basement right now. That's luxury for a cat around here, as all of my other cats are barn cats, but still our babies! My hubby used to DETEST cats, and now calls all of the barn cats his babies...so there is more than one happy ending here. Thanks for all of the support and comments...

Abby