I just got a kitten from the shelter her card stated she was 7 weeks old and weaned. We just found out she is just now 6 weeks old and unweaned. The first day I got her she ate half of a small can of fancy feast of oceanwhitefish. She threw up just a bit which I figured from overeating. Her stools were perfect but bright yellow which the vet later told me was because she was unweaned.
She has difficulty drinking water. She dunks her head in the bowl and tries to suck. She eventually will lap maybe twice. She also won't eat anything but a mixture of rice cereal, evaporated milk and a can of water. I hate to keep her on this mixture because I know it tears up their stomach especially on one who's unweaned. I tried the mothers milk but she refuses to drink it. Is it fine if she just drinks a tiny bit of water or is she getting enough fluids from the canned and special cereal mixture.
The vet gave me some medicine for diareaha (3 times a day 10ccs) since the next day I had her she went constantly and was really runny. He told me to quit giving to her the medicine once her diareaha stopped. My question is She goes maybe twice a day and her stool starts off really really soft like maybe soft serve ice cream and ends with a little bit of a runniness. Is this considered diareaha? I don't think it is since she only goes twice a day and I don't want overmedicate her with the medicine if she doesn't need it. This medicine makes her really sleepy to where she sleeps all day and it's hard to get her to eat then.
I'm also concerned about her not being awake and playing a lot. Most of the time when she's awake she just sits and cries. Every great once in awhile she will play for like 5-10 minutes max and then lays down for about an hour. Is this normal in such a young kitten? I'm like so lost on how to care for her but don't want to take her back since they were going to put her down because of being unweaned.
Any help with my questions would be greatly appreciated, or any advice would be more than welcome. Thanks
Need questions answered about a new kitten
The first thing to do is find a new vet, and immediately!! 30 cc's a day of WHAT antidiarrheal medicine??
A new vet will check her stools for parasites, coccidia, giardia, salmonella, etc and will de-worm, medicate if warranted for these conditions. Sub-q fluid support will probably be warranted right away until your vet gets a clear diagnosis reached. Chances are, your kitten is severely malnourished, probably has worms, maybe coccidia, etc and may never have been diagnosed with these problems.
At 6 weeks of age, your kitten, by all accounts should be thoroughly interested in canned kitten food. Ideally, she needs the kitten food now for her developmental growth stage. Try using Iams canned kitten food, and if she doesn't take to it right away, pour over it some KMR kitten formula (mix according to directions on the canister). Do NOT use any other milk products other than kitten formula, they are not nutritionally complete, and whole milk products should not be used for kittens or cats.
As for the water, that isn't truly a concern right now, most kittens don't learn how to navigate a water dish until around 8 weeks of old or so. In the meantime, to replenish her fluid needs, start with the canned kitten food, or, if totally disinterested, supplement her with the KMR kitten formula and work with her several times a day to interest her in her kitten food.
Please, get your kitten to a NEW feline vet ASAP, I'd be willing to bet she is severely dehydrated, and needs fluid support right away. Again, the new vet will test her for the above problems and will treat her accordingly. Don't wait on this please, get her seen immediately. Like tonite!
A new vet will check her stools for parasites, coccidia, giardia, salmonella, etc and will de-worm, medicate if warranted for these conditions. Sub-q fluid support will probably be warranted right away until your vet gets a clear diagnosis reached. Chances are, your kitten is severely malnourished, probably has worms, maybe coccidia, etc and may never have been diagnosed with these problems.
At 6 weeks of age, your kitten, by all accounts should be thoroughly interested in canned kitten food. Ideally, she needs the kitten food now for her developmental growth stage. Try using Iams canned kitten food, and if she doesn't take to it right away, pour over it some KMR kitten formula (mix according to directions on the canister). Do NOT use any other milk products other than kitten formula, they are not nutritionally complete, and whole milk products should not be used for kittens or cats.
As for the water, that isn't truly a concern right now, most kittens don't learn how to navigate a water dish until around 8 weeks of old or so. In the meantime, to replenish her fluid needs, start with the canned kitten food, or, if totally disinterested, supplement her with the KMR kitten formula and work with her several times a day to interest her in her kitten food.
Please, get your kitten to a NEW feline vet ASAP, I'd be willing to bet she is severely dehydrated, and needs fluid support right away. Again, the new vet will test her for the above problems and will treat her accordingly. Don't wait on this please, get her seen immediately. Like tonite!
..........Traci
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originaltaddy
I forgot to say that he did deworm her because he couldn't get a clear stool sample because of her diaherra. He also told me to give her gatorade so she wouldn't dehydrate. But dang she won't drink that don't blame her though. And she's had her first round of shots last week at the shelter. She's really really skinny and bony so I bet she is malnourished but other than that she got a clean bill of health.
I did buy the Iam's wet food for kittens. She only takes four bites at a sitting she mostly licks it so I'm figuring she's trying to get the moisture from the food. I'll pull her from the milk that I have put her on tomorrow and see what happens. I guess she's not going to eat much at first if she doesn't know how?
Will the ready to drink kittens milk work with the wet food? That's what I've mixed up with the kitten food for her and she turns her nose up at it and cries. I'm not sure what I need to do to get her to eat or drink that mixture.
I agree with you about the medicine. I didn't give her all of her dosages today. I gave her about 5 cc's this morning and I did give her the full 10 ccs tonight since I gave her milk. Yes kick me...Im sorry just wanted her to eat and I knew it would make her go to the bathroom quite a bit.
I did buy the Iam's wet food for kittens. She only takes four bites at a sitting she mostly licks it so I'm figuring she's trying to get the moisture from the food. I'll pull her from the milk that I have put her on tomorrow and see what happens. I guess she's not going to eat much at first if she doesn't know how?
Will the ready to drink kittens milk work with the wet food? That's what I've mixed up with the kitten food for her and she turns her nose up at it and cries. I'm not sure what I need to do to get her to eat or drink that mixture.
I agree with you about the medicine. I didn't give her all of her dosages today. I gave her about 5 cc's this morning and I did give her the full 10 ccs tonight since I gave her milk. Yes kick me...Im sorry just wanted her to eat and I knew it would make her go to the bathroom quite a bit.
My concerns here are as follows:
Don't know of any antidiarrheal that requires 3 daily administrations of 10 cc's each, I think the vet is over medicating. Can you please tell me the name of the medication?
Without a fecal exam, he doesn't know if kitten has coccidia, giardia, etc, these are common in young kittens, and left untreated, can be debilitating and fatal. Coccidia and giardia will usually show up in one fecal sample, doesn't matter if it's a soft stool or diarrhea.
NO kitten or cat should ever be vaccinated during times of illness, ever! This taxes the immune system of an already compromised system.
Gatorade can be used in a pinch, but is not ideal for a young kitten, there are products available from your vet that are more effective to replensih electrolytes, and given the degree of diarrhea and dehydration, your vet should have given her sub-q fluids right away, plus, advised you on kitten nutrition for her age, including that of the KMR had he felt she was a slow weaning kitten.
A 6-week old healthy kitten should be energetic, playful, active, have a plump belly, be happy and rambunctious, NOT lethargic, sleeping, underweight, crying and not eating. The latter are indicators of poor health and I suspect multiple problems (you need to find the cause of the diarrhea, whether that is coccidia, worms, or something else, and focus on nutritional support promptly)
Based on your post, I'd say your vet doesn't have much experience with kitten care. Please, please get her to another vet NOW.
As for the food, yes, you can mix up the KMR as directed, and pour it over a bit of her canned food, making a lake if you will, she will let you know which she prefers the most. If it's the KMR she prefers, then she may be a slow weaning kitten and you may need to bottle-feed her another week or so. But, don't mistake slow weaning for a health illness, this supercedes anything else, she needs to get checked right away. As for the premixed liquid KMR in a can, check it's expiration date, and remember, that upon opening, it can only be used for 24 hours, then it must be discarded. The KMR powder is preferrable because it can be stored in the fridge (unmixed) up to three months, and you only mix what you need (as per package directions). It could also be that she still might prefer a kitten bottle, so get one and give it a try (remember, nipples need to be pierced, they are not pierced during manufacturing)
Priority is a vet check with a new vet immediately.
Don't know of any antidiarrheal that requires 3 daily administrations of 10 cc's each, I think the vet is over medicating. Can you please tell me the name of the medication?
Without a fecal exam, he doesn't know if kitten has coccidia, giardia, etc, these are common in young kittens, and left untreated, can be debilitating and fatal. Coccidia and giardia will usually show up in one fecal sample, doesn't matter if it's a soft stool or diarrhea.
NO kitten or cat should ever be vaccinated during times of illness, ever! This taxes the immune system of an already compromised system.
Gatorade can be used in a pinch, but is not ideal for a young kitten, there are products available from your vet that are more effective to replensih electrolytes, and given the degree of diarrhea and dehydration, your vet should have given her sub-q fluids right away, plus, advised you on kitten nutrition for her age, including that of the KMR had he felt she was a slow weaning kitten.
A 6-week old healthy kitten should be energetic, playful, active, have a plump belly, be happy and rambunctious, NOT lethargic, sleeping, underweight, crying and not eating. The latter are indicators of poor health and I suspect multiple problems (you need to find the cause of the diarrhea, whether that is coccidia, worms, or something else, and focus on nutritional support promptly)
Based on your post, I'd say your vet doesn't have much experience with kitten care. Please, please get her to another vet NOW.
As for the food, yes, you can mix up the KMR as directed, and pour it over a bit of her canned food, making a lake if you will, she will let you know which she prefers the most. If it's the KMR she prefers, then she may be a slow weaning kitten and you may need to bottle-feed her another week or so. But, don't mistake slow weaning for a health illness, this supercedes anything else, she needs to get checked right away. As for the premixed liquid KMR in a can, check it's expiration date, and remember, that upon opening, it can only be used for 24 hours, then it must be discarded. The KMR powder is preferrable because it can be stored in the fridge (unmixed) up to three months, and you only mix what you need (as per package directions). It could also be that she still might prefer a kitten bottle, so get one and give it a try (remember, nipples need to be pierced, they are not pierced during manufacturing)
Priority is a vet check with a new vet immediately.
..........Traci
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Auntie Debbie
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Sorry your kitten isn't in the best of health right now! I agree with Traci on all that she said but would like to ad just a few notes:
1. Gatorade should not be given to any animal at any time. Yuck...Why would a cat want to slurp up a cherry falvored drink. You'd probably do alot better by offering the cat or animal Pedialyte, if really needed.
2. The diarrhea could be caused by any of the causes Traci mentioned or it could just be the diet you have him on. Even at 8 weeks and fully weaned, some kittens have a had time adjusting to real food. As the kitten ages, its digestive system matures and will eventually be able to handle real food better. Of course even an adult cat can have digestive problems as the ones that Traci has mentioned.
2. Traci has a wonderful kittens page on the site you should take a look at with lots of good info. There are also some other good sites under Kittens under the Feline section of y website (Debbie's Feline Health) listed under Fvorites on the menu at the left side of the board.
I hope a new vet will be able to get your kitten up and running around....but beware.....kittens can be a real handful once they get going, LOL!
1. Gatorade should not be given to any animal at any time. Yuck...Why would a cat want to slurp up a cherry falvored drink. You'd probably do alot better by offering the cat or animal Pedialyte, if really needed.
2. The diarrhea could be caused by any of the causes Traci mentioned or it could just be the diet you have him on. Even at 8 weeks and fully weaned, some kittens have a had time adjusting to real food. As the kitten ages, its digestive system matures and will eventually be able to handle real food better. Of course even an adult cat can have digestive problems as the ones that Traci has mentioned.
2. Traci has a wonderful kittens page on the site you should take a look at with lots of good info. There are also some other good sites under Kittens under the Feline section of y website (Debbie's Feline Health) listed under Fvorites on the menu at the left side of the board.
I hope a new vet will be able to get your kitten up and running around....but beware.....kittens can be a real handful once they get going, LOL!
Kitty kisses,
Debbie
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"Those we shelter on earth will be our treasures in Heaven." Victor Hugo, I think
Debbie
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"Those we shelter on earth will be our treasures in Heaven." Victor Hugo, I think
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originaltaddy
Well I wanted to give an update. I took her to another vet and he said she was perfectly fine just a little malnourished but with a little patience and time she will be perfectly fine. He said to continue to give her medicine but only 5ccs at night for her diaherra since she can't handle the wet food. He said that the fancy feast cans I had first given her were fine but it may upset her tummy but it is to be expected since she's just now at weaning age. I'm just not to overfeed her or give her the really rich food in the special sauces.
So I guess my kitty is fine they found nothing wrong with her stools just a bit on the underweight side. I'll keep everybody posted as she progresses. Thanks for all the advice.
So I guess my kitty is fine they found nothing wrong with her stools just a bit on the underweight side. I'll keep everybody posted as she progresses. Thanks for all the advice.
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Tina B and crew
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wow....10cc's of anything at a time for a kitten??? I agree with what Traci has advised...and to replace electrolytes I have always used unflavored Pedialyte mixed with KMR instead of using water. I'd use the Iam's or Science diet kitten food instead of FF. FF is OK if you really need to coax a cat or kitten to eat, but I personally would not feed it to a kitten on a regular basis. Hope everything continues to improve.
Tina B and "what a crew!"
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
Absolutely correct, Tina, fancy feast is too rich and full of oils for kittens, not to mention the majority of their varieties contain fish flavors, often too upsetting for a tiny kitten's sensitive GI tract.
But, I doubt it's the food that is the main culprit here, my guess is over medicating and potential coccidia/giardia, etc.
But, I doubt it's the food that is the main culprit here, my guess is over medicating and potential coccidia/giardia, etc.
..........Traci