how to fatten up a kitten a little....

[ashlbee]

First of all, I'm new here, so Hi!!!

So, my fiance and I adopted an 8 week old female kitten, that we named Apricot, on Sunday. Yesterday(Monday) we took her to the vet, because she was having problems with diarrhea, the vet put her on some meds for it, bt said it could take a few days to work.

The vet also said that Apricot is a bit under weight, and that we should fatten her up a bit. We gave her some wet food in addition to her dry food last night and this morning, but I worry that the wet food could make her diarrhea worse. Is there anything else we could do to help her gain some weight? Should we limit the wet food? Any other thoughts on this? Thank you all so much!

[Tambrey]

The vet should have given you an appropriate food for her if he was concerned with her lack of weight gain....

good KITTEN kibble is what she needs right now...I prefer Eukanuba myself, but IAMS is also very good...

Call the vet adn ask about an appropriate food in the meantime, and make sure you do a follow up visit with your vet after the meds to assure that the treatment is working for her...and of course, if she gets worse get her in immediately...kittens can turn for the worse in an instant...

[Traci]

Did the vet do a fecal to examine for presence of worms? Did he also deworm her appropriately? What is the medication she is being given? (worms could be causing weight loss, but so can malnutrition etc), the vet needs to followup with her and check her weight every couple weeks to ensure she is gaining properly.

Where did you adopt her from? A shelter or private party? If a shelter and if you are utilizing a shelter vet, be prepared a shelter vet isn't going to be very diligent with kitten's care or followup, see only your regular vet!

What food are you feeding? (brand and formula/lifestage, please)

Ideally, she can be fed canned Iams Kitten Food at this age, but she can also be slowly introduced to dry Iams Kitten Food (or you can mix it for the time being, providing she has interest and has a good appetite). The dry would probably help her bulk the stool up somewhat, but the main concern is the diarrhea, and the underlying cause for it, meaning, worms or coccidia, giardia, etc..in which the vet should be testing for.

[ashlbee]

Did the vet do a fecal to examine for presence of worms? Did he also deworm her appropriately? What is the medication she is being given? (worms could be causing weight loss, but so can malnutrition etc), the vet needs to followup with her and check her weight every couple weeks to ensure she is gaining properly.

Where did you adopt her from? A shelter or private party? If a shelter and if you are utilizing a shelter vet, be prepared a shelter vet isn't going to be very diligent with kitten's care or followup, see only your regular vet!

What food are you feeding? (brand and formula/lifestage, please)

Ideally, she can be fed canned Iams Kitten Food at this age, but she can also be slowly introduced to dry Iams Kitten Food (or you can mix it for the time being, providing she has interest and has a good appetite). The dry would probably help her bulk the stool up somewhat, but the main concern is the diarrhea, and the underlying cause for it, meaning, worms or coccidia, giardia, etc..in which the vet should be testing for.

First, thank you for your help!

Secondly, the vet did not do a fecal exam yet, we are bringing in a stool sample tonight. Apricot is taking Metronidaz every 12 hours. She was given dewormer about a week ago.

We got her through a rescue group. The vet is the local vet that they work with, but it is a normal vet, not a shelter one or anything like that.

Her dry food is Purina One kitten food, and we have given her some fancy feast wet food as well.

We are trying to keep her hydrated and happy for the time being, until we her stool is tested. Thank you for all your help!

[Traci]

Pending the fecal exam results, try Iams Kitten Food instead.

Fancy Feast is NOT appropriate for kittens. It's not even a good food for adults, but can be used in cases of anorexia or where the cat needs to eat something as opposed to nothing. Some renal patients do seem to like it, but other than that, it is a low-quality food.

[mamabear]

I have to agree with traci on the fancy feast. and the purina well i have to say anyone i know htat has used it wound up with a kitty with UTI(urinary tract infections). Iams can be bought in bulk for cheaper through Petco,Petsmart ......

Good luck!!!!!