Kitten not eating/gaining weight

[LornaJayne]

Hello, my F8 almost 7 month old female kitten is poorly. The past 2 days she hasn't really been eating and was sick this morning. My partner took her to the vet this morning who gave her an anti sickness jab and some special tummy food. The vet was stumped as he said she looked fine and still has a lot of energy, but said to see if she eats and if she doesn't she must go in tomorrow for blood work. I am not with her now as I am away on holiday but my partner thinks she will have to go back tomorrow as she still has not eaten. The vet was also concerned with her weight. In the past 2 months she has not gained much at all and weighs only 2kg. She eats 2 sachets of nature's menu a day and always has dry biscuits/water available. Before getting sick she eat a couple of dead chic's which she does not usually have, maybe that upset her? I am very worried about her and I just want her better. Note she was spayed just over 2 weeks ago and is up to date on flea/worming.

 

[admin]

Hello, my F8 almost 7 month old female kitten is poorly. The past 2 days she hasn't really been eating and was sick this morning. My partner took her to the vet this morning who gave her an anti sickness jab and some special tummy food. The vet was stumped as he said she looked fine and still has a lot of energy, but said to see if she eats and if she doesn't she must go in tomorrow for blood work. I am not with her now as I am away on holiday but my partner thinks she will have to go back tomorrow as she still has not eaten. The vet was also concerned with her weight. In the past 2 months she has not gained much at all and weighs only 2kg. She eats 2 sachets of nature's menu a day and always has dry biscuits/water available. Before getting sick she eat a couple of dead chic's which she does not usually have, maybe that upset her? I am very worried about her and I just want her better. Note she was spayed just over 2 weeks ago and is up to date on flea/worming.

Hi LornaJayne,

I'm sorry your kitten is sick...I would go with some bloodwork...where were the chicks from? were they frozen when you got them? She may have contracted e coli or campylobacter from the chicks...is she vomiting or does she have loose stools? Did the vet give her fluids? If she is not eating, she is likely dehydrated and will feel worse if she does not get fluids.

Have you tried just some boiled chicken to see if she will eat it? or chicken babyfood? Not sure what you have in the UK. Also, have you contacted the breeder? What did she weigh when you got her? 2 KG is not a great weight for a 7 month old kitten...

 

[LornaJayne]

Yes I think she does. I am afraid I do not know as they were given to us from a nice breeder who is selling us a boy Savannah kitten as a friend for her and I think they were frozen first. She has vomited once (this morning) and I think her stools were normal. No he didn't give her fluids which I am concerned about but apparently she drank a little this morning. I don't think he has tried chicken but she does have special food from the vet which she eat a mouthful off and licked a bit.

I will ask him to contact her. I must admit I am not sure how much she originally weighed but I will find out

 

[admin]

Yes I think she does. I am afraid I do not know as they were given to us from a nice breeder who is selling us a boy Savannah kitten as a friend for her and I think they were frozen first. She has vomited once (this morning) and I think her stools were normal. No he didn't give her fluids which I am concerned about but apparently she drank a little this morning. I don't think he has tried chicken but she does have special food from the vet which she eat a mouthful off and licked a bit.

I will ask him to contact her. I must admit I am not sure how much she originally weighed but I will find out

She is very young yet and kittens can go downhill quickly! Have your partner test the kitten to see if she is dehydrated, although the vet should have done that and perhaps he/she did. Here is a video on how to test a cat for dehydration:

 

[LornaJayne]

Thank you for that video, I just phoned him up to direct him to the video but he said the vet checked her and said she was well hydrated. That's what I am worried about everyone is saying kittens go down hill fast. My partner said if he thinks he needs to he will take her to an emergency vet tonight

 

[Rafiki]

Please keep us posted!

 

[LornaJayne]

Thank you for all all your replies! I just spoke to my partner who said she eat a little last night, plus a bit more this morning but not a lot. He has also given her a bowl of water and a bowl of kitten milk which she has drunk some of. He's phoning the vet to update her later on this morning and she will decide whether Leah needs to go in for further testing (which I think she might)

 

[MACHEV]

Thank you for all all your replies! I just spoke to my partner who said she eat a little last night, plus a bit more this morning but not a lot. He has also given her a bowl of water and a bowl of kitten milk which she has drunk some of. He's phoning the vet to update her later on this morning and she will decide whether Leah needs to go in for further testing (which I think she might)

Maybe she is depressed that you are gone? Are you her human??? Just a thought.


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[LornaJayne]

Well I did think that could be the case, but my partner and I live together and Leah and him are very close (she has chosen him as her sleeping buddy and always sleeps on his pillow) but then she was sick yesterday on the floor so I wasn't too sure, but I have never been away from her for so long before.

Just to update everyone, Leah went to the vet, had blood tests done and they came back clear. 2 different vets felt her tummy and said she felt fine so no need for an x ray. I really hope she is OK and eaten more, my partner gets home soon from work and I am just waiting for him to update me with how she is.

 

[Patti]

Continue to check her for dehydration - even if she was okay at the vets she can still become dehydrated within a matter of hours if she is not drinking. Also keep an eye on her bowel movements, if she stops passing stool and is vomiting that could be a sign of an intestinal blockage (partial or complete). If she is not eating you might need to force feed her (cats can get deathly ill if the fast longer than three days). You can do this by watering down the canned food to a much and use a feeding syringe to squirt it in her mouth - your vet should be able to give you one of those. Hopefully this is a passing problem and she will start bouncing back soon!