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Post by kirstyor on Apr 4, 2015 15:25:50 GMT
 On March 30th I adopted a 5 week kitten (I know, very young but she was going to be separated from her mother whether we adopted her or not) from a family that were moving and could only look after her mother. She had no other siblings, and apparently the mother spent a lot of time outside away from the kitten. The first couple of days we had her she was a bit cautious, but very friendly and playful and well litter trained. On the third day she was lethargic and vomited, so we immediately took her to the vet. We were told that the kitten food we were giving her, as suggested by the last owners, didn't have the right nutrients and she had low blood sugar levels. They prescribed a sachet of glucose powder to be mixed into water that we have been frequently giving her through a syringe since and she has definitely improved. We were also given food specifically for weaning but she won't touch it no matter what consistency or how I feed it to her. She hasn't been lethargic since, until yesterday when I tried to mix a very small amount of the wet food I had fed her previously with the weaning food to encourage her. She was then sick again and spent the rest of the day hunched in corners and did not want to be touched (which is very unusual as she always wanted to be held by me and given attention), but used the litter box regularly and still drank milk.
Today after seeing the vet again, she was very alert, had a healthy weight and temperature, no bloating or pain, but still didn't want to be touched. At the moment she is eating newly prescribed food specifically for sensitive stomaches and drinking milk and being very active, but will occasionally cry even though she has recently had milk and food. I am wondering if there's anything else I can do since she still doesn't like sitting with me and still seems anxious? Am I or the vet completely missing something?
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Post by scallywag on Apr 4, 2015 16:51:43 GMT
I don't suppose its possible to get a blanket or something from previous owner with Mum's smell on it ? Maybe shes missing the comfort of her Mum ? Sorry not a cat owner and this may be a silly question
Good Luck anyways love the photos, oh and welcome to the forum
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Post by cazypops on Apr 4, 2015 17:01:15 GMT
Hi welcome to the forum kirstyor. I too wondered if she was missing her mum. Also are you giving her cat milk or cow milk? only cats can be lactose intolerant. |
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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 4, 2015 20:08:09 GMT
Welcome to the forum? I know most people would say no to this question, but I may as well ask: would you be willing to try slowly putting her onto a raw diet? Many breeders where I live now wean kittens directly into raw and they end up with very healthy, wonderful kittens. Anyway, if not, I wouldn't give cows milk, or cat milk at all, as cazypops says, cats can be lactose intolerant and you want your kitten to be as healthy as possible here. What food is she on now? Is it a Science Plan dry food by any chance? Personally if you're not going to feed raw, I'd recommend going for a very high meat content (and preferably little to no grains) cat food. Not all the companies who do these foods do specific kitten food, but really that is not important if the food is high meat content, as the main difference is that kittens require a higher percentage of food for their body weight as adult cats do (which means they at some point start to eat bigger meals than they will as adults). With a good cat food, you don't need "kitten" (or "senior" for that matter) food. I mean, with raw, they get the same no matter what age, just a different total amount. Cats absolutely need taurine as they can't produce it themselves, that can be given apparently as a supplement, but it is found naturally in meat and especially in heart (particularly beef heart). Some cat foods add this as a supplement, I assume the heating process reduces the taurine content of the meat, I know that freezing it for too long does so makes sense. Sorry anyway running off with myself there - my recommendation: raw meat diet (zany I'd happily advise you on that) or high meat content wet food regardless as to if it says kitten or adult on the packaging (but work out how much to feed by kittens body weight and age rather than what it says on the tins). Also just so you know, your kitten is likely to stay very small for its whole life. I know two more people who have had kittens taken away from the mother far too young and this has been the case. |
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Post by tonib on Apr 5, 2015 18:39:43 GMT
Welcome to the forum @kristyor, how good of you to adopt a kitten in need  I m afraid I can't really help with kittens as although we have 4 cats I've got them all as adults. If she's now eating the sensitive stomach food that's good news. Here's a good site for advice on rearing kittens - it starts much younger than yours but keep going down the page www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens/hand-rearing-kittensYou may well be right about missing her mum as she is a bit young to be leaving her. |
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Post by spider on Apr 5, 2015 22:55:02 GMT
welcome to our forum she does look so cute
as was already said she may be missing mum i have read to get a soft toy and put a ticking clock into it its supposed to be like mums heart beat if nothing its worth a try she is so young to be away from mum do keep away from milk if u can but if its all she will drink try watering it down some but its better she drinks something its great she is litter trained u can keep an eye that the toilet is being used for pee and poo coz thats just as important as eating and drinking ur doing a great job bless u
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Post by kirstyor on Apr 7, 2015 13:21:23 GMT
Thank you guys for all the advice! I'm having a read through of that website now.
I've been giving her kitten milk and Royal Canin gastro intestinal wet cat food, and before that she was on Whiskas kitten food both wet and dry. In the last few days she's improved massively, and doesn't appear to miss her mum anymore! We've gone through all the royal canin food prescribed but have bought some more and are now trying to wean her back onto the Whiska's, I was thinking of doing this over a week long period but let me know if that isn't right. I'll also try to gradually water down her milk over the next few weeks.
I'll keep you all updated but thanks again!
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Post by tonib on Apr 7, 2015 16:10:00 GMT
Glad things are looking better for your kitten kirstyor by the way has she got a name yet? As to changing food, this is best done gradually, just a little new added & old taken away each time as she accepts the new food. If she stops eating the food or is sick, go back to the proportion of the old & new food she will accept & maybe leave it at that for a bit longer before reducing the old & adding more new again. Its not only about her liking the new food its also about her body adjusting to it. We'll look forward to hearing how your kitten grows |
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Post by lotsofcats on Apr 8, 2015 9:54:35 GMT
Only seen this thread today. Welcome to the forum - your kitten looks gorgeous. I'd say she is missing her mum, even though her mum didn't bother with her much. Good idea to wean the kitten back onto the Whiskas gradually. I'm glad she is improving slowly. Keep us updated with her progress.
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Post by lotsofcats on Apr 8, 2015 9:58:34 GMT
Also just so you know, your kitten is likely to stay very small for its whole life. I know two more people who have had kittens taken away from the mother far too young and this has been the case. I'm disagreeing with you here smilesbetter! I once found an abandoned kitten and estimated his age as about 5 weeks. He ended up massive by the time he was 6 months old. |
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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 8, 2015 10:24:57 GMT
lotsofcats yeah but this kitten has already had stomach problems and things. A 5 week old kitten who's been really healthy can grow up fine, I mean many kittens are already weaned naturally by then, but if they've not been weaned naturally by the mother, and they've been ill so young, then I wouldn't expect the kitten to grow up to be very big.
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Post by lotsofcats on Apr 8, 2015 12:53:00 GMT
Ah, I see. Reminds me now of a cat I had 24 years ago - again a kitten found abandoned in a box that my son found. This kitten was tiny, filthy and starving and yes, she remained small in size when she grew up. I took her to the vet and was hoping to find her a new home but my son wanted to keep her. He was only 9 at the time and came downstairs one morning carrying a bag - he was leaving home if he couldn't keep the kitten he said - in his bag? his pillow and football!!!!
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Post by pixiepops on Apr 8, 2015 17:27:05 GMT
What a gorgeous wee cat welcome to the forum I hope everything is going well with her Not much else I can add as everything has been stated above by other members. |
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Post by smilesbetter on Apr 9, 2015 7:32:22 GMT
Awwww lotsofcats how sweet of your son! Can see why he'd want to keep the cat too. And eesh, what kind of person could leave a kitten abandoned in a box?! |
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Post by lotsofcats on Apr 9, 2015 12:44:45 GMT
Awwww lotsofcats how sweet of your son! Can see why he'd want to keep the cat too. And eesh, what kind of person could leave a kitten abandoned in a box?! Yes, what kind of person could abandon a kitten in a box? - the box was found next to a stream, nowhere near a road. My brother in law had taken my son and a few more of his cousins for a country walk on a very hot August day. When my son found the kitten my brother in law tried to make him leave it there but no, not my son, he has always cared for animals. I came home from work to find the kitten sat in the bath! we kept her away from the other cats until we knew she had no diseases. We also retraced the steps of the walk just in case other kittens had been dumped too but we didn't find any. I think fate played a hand in her rescue. |
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I m afraid I can't really help with kittens as although we have 4 cats I've got them all as adults.
