3 month old kitten with suspected cold--not eating

[oyster]

Can someone chime in as I can't find an answer in the search function?
I gave Nutmeg 5 ml of Slippery Elm Bark and 2 hours later, he threw up everything he had eaten (which wasn't much to begin with). Should I rush him to the vet tomorrow (it's night here)? He is behaving fine--playing and curious.

 

[amandag1]

Did they do any labs on him? Bloodwork?
What was the consensus on the distended stomach?
Have you tried lickable treats, squeeze ups, bisque
FF broths?
Meat baby foods? Or some deli meat?

 

[oyster]

No lab work. Just a physical examination. The diagnosis was that he had probably eaten something toxic or a toy. But he didn't have any symptoms of that. The vet gave him two shots as described above.
I have tried homemade broth with chicken pieces. Tuna, sardines, baby food in meat flavor, kitten food in 3 different textures and flavors, adult cat food and even the food he used to eat when he was living outdoors with his mom. I fed them both before I trapped and adopted him.

 

[fionasmom]

I do understand that you just paid a big bill, maybe for nothing, but I think that there needs to be bloodwork done. I also agree that you might have seen vomiting or other distress if he ate anything toxic or any object. He is pretty much refusing food and that will become the next issue. Did you think that the appetite stimulant worked? Those can be used in a pinch to increase appetite while you try to figure out what is wrong. It sounds as if the vet made some guesses.

 

[jefferd18]

Could it be that play time has usurped eating time?

Is this kitten getting weaker? Is he losing weight and becoming painfully thin?

 

[oyster]

Update: We turned around the corner around 3 am this morning. Phew! I was certain he wasn't going to make it.
Yes, he has become painfully thin and stopped moving last evening. I syringe fed him chicken broth and he hardly protested. He was not playing, just lying in one position.
The appetite stimulant he was given on Wed. worked that evening and then too, he ate half a can (5 oz). So, we were back to square one. Yes, I am pretty annoyed with the vet who just dismissed his case. And charged me an arm and a leg, to boot.
So I finally took things into my hands and started scouring the web for information. I already had slippery elm bark for our older cats so I administered .5 ml. In hindsight, it was too big a dose for his tiny body because he threw up everything he had ever eaten. So after 6 hours, I gave him a smaller dose, syringe fed chicken broth, and gave him another small dose of SEB. That did the trick. He went to the litter box and relieved himself. I saw that he was pretty constipated before. I kept up the regimen of chicken broth every hour till 3 am and he was bouncing off the walls--literally. Today, I have given him 2 small doses of SEB and will give another 2 this evening.
I just don't know if I should be giving SEB regularly or if I should stop after a week.
Thank you to everyone for going through this with me. I have never had a kitten before so I was terrified when he stopped eating.

 

[jefferd18]

I am so glad that he is finally eating- there has to be an underlying medical for why he wouldn't before. Can you possibly give him some small syringes of water since he is probably very dehydrated? Did the vet administered any fluid under his skin?

I am so happy to hear of his progress- come on, lil gato, make a happy ending for us.

 

[amandag1]

Try liquiefying the food and syringing him that
Because broth wont have enough nutrients for him

also you can try high calorie gel,
Amazon has a few

 

[amandag1]

 

[oyster]

Update: He is back to not touching any food. Could he have a blockage? He did go to the litter in the evening with the same result as before. He is playing but not eating since this morning. I gave him a tspn. of pumpkin with kitten food and broth.

Should I ask for an ultrasound?

 

[zed xyzed]

I am sorry the little guy is not well, I would consider taking him to another vet. I must have been through 5 before I landed on one that I would trust implicitly. I hope you can get to the bottom of what is causing this issue

 

[oyster]

Thank you. I have booked an appointment for a different vet.

 

[zed xyzed]

Please let us know how he is doing. Know that we are all hoping for the best for your little man

 

[amandag1]

Force feed/ syringe feed him some hi cal gel
Maybe kitten milk?

 

[stephanietx]

I really hope you get some answers. I don't think he has a blockage if he had a bowel movement earlier. Could be something else going on, though I don't know what. Please keep us posted.

 

[oyster]

Update: We have just finished a round of medicine for the little cat, Nutmeg. He is eating independently now although he requires a human's presence nearby. So strange for a former feral kitten.
It turns out that he had inflamed tonsils (never knew that in a cat before) and so did the other two cats. Took them all to the vet. They were coughing, lethargic, and losing appetite. Since they didn't have a fever, the vet gave us some thing to loosen up the phlegm and some pain medication which I refrained from giving since it is Metacam. The vet didn't say it was feline herpes but I suspect it since those were the symptoms. She did tell me to use Lysine if I had any.
I did order the high calorie gel and fed that to Nutmeg two nights in a row. He lapped it up.
Thank you all. I hope we have seen the last of any health issues for a while.