enticing a sick and lactating kitty to eat?

[gussy14]

Hi everyone,

I am currently fostering a mother cat and her seven (!) kittens. (Moderator, feel free to move this to pregnant cats if that is where it belongs.)  She has come down with a URI that we are treating, but it has made her reluctant to eat. I've been nuking her food and mixing some tuna in to entice her, but it's not working like she needs it to - she was eating three cans of food a day plus dry, 2 days ago she ate barely anything, yesterday she ate 1 can, today so far she has only had about 1/3 can. The vet handed me some EN (gastrointestinal diet) just to get her to eat ANYTHING but now I'm out. I'm working on getting some A/D (critical care), but that may not happen until tomorrow.

What are your tricks to get your cat to eat? I will get anything for her if it has the chance to work. She has a lot of mouths to feed!

 

[misterwhiskers]

They make drugs that can stimulate her appetite. Can you call your vet and see if she can get this? I'm not sure if it's safe for a lactating queen but it sure can't hurt to ask.

I've read posts where queens were given canned kitten food or liquid kmr. Have you tried this? And instead of microwaving it, can you place the can into warm water for half an hour or so? My cat won't eat microwaved food.
You can also try cooking up a little plain chicken, add just a teeny bit of salt. Most cats go wild over this. Or give her baby food? The smooth stuff? Chicken, it shouldn't have onion or garlic. Might be easier than cooking up chicken, to be honest. And most cats go bonkers for it. You might try smearing a little on her lips or on a paw so she licks it off--this might stimulate her appetite.

Can you put her in the bathroom with the shower running and see if the steam helps?

Poor kitty. I'm not experienced with nursing cats or kittens, really. I hope you can get more help from people who are.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Maybe try scrambling up some eggs, in butter, for her.  Serve them up warm (not hot).  I'm sure the issue is that she can't smell with that URI.  Is she on antibiotics, or is that a no-no since she's nursing?  The steamy bathroom SHOULD help.  Otherwise, try to gt the stinkiest food you can find...something fishy.  Maybe the tuna juice isn't stinky enough.  You may need to syringe feed her to get enough sustenance in her

 

[Sarthur2]

mrsgreenjeens just gave you great suggestions. The antibiotic may be upsetting her tummy, which is putting her off her food.

The plain boiled chicken and Gerber chicken or turkey baby food are favorite suggestions of mine. Also chicken broth, but absolutely no onions or garlic (they are toxic to cats).

I hope mama kitty feels better soon. Never fun to have a URI while nursing kittens.

 

[fostersrule]

You may want to get some KMR to supplement the kittens. If the momma isn't eating and isn't feeling well it may do her some good to help her feed them.

 

[gussy14]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Her appetite seems to be much better today. Kittens are still nursing, but their weights are steady and not gaining. I went out and got a bunch of stinky foods and some, quite frankly, gross looking Fancy Feast seafood broth to stink it up even more, and that seems to have helped. She has eaten 2 cans of food so far today!

Speaking of reluctant eaters - I did try to supplement the kittens, but they were having none of it. They were much like my daughter - why use plastic when the real thing is so much better?! :-D any tips on supplementing? Although hopefully the issue will be moot in a day or two.

 

[Sarthur2]

If the kittens are not gaining weight you DEFINITELY need to supplement. Thank goodness they are not losing weight yet.

How old are they and how much do each of the 7 kittens weigh?

We can tell you how much to supplement once we know. You'll need a 1-2 mL syringe to feed them tummy down, head up, side of the mouth only. Couple of drops, let the kitten swallow and breathe, and go again. Burp in an upright position over your shoulder with gentle back pats. Stimulate for wee and poo with a warm, damp cotton ball. Mom needs help and so do the babies.

If done correctly the babies will take the milk. They must gain weight to thrive. They need to gain 6-10 grams a day each, or about 1/2 ounce. Every day counts.

Please let us know age and weights asap.

 

[gussy14]

They are all between 158 and 207g, tending more towards the upper 100's. They saw the vet today who was relatively ok about the lack of weight gain, as they are energetic, no URI for them, and they look tons better than they did a couple days ago. She thinks that they will start gaining now that mom is back to full appetite again today. (thank goodness!) I do have all necessary supplement tools though. What do you think?

 

[Sarthur2]

I say weigh them tomorrow, and if they haven't gained you should supplement them, even if it's just for a day or two. Kittens can go downhill fast without enough food.

Let's look at it again tomorrow. Like I said, no weight gain for a day is not good.

 

[gussy14]

Hi all, sorry for my delay in responding. I have been busy taking care of the cat babies and my human baby.

Most of the kittens seem to have caught mama cat's URI. I just gave them their first dose of antibiotics, but I have two kittens I'm really worried about - both lost over 10g in the past 24 hrs, and combined with slow/lack of weight gain, have really gone backwards in their weights. 

 They really hate supplementing (I'm doing it with a syringe) and 5mL is the most I can get in at a time (and even then, the last one or two are really a struggle). Amazingly, they are still active, but I really hope they start eating again soon or it's not going to last. Things looked bad weight-wise this morning for 6 of 7, but this evening things were actually improved for most of them (although I do have one kitten stubbornly stuck at 207g).

If the two are not eating at all, (which is what I would guess given the weight loss) how much should I be trying to get in them in a day? They are almost 3 weeks old but only in the 170's-180's for weight.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated. I'm really concerned for the two in particular.