Feral Kitten

[jen]

I think the best you can do is keep him hydrated. Add water to his canned food so it is soupy and see if he will eat that. There is an emergency kitten formula you can make to help give them a boost, I don't know if he is at that point, but it is with karo syrup and goats milk, you will have to search the forum for the recipe. It is on here a bunch, or maybe someone else can link you to it.

 

[StefanZ]

No unfortunately. My vet opens at 7am tomorrow though so I'll be there right at open to see if they'll take me as a walk-in. Does anyone have any suggestions for in the meantime? Leo isn't any warmer than usual though I'm not sure how reliable that is to tell if he has a fever or not

If you are used to a cat (or child) you can usually feel fairly good if there is a fever.
Still, something is not good, and a vet visit asap is wise.

During the time, I agree with jen , you shall try to keep him hydrated.

Goats milk is good, add some white caro syrup or honey, and try to entice or even forcefeed. Kmr may be an alternative if you dont have goats milk.

If you dont have neither, so a home made pedialyte is: 1 cup of water, 150 ml, 1 teaspoon of white caro syrup or honey, a tiny trifle salt... A tiny trifle of baking soda if you have.
If you happen to have real glucose sugar / dextrose, you can give slightly more - its not as sweet.

Give as much as you manage. These sugars are also a nourishment by itself, so it will keep him alive for a good while by itself.

 

[KC14]

Thank you everyone! The vet didn’t find anything wrong with Leo except the not eating thing. He gave me some food that he says is hard for kittens to resist but we’ve been home for several hours now and Leo hasn’t eaten any of it yet. I’ll be trying some of your suggestions soon! The vet also said that kittens like baby food? So I’m going to buy some of that and see how that goes. The only other thing the vet said is that Leo now has fleas and he didn’t a week ago. I just put the parasite medicine on the back of his neck but what else should I do about the fleas so he doesn’t get reinfected later?

 

[Sarthur2]

Put the flea meds on him monthly. Buy a flea house spray if you find flea eggs hatching in the house.

Yes, Gerber turkey or chicken meat baby food is excellent to use!

 

[KC14]

Is it safe for me to feed him with one of those medicine syringes for young children? He still hasn’t eaten

 

[KC14]

And I’m not sure how to get him to eat. He hasn’t moved from his little cat bed and I just noticed that there’s a bit of pee in it so he must not have even tried to get to the litter box I’m worried that he’s just going to get weaker and weaker

 

[jen]

It isn't always the best idea to force feed, as he could aspirate the food into his lungs or choke. You could dab some on his lips or on his paw so he has to lick it off.

 

[jen]

What did the vet do when you took him in? Clearly there is something wrong here. It is not normal for a kitten to be lying around and refusing to eat. Did he do some blood tests? Maybe find a new vet? It doesn't sound like this one wasn't too thorough.

 

[KC14]

He wanted me to try this certain food first but he mentioned bringing Leo back to do a blood test and give him antibiotics if the food didn’t work

 

[KC14]

Well I put food on him and he did lick it off! It looks like we had a food fight in my bathroom but at least I know he ate something. I’m going to go get the Gerber turkey and chicken now and try the whole process again and see how he does. Thanks for the idea!!!

 

[KC14]

He’s not interested in the gerber either but I made the ‘pedialyte’ and he drank a bit of it on his own! Baby steps!

 

[KC14]

I don’t know what to do! Leo will eat a couple bites of dry food and drink a bit of water (and by a little bit I mean he’s eaten maybe 1/16th of a cup) and use the litter box but only if I pick him up out of ‘his spot’ on my bed and put him near the food. Otherwise he stays here all day and all night just sleeping or resting. I don’t want to take him back to the vet if there’s nothing wrong with him but what if something is wrong? Should I have the vet do the blood test? I have an appointment for August 2nd so do I wait until then to see if he improves or take him tomorrow?

 

[KC14]

Waitttt I just opened the chicken flavored gerber food (instead of the turkey I tried yesterday) and he is currently working on teaspoon number 3! I don’t understand why he’ll eat this instead of everything else but yay!!!

 

[KC14]

Also I haven’t mentioned this but Leo has had the hiccups a couple times this week? Not sure if that means anything either.

 

[Sarthur2]

Good to hear he likes the chicken baby food. Give him as much as he wants!

How is the little guy doing today?

 

[KC14]

He seems to be doing better, still eating a couple teaspoons of chicken baby food every few hours. He has started sneezing again though?
I’m just so happy he’s eating!

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like he needs a round of antibiotics, but great that he is eating so well. Keep it up!

 

[KC14]

I woke up today and Leo looks absolutely miserable His eyes are red and watery and his breathing sounds like he’s super stuffed up and he’s blowing snot bubbles and one of his nostrils looks like it’s bleeding? I called the vet and he said to come pick up the antibiotics in an hour and I currently have him in the bathroom with the shower and sink on hot to try and clear his nose. I wish there was something more I could do to make him feel better! If anyone has any advice for a URI I’d love to hear!

 

[KC14]

Leo took his first dose of antibiotic around noon. I got back from class to find this and I’m so worried! He looks awful! Has anyone seen this before? He’s pooping some sort of mucus? I don’t know why but I’m taking him to the vet first thing tomorrow to see if there’s anything more they can tell me. I don’t get paid until Wednesday and buying his medicine today was all that I had and now I don’t know what to do. He seems to be getting worse and worse instead of better!!!

 

[KC14]

Got a round of antibiotics into Leo and he's much better now. Hates taking his medicine twice a day but he's healthy!!!