Kitten Acts Hungry, But Then Doesn't Eat?

[saleri]

So I have a tiny 3 pound 21 week old kitten. Yesterday I fed her a few raw and cooked ribeye steak bits. She had a meal at 10pm of wet food where she did eat a bit less then normal, but not too much less. I then noticed she had diarrhea an hour later that was 85% liquid. Which was surprising to me since I assume it was because of the steak, but it was only a few hours ago.

I left out some kitten dry food so she doesn't wake me in the middle of the night. Towards when I was about to wake up I heard her eat bits of her dry food, and then she licked me a lot when I woke up asking for food. As I was getting the wet food out of the can she clawed at my pants impatiently.

However when she finally saw the food, she seemed fairly uninterested and only took a few small bites after me moving her closer. She made the pawing motion around it instead.

When should I be worried?

 

[Antonio65]

Any other episode of diarrhea?
I would be worrying over this. Try to understand what caused this liquid poop.

 

[Furballsmom]

She's looking for something other than what you provided, can you give her other flavors or other brands to see how those are accepted?

 

[saleri]

Update, just went home for Lunch. Let her watch some videos of birds and mice for a bit, then I played with her for a bit. She seemed a bit more tired then usual. Then I got her some wet food. She didn't come over when I open the can, and seemed uninterested when I put the bowl down. She finally came over and licked the food a bit and then went away. Eventually she just got to her cat tree and I just put some of the food near her on the cat tree, no longer in bowl, she ate half of it as I slowly moved bits over.

 

[saleri]

Any other episode of diarrhea?
I would be worrying over this. Try to understand what caused this liquid poop.

Not that I can tell, she had her diarrhea today at 2:00 AM.

 

[saleri]

She's looking for something other than what you provided, can you give her other flavors or other brands to see how those are accepted?

I have, but she likes the wellness that I normally feed her the best.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think, based on your lunchtime description and combined with her previous behavior, she has something else going on. If you can, I'd consider a vet visit. Thank you so much for caring, hang in there. It's hard when they can't tell us specifically what's wrong.

 

[saleri]

I think, based on your lunchtime description and combined with her previous behavior, she has something else going on. If you can, I'd consider a vet visit. Thank you so much for caring, hang in there. It's hard when they can't tell us specifically what's wrong.

Yeah I don't know, my vet is closed tomorrow and sunday, and I just emailed them. Money is very tight, since she got sick when I first got her she was deathly sick and I had to spend thousands to save her. I'm keeping her locked in my bedroom for now just in case if she does vomit or something I'll be easily able to see it.

 

[Columbine]

I think, based on your lunchtime description and combined with her previous behavior, she has something else going on. If you can, I'd consider a vet visit. Thank you so much for caring, hang in there. It's hard when they can't tell us specifically what's wrong.

It sounds like she's not feeling very well, and that's why she's off her food. The most common cause for tummy upsets in kittens is worms (not a reflection of you, they're commonly born with them), but it could be some kind of bug or tummy upset too. Get her checked out, sooner rather than later if at all possible, and do let us know what the vet says. that it is just worms, or something else easy to treat

 

[catsknowme]

Dehydration is a real concern, especially in one so tiny. I would put her on bottled water (if you don't have good, pure well water) and electrolyte replacer such as unflavored Pedialyte diluted. Whether she has decided she prefers steak, or the seasoning had garlic or onion, or she has a stomach bug, addressing the diarrhea is important. You can try switching her to Gerber stage 2 chicken or beef baby food. If she still has diarrhea, you should back down to boiled chicken breast broth (you can add salt and baking soda to the cooking water for electrolyte support) followed by white chicken meat with boiled white rice. You can find good tips at www.kitten-rescue.com (Hissy's website).

 

[saleri]

I would put her on bottled water (if you don't have good, pure well water) and electrolyte replacer such as unflavored Pedialyte diluted. Whether she has decided she prefers steak, or the seasoning had garlic or onion, or she has a stomach bug, addressing the diarrhea is important. You can try switching her to Gerber stage 2 chicken or beef baby food. If she still has diarrhea, you should back down to boiled chicken broth (you can add salt and baking soda to the cooking water for electrolyte support)

I made sure the steak didn't have any seasoning at all. Okay thanks for the information!

 

[maggie101]

So I have a tiny 3 pound 21 week old kitten. Yesterday I fed her a few raw and cooked ribeye steak bits. She had a meal at 10pm of wet food where she did eat a bit less then normal, but not too much less. I then noticed she had diarrhea an hour later that was 85% liquid. Which was surprising to me since I assume it was because of the steak, but it was only a few hours ago.

I left out some kitten dry food so she doesn't wake me in the middle of the night. Towards when I was about
to wake up I heard her eat bits of her dry food, and then she licked me a lot when I woke up asking for food. As I was getting the wet food out of the can she clawed at my pants impatiently.

However when she finally saw the food, she seemed fairly uninterested and only took a few small bites after me moving her closer. She made the pawing motion around it instead.


When should I be worried?

A kitten needs 2 5.5 oz of wellness canned a day. Deffinately see the vet

 

[saleri]

A kitten needs 2 5.5 oz of wellness canned a day. Deffinately see the vet

Wait really? At the most I would feed her 2 3 oz wellness kitten cans a day. Which is around 200 calories, and you saying she needs close to 380?

 

[losna]

I will add in to say also it sounds like another vet visit, especially if it continues. When my cats have been too sick to eat, I've found putting small bits into my hands for them to lick off is pretty effective, if that sounds like something you want to try.

 

[saleri]

I will add in to say also it sounds like another vet visit, especially if it continues. When my cats have been too sick to eat, I've found putting small bits into my hands for them to lick off is pretty effective, if that sounds like something you want to try.

Yeah that's what I've being doing, only way to get her to eat a bit.

 

[Columbine]

Kittens eat a LOT, especially at this age. It's always a shock just how much food they need. It needs to be in kitten-tummy-sized portions too, as overloading their little stomachs can make them sick.

Can you at least speak to your vet before they close? (Not sure of time difference from UK to where you are). They should be able to offer some advice over the phone, given the circumstances.

I appreciate that money is tight, but kittens can go downhill really fast, so early intervention is really important.

 

[saleri]

Kittens eat a LOT, especially at this age. It's always a shock just how much food they need. It needs to be in kitten-tummy-sized portions too, as overloading their little stomachs can make them sick.

Can you at least speak to your vet before they close? (Not sure of time difference from UK to where you are). They should be able to offer some advice over the phone, given the circumstances.

I appreciate that money is tight, but kittens can go downhill really fast, so early intervention is really important.

I just got off the phone with my vet, she was annoyed that I fed my kitten the steak, fair enough, but she didn't think it was worth a visit to the vet. She did give me the number of another vet in case my kitten's condition got worse on Saturday and Sunday since they aren't open on weekends.

Yeah I understand that, and the vet said Lilo is still thin for a 3.06+ kitten at 21 weeks. But she did gain a pound last month, and I feed her 4 times a day, and I always try to put more on her plate, but she would always stop after a while.

 

[maggie101]

Wait really? At the most I would feed her 2 3 oz wellness kitten cans a day. Which is around 200 calories, and you saying she needs close to 380?

That's what I read on the can. How active they are also matters.

 

[Kieka]

When it comes to kittens, I usually see the vet first thing when anything is off. It means several appointments in that first year and sometimes the vet just does fluids or an antibiotic. But kittens really do go downhill fast. If you think the behavior is off it is better to get told "it looks good but come back if x happens" by your vet. It also means that if things do get worse your vet already is aware and knows basic steps have been taken so you can skip right to more aggressive steps.

 

[saleri]

That's what I read on the can. How active they are also matters.

Are you sure your talking about this kitten can?


Cause they don't have 5.5 oz of these and I just read it again and it says 9/4 cans for a 3 pound kitten.