Kitten Losing Weight

[Jackintheb0x]

I found my 3 month old kitten Jack in a parking lot about 2 weeks ago. Last Saturday we went and had his first round of kitten vaccines and dewormed. They said he seemed healthy.

He did fine after all of this for the first day or two, then Monday I noticed a decrease in the amount of food he was eating. He still ate, just not as much. I filled his bowl to the top on Monday and he just finished it this morning (Thursday). Also this morning he started having diarrhea. It started off as just soft, but now it’s completely liquid. He doesn’t seem to be having it often. Once before I went to work, once during the 8 hours I was gone, and then once after I got home, nearly 2 hours ago.

He has lost maybe .5 lb to 1 lb, he feels somewhat cooler than normal, and now the diarrhea. However, he still eats, he still runs and plays like usual (although today with the start of the diarrhea he was a little lethargic). I guess my question is, is this normal after shots and deworming? If so, is it normal for 5 days after shots and deworming? I’ve never had a kitten before, I have no idea what I’m doing here.

 

[Kieka]

Given his age it is probably time to see the vet. Kittens go downhill extremely quickly and any weight loss at that age is cause for concern. That amount of weight loss is extreme for his age (should be about 15-30% of his body weight). Cats (and kittens) are extremely good at hiding symptoms. While lethargic behavior is a symptom to watch for; a normal energy level doesn't indicate everything is well. Feeling bad for a few days after shots isn't unusual but it really sounds like some supportive care is called for at this point if just to prevent dehydration.

In a 3 month old kitten it really is best to follow up with the vet before you get to the point of needing emergency intervention. I know I took my kitten in three times when she suddenly had changing in appitite or litter box habit. We never found out why but a quick rehydration with sub Q fluids, B12 and antibiotic shot and she started getting better in just a few days. But I tend towards the overly cautious and catch it early mindset. Probably because I've been through the long recovery and lasting damage that can happen with delayed treatment.

Please see a vet within the next day and let us know how it goes.

 

[Jackintheb0x]

I am going to take him tomorrow when I get off work at 3:00, just to be safe.

 

[Kieka]

Sounds good

In the mean time, if you have a store nearby you can try offering some human meat baby food. The little jars of pureed watery food, stage 2 chicken Gerber is my favorite. But any brand without onion or garlic will do. It is a cheap and quick thing you can offer that cats usually love (also works as an occassional treat). I tend to use it as a sick kitty food because it is easy to lap up, smells good to cats and high in water plus it is easy to mix in medications in a pinch (like ice cream for humans kids). If not, you can also offesome canned tuna (prefer water packed) to tempt him to eat something. Even if you get him to eat still follow up with the vet just to be safe.

 

[Jackintheb0x]

I will pick some of that up as well.

I feel like the upset stomach is a result of my roommate feeding him fast food last night. I didn’t see her do it, and she denied it, but I believe that it happened.

He hasn’t had diarrhea in 2 hours now, so I’m hoping that it’s over and all he needs tomorrow is fluids. Best case scenario is he had loss of appetite from the vaccines/deworming, then my roommate fed him last night and it all kind of combined to look like one big mess.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Jackintheb0x]

He is fine!! He didn’t have any diarrhea after the one time when I got home from work last night. He also hadn’t had any when I got home from work at 3 today, either. I took him in, they gave him fluids, did a once over on him and said there was nothing wrong with him . When I brought him home he ate nearly an entire bowl of food.

They believe that he had a poor reaction to his shots and to the deworming, and that also any food my roommate gave him probably all cane together as the perfect storm of chain reactions.

Thank you for all of your advice