Kitten not growing!

[roxsam]

Two weeks ago I found 4 feral kittens who appeared to be about 4 weeks old. I took them in and have been socializing and caring for them for the past 2 weeks. Two of the kittens were pretty big, and two were a ton smaller.

All kittens have grown a bit in the 2 weeks except one of the little ones. He is now a ton smaller than the kitten who used to be the same size as him. I have not weighed them or anything, but I really do not think he has grown at all. They all went to the vet on Tuesday, got FeLV/FIV tested and received their first set of vaccines. I was not told by the vet or tech in charge of the rescue that any of them appeared sick. I did call the rescue and stated my concern about him but have not received a call back yet. He is now only slightly larger than the 3 week old I am fostering!! He is still eating well and seems to have energy.

Any ideas why he isn't growing? What can I do to help him? I am so worried...he has been my favorite of the 4 (ok, I tend to like the runts the best!) and I do not want to lose him.

Hopefully I hear back from the rescue soon.

 

[emmie]

I had the same situation with my set of kitten. 3 were gaining weight everyday and one of them just didnt..
I took them to the vets and he checked to make sure the kitten had no heart problems (hole in the heart etc)..

There was no health problems at all and within a couple of weeks kitten started to grow..

I guess it just happens sometimes and if the vet said he was fine then im sure he'll start to catch up soon..

Good luck.

 

[mews2much]

My Oreo was like that but she has fcks. When I went to get her she was half the size of the other Kittens. You runt might end up big. Cocos Son was the runt of her litter and was born with a hernia. He is almost 6 now and is a big Cat .

 

[roxsam]

Thanks. The tech said to keep an eye on him, and force feed him if I have to. Although I do think he is eating enough, but a little more food wouldn't hurt him in case he isn't getting enough. It just scares me that a 3.5 week old cat is the same size as this 6 week old! And his sister has outgrown him by a lot!

 

[roxsam]

Shiloh Died...this is what I just posted in another thread under the ferals forum:


Just wanted to update. Shiloh died on Saturday night. I am heartbroken. He was the sweetest, cutest little kitten I have rescued yet. We think he had some congenital disorder that caused it. Shiloh had stopped growing a couple of weeks ago and was starting to get very frail. He was eating great and even kept playing, but was not growing or putting on weight at all. I brought him to the vet 2 times and they couldn't find anything wrong with him, although he was on medicine for intestinal worms when he died.

Before I went to bed on Saturday night, I knew that was the last time I would see sweet Shiloh alive. I just had a feeling, and he was just different that night. He was calm, not fatigued, just calm. A couple of times he took a few deep breaths and it looked like he was struggling to breathe. When I picked him up he seemed so frail that he would break if I grabbed him too hard. Saturday night I cuddled with him on the couch, so he would be very loved his last night. He just purred the whole time. When I put him away for the night I told him I loved him and left the room. Sunday morning I was scared to get out of bed and go in the room. Once I got up all I heard was silence...Shiloh always meowed like crazy when he heard me get up. That's when I knew for sure he had passed. When I finally had the strength to go in the room, he was in the same spot I had left him. I believe he passed soon after I set him in there.

RIP Shiloh- June1 2008- July 27 2008


On a happy note, his 3 siblings are doing well and are very socialized now and Two other fosters of mine were adopted yesterday.

Thanks for listening.

 

[melissa4321]

I'm so sorry for your loss

At least the little guy had someone as loving as you to spend his last moments with.

 

[roxsam]

Thanks, Melissa. I appreciate your kind words. They are helping me feel better.

 

[magycmyste]

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. As Melissa said, he my not have lived long, but it sounds like he was happy to have been with you.

 

[cc12]

I am so sorry. I know you were concerned. I had high hopes that the little guy was going to pull through. I can only imagine your heartbreak for such a tiny baby.

 

[nekochan]

I have a similar issue with my 4-5 week old foster kittens. Three of them are a lot smaller than the rest. I thought they may have been at different stages of development (a cat can carry essential two different litters at the same time) and my vet agreed, but now I am concerned because they are also not growing as quickly as the other kittens, so they look even smaller (the size difference between them in increasing.)
However they are all eating very well and they are gaining weight, just not very fast... They've been wormed and are on antibiotics for possible coccidia.


This is how they looked when I first rescued them, this is one of the smaller and one of the larger kittens:

 

[bella713]

Awwww, I am so sorry about Shiloh

He knew love in his short little life

 

[glitch]

Im sorry for the loss of your kitty! That just stinks!

 

[maherwoman]

Oh, Sweetie...what a sad thing to hear. I'm sorry you lost your little Shiloh...but the others are certainly right that he knew love in the short time he was with you. You gave him a wonderful, beautiful life, full of love, fun, and happiness. He knew a fantastic life.

Hugs to you and yours,

Rosie*

 

[gaylemg]

I'm sorry about Shiloh! Cuddles was my runt and he also didn't grow very fast. My vet said that when there's a runt there's a reason. Cuddles had something wrong with him, but I'm glad I had him as long as I did. You made Shiloh happy while he was with you and that matters a lot.

 

[Danyale]

Shiloh Died...this is what I just posted in another thread under the ferals forum:


Just wanted to update. Shiloh died on Saturday night. I am heartbroken. He was the sweetest, cutest little kitten I have rescued yet. We think he had some congenital disorder that caused it. Shiloh had stopped growing a couple of weeks ago and was starting to get very frail. He was eating great and even kept playing, but was not growing or putting on weight at all. I brought him to the vet 2 times and they couldn't find anything wrong with him, although he was on medicine for intestinal worms when he died.

Before I went to bed on Saturday night, I knew that was the last time I would see sweet Shiloh alive. I just had a feeling, and he was just different that night. He was calm, not fatigued, just calm. A couple of times he took a few deep breaths and it looked like he was struggling to breathe. When I picked him up he seemed so frail that he would break if I grabbed him too hard. Saturday night I cuddled with him on the couch, so he would be very loved his last night. He just purred the whole time. When I put him away for the night I told him I loved him and left the room. Sunday morning I was scared to get out of bed and go in the room. Once I got up all I heard was silence...Shiloh always meowed like crazy when he heard me get up. That's when I knew for sure he had passed. When I finally had the strength to go in the room, he was in the same spot I had left him. I believe he passed soon after I set him in there.

RIP Shiloh- June1 2008- July 27 2008


On a happy note, his 3 siblings are doing well and are very socialized now and Two other fosters of mine were adopted yesterday.

Thanks for listening.

Im sorry for your loss. im dealing with the same situation right now .Its been hard because i love the little guy but im trying not to get too attached because i fear he may not make it