Kitten off her food and very sleepy

[Jessiep25]

Hi all!


I have an 18 week old kitten who has been with me for the past 2 + 1/2 weeks.

In that time I gradually transitioned her to a more appropriate wet food formulated for kittens since she had been only on adult wet food on her previous home. All was going well and we were on 95% kitten food with just a few peices of adult food.

Last Thursday she had a loose stool and refused her dinner which was very unlike her, but I assumed she was just being fussy and did not think too much of it. Over night she had a couple of loose stools and on Friday refused her breakfast and lunch only wanting to lick off the gravy. I rang the vet and he said not to worry too much and call back on Monday if she did not improve. She however then ate her full dinner portion and I was very relieved.

On Saturday at all 3 meals she simply wanted to only lick the gravy off of her food and nibbled at a few peices of the meat. On Sunday I only put down 50% of her usual portion size at each meal but she ate it up each time. And so I assumed she was on the mend, over whatever was putting her off her food. Again today (Monday) she refused to do anything other than lick the gravy off her breakfast and lunch, she ate about 50% of her dinner.

She has also been sleeping significantly more than normal and had only a passing interest in playing - I am not sure if this is simply a consequence of her not eating as much and therefore having less energy or if it is in addition to her not eating.

Over this time I have also offered some of her older food over the new food, it has seemed to encourage her a bit more but not at her normal appetite.

I will definitely be calling the vet first thing on Tuesday morning and seeing if he can fit her in but I just wanted to see if anyone here might have some ideas!

Thanks,
Jess

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It takes a while, even with a slow transition, for new food to cause upset stomach. Upset stomach leads to not feeling well and not wanting to eat, much less be active. Some cats also end up connecting their food with feeling bad and are less inclined to eat it. Loose stools are definitely a sign that the food may not be agreeing with her digestive tract.

She probably ate on Sunday because she was getting hungry and that overrode her reluctance to eat. I am not saying that she shouldn't be checked out by your vet - I think that is a wise idea in case something else is going on - but you might also want to consider putting her back on the food she was originally eating for now - which was OK with her system based on what I can tell from what you said.

Also, check the ingredients in her 'old' food and her 'new' food to see if anything stands out that might be the culprit of an upset stomach. If the old food gets her back to normal, you can try to slowly transition her to other new foods.

 

[neely]

You may want to try warming up her wet food to entice her to eat but make sure the food is not hot or mix it with warm water. Once the wet food gets cold cats are not as interested in it. You can also space out her food by feeding smaller amounts but more meals, e.g. instead of the 3 meals p/day you mentioned try 4-5 meals p/day. Here is a post that might have some helpful information for you about feeding your kitten: How much wet food to feed 2 month old kitten?

 

[Antonio65]

Hi, I think that your kitten not eating has little or nothing to do with the food transitioning and her upset stomach.
The fact that she just licks the gravy of her wet meal may means that she could have a sore throat. Eating and swallowing may cause some pain in her throat, but licking the gravy sort of soothes this pain.
Can you tell f she has a temperature? Sometimes a sore throat gives a slight fever. Is her nose tip wet or dry?

If I'm allowed to say, a vet that knows of a kitten not eating and says "don't worry" isn't a good vet in my opinion.

Please, let us know.

 

[Jessiep25]

Hi all,

I guess I over simplified when I said that the vet said 'don't worry' - more specifically he said he wasn't too concerned yet and that if she didn't improve at all then I should call him Monday morning or if she continued to have diaharrea for more than 24hrs or I got more concerned over the weekend I should take her to the emergency vet. Thankfully she started to have normal stools again pretty quickly and was at least urinating normally. I agree that I would also be skeptical of a vet that wasn't concerned about a kitten not eating but I do really like him, today he saw us out of hours no questions asked and didn't charge for the check up.

So yeah i took her to the vet this afternoon and basically he said he thinks she had/has a bit of a cold/flu that she's getting over and that I need to keep an eye on her over the next couple of days but judging by my detailed description of her symptom progression (you bet I'd been keeping a log of all her ins and outs!) he thinks by the end of the week she will be fine!
She didn't have a temp but did have slightly enlarged lymphnodes and her breathing was a little noisier than normal. He didn't think that at this time she needed any further veterinary treatment. He said for the next few days to feed her even smaller meals but like 5/6 times a day untill she's eating her normal amount and go back to her old food even if it's adult cat food if that's what she wants at this time. If she goes more than a day without eating, the diaharrea comes back or I think she's getting any worse not better then he told me to call him straight away!

I have to say I also think she is more on the mend - she seems a lot more alert this afternoon and even had a little play earlier!

Thanks for your advice guys, I'll update in a few days or if there are any changes!

 

[Antonio65]

Hi all,
I guess I over simplified when I said that the vet said 'don't worry' - more specifically he said he wasn't too concerned yet and that if she didn't improve at all then I should call him Monday morning or if she continued to have diaharrea for more than 24hrs or I got more concerned over the weekend I should take her to the emergency vet. Thankfully she started to have normal stools again pretty quickly and was at least urinating normally. I agree that I would also be skeptical of a vet that wasn't concerned about a kitten not eating but I do really like him, today he saw us out of hours no questions asked and didn't charge for the check up.

Ok, so

So yeah i took her to the vet this afternoon and basically he said he thinks she had/has a bit of a cold/flu that she's getting over and that I need to keep an eye on her over the next couple of days but judging by my detailed description of her symptom progression (you bet I'd been keeping a log of all her ins and outs!) he thinks by the end of the week she will be fine!

So the vet thinks that your cat had a cold/flu, it may be some sore throat as well? Didn't he mention it?
Anyway, the most important thing is that she's feeling better now. Fingers crossed.

 

[neely]

I'll update in a few days or if there are any changes!

That's great news so please be sure to keep us posted. Also I would be cautious should any new symptoms arise or the present ones worsen. I'm glad you trust your vet since it's very important to have a good relationship with the medical expert taking care of your pet. In addition, I do understand the concerns Antonio65 mentioned especially since she's so young. We'll be thinking of you.

 

[Jessiep25]

Yes! I also completely understand his concerns too

Yeah I only have to go into the office for a few hours a day this week so I can keep an close eye on her - I've already got a little diary and I'm making note of her general demeanor and food/toilet habits several times a day.

This first time pet parent thing is stressful

 

[Jessiep25]

Hi all,

Thought I'd just give you a quick update! Sky has been doing so much better over the last few days, she's much more like her little mischievous 4 month old self again! Her appetite is back with a VENGEANCE, for the time being I'm keeping her on the 'old' adult food she seems to love since this morning I hid a few sneaky chunks of the kitten food in her bowl and she ate round them so either she now associates them with feeling ill or just has decided she no longer likes it! When I'm confident she's 100% back to her old self I'll try a different brand and re transition her even slower to a more age appropriate food - for now I'm just so glad she's feeling better so I'll feed her what she likes!

Thanks for all the support and reassurance,
J