Need Advice Asap On Feeding Starving Kitten!!!!!

[Kitty0619]

Hi Fellow Cat Lovers,

Last Sunday night, I found a kitten that I'd been searching for since he was born almost 4 months ago. His mom is part of the stray cat colony I take care of in my neighborhood, and I had been following her after she ate trying to find her litter, but I didn't find them until last Sunday night.

She had 3 kittens and all but one was fat and healthy. One of the babies was extremely malnourished and so weak that I was able to gently throw my jacket over him and scoop him up. I immediately gave him a bath when I got him home, and he was covered in fleas so bad that the water draining from him was a reddish color. When he was soaking wet and his hair slicked down is when I could really see just how skinny he was, and y'all, I cried when I realized that I could count and feel every bone in his body. I named him Bones because he is literally nothing but bones. My two month old kitten weighs more then he does and hes 4 months old! I then gave him flea and worm meds and the amount of worms that came out of him was horrific, and I think the combination of fleas and worms is what was wrong with him.

His appetite is no where near what it should be, so I have been force feeding him with a 3 ml syringe. He will be very hungry in the mornings but will only eat 4 or 5 small bites and then will quit eating. After that, he only gets hungry about once more and only eats a few bites. I have been feeding him GERBER ham, chicken, beef, and chicken baby food and KMR kitten formula. Now that I am force feeding him, I mix the two together and warm it up just a touch and then force feed him 3 3ml syringe fulls.

I cannot take him to the vet until next Friday because I'm low on funds, so is there any advice you can give me on what I should or should not be doing for him? Other then not having a good appetite it looks like nothing else is wrong with him, but I dont understand why he wont hardly eat. Do any of you have ideas on why that may be? Is force feeding him the right thing to do? He is adapting very well to being inside and wants to be by me all the time, but he has no energy and does not play at all. He is the saddest kitten I have ever seen and all I want to do is help him, but I dont know if what I'm doing is enough or if it's wrong! I thank you all in advance for your advice, and I will be very appreciative for advice of any nature! Oh, and to anyone wondering about the other two babies, I am feeding them every day and they both are still very fat and healthy!

 

[StefanZ]

You are doing great. Just so is the docs prescription.

Good he doesnt wants much at a time. As starved big portions are dangerous to him.

So little but more often.

You can also use goats milk.
Flavorless pedialyte is good - contains some extra calories tx to dextrose.
Just dilute some. If there are much chemicals in your communal water use bottled water or some other pure water.
Some nice vitamine paste?

Be sure he is warm and comfy. The weak ones are always freezing. An IR heating lamp is useful here.

 

[mazie]

This family is so lucky to have been saved by you. Do you have the mom cat as well, or just her kittens? That little tyke is going to be a beautiful boy as he grows up! He is so darling now, and yes, sad, but that look will change as he gets to feeling better!! Thank you for brining them into your home and heart.

 

[Kitty0619]

You are doing great. Just so is the docs prescription.

Good he doesnt wants much at a time. As starved big portions are dangerous to him.

So little but more often.

You can also use goats milk.
Flavorless pedialyte is good - contains some extra calories tx to dextrose.
Just dilute some. If there are much chemicals in your communal water use bottled water or some other pure water.
Some nice vitamine paste?

Be sure he is warm and comfy. The weak ones are always freezing. An IR heating lamp is useful here.

StefanZ, thanks so much for your great advice! I am on my way to Walmart now, so I'll pick up some flavorless Pedialyte for him. I also have to go to the pet store to get more dog food, and I will get some vitamin paste for him.... I did not think about vitamin paste, so thanks for telling me about that!

 

[daftcat75]

NutriCal or Cat-Cal. I guess that’s the same as “vitamin paste” but these are gels.

Maybe get some Fancy Feast Classic (not the Grill or Gravy) as even my previously pancreatitic kitty would manage a few bites of FF through all her nausea. Baby food is okay to get him eating again, but kittens can’t be fed unbalanced diets nearly as long as adults.

As long as his appetite is still small, increase the number of feedings until his appetite grows for more food at each feeding. Then you can work on growing some meals until other meals disappear.

 

[di and bob]

They also have paste that is full of calories and nutrition. I had one that was weak and starved as your little one, you'd never know it now. I'm sure your little one's stomach is so shrunk. Tiny meals often is good. Try kitten food in a plate, he will eat eventually and you need to encourage him. Offer on a plate first and then force feed. Feed your other kitten next to him, it may teach him. Try something really smelly and good when you offer him food, like tuna, mackerel, or fried deli chicken.

 

[Kitty0619]

This family is so lucky to have been saved by you. Do you have the mom cat as well, or just her kittens? That little tyke is going to be a beautiful boy as he grows up! He is so darling now, and yes, sad, but that look will change as he gets to feeling better!! Thank you for brining them into your home and heart.

Hi Mazie! I have the mom and the kittens, and it's so lucky I found them when I did or the sick one would be dead or very near death. I used a trap I got from my father-in-law to trap the kittens by putting cat food in it, and it took four days to trap both kittens. I could not bring the mom and other two kittens inside because the kittens are feral and the mom is very mean to other cats and it would stress her, the kittens, and my other cats too much if I did. I have a screened porch that I put a dog house turned cat house in and it has a heat lamp so they will stay warm during the cold nights. I still cant touch the other two kittens, but I hope that changes soon.

He is going to be a beautiful cat when he gets older, but only if I can help him get there! His fur has a beautiful swirl color pattern that I've never seen before, but it looks very dingy because he was so infested with worms and fleas. He does look so sad, and I cant wait until I finally see him playing like a kitten should be. And you dont have to thank me for helping them because it's something that I have to do, or I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didnt. I cant stand to see an animal starving or hurting, and I dont know how anyone can do such a thing.

 

[Kflowers]

His energy should increase slowly as you keep feeding him. Malnutrition means the body gives all available energy to the life support systems - the major organs. There's nothing left for play or moving around much. You are doing really well. I'm so happy you found them in time.

 

[Kitty0619]

NutriCal or Cat-Cal. I guess that’s the same as “vitamin paste” but these are gels.

Maybe get some Fancy Feast Classic (not the Grill or Gravy) as even my previously pancreatitic kitty would manage a few bites of FF through all her nausea. Baby food is okay to get him eating again, but kittens can’t be fed unbalanced diets nearly as long as adults.

As long as his appetite is still small, increase the number of feedings until his appetite grows for more food at each feeding. Then you can work on growing some meals until other meals disappear.

Daftcat75, thanks for your advice, and I am picking up some vitamin paste now because your the second person to tell me to get it. I started him on the baby food because I tried giving him some my other kitty's Taste of the Wild can food but he wouldn't touch the stuff. I am hoping I can gradually move him to only cat food, because like you said, baby food isn't formulated for cats and doesnt offer the nutrition they need. That's why the vitamin paste is such a great idea. Do you have an idea of how long he should be on the baby food? Like when should I quick giving him the baby food?

 

[daftcat75]

Like when should I quick giving him the baby food?

Uh. Probably yesterday. I mean kittens really can’t go more than a few days on an unbalanced diet because they have so much growing to do. Vitamin paste/gel isn’t a replacement for a balanced diet. It’s assistance but not a solution. Go to the store and pick out a bunch of foods for him to try. No more than two on the plate at a time. You can do head to head. Keep offering anything he tries. Cats are often slow to take to a new food. So if he didn’t have interest in the other cat’s Taste of Wild, that’s just one food out there. And if he only eats a few bites of one food, he’s probably feeling it out. Keep offering it as long as he’s eating any of it. As he realizes this is food now, and if it doesn’t cause him too much digestive upset, he will likely eat more of it.

And with cats that aren’t eating, don’t worry about the best food. Just get him eating any food. It’s better to eat at McDonalds than starve at Whole Foods.

 

[StefanZ]

Agree totally! Yet some real kitten food is necessary because its enriched with taurine.
Kittens need taurine among other for their eyes.
In unlucky cases they can get eye damages if they for example get only adult food.
So begin with whatever he will eat but in next steps introduce proper kitten nourishment.

Minced meat wasnt mentioned.
Here in Sweden we often use raw mm as first real food for kittens. Raw meat contains naturally much taurine.
Cows meat is good dont use raw pigs meat.

 

[Kitty0619]

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful advice! I went to Walmart and the pet store yesterday, and I bought him Nurtri-Cal, unflavored Pedialyte, and Wellness Chicken Pate for kittens. The lady told me it was great for malnourished kittens and that its loaded with fats and proteins, its grain-free, has Taurine, and doesn't have Carrageenan which is bad for kittens digestive system and has no nutritional value.

I gave him the half teaspoon as the instructions says of the Nutri-Cal, and I read on a veterinary website to give a kitten or cat 2 to 4 ml of Pedialyte per pound, so I gave him 8 ml Pedialyte every 2 hours until about 11 PM last night. Last night he wouldn't touch the Wellness Chicken Pate I got him so I had to give him the turkey baby food again but this morning was total different. My husband and I noticed this morning when we woke up, that there was a slight improvement in his energy level, and when I was giving my cats their breakfast he was up with them begging for his breakfast also, which he has never done before! He then ate the Wellness kitten food with an appetite that he hasn't had, and my husband and I were amazed at the difference in him!

He is still sleeping the majority of the time and still has low energy, but with the improvement I seen this morning, I am very hopeful AND thankful to all of you! I feel horrible for not knowing what to do to help him and for not realizing he was badly dehydrated. I learned yesterday of the test for dehydration in cats where you pick up the skin at the back of their necks, and when I came home and tried that, his skin stayed up and slowly lowered back down, so he was badly dehydrated. I feel like a dummy for not realizing or thinking of that sooner.

So, Bones and I are deeply grateful to all of you for your on-point advice!!! THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Not to worry, you did SO many things right, as evidenced by his upbeat turnaround this morning, woohoo!!

You-all rock, keep an eye on things which I know of course you will.

Bless you for being there for this baby and his sibs and mama.

 

[Kflowers]

Knowing enough to ask questions and listen to answers is knowing a great deal.

Happy for you and the little one.

 

[Q2U]

Thank you Kitty0619 . God bless you and your kitten and everyone you love.

 

[di and bob]

Great, I'm so happy he's getting better! With someone like you to love him, he'll be fine!

 

[ileen]

Please keep writing updates on him & include photos as well. Are you still calling him Bones?

 

[Kitty0619]

The baby is doing soooooo much better!!! He has been on the Nutri-Cal, Pedialyte, and Wellness kitten food for 3 days now and it's amazing how he is improving more and more every day! He still has low energy but his appetite is 10 times better then what is was Saturday morning and I haven't had to force feed him since Saturday night. I can tell he is a little stronger also, because I wipe his hinny everytime he goes number 2 because it's still a little runny but not as bad as it was, but every day it's getting harder to hold him still so I can wipe him and before I barely had to hold him he was so weak.

The first week I had him it looked to me like he was losing more weight instead of gaining any but I can actually tell his belly is rounding a little more. He was severely thin everywhere but when I rubbed his belly, I could actually feel some of his organs on the side and bottom of his belly.... that's how thin he was. My two month old kitten Oreo is so fat you can't feel anything like that on his belly.

I do have a question for yall, well two questions: first is when he meows it's more a silent meow. He opens his mouth and meows but no sound comes out and sometimes I can hear a little horse sounding meow. Anyone know why? Is is because hes still weak? Second question is when he eats he turns his head to the side to chew and while hes chewing hes grinding his teeth which sounds awful. Is that something I should worry about or not really?

I am attaching some pics I just took of him about 5 mins ago. Please everyone over look the mess in the background! I been too busy with homework to clean. If yall look at the pic I showed of him in my original post, can yall see the difference in his eyes? He looks a little more open eyed and not so sad I think? Thank you all again!! Oh, and to the person who asked about his name, I am still calling him Bones (that was a spure of the moment name just so I'd have something to call him) but I am thinking of a new name. I have hope now that the name Bones wont fit him anymore thank God.

 

[ileen]

He looks very bright-eyed now, big difference. Keep up the good work.

 

[Kitty0619]

He looks very bright-eyed now, big difference. Keep up the good work.

Aww, thanks!! I'm glad you think he looks more bright eyed too because now I know I wasn't just imagining it. But thanks for the encouragement!!