Newly adopted kitten not eating, please help

[ScaryGoblin]

Hello, my husband and I just adopted a 9 week old kitten yesterday and he has not eaten or drank anything in almost 24 hours. We cannot get him to eat dry or wet and he won't drink any water. We are planning to give him a milk replacement (KMR) as a last resort, however do you think this is an emergency? I feel this is an emergency but I'm not sure if some kittens just don't eat as much. We thought he might have had a big meal at the shelter but now that it's the next day and he's still not eating or drinking we are very concerned. And we don't know if he had water in the middle of the night either that's why we're lost on what to do. We feel he may be sick because when he swallows it is very exaggerated. We think he has a sore throat. We made a vet appointment right away but the soonest anyone can see us is this Thursday but we believe that's too far away. If he doesn't drink this milk replacement should we take him to emergency? And even if he does drink the milk should we take him to emergency anyways? I do think his throat is sore and I am sick with worry. All he wants to do is sleep and snuggle and suckle so that makes me think he does not feel well. When you put him on the floor though, he walks around and plays and acts curious. I'm worried he's starving and extremely dehydrated but it's hard to tell because I don't know if he ate and drank at his shelter before we picked him up or not. Please help, thank you.

 

[LTS3]

It's normal for cats to not eat for a day or two in a new home. Many people confine a new cat to a "safe room" so the cat can slowly acclimate to the new home and monitoring food and water intake and litter box use is easier. If you don't already have the kitten confined to a room, set up a room. A bedroom or bathroom is a good place as long as you make it kitten-proof with nothing left out for a curious kitten to eat, knock over, chew on, etc.

Are you offering the kitten the same brand of food the shelter was feeding?

 

[ScaryGoblin]

It's normal for cats to not eat for a day or two in a new home. Many people confine a new cat to a "safe room" so the cat can slowly acclimate to the new home and monitoring food and water intake and litter box use is easier. If you don't already have the kitten confined to a room, set up a room. A bedroom or bathroom is a good place as long as you make it kitten-proof with nothing left out for a curious kitten to eat, knock over, chew on, etc.

Are you offering the kitten the same brand of food the shelter was feeding?

Yes, he has a fairly large playpen in our room with his litterbox, food, water, and a bed and blankets and toys. He uses the litterbox just fine he just refuses to eat or drink. We worry his throat is too sore which is why we are considering taking him to emergency. He just wants to sleep so we think he may not feel well and he is swallowing very exaggerated so his throat may be the problem

 

[LTS3]

If he's peeing and pooping normal amounts, he must be eating. Some cats are shy about eating with an audience.

Kittens are normally wound up with energy so if yours is just sleeping, I would first contact the shelter tomorrow and explain your concerns. Many shelters will have their vet re-check the kitten. If the shelter doesn't, take the kitten to the emergency vet to be checked out. If there are any in your area, an urgent care pet clinic would be better than an emergency vet since you don't have a true life threatening emergency.

Sarthur2 any ideas on how to keep a kitten hydrated and fed?

 

[ScaryGoblin]

If he's peeing and pooping normal amounts, he must be eating. Some cats are shy about eating with an audience.

Kittens are normally wound up with energy so if yours is just sleeping, I would first contact the shelter tomorrow and explain your concerns. Many shelters will have their vet re-check the kitten. If the shelter doesn't, take the kitten to the emergency vet to be checked out. If there are any in your area, an urgent care pet clinic would be better than an emergency vet since you don't have a true life threatening emergency.

Sarthur2 any ideas on how to keep a kitten hydrated and fed?

We know he hasn't eaten because the amount of food was exactly the same when we woke up today. So he has 100% not eaten anything in 24 hours. He may have drank water while we were sleeping but I'm not sure. Also, we are feeding him the food they had at the shelter as well.

I'm just worried he's severely dehydrated I don't want to keep him dehydrated while we wait to contact the shelter. I'm concerned that he's ill and it's preventing him from receiving sustenance. I'm just not sure how big of an emergency it is I can't tell how bad off he is but I'm 99% certain his throat is hurting. It's probably a respiratory infection but they sometimes heal on their own so I'm unsure on what to do. I want to take him to emergency today but I don't know if this situation calls for emergency/urgent care just yet.

 

[LTS3]

Try watering down canned food and syringing it into kitten slowly. Most Human pharmacies sell oral syringes OTC or ask the pharmacist. I would probably only do 3 ml of watered down food at a time. Kittens have little tummies.

Was the kitten dewormed or given medicine in pill form before you adopted him? One possible throat issue can be caused by a dry pill irritating the throat as it tries to go down.

 

[Sarthur2]

Try the kitten formula. See if he will lap it first. If not, you can try syringing it. The powdered kind can be mixed with unflavored pedialyte instead of water for replacing electrolytes.

Also, kittens usually love Gerber chicken or turkey meat baby food. See if he will lick it from your finger first. If so, give more on a flat plate.

I’m hoping he’s just having adjustment issues, but if you truly think he needs immediate medical attention, then an emergency vet is the way to go. They can give sub-q fluids and determine if he has an infection. Is he showing any other signs of infection other than what you’ve mentioned with his throat?

S ScaryGoblin

 

[catapault]

If you are concerned about dehydration there is a very easy way to check. Use thumb and finger to gently pinch up the skin over his shoulders and release. If he's dehydrated the skin will be very slow to go back. If hydration is good it will flatten out quickly. Practice on your own forearm if you are concerned about doing this.

 

[shebaa]

You can use plain flavorless pedialyte. Syringe it to her. Gerber chicken or turkey baby food is good too. It helps picky and sick kitties if they're not eating. If you have a scale that will read her weight, that will be helpful to keep track if she's losing weight. I use a baby scale

 

[silent meowlook]

It’s an emergency. Kittens can become very dehydrated and hypoglycemic very quickly, and they can die. Thursday is way to late! The hard swallowing needs to be addressed ASAP. You should take him to an emergency vet. Don’t waste time with anything else. Just get him there.

 

[Sarthur2]

Is there an update? S ScaryGoblin

 

[Alldara]

If it's hot or was hot during transportation then could be dehydration too. I went to work for a day once and my roommate played fetch with his kitten all day and when I came home he (the cat) was dehydrated..

I used the watered down food and syringe method. Fed a syringe every 3 hours. Vet did not provide fluids but this was 12 yrs ago.

If he's been in the pen and hasn't had the chance to digest anything he shouldn't have then hopefully that's what it is.

Were you able to see the vet

 

[ScaryGoblin]

Is there an update? S ScaryGoblin

Yes! We took him to emergency last night and they gave him fluids and an antibiotic injection. They said it sounds like an upper respiratory infection but that it could be FIV or something like that and the only way to know would be a blood test. Praying it's only a respiratory infection. We will get him bloodwork at his vet appointment on Thursday. But once he was hydrated from the fluids he's been acting happy and normal, very active and huge appetite. He wants to eat now so we've been putting water in his wet food to hydrate him and he almost completely finishes his meals now. But I think he still won't drink water on his own and I'm not sure why. The only water he's getting is from what we put in the food. I don't know why he's not drinking his water. I've even changed the bowls between glass and plastic and he still won't drink on his own. He just puts his face in it then runs to play

 

[ScaryGoblin]

Thank you everyone for the advice I really appreciate it! If he would just stay hydrated then I think he'll be okay lol but he just won't drink from any water bowls. We're going to set up a fountain but I highly doubt he'll use that either

 

[ScaryGoblin]

We were also given an antibiotic and some eye and nose drops for him that he'll be taking for 2 weeks. So I hope that cures him completely. I just really need him to drink

 

[FeebysOwner]

Try bottled water, or purified water if you are currently trying with tap water. Ice cubes in the water might help too - although you stand the chance of him playing with the ice! There is also a lactose-free milk that you could water down and see if that might help to get him to drink some.

 

[shebaa]

If hes still not drinking continue to feed him wet food. i agree with trying bottled/purified water, i wouldnt drink tap water!

 

[ScaryGoblin]

Try bottled water, or purified water if you are currently trying with tap water. Ice cubes in the water might help too - although you stand the chance of him playing with the ice! There is also a lactose-free milk that you could water down and see if that might help to get him to drink some.

Yes it's purified water! We will try the ice cubes but I feel like that might weird him out or yeah he might play with them. We've been giving him KMR milk but he doesn't seem to like that either. I'm kind of at a loss and running out of options to try and get him to drink. We will try the ice and a fountain but I really don't think either will help. He must have been drinking water at the shelter to survive so clearly he must know how to drink from a bowl so I have no idea why he's refusing to do it now

 

[ScaryGoblin]

Or actually he had just arrived at the shelter before we adopted him, so maybe he was being bottle fed at his foster home so maybe he doesn't know how to drink water?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Or actually he had just arrived at the shelter before we adopted him, so maybe he was being bottle fed at his foster home so maybe he doesn't know how to drink water?

Perhaps. So, try dipping your finger in the water while he is looking at the dish and see if he will take it from your finger, or try to 'wipe' your finger off on his lips.

It is also likely he was getting tap water at the shelter; I can't imagine a shelter using purified or bottled water! So, maybe if your tap water is OK to drink, you might try that too! You can always gradually convert him to purified water.

The bottom line may be that he is getting enough moisture through the wet food and the water you add to it. I've seen numerous times on this site that members don't think their cats drink much at all when they are on a full wet food diet.