My 6 week old kitten started vomiting and having loose stools after I added Iams kitten chow to his Purina kitten chow to try to switch brands. The next day vomiting continued after eating & drinking and he now has watery diahrea. He is still playing with his brother, eating original diet of purina kitten chow & drinking water but becomming less active and still vomits & has diahrea. Even though he's eating and drinking, I am very concerned about him not holding it down. I have read to feed him boiled chicken & white rice & also pumpkin but that advice was not related to young kittens so not sure if that was good advice. Any suggestions?
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Purrs
dehydration danger
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Deb, I think you probably need to take him to the vet. You're right, dehydration is dangerous in kittens, and he may need some fluids to replace what he's losing through the vomiting and diarrhoea. In the meantime, I would try to get some Pedialyte down him, or gatorade if you have no pedialyte, but best to take him to the vet.
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Welcome to TDK, Deb! What is your kitten's name? How long have you had him and his brother? Do you have the momcat too? Is she still allowing the kittens to nurse?
I'm assuming that the momcat is not in the picture or she would still be taking care of most of the feeding. You might try supplementing the sick kitten with Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR). If you use Pedialyte or Gatorade, make sure it is unflavored. You can do a simple test to see if your kitten is dehydrated. Gently pinch the loose skin between the kitten's shoulder blades. If it settles back down onto the kitten's body as soon as you let it go, the kitten is not dehydrated. If it stays "tented," you need to take the kitten to the vet. It will be given subcutaneous fluids there. A dehydrated kitten can go downhill very quickly.
Please keep posting to let us know how this little one is doing. When you get a chance, we'd love to see photos of both of them! :)
Posted 2 years ago by Kitten Whisperer #
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JC and KW have given great advice, so I won't repeat it, but FYI, some cats just have a sensitive stomach. My Persian adult just can't handle anything but Purina ONE chicken and rice diet. My Bengal cat can eat ANYTHING under the sun and has only vomited once in the years I've had her. Both are rescues, and it just goes to show that you never know what their makeup is. So after you take care of the dehydration, you will have to find the right food for him. It can take several weeks for the vomiting to stop after he's back on a diet that he can tolerate, though, so be patient.
Good luck!
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Deb, I agree a dehydrated kitty goes down hill very quickly. I just went through that with our kitty and the vet injected fluids directly under the skin and put her on Science Diet a/d soft food which is great for ill babies.I don't know where you live but it didn't cost much here in North dakota for the fluids and food at our vet $16.00 and the office visit fee. It'll cost even more if it's an emergency visit. And at the vet you'll more than likely get a diagnosis as to what's wrong with your little one so that you know for sure that it is just a food reaction. Good luck and we'll be thinking about and praying for you and your little one.
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Hi Deb-
my cousin has a 3 week old flame point siamese (very very beautiful cat), male kitten. He found this kitten (named Eli), at a gas station whilst on a road trip thru WY.
The kitten appeared to have been just "dropped," off by some moron to fend for itself, so thusly, the kitten was in rather poor health.
My concern? My cousin has taken Eli to see a vet, and Eli has apparently received vaccinations. Now however, about 2 weeks from the date my cousin brought Eli home, Eli is pretty dehydrated, and has diarrhea. No vomiting that I am aware of.
Eli's eyes are clear, his coat is feeling nice, and his nose is cold, but he is underweight and dehydrated.
I do not live with my cousin or the kitten, so I am not entirely aware of all the health issues this kitten is facing.
However, my cousin has told me that Eli's vet gave him some chicken baby food to mix into Eli's water. -Sort of like a broth. My cousin is using straight tap water, (wonder if it'd be better to give him filtered).
So, I apologize for a very wordy post, but what do you think of all this? I told my cousin he should try and get that cat in to see a vet pronto.
Oh, and as if all that were not enough? The cat has ear mites, and has some sort of watery brown snot like stuff coming from nose and eyes.
Please advise! My cousin doesn't seem to know much in the way of caring for kittens, so I am concerned for Eli's health.
I guess I am just seeking a second opinion :) :)
Thanks so much, I appreciate it! -Again sorry for long post.
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Is the kitten 5 weeks or 3 weeks? Is your cousin giving the wee one kitten milk replacer? At that age, he should pretty much only be eating KMR, and maybe a little bit of babyfood, like the vet recommended. I wouldn't recommend human baby food has the only food though, unless the vet specifically instructed that, because it'll have the wrong mix of proteins and nutritients for a kitten. KMR is best. Your cousin may have to bottle feed for a week or so.
Do you know what your cousin was feeding the kitten? Sounds like it could be an improper feeding issue, especially if your cousin has never raised baby kittens before.
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