Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   Hey everyone.
   I'm new to the site as well as caring for little kittens.
   Here's my dilema:
   My boyfriend and I were given a 6 week old kitten yesterday from our neighbor.
   The kitten (Marley) was mostly an outdoor kitten. She is the "runt" of the litter by far and we were told she hasnt been eating too well but that the breeder fed the babies Whiskas cat milk.
   When we got Marley yesterday, she was sneezing quite a bit but it seems to have gotten better as the day went by today...with still an occassional sneeze here and there.
   Anyways, aside from the sneezing, she seemed to be fine. She's very playful and loving towards all people and even my little puppy.

   Earlier today I gave her the Whiskas cat milk and she lapped it up just fine but just a couple hours ago, she started throwing it up (i knew it was the milk because it was the same mocha color as it was going in lol).
   She has thrown up about 4 times so far and had also gone to the bathroom within 5 minutes of the second time she threw up...the stool was a very light color and seemed to be a bit wet (not sure if this is normal for a kitten or not?)

   I have to take little Marley to the vet obviously but my vet is closed at this time of day. So in the mean time, does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thank you ahead of time! :)

   Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

2. 

   Hey Jenn! Welcome to tdk! As far as your kitty is concerned, at 6 weeks she should be eating solid food by now, just getting milk all the time is not enough nutrition for her. As far as the sneezing goes, and the tummy issues - thats a disease called snuffles. It's caused by a strain of herpes, it leads to sneezing, coughing, runny eyes, runny noses, vomitting and diahrea (not sure about the spelling of that). As long as the disease stays in the upper respiratory tract, kitties get better from it in 6 weeks time with no major issues - they get very sick, but they almost always also get better if they're being seen by a vet. If they disease gets to their tummies, you have to be really concerned, because its usually at this point where I lose kittens. They dehydrate so fast, from vomitting and diahrea, so its really important to keep her hydrated, and keep her warm until you can get her to a vet. I'm from SA, so I'm not at all familiar with the products you have overseas, but I've heard a few tdk'ers recommend something called pedialyte for dehydration. To assess if your kitty is dehydrated, you can do the pinch test - pick up some of her skin and pull it up, and then let go of it. It should snap back really fast (like the skin on the back of your hand would), if it doesn't, it means kitty is dehydrated. You can also check her gum colour; it should be nice and pink, if she's pale, it could mean she's dehydrated and cold, if it's bright pink she's running a fever. Please get her to a vet as soon as you can, and keep us posted!! I'd like to know how she's doing.

   Posted 2 years ago by Skyron #

3. 

   Jenn, in this situation it's important to keep the kitten hydrated. Young kittens who lose fluid through vomiting and/or diarrhea can get very weak very fast. Get some unflavored Pedialyte and give her as much of that as she'll accept. It's also recommended to smear some Karo syrup on her gums to help keep her blood sugar up.

   Because she was mostly an outdoor kitten, you'll want to have the vet check her for any illnesses or parasites she may have picked up out there.

   Posted 2 years ago by Leeny #

4. 

   Oh yeah - there's more: big symptom of snuffles is loss of appetite, that could be why she's not eating well. My vet always admits my kittens to the hospital if they have snuffles and stop eating, once again because of the dehydration issue. What they do then is to tube feed them until they get well enough to eat on their own again. You can also look up the merck veterinary manuel on google, and the put "feline respiratory disease complex" in the search box if you want a clearer picture of what's going on with Marley.

   Posted 2 years ago by Skyron #

5. 

   thank you guys so much for your replies.
   I've been very worried about the baby.
   We are getting her into the vet today.
   I bought her solid food but she wouldnt eat it so i put a little water in it to moisten it for her and that didnt seem to do anything either. I also have water set out for her right next to the food bowl and i've seen her stick her face in it but I havent seen her drink any of it...only the milk.
   Should i still continue to feed her the milk since thats the only thing she seems to eat?
   Also, will i be able to find the pedialyte in a regular grocery store or walmart or something or is it only available in pet stores?

   i did the skin test and it seems to snap back.
   i tried looking at her gums but she wont allow it lol
   i've also noticed she's missing a patch of hair on her lower back by her tail...that was missing when we got her, i just forgot to mention it before.

   she keeps meowing..sounds like a cry. breaks my heart not knowing what she wants..inless thats just what they do. (i've never owned a cat before.)

   thanx again for your help!
   -Jenn

   Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

6. 

   Jenn, welcome...You can find Pedialyte in the grocery store, it will be with the infant/baby food. Please keep us posted on what the vet says.

   Posted 2 years ago by 2bpurring #

7. 

   thank you.
   how much should i give her at a time and how many times a day?
   would it be okay to mix a little in with her solid food to see if that would get her to eat the solid food better?

   Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

8. 

   Try the pedialyte by itself. Think of it kinda like gatorade for kittehs... helps restore the electrolytes they lose by vomiting and/or diarrhea.

   Kiss that baby for me!

   Posted 2 years ago by Siobhan #

9. 

   I havent tried the pedialyte yet but i thought i should update everyone a little lol. So earlier this morning my boyfriend gave her a tiny bit more of the milk to tide her over until we got the solid food and she has kept that down pretty well so far.
   And I just gave her a little dry food with some water but all she did was smell it and maybe lick it a little. Then we added a little bit of wet food in there and she sat by the bowl and licked at that for a good while.
   And i havent been hearing or seeing her sneeze since yesterday so thats a good sign too i'm pretty sure lol.

   Siobhan, i just cant give this kitten enough kisses!
   Despite all these things that are going wrong with her, she's still extremely playful and she follows me and my boyfriend around like a little lost puppy lol
   And if we're standing still, she just sits or lays on our feet.

   I've also been wondering why she stays in her litter box so much. she jumps in and out of it all day long even when she doesnt need to really use it.

   Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

10. 

    I havent tried the pedialyte yet but i thought i should update everyone a little lol. So earlier this morning my boyfriend gave her a tiny bit more of the milk to tide her over until we got the solid food and she has kept that down pretty well so far.
    And I just gave her a little dry food with some water but all she did was smell it and maybe lick it a little. Then we added a little bit of wet food in there and she sat by the bowl and licked at that for a good while.
    And i havent been hearing or seeing her sneeze since yesterday so thats a good sign too i'm pretty sure lol.

    Siobhan, i just cant give this kitten enough kisses!
    Despite all these things that are going wrong with her, she's still extremely playful and she follows me and my boyfriend around like a little lost puppy lol
    And if we're standing still, she just sits or lays on our feet.

    I've also been wondering why she stays in her litter box so much. she jumps in and out of it all day long even when she doesnt need to really use it.

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

11. 

    Do you have any pictures of her?? what is her name?

    Posted 2 years ago by 2bpurring #

12. 

    yes! i have pictures :)
    i'll upload them to a pic site and post the link.
    its really hard to type right now! she's actually sleeping on the laptop i'm using right now lol i have to scoot her little butt up to type lol

    her name is marley, by the way.
    we actually arent quite sure if marley is a girl or boy yet.
    we were told we could find out if we felt around a little but we dont know what to feel for exactly lol

    pictures coming right up! :)

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

13. 

    here are a few pictures.
    my puppy, lily, never leaves the baby alone so i dont have very many pictures of the kitten by herself. but here they are:

    <img src="http://i38.tinypic.com/25gw5c2.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">

    <img src="http://i38.tinypic.com/rurwva.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">

    <img src="http://i38.tinypic.com/1zwkriq.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

14. 

    aww it didnt work. let me try a different site.

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

15. 

    Try giving her baby food, most kittens like that. Sounds like she will be OK, but the vet should have the final word on what to give her. Dry food is a no-no at that age. With the canned wet food try warming it up a bit to bring out the smell--cats react to the smell of the food.

    Posted 2 years ago by Sheba's Mom in Raleigh, NC #

16. 

    ah! what age do you start giving them dry food?
    she wont eat the dry food any ways so thats good
    and thanx for the tip on the baby food and warming up the kitty food!
    what is a good brand of kitten wet food?

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

17. 

    Jenn, welcome to TDK! I don't think that I can be of much help regarding Marley's eating. My girls were born feral but from the moment that we brought them in, they would eat just about anything. Actually, it took me quite a while to convince them that they needed to be eating some canned food and not just the dried food.

    When we first brought Willow in, and for several months, she would lay in her litter box at times. And if she heard us scooping the litter or changing the box, she had to run in and supervise. For whatever reason, the litter box was very important to her, but in time she outgrew laying in the box. I guess it was just a security thing.

    I couldn't see Marley's pictures :-(

    Posted 2 years ago by WillowandWindismom #

18. 

    thank you!
    i have to re-upload the pictures on a different site. i dont know why they arent showing up :(
    i love that willow would supervise every time you cleaned the box, its cute lol
    i read on google that it is in fact a security thing! it said they feel safe in their litter box which i believe because when my puppy wants to play with her, the pup swats her paw at marley as if she's a cat and marley runs in her litter box if she doesnt want to be bothered (most of the time, she'll swat back at the pup)
    i love the name willow, by the way :)

    i'm going to try to upload the pics to a different site right now. hopefully it works this time!

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

19. 

    pictures of Marley :)

    <img src="http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/jlh1090/DSC00964.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/jlh1090/DSC00969.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/jlh1090/DSC00978.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    <img src="http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/jlh1090/DSC00987.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

20. 

    Jenn, Marley is adorable! I can see why you have fallen in love. I hope that she gets her eating issues resolved!

    Posted 2 years ago by WillowandWindismom #

21. 

    thank you!
    i fell in love with her as soon as i saw her!
    we saw a kitten twice her size just sitting on the side walk so my boyfriend and i knocked on the door of the house that the kitten was sitting in front of and asked if they had any more kittens and asked if they were for sale and the lady said they were giving them away and took us to the back yard and marley just walked right up to us, meowing and sat right on my feet and i picked her up and said this is the one i want.
    she was the smallest of our litter and we knew she wasnt eating right and she was missing some hair on her back (but the hair above it covers it up a lot) but i just fell in love with her as soon as i saw her and i just had to have her!

    plus i feel better knowing we're probably saving her life because the lady said she wasnt eating well at all and she seems to be doing a lot better every day! :)

    i hope everything goes okay with her, she really is a sweet heart. thank you all for the information and advice; marley and i appreciate it greatly! :)

    Posted 2 years ago by Jenn #

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