I am desperate for help i have 5 6 1/2 wk old kittens all was going good the kittens are growing rapidly and playing like crazy and they are even eating on there on with an occasional feeding off mommy, with the exception of one, she wont eat on her own i have tried a bottle she pushes away, i tried putting some glop on my finger and putting in her mouth she still refuses it. i am so scared something is going to happen to her. when all the others including mom are eating she shys away and will go and hide i am being as gentle as anyone could be. she seems sad and tired and is there anyone who can help me. if something happens to her i will blame myself and it would crush me and her siblings. anything or any advise you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
thank you so very much
Kim
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » General Chat
6 1/2 wk kitten wont eat on her own
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put a small amount of corn syrup, honey, or sugar water on the roof of her mouth so her blood sugar doesn't go down. if she won't eat within 3 days go to the vet. it could affect her liver.
here is a real good site for kittens
and good luck
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Hi, Kim, do you mean she is still eating off her mum? Or is she not eating at all?
If she's not eating at all, I think you need to get her to the vet, asap. You say she seems sad and tired, I am interpreting that as being 'lethargic' and 'flat' -- when you add lethargy to not eating, those are big danger signs for kittens and though she should be reasonably robust at six weeks, and with having been raised on her mum's milk, she is still very vulnerable. Kittens go downhill very quickly and I really would advise the vet, asap.
Until you can get her into the vet, keep trying with the food. If she refuses point blank to eat anything, you can keep her alive (if the food's the only problem and she's not sick with something else) with pedialyte and Nutrical. Nutrical is a high-calorie paste. Pedialyte is in the infants' aisle at the supermarket or you can make your own. You may have to force feed her. If she won't take anything from the bottle, can you try a spoon? Syringe (without the needle in, obviously)? The more cats don't eat, the more they don't want to eat, that's the problem. You could try her with a little plain (unflavoured) yoghurt.
Off the top of my head, she could have a URI infection and maybe she can't smell the food, so doesn't want to eat.
If she's still eating off her mum and it's just solid food she won't eat (at six and a half weeks, she should at least be trying a little even if she then turns her nose up), then click the pink tag 'weaning' for some advice on this subject. You can try: mixing soft food with pedialyte into a sort of 'gruel' and putting it in the bottle, drizzling kitten replacement milk onto the top of a flat plate of soft food and warming it gently (warming anything makes it smell more appetising). Try smelly foods like fish and tuna. Try pure chicken baby food (Gerbers is a good brand), no additives or onion or garlic or anything, just pure chicken. Try grated cheese, try plain yoghurt. If she's still getting good feeds off Mum, then when she starts weaning isn't such a problem -- but the lethargy still is.
Best of luck. Let us know how it goes.
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Here is the thread with the tent test for dehydration (the biggest problem when they're not eating or drinking) and the recipe for pedialyte:
http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/31106The pedialyte has some sugar in it but, as CAM suggests above, for an extra burst of energy, and if you don't have Nutrical, you can try some Karo (light-coloured) corn syrup, a light smear across her mouth, no big lumps, nothing she can choke on, or honey. CAM is right, the messybeast website is also extremely helpful.
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