There are several problems with my new, 8 week old Himalayan kitten. He’s small. VERY small. Less than a pound and is skin and bones. He’s sleeps around 22 hours a day and seems to have trouble moving around when he is up. He eats, but very little at a time, although when he eats that little bit, he does so vigorously, like he is starving. To give you an idea of how much he eats, I feed him about 1 teaspoon of food every couple of hours. I’ve tried bottle feeding, he just chews on the bottle for a while and then spits it out. He also has a lot of trouble going number two. Just last night, he started passing a watery diarrhea, now just this morning, there’s blood.
I’m going to take him to the vet, but it won’t be open until Monday. I need to know what it could be, as the emergency vet charges so much, that if anything severe is happening, we may have to put him to sleep. I really really do not want to do this. I’m pretty sure he’s constipated, because he had a lot of trouble passing feces when I first got him. He would push so hard that his legs would fall out from under him and he’d get exhausted. I’ve also noticed that the mother cat has licked his anus raw. He has sores all over the edge, so I’m sure it’s painful for him.
What I’m worried about is now and the bloody diarrhea. Please help!
He’s been eating soft kitten food, KMR formula, and softened Authority kitten kibble. Only a little at a time, and it takes a bit to get him interested.
He has not been dewormed, his appointment for his first visit to the vet is on Monday. I’ve only had him for 3 days now
I didn’t get the kitten from a breeder, he was a rescue. The mother cat rejected him and I have been trying to raise him since.
Took kitten to the vet. He was just VERY emaciated. He’s now on a high protein diet to get him to normal weight. He’s having some bad diarrhea, now, but that’s because of the sudden change of food. He should be getting better soon. There were no worms, no distemper, no leukemia. Other than being emaciated, he’s healthy. Now just trying to figure out how to help his constant runs…
Thanks to those of you with viable answers. I understand a lot of people have a flight response to sick kittens, but “just take it to the vet” isn’t the answer I was looking for. I wanted to know what I had to expect when I did go, what the possible outcomes were, and how I could help him in the mean time. Only one person actually answered that.
First Reply:
Answer by mcally (The Kiddies)
I would take him to to the ER vet now! He may not live till Monday. If he has bloody diarrhea and is already under weight he won’t last long.