Expert: Jessica - 10/26/2009

Question
Hi,

4 weeks ago my cat had kittens, she left them and all have died except one. I have been taking care of him. He is so little you can still feel his ribs and he fits in the palm of you hand. When he is sitting laying he will start trembling, like his head and body. I am trying to wein him off the bottle without much luck. He has seen the vet and they said he is fine. Any ideas?

Answer
Hi Stephanie, sorry to hear about the litter.  The kitten could have some neurological problems causing the trembling.  But if he doesn't have much of a fatty layer, it's very possible he's unable to hold his body heat, and shivering attempts to raise body temperature.  If you don't have him on a heating pad, you may want to keep one of these available to him.  Wrap it in a towel and keep it on the lowest setting.  He should have enough room to move off the heating pad if he gets too warm.

I wouldn't push the weaning too much for another couple of weeks, since his belly is still very sensitive and may not be quite ready to digest meats.  Kittens will begin experimenting with food at different ages, depending on their readiness, although orphans can be quite hard to wean.  If you do decide to try introducing him to other foods, you may want to start with stage one chicken baby food (for humans).  This is easier to digest than commercially available kitten foods, and the taste should help introduce him to other solid foods.  You can begin mixing it in with his formula at first.

Generally, my four-week-old kittens tend to weigh a little over a pound, although this certainly varies.  If he is much smaller, you could talk to the vet again about possibly placing him on an antibiotic just in case anything is wrong.  Infections are one major cause of Fading Kitten Syndrome (a name given when the entire litter begins to die off without a known reason), and many of them will respond to antibiotics.  A lot of vets are reluctant to give antibiotics to young kittens, especially when it appears that "nothing's wrong".  And this is with good reason, since antibiotics can cause belly upset, and overusing them can cause resistance.  However, in cases where it seems clear the kitten is slipping away, I feel these risks are worth it, and antibiotics have saved a couple young litters of mine.  One liquid medication, azithromycin, is less likely to cause stomach upset than most others.  Some vets don’t carry this, and you may need to bring a prescription to a regular pharmacy to have it filled.

Has the mother been tested for the feline leukemia and feline AIDS viruses?  These are two possible causes for Fading Kitten Syndrome.  AIDS can rarely be passed to the kittens during delivery.  Feline leukemia is less likely to be a cause in your kitten’s case, because mothers pass it to babies while grooming them, and if she abandoned them, there was probably little opportunity for the germ to pass.  However, it’s a good idea to have any mother who has abandoned her litter tested, since infected mothers often neglect their litters.  Since the diseases are contagious and incurable, infected cats should stay inside and away from other cats.  If she’s negative, keeping her indoors is also the best way to prevent her from contracting the diseases.  There is a vaccine against feline leukemia, but it has the potential to cause cancer and should only be given if your cat will be going outdoors.  There is a controversial vaccine against AIDS.  Spaying will also reduce her risk of contracting AIDS, since it can be contracted through bite wounds that occur during mating.