Expert: Ali - 5/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I just brought home a new kitten (about 5 or 6 weeks old) yesterday from a rescue.  He was at a shelter a few days before.  He seems very skinny/bony (i can feel his spine and ribs very easily when I pet him), and he doesn't seem to have much energy.  He did eat a decent amount of wet food yesterday, but didn't really touch his other food (some low quality stuff that he had been eating at the rescue).  

He vomited once last night.  It was food, Not green/liquidy/foamy/or  bloody at all.  He's been drinking water pretty ok, but he just barely nibbles at his food today.  

I called the rescue, and they said not to worry, it was probably nerves, and just to try to switch his food over slowly.  He doesn't seem to have much energy, and he does have fleas (even though i tried bathing him in a mixture of water/vinegar/and dawn).  He was also, supposedly vaccinated according to the paperwork, and dewormed using strongid.  I've been checking his stool (and his vomit last night)for worms, and didn't see anything unusual.  His stool wasn't runny.  He seems a little dehydrated (at least I think that's what it means when the scruff of his neck doesn't immediately go back into place after being pulled on), but he DOES drink water, and today i rubbed a bit of Karo syrup on his gums.  He nibbled a little at the wet food, but not much.  I made a mixture of yogurt, a tiny bit of mayo, a little water, a couple drops of Karo, and some blended kibble and wet food.  We had to sort of gently force feed him, but he seems to be keeping it down ok.  

Everyone says I'm being overly nervous, but our other kitten seemed to take to food immediately and had a lot more energy.  Am I being paranoid?  Also, should we just get him some goat's milk or kitten formula instead of trying the food.  He was supposedly eating solid food before we got him, and was not with his mother at the shelter or the rescue.

Thanks

ANSWER: Jenn,

It's obvious to me that you love your new kitten very much and want what's best for him. In my opinion you have every reason to be concerned based on what you've told me. A kitten so young who is dehydrated, covered with fleas and been vomiting could become very sick quite quickly. In my opinion it would be good to have your kitten examined by your own vet as he may need some subcutaneous fluids (aka "fluids to go") to help rehydrate him, he should also be treated for fleas - you can use a little diatomaceus earth, the dust chinchillas roll in to minimize his exposure to harmful chemicals. It sounds to me like this baby is super thin and obviously in need of a visit to the vet, some TLC, lots of good food, play time and plenty of cuddles. I have no doubt that he'll do well under your care since you are so concerned with his welfare.

You have a couple of options when it comes to feeding this baby something he's likely to tolerate without vomiting and causing him to become more dehydrated. At 5-6 weeks old your kitten would normally still be nursing from mom as well as eating solids, however it's not in his best interests to bottle feed him formula or goat's milk only at this stage, he needs more substantial nutrition to grow strong and healthy. If you think your little man will tolerate it you can just mash up a high quality holistic canned food made from human grade ingredients and mix kitten milk replacer or weaning formula in so that you have a soupy gruel type mixture, there's no reason to keep him on a low quality diet that could be causing his symptoms and the sooner he's eating a high quality food the better off he'll be in my experience. You might want to try a homemade weaning recipe that I use to get young kittens (4-6 weeks of age that have been hand reared or otherwise orphaned) onto solid food so they can get much needed, easy to digest, nutritious food into their systems. I recommend cooking an organic boneless, skinless chicken breast by boiling it in water (I use filtered or spring to minimize the contaminants often present in tap water when a kitten has been vomiting so that their system can rest while they get what they need to be healthy & continue to grow). I recommend keeping the water left over from cooking the chicken because I use the broth to mix with powdered kitten milk replacer or weaning formula (KMR makes milk replacer and weaning formula) once the chicken and broth have cooled enough to handle comfortably. Once you've mixed the weaning formula according to the package directions you'll want to chop the chicken into manageable pieces and place it into a blender or food processor with your broth based weaning formula and 1/4 cup of organic, plain, unsweetened yogurt. The chicken allows the kitten to get easily digestible protein, the weaning formula adds crucial vitamins, calcium and other nutrients and the yogurt minimizes the risk of vomiting or diarrea because it contains benefical bacteria normally found in a healthy digestive system. It's best to add the weaning formula/broth mixture gradually because you'll want to have a mixture the texture of cooked cream of wheat, if not slightly thinner. It's best to feed your kitten small amounts of this mixture every 3-4 hours to minimize his chances of vomiting. You can freeze the prepared kitten weaning formula in an ice cube tray, it provides you with serving sized portions and allows you to keep the food fresh for 3-6 months in the freezer if you store it in a ziploc bag.

Once your little guy's feeling better you can gradually introduce a high quality holistic cat food (canned or dry is okay), preferably one made from human grade ingredients. The two brands of commercially available cat foods I feel confident recommending are Wellness and Spot's Stew by Halo. Wellness is meant to be fed as a combination of canned and dry food which can get pricey in multiple cat households. I feed cats and kittens under my care Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat formula by Halo and a high quality balanced homemade diet. If you'd like information about kitty nutritional requirements I'd recommend checking out catinfo.org, this site was created by a veterinarian wanting to educate pet parents about proper nutrition for cats and the health problems that commonly happen if their unique nutritional needs aren't properly met over a significant period of time. If there's anything else I can help you with in terms of providing information or tips about nutrition, kitten socialization/development, litter box training, etc I'd be more than happy to offer anything that'll help you and your kitten get off to the best possible start in life. If you are considering declawing your kittens when they're spayed/neutered I can provide you with information about this surgery and alternatives to having it done so that you're more likely to have a better relationship with your kitten and fewer of the behavioral issues commonly associated with this painful and expensive cosmetic procedure.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your earlier answer.  After a day of gentle force feeding KMR mixed with a bit of wet food, and him not eating, I spoke to the lady at the rescue again. She said his sibling was acting the same way since the other kittens were adopted out.  We returned the kitten to the rescue so that the pair could be adopted out together, and I'm happy to report that both kittens are eating on their own and seem much happier.

I now have a question about my other kitten.  He is very playful, and doesn't have a problem eating.  He loves to play with our Mastiff (who is a very good sport about it even though she gets an occasional claw to the nose).  I was just wondering why he meows and purrs at the same time.  I know that sometimes cats purr when they're upset or injured, but he seems to be fine aside from being very vocal (he tends to whine a bit when he's bored, and it usually stops the second you give him something to bite or play with).  When I pet him, and when he's curled up on my lap, or against my neck, he will meow while purring.  It's kind of a whiny meow.  Is this fairly typical for kittens?

Also, he lightly bit the bridge of my nose earlier tonight.  I have heard that this is a sign of a cat showing it is dominant.  Is that true (not that I mind....  I'm used to being my cat's obedient servant)?

Thanks

Answer
Jenn,

I'm sorry to hear that you weren't able to keep your newly adopted kitten, but I am glad that he's now eating - I wasn't aware that he had a sibling, that may have changed my earlier response slightly because some cats do become so attached that they must be placed into the same adoptive home in order to thrive and be happy.

As for your other kitten the meow/purr combination is something that some cats do their whole lives - two of my resident cats do it, we call it 'prowing' and in my opinion it's a sign of a happy cat. The purr that most cats use when they're in pain tends to be a lower pitch, quieter and a different rhythm.

Socializing kittens to be good pets includes making sure that they never bite or scratch any human body part on purpose while playing or because they aren't in a good mood. The leading cause of death for cats in North America is euthanasia related to behavioral issues so I can't stress the importance of proper humane discipline starting as soon as you bring your kitten home. It's not okay to allow him to bite you anywhere ever - that can lead to really serious behavioral problems and because of the concern that the cat could hurt someone, liability issues often force pet guardians to euthanize pets that bite or scratch people on any regular basis. The next time he tries to bite or use his claws on any part of any person's body deliberately I'd recommend gently getting ahold of the scruff of his neck and lowering him to the floor - it's important to be firm, but gentle, this is what mom would do if her kittens misbehave and get excessively rowdy so you won't be hurting his spirit, at worst he'll be nursing some hurt pride for a few minutes. If there's every anything that I can do to help you out, please feel free to let me know. I can offer you some information about nutrition, kitten socialization, spay/neuter surgery, feline behavior and why there are other options besides declawing our furry friends.