We have a beautiful new kitten, which came from a home with numerous cats where, I suspect, he may not have received the care and attention he needed. He is 2 months old, with a wonderful inquisitive and friendly nature, but appears very malnourished - though his fluffy fur conceals it to the eye, in reality his little bones are protruding terribly, and his tummy seems swollen.
Little Oscar does have a good appetite and I hope will soon put on weight (we've only had him for a few days), but I was quite concerned today when he began looking quite lethargic, sleepy and generally unwell, and had a bout of nasty diarrhea. He seems to have perked up this evening, and I am planning to take him to the vets early next week - but would appreciate any suggestions or advice on how to best help him thrive - I've had many cats over the years, but never a kitten so young and in such a condition.
At the moment we feed him whiskas kitten pouches which he seems to enjoy, and he also seemed very keen on tinned tuna which he managed to steel from my plate the other day, but I am somewhat concerned that he doesn't seem to be interested in drinking water (though i believe the food pouches contain quite a lot of moisture).
Would be grateful for any thoughts from cat experts on HP!
Don't seem to be able to upload a picture here, but here is a if you'd like to see this sweet little boy!
Masha
Please take him to the vets ASAP.
There are lots of things it could be, although worms is favourite.
But please take him to the vets straight away.
Myarka.
I agree with myarka about getting him to a vet asap.
I'm no cat expert, Masha, but wonder if when you bought him, you were given a history of any worming regime that had been carried out, suggestions as to when he should be innoculate against cat illnesses, dietary advice etc ... that's how it should be with puppies anyway.
I can tell you though that your link goes to a login page on the website where your picture is, so I can't view it, unfortunately.
Holistic
Thanks for your advice! Yes, apparently he has been wormed. We will get him to the vets on Monday.
Masha
What a cutie!
Like has already been said see a vet asap.
If he's not used to his kitten food and its given him a runny tummy, give him mashed cooked chicken and rice. Its gentle on the tummy and will hopefully help, give in small (mouse size) regular meals. I rescued a young cat once who had recently miscarriaged and was in an awful state. I fed her on chicken and rice and then gradually weaned her onto cat food over a series of days. She also started out with a jippy tummy but she came round and her fur became sleek and she filled out nicely. After a couple of weeks she was good to be rehomed.
Good luck with the little fluff ball. He really is a gem and looks like one of my cats, when he was a babe.
Fingers crossed all is well with the little chap.
Meadowsweet
Worms is the most likely problem but definitely take him to the vet (the worming tablets at the vets are way better than those in the petshops and supermarkets). Our cat was from a rescue centre that claimed they wormed her but she had a huge tapeworm when we got her (the centre in question has since been closed down by the RSPCA).
In case it's something else then a bland meal such as the boiled chicken and rice already mentioned would also be a good idea.
In the long term, I would recommend feeding dry food, it's much better for a cat's teeth than the wet food. We feed the dry with the occasional pouch mixed in as a treat. In fact, when we first got her, she was only 9 months old and immediately had dental surgery to remove rotten teeth caused by eating the wrong food in her previous home.
Edit: I've just re-read your original post. If they did worm him with low strength/quality worming tablets and didn't worm all the cats in the home at the same time, then it's still possible for him to have worms.
he is lovely looks like one of my cats tipsy, i feed ours mainly dry but give them a couple of times a week cooked chicken and sometimes sardines in oil which they love to the point of crying when i get a tin out of the pantry
It's also possible that he's not two months old!
Cats are superfertile, which means they can add to the litter over a period of time. This means that, although all the kittens will be born on the same day, the last one (or two) may be up to two weeks behind in their development.
I once had a kitten from CPL who was the runt of the litter. He was tiny! We took him to the vets the week after we got him, and the vet explained that he was a perfectly normal eight week old cat who'd been born ten weeks ago - and told us why. He never really grew up and stayed small, if a little cheeky. He looked just like the Felix cat, but we called him Leroy (there's a Belgian beer of that name, and on the bottle it says "Leroy special katje" which is just what he was!) You can get special kitten milk (which you make up like baby formula) from the vets, and we fed him on that for about 3 weeks until we weaned him onto kitten food.
Thanks for all your advice, everyone, it's very helpful!
We'll take little Oscar to the vets tomorrow, though in the meantime he has perked up and looking brighter and is demanding everyone's attention (he insists on being carried around on someone's shoulder - or, in a sitting position, likes nothing better than nestling on someone's chest - he has preference for female ones for some reason! :))
Interesting thought about him being less than 2 months old - he does look quite tiny, will check it out with the vets.
Many thanks
Masha
He's adorable, he looks like a healthy little dot in the pictures.
Worms have already been mentioned so I won't go over old ground.
He's a baby not long away from mum, new home, new diet so it will take time for his system to readjust.
I am sure the vet will give him a clean bill of health and you will have a very happy healthy puddy tat before you know it. 🙂
What an adorable little furbaby!! I could eat him! lol
Very wise with a new kitten anyway for a trip to the vets to get him checked out, in my opinion its not so unusual for a new kitten to get a tummy upset as he's eating quite rich cat food and his little tummy is probably getting used to it still, also if he's been deprived of food before and had to fight for his share before he came to you then maybe he's overloading aswell. I've always been advised by my vets to give something light like scrambled eggs or white fish because its light. If he had worms I think you'd have noticed by now, my kittie had worms when he was a couple of months, NOT NICE but i can honestly say you'd notice if you know what i mean. All the same, check when he's been to the toilet. It's always nerve wracking when we get a new pet as we don't know their ways, which is why we get so paranoid about them being poorly.
I'm not saying he doesn't have worms and i'm not a vet but had cats for a long time so i can only speak from experience. Always best to get the experts opinion. I do hope he's ok for you, he's gorgeous! keep us updated and good luck!!
Update on little Oscar - after a couple of weeks of not knowing if he would survive (the vet was doubtful and suspected a possible case of leukemia), he miraculously recovered and is now a happy, healthy and very bouncy kitten, who thinks that legs are tree-trunks for climbing, and that ladies' chests (especially ample ones) are cosy sleeping quarters. 🙂
Thanks everyone for advice and good wishes for Oscar!
Masha
Masha,
Thats fabulous news, glad he's plumping up and full of energy. May he have a long and happy life with you.
Love & Light
Fabulous news. :dance:
I am very happy for you all. 🙂
That's lovely news Masha - I'm sure he'll be a wonderful companion for many years to come. Sorry I can't use your link to see him!
Great news Masha, keep us updated with fun photos as he grows!
Phew! thats wonderful news, enjoy your fur baby!:cat: