What to do for a feather of a 7 week old kitty that is all fur and bones?

Question

She weighs one pound (maybe). I bought her from the vets office. They say she's healthy, but I'm wondering. I could tell she was a runt, but she purred and came up to me with her tail up so friendly and the other one was too busy being crazy to purr or even notice me so I took the tiny one. I hope this wasn't a mistake because she's so lovable, but she doesn't play rough like the other kitty, in fact she barely plays at all. She tumbles down the steps and waits at the bottom like it's too hard to get up them although she did manage this today. I started adding some water to those hard nuggets they were feeding her because I thought she might be able to eat more and bought her some canned Friskie shredded food that is supposed to be for kittens and cats. She seems to like this the best. Her bowels are soft and in a pile but not formed, is this diarrea? It's been that way since she's been here for three days. Also, she has black gunk always outside of her eyes. Why?

Answer 1

Well, 7 weeks is pretty young, so it's not too unusual that she is not very playful. When my cats were babies they did more sleeping than playing--they usually could only play for ten minutes or so before they had to nap.
Is she eating dry kitten food? Kitten food is easier to eat than dry cat food, but it is a great idea to soften it with water (works for puppies too). I would go easy on the canned food since her poop is soft, try to get her to eat only the moistened dry food and let her eat as much as she wants. Technically it's not diarrhea unless it is watery and frequent.
However...it wouldn't hurt to take her to a different vet for a checkup. There are plenty of nasty diseases around, or she could have roundworms, so take in a bit of poop when you go. Hopefully she's just a little behind and will grow like crazy and be just fine.
Good luck!

Answer 2

no kitten seven weeks old should weigh one pound. i don't know how they could tell you that is healthy. and as noted above, no seven week old kitten should be sold. so, what to do now...

the first thing is, are they sure that this kitten doesn't have a heart problem. because that can cause kittens to be small and less active.

second, the goop in the eyes. you can remove it by soaking a washcloth in warm water, wringing it out and then holding it gently against the eye area for about fifteen seconds. then, use the cloth to wipe away the goop. however, more than likely it will come back. if it does, your kitten has an eye infection. if that is the case, she will need an antibiotic eye ointment, which i think should be provided to you by the vet at no charge.

i wouldn't feed nuggets to a cat this size. she needs canned kitten food. the best thing would be a good brand, such as science diet or iams. science diet makes a food called a/d, which is specifically made for helping underweight cats gain weight/strength. if you cannot afford that, at the very least, feed a canned store brand kitten food. it really needs to be kitten food, and not adult cat food. there is a big difference in nutrition.

i probably wouldn't feed kitten formula to a kitten this old. and definitely do not feed her cow's milk. it will give some kittens severe diarrhea, and a kitten of her size could easily die fairly quickly from diarrhea.

it sounds like she is leaning toward diarrhea. at that age, stools should be formed, but not hard. i am currently feeding a five week old kitten with this same problem, so i will tell you what i have found. she may have an infection in her tummy that is causing the diarrhea. if it gets really runny or watery, take her back to the vet. but if it is just soft, like now, she may just need some fiber in her diet. i have used adult nugget hairball food, whirled in the food processor (or you could put it in a baggie and pound it with a hammer) and mixed in with the canned food and a little water. i have also used the whiskas crunchy hairball treats, crushed and mixed with the canned food. it has worked like a charm.

good luck with this endeavor. it will be a little work. i think it would be totally reasonable to go back to the vet and ask them to give you eye ointment and canned kitten food. it should not be your responsibility to pay a vet bill for a condition that was obviously present when they had the kitten.

Answer 3

this is not uncommon things for little runts, they are like premie babies they will catch up and play and learn more as time goes by. the soft stool is not uncommon either, that can be from her diet also, the moist food will cause this, do not give her any milk. contrary to what people think, milk is not good for kittens. soften the hard food with a little water like you are doing, i would suggest getting science diet kitten food for her and take her back to the vet in a couple of weeks for a checkup or if any thing changes the moist food is alright as a treat but i would not make it her main diet. make sure she is drinking good. cats that eat a lot of canned or moist food dont usually drink as much as those on a dry food diet. it is because the water requirement is coming from the wet food. keep an eye on the bowels and how often she goes dont want her dehydrating. the gunk around the eyes is not uncommon either, clean them gently with a soft towel and water then put just a dab of vaseline on your finger and go over her eye gently. this will help, but keep an eye on this if there is a change in the color or it starts to look like pus, there can be an infection.

Answer 4

If you suddnely changed her food that will cause stomach irritation which would account for the diarrea. The black gunk, am not sure, our cats both had that as kittens, we just took tissue and wiped it away and as they got older it went away. You need to be feeding her kitten food, Don't feed her adult cat food, just like you wouldn't feed a newborn baby steak, don't feed a newborn kitten cat food. We did not introduce those foods to our cats until about 6 months old, even then we started with the kitten fomula of those foods. Feed your cat either Science Diet or Iams, feeding them the expensive food which is healthier for them is worth the health benefits and doctors bills in the long run.( the difference between feeding them McDonalds every day or a well balanced meal with fruits and veggies is how our vet described it to us) Keep feeding her the healthy food and she will be fine. She will eat when she is hungray. Just be sure she is getting pleanty of water If you have any worries, consult your vet.

Answer 5

it sound like you have not had meny cats. you should go to the vet and get some cat milk and they have food with milk in it she need to have more food how meny time do you feed her? what did the vet say about her eyes. a 7 week old kitty still need soft food with dry food to the side. but she still need mommies milk that you can get at the vets. you need to have her blood tested and make sure her iron is ok. small babies some times need more iron and you can get that in her milk. you need to keep playing with her even if she doent play back you need to teacher how to play . diarrea is waterery and thin. not soft and in a pile. so you do not have to worrie there but the vet is who you need to talk to and tell the vet all these thing. some runts never are normal. you just can love them and then love them some more

Answer 6

I think you need a different vet opinion. It could be that she does need more than the "nuggets" to gain a little weight, but you may have to buy special kitten soft food. The ones for kittens AND cats is a little on the rich side for very young kittens according to my own vet. She is pretty young at 7 weeks to be away from mom, so give her some time to blossom.

Answer 7

Kittens that young are small and weak anyway. You should just feed her as much as she will eat and she will gain weight. And it sounds like she has an eye infection. You should tell the vet and have them get you some eyedrops for her. It will be a chore to put them in, but it will go away. Good Luck!

Answer 8

she sounds like the runt of the litter. take care not to give her cows milk...buy special cats formula. its normal for her poo to be a little soft as she is prob just off her mums teat. feed her special kitty food, lots of small meals a day. she will grow and yes, she was the right choice for you as you both bonded together...soul mates. wash her eyes in a solution of salty water (BOIL WATER, ADD A LOT OF SALT, LET COOL) if they don't clear up within a few days take her back where you got her and insist on them checking her or you will report them to the authorities. she will take a while to learn how to bury her poop, my experiences with kittens are the same, some have also eaten the kitty litter!!! good luck

Answer 9

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Answer 10

You should bring her back to the vet IMMEDIATELY. It sounds like she might have worms, which can easily be fatal. Bring a stool sample with her to the vet so they can check for worms. Other parasites can also cause these symptoms.

Get her attended to right away, kittens can get really sick and die quickly.