Question about my 5 mo. old Kitten??

Question

I have a 5 mo. old male and a 4 mo. female. The male has been kinda down lately. He eats, drinks, and has no problems with his litter box, but he has not been very playful. He used to race around and love to attack things and now he does not. I just got the female kitty about a week and a half ago. She has had a cold, is on medication, and is really improving. The male has just recently began to sneeze, so I will be picking up medication today from the vet to treat him. Could his drop in activity be because he is getting a cold? Also, how can you tell if a cat has a fever besides using a thermometer? Thanks!!!

Answer 1

get him tested for feline leukemea. My kitten was eight months old when I got her and she did the same thing. I had taken her to the vet numerous times and they just kept giving me medicine for her. I had her for almost a year and she got to the point of not eating, drinking, and using the litterbox. I was doing everything by hand and putting her in the litter box every hour hoping for her to go. I finally took her to a different vet and explained everything. They ran the tests and it came back positve. I had to put her down and it was the worst thing that I had to do! Sadly, my other cat got it and died a few weeks later and he had almost no symptoms. It spreads and sticks to your stuff! Have her checked for that and feline AIDS. I am not saying that he has it but better safe than sorry.

If a cat is sick, they will act sick. Throwing up, not eating, drinking, using the restroom, seems depressed, etc. They may not have all of those symptoms but they should have several.

Please have him tested though. For everyones sake.

Answer 2

First, as an ENORMOUS animal lover I want to commend you for adopting an ill pet. I used to be involved with a no kill shelter & fostered cats. It was VERY seldom that the ill ones were adopted. I'm assuming his lethargy started after you adopted the female. If so, besides contracting her U.R.I., maybe he's not happy about having to share YOU. Unfortunately some cats prefer to be the only one or simply don’t like certain cats in the family. Lets hope this isn't the case here, because it appears to me that they are very blessed with an exceptional home! When I had 6 cats, 1 female didn't like 1 other female. Katrena tolerated her, but had nothing to do with Autumn. She went as far as peeing in Autumn’s food dish to show her dislike...LOL! You didn't mention them not getting along, so I doubt this is the reason for him being lethargic. It’s common for us to give lots of love to our new “kids”, especially if they are ill. I highly recommend that you be sure to give him your attention first. The 1st sign of an animal being extremely ill, are when they stop eating. Then immediate veterinary care is needed. It’s admirable of your Veterinarian to provide med’s for your male without seeing him. The majority wouldn’t do this because there could be another health issue. So please ask your Veterinarian how soon you should see an improvement in him. Besides a rectal thermometer there are ones for the ear, though they are expensive. But they are a wise investment! I hope that I have helped some. God Bless You for your devotion to your pets! Happy Holidays, Deb

Answer 3

Yes, he probably does feel down becuase of his cold. He can also feel different becuase there is a new cat in town. Make sure he get the same attention and individual one on one time so he feels more comfortable with the new kitten. If the cat is drinking a lot of water, that I think is a sign, but not a sure sign of fever.

Answer 4

Could be... but for the fever, I dunno...

But also I have cats that lose interest in things for days and then pick it up again... I have a 1 year old monster kitty... and a loving kitten...

Answer 5

YES, YES, YES, you answered your own question he's sick take him with you to the vet for a check up they can do the temp there, touching the nose really isnt an indication of temp more of hydration. Mine also had a drop in energy when he was on kitten chow, we switched him to raw and he is zipping around the house but you also have to remember their energy levels do taper off with age.

Answer 6

Yes, he could be getting sick. You need to use a thermometer to tell if he has fever. better use an electronic one, that can't break in his bum. And use some vaseline to lubricate it. If you do that and make soft moves, you can take the temperature fairly easy.

Answer 7

Very normal. At 5 months old, they wouldn't even be mature enough to reproduce if they hadn't been spayed. They are just playing and one is going to naturally try to dominate the other. That is how nature works.

Answer 8

actually it could be the cold thats bringing im down. just give him his meds and get him all better first. if he is still lazy when his cold is gone then try to play with him. if he still doesnt want to play then he may be depressed:( take him 2 a vet if u think hes depressed. it may be his fever that is slowin him down too.
Good luck!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

He could be feeling a bit run down from the impending UTI he's probably getting. Antibiotics should help with that.

The only way to accurately tell the temp is rectally...sorry.

Answer 10

look at your cats gums, if they are pink he is ok, if they go white you have a problem, and yes getting sick makes them way less painful, good job on taking care of your kitties :)