My 6 week old kitten is being sick, i dont know why, anyone shed some light?

Question

I have just been given a 6 week old kitten 4 days ago by my brother. He seemed fine for the first few days, a little un-settled as he is now away from his brothers and sisters, but i have another kitten so it has put him at ease a little and has settled in fine now. I am a little concerned about him though. When he came off of his mothers milk he was put straight onto adult food and aparently that is all they give him, it did not used to make him bad. I had another kitten before i got Pippin and had dried kitten food for him, so gave them both what was left of that food. Since then I have put adult food back into the bowl which was given to me by my brother and they both seemed fine initially, but then the younger kitten has just been sick. He was sick the other night as well and always seemed to want to eat. He drinks plenty so it can't be a digestive problem. Can anyone help me out?

For the person who said i needed to tell you what his symptoms are : Pippin has been vomitting, he has only vomitted twice but it has been purely food and he makes a horrible noise when he does. He is normal in himself, playing with my other kitten, eating fine and drinking plenty, very energetic and does not seem to be in any pain, but is very sleepy (wether that is normal or not i dont know).

He was given to me by my brother and his wife, i did not know that he was too young, all i know is that they came to me and said you are having the kitten now as they are too much for the mum as she has stopped feeding. The only reason i gave him adult food is because that is the food they gave me for him as that is what they have been giving for the last week or so, he is the only kitten they have given away as he has stopped feeding from his mother.

Just so you all know, i took little Pippin to the vets this afternoon and the vet said it was simply because he was gutsy and eats too quickly, so now i am putting a lot smaller meals down for him, so he can't eat too much. Thanks for all the advice.

Answer 1

he is a little young to be away from mum as she is still producing milk until they are at least eight weeks old and they should not leave mum until at least nine weeks old. kittens must have kitten food as they grow so quickly there isn't enough fats, proteins etc for their fast growing bodies. this little guy sounds like he has an intestinal parasites and needs to see a vet. i am giving my seven week old kittens purina kitten food pouches and go-cat kitten biscuits and also felix cat milk which is suitable from six weeks old. try this out
kitten meat for times a day and kitten biscuits and water out all day. and put milk down as when you want to each day but don't leave down for more than 4hours it goes off. this little guy needs to be checked by a vet and while he is there ask for some pro-soluble or for some probiotics will help his little tum. you may want to give him some lactol/ cimicat or kmr for a few days from a bottle you can buy this stuff from most petstores it will get the nutrients back in him. also he may need some vitamin shots again ask your vet. hope this helps and please feel free to email me for any advise

Answer 2

First stop with the adult food. The sort of vomiting you are describing is possibly the result of the kitten eating too much dry food then drinking (with the result that the dry food expands in its stomach and comes straight back up again). However any kitten that has been vomiting will dehydrate rapidly and may die. You should take it to the vet now, when you can make an appointment during working hours, or you may have to make an emergency trip later with possible tragic consequences.

Answer 3

Your kitten really needs to be on kitten food as the adult food can be too rich for their little bellies. Or if you've changed food then the kitten would have an upset belly. Are you giving the kitten milk? This is not a good thing, they only need to drink water. I hope your little kitten gets better soon. But if he doesn't then you may need a trip to the vets.

Answer 4

TAKE THAT KITTEN TO THE VET!!!
It most definitly is something to do with digestion. Kittens can turn very quickly and get dehydrated. You must give them kitten food. That is why age appropriate food is available at different stages the nutritional needs are different.
Have you had this kitten checked at all before you allowed your other pet around each other?
It also might not have been ready to leave its mother. How much real food had this kitten been able to digest before leaving its mom?

Answer 5

Iknow you have had lots of answers toyour question, but my concern is that the kitten was taken away from its mother at such a young age. Hasnt had enough time with its mother and siblings to learn how to fend for itself in the big wide world. Will people please refuse to take on dogs and kittens that are less than 8 weeks old. It's just not fair on the animal. Humans can never replace those first few important weeks that a natural mother can give an animal.

Answer 6

Feed your kitten a nutritionally complete dry food that is specially formulated for a kitten's nutritional needs,

At your kitten's age, you should be feeding 1/4 to 1/3 cup (1/2 to 1 oz.) of food a day. Moisten the food with a little warm water (one part water to three parts food), and spread your kitten’s daily intake over three or four feedings. Change the food frequently to ensure freshness.

Feeding your cat a premium food such as IAMS® Cat Foods can help you deal with a sensitive stomach. "Usually, when you change to a better quality diet, there is no problem

the link is the diff types of vomiting your cat me be doing and what the reason for it might be.

Answer 7

Adult food is not suitable for a kitten also you are probably giving him too much. Kittens need lots of tiny meals. Six weeks is really a bit young to be away from mum, so get some good quality kitten food. Try burns-pet-nutrution.co.uk their food is top quality and they have a free phone help number. Please don't leave your kitten being sick for as young animals go down very quickly. If in any doubt please go to the vet

Answer 8

I would suggest taking him to teh vets he is due for his first set of shots and they can check him over to see what is going on they should be on kitten food not adult cat food.
This could be a number of things and instead of trying to figure it out it's best to take to the vets.
Not trying to put your brother down but he apparently doesn't know what he's doing. they should be on kitten food until at least 6 mos-1 year. Tehy should not have taken from mom until 8 weeks as this is a crucial training time for mom and babes.
So I say take to the vets.

Answer 9

Typical problem with kittens that haven't been given vacination and are rehomed at too young age-kittens should not be place in new homes until 8week old to properly allow socialisation with people and litter mates and also learn appropiate behaviour skills. The behaviour problems will develope later in life, and each free or cheap kitten given away, when shelter cats/kitten are euthanise! Yeah early stage cat flu- with a kitten that young-Vet straight away! Kittens that age cat die from cat flu if not treated immediatly.

Answer 10

You have to try various kitten foods to begin with, and he is a bit young to have come away from his mother i think. His tummy has to adapt to solid food after the milk. Just feed him small amounts at a time. It might be cuz he is eating to quickly also.
My cat who is three years old is still sometimes sick after she eats and i put that down to eating to fast because of us having another cat (it;s so the other one doesn't get it i suppose.)
If you still have a problem then take him to the vets cuz it also might be gastroenteritis, which is a tummy problem and can get quite bad if not treated.
Good luck, and hope he will be ok...