Why isnt my kitten eating?

Question

I adopted a kitten today for my daughter, we got home with him around 1pm. He is a Tabby cat and he hasnt eaten or drank anything since we've been home, its been 6 hours. Hes used the bathroom twice, once at 6pm (pee) and another time at 6:15pm (poop)....hes 11 almost 12 weeks old. Any suggestions? I've tried giving him some milk too....and he wont drink it, I don't know if its just because hes in a new house....hes been at the shelter for a little while...not sure how long, but he has been crying alot too.....and sleeping to think of it, help!?

Well the food I'm giving him is the same food/same brand kitten food that the shelter was feeding him. And he wasnt really in a cage, it was an open room that had about 20-25 different cats in it :(

Answer 1

I have soming maybe he doesing like wat u give him if thats not it go too the vet

Answer 2

Unfortunately, he is probably joining his siblings. Sometimes a mom will lose an entire litter and we will never know the causes. Even rushing him to an emergency vet does not guarantee he will live because kittens are so very fragile. Is he dehydrated? (Gently pull up the skin at the scruff of the neck. If it bounces back right away, he's not. If it takes time to go back into place, he is getting dehydrated and is critical.) Dehydration is very critical in kittens and you must get kitten milk into him. Do not force the milk into him or you will get it in his airway and kill him. Make sure he stays warm. Kittens cannot regulate their own body temperature. Get a heating pad, covered with a towel and place it on low. Make sure the kitten can get off of it if he gets too warm. If he starts pulling his head back toward his shoulders, he is on his way out. Hold him, let him know that he was loved in this world as he goes to the next. I wish I could offer you something more positive but this is unfortunately, one of the many heartbreaks of an unspayed female cat.

Answer 3

Hmm..when I first got my kitten, she was really scared and ran under the bed and wouldn't come out. Eventually though, she ate after about...3...4 hours. I read that for the more nervous kittens, a new home can be a very traumatic experience and to just give it a room or area in the house where it's by itself so it can absorb in the sounds and smell of the new house. Perhaps your kitten is just one of those nervous kitties. I would suggest if it hasn't eaten for the entire day then it's time to take it to the vet.

Oh yes, I read from somewhere before that you should not feed kittens milk. Other than their mother's milk, it best to just give them water. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

NO MILK! That's bad for a kitten's system. It could give him diarrhea and dehydrate him. He's nervous; it's new surroundings. Chances are he might hide out for a few days but if he doesn't eat a thing by tomorrow I would call the vet and ask them what you should do. Try kitten soft food. You might want to even mix it with a little bit of water so it's easier for them to eat & digest. Fresh water daily too.

I'm sure he'll be fine soon. He's just nervous.

Answer 5

His behavior is perfectly all right. He is frightened, and maybe you can understand how he feels if you see it this way: your little kitten is about the equivalent of a 5-6 month old human baby. He is very, very young. You may think of the shelter as, well, a shelter. But to him, it was home. His family was there, his friends. And everything about you is strange to him.

Frightened cats don't eat. Terrified cats don't pee or poop. So he is not terrified, just frightened. Just treat him like the baby he is, be very gentle and nurturing. Be sure to give him a very secure place to be in, and it would be just great if you could give him something fuzzy or furry to sleep on, and keep him close to you. The crying is him calling for his family, his mommy or his friends. He doesn't know where he is. He needs to feel safe, to know that you care about him, to come to understand that you are his new "Mommy", that the food and the love and the caring come from you now.

A little hyperattentiveness, and supergentleness with him just now will orient him. Let him know that you are trustworthy. When he cries, pick him up. He is a crying baby. He has a need, and he is sharing that. Meet his need and he will turn to you. You are training him, teaching him what he can expect from you and what you are like. You are laying the foundation for your relationship with him for the next 15 years. And if you got him for your daughter, you are teaching her best friend, the furry guy who will be one of the sweetest memories of childhood when she is an old lady, you are teaching him to trust and be a friend.

Kittens and cats are lactose intolerant, and cow's milk gives them the trots. If you want to treat him to milk, get some Lactase, lactose-reduced milk, and put a raw egg yolk in it and some wet kitten food. He is certainly old enough to be adopted, but he may not have teeth yet to chew dry kibble, so if you feed him dry kitten food, soak it in Lactase or water until it is softened completely, then mash it up and put it down for him.

But right now, he probably doesn't need food as much as he needs reassurance. Give him lots of attention and affection. When I was fostering kittens, at nighttime, I would keep them on a real furry toilet lid cover which I set on the pillow next to mine. You need to adjust this formula to suit your life and preferences, but you see what I was doing. If he cries in the night, then you can just reach up and stroke and reassure him.

This phase will almost certainly pass soon. Kittens grow quickly, and so, phases don't last long. But it is an important time.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

give him a few days - once he's used to the new enviroment he'll start eating/ drinking and the crying is most likely because while at the shelter he had other cats in the cage with him if not they were all really close to eachother and he's having some seperation issues, but give him a few days, he will be a normal kitten soon
He'll most likely start eating/ drinking a little bit before the nights over - - When he's hungry he'll eat as long as it's sitting out for him to get too

Answer 7

This sounds normal. he isn't sure of the new living situation and he is to scared to eat. eh has probably been kept in a cage and maybe with other cats and again is scared. When he cries try to hold him and talk to him.
I always suggest to feed dry food and you might want to try to hand feed him
NEVER give a cat milk their tummies can't correctly digest cows milk. Water is the best. you can give either goats milk or kitten replacement milk ( for bottle feeding kittens)
If he isn't eating or drinking by Sat. Morning then get a worried and get him to teh vets but he will probably be ok.

Answer 8

He's probably just confused by his new surroundings. Make sure that he knows where the food is and once he gets settled in he'll eat. It also might be good to have a couple different kinds of foods in case he doesn't like one and doesn't eat because of this.

He cries because he's trying to find something familiar in this new place. He's trying to see if mom or some siblings are in your home too and will call back to him.

Answer 9

hes probably nervouse but maybe you should try to give him some milk in a baby bottle it would make calm down to you also make sure the food isnt hard cats love soft food especially kittens, also they do feed ther cats at the shelter maybe hes just full.

Answer 10

My kitten did this as well. The first day she was home she would not even the use the bathroom. By the next afternoon she was adjusted and eating up a storm.

Answer 11

#1, never give cow's milk to a potentially sick kitten, it will just exacerbate digestive problems. #2, take him to a vet asap. Coming from a shelter, a kitten could have been exposed to a miriad of diseases that manifest themselves initially with digestive symptoms.