New kitten advice

[Holidaystress11]

Hello! We have a new little kitten. 16 weeks tomorrow and we have had her for about 1 week. Everything has been fine but today I thought she looked a little too sleepy. She hasn't touched her food much the last few days and she doesn't seem to touch her water since she's been here.

The day after we brought her home we found fleas. I registered her at the vets and managed to get a same day appointment and they gave her her first injections and flea treatment via a tablet and booked in for 4 weeks time. Vet said he stomach was a little swollen but said it was quite common in kittens and he said otherwise she seems healthy. All good!

I mentioned to the breeder a couple of days ago that she's not eating much and not drinking. She said she forgot to tell me she gives her goats milk before bed. So I thought maybe her food routine is out. So I bought some and sure enough she lapped that up but still not eating. She hasn't touched her biscuits (kibble) breeder gave some and I bought the same. I asked for the brand of wet kitten food she's had and she just said use any.... so I bought whiskers junior. She was fine fir the first couple of days. But now gone off it. My nan suggested trying the adult food also whiskers and she wolfed that down but not sure if its good for her.

This evening she had some diarrhea but she did it on the kitchen floor. I'm thinking it's the goats milk!! So I have taken it away. After she had her accident she seemed much chirprier and ate the (adult) whiskers. Still no biscuits though!

Can any one advise please? I will try and speak to the vet tomorrow.

Sorry that was long but didn't want to drip feed.

Has she been wormed?

He gave me some powdered wormer to mix in her food for 3 days once a day and we did this. I forgot about that!

Honestly, I would take her back to the vet if she doesn't improve today. Lethargy, poor appetite and diarrhoea are all quite concerning symptoms in such a small kitten.

It could be something as simple as a change in food causing her problems, but you don't want to treat a kitten with poor appetite and diarrhoea at home without knowing exactly what's causing it.

Thanks @cinnamonfrenchtoast I took her today and vet was happy with her.shes perked up and eaten all her kitten food today too. So he said keep an eye on her for 48 hours and see how she is. He said she's not dehydrated and he checked her glucose levels. She ate like she's been starved when we got home, played and napped so I think whatever it was has passed through now. But just need to keep an eye on her

That's fab news, hopefully she's well on the mend!

Thank you!

The breeder sounds awful. Any good breeder wouldnt have let her go without being flea treated and wormed. And they certainly wouldnt say oh any food, its known to not change their diet while they are settling in.

If her stomach is improving then thats great but if you have any issues again I would get a probiotic from the vet and do 3 days of chicken or white fish.

She is also growing so needs a good quality kitten food, im sorry but whiskas just isnt it. If you can afford better I really would try something else. Look on zooplus, something like animonda carny is good and not too harsh price wise. But any changes to food need to be done slowly over a number of days and not until her stomach is settled.

Im glad the vet is happy with her, hopefully she keeps improving but that breeder sounds horrendous and the type of person who is breeding the life out of poor cats for a few extra pounds, with no care for the welfare of the animals. They need to crack down on people like that.

Thank you @anothermnuser123 yes she seemed nice enough. She put flea treatment on her 1 hour before we collected her but I could see them walking around the next morning. She said she had retired the mum now so hopefully that's true

The fact she never vaccinated the kitten, and only flea treating an hour before going, I wouldnt trust anything they have said. Im sure that poor cat will have another litter soon enough.

It sounds like luckily this kitten found a loving home and stomach issues can soon be dealt with. Hopefully they are healthy and have many years of happiness with you. There are people on here with a wealth of knowledge should you need any advice in future, but as you have done, always head to the vets if any doubt.

These 'breeders' make me so mad though and I really wish it was cracked down on more and people educated on how these animals suffer. I can only hoped they are stopped in the very near future.

Thank you @anothermnuser123 just had our first non diarrhea poo. Still not solid but definitley a lot better and looks a lot better since she's been here and eating now. So I think we are all good. And yes thank you everyone. I posted in chat too as I was quite worried and got loads of great advice there too. Glad I went to the vets too.

Thanks again everyone.

Just a thought- cats won't drink from water that's near food. Try putting a water dish somewhere different if she's not drinking.

Oh ok! I will try that @AllotmentTime everything I read said to keep the bowls together. I will give it a go!

Thank you

I keep bowls together and never caused issues but worth trying to separate.

Also if you do notice issues again, we get a great probiotic as I do have one with a sensitive stomach. The paste is ok but a nightmare to get in, they do tablets called pro balance made by protexin, they are similar to the paste but my cats will eat them like treats (they need breaking up as they are huge) so much easier to get in. They are usually on amazon but are unavailable at the moment, they also do something called synbiotic which is the same thing in a capsule and you just empty the capsule contents on food.

I find a couple days of that usually does the job but if its a more upset stomach, a couple days of that combined with a bland diet of chicken and white fish.