My poor kitten is going downhill - scared

[tortietimestwo]

Hi

I've already posted another thread about my two little torties (10 months) who are very shy and have been hiding a lot. We got them from a lovely local shelter nearly 2 weeks ago and they've been fixed, flead, vaccinated and wormed on schedule.

As far as we can see they've been eating, drinking, grooming and using their litter trays. They were starting to settle in and come out around us a bit, but had to go to vets last Friday for weepy eyes and have been having twice daily eye drops since. Eyes were looking brighter and I thought all was good, but the littlest one seems to have gone downhill in the last day or so. She's not eaten at all, had diarrhoea on carpet, barely drank and was super listless.

We got her to vet this morning, who gave her an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory shot. He said it could be cat flu that's dragging on a bit. He also weighed her and said she's 1.2kg and should be 2kg so she's underweight, although I was told she has always been very slight.

We've had her on wet food that we know from the shelter she liked and she's been ok with it, but now she's not touching it. As they're still hiding a bit, he told us to move her into the bathroom so we can keep an eye on her. I'm just really hoping she picks up and starts eating, I'm going to try her on some cooked chicken as well.

Just a bit beside myself about her and could do with a hand hold! I really want her to be ok.

Here she is:

Hand hold from me.

If dcat isn't touching the wet food then I'd offer fish or chicken. The smellier the better to tempt them to eat

Get some really tempting food - being unwell can affect their appetite. Try something like lick-e-lix. My poorly cat was tempted back to eating with some prawns/chicken and lick-e-lix

Thank you, I have all those things - I'll try lick e lix although she won't take anything from me, but I could put it on a saucer or something.

She's a bit scared in bathroom but has finally eaten a little bit of her wet food. Going to try her on some warmed chicken in a bit. Is salmon ok? That's what I've got, I could cook a fillet and try her on a bit of that too.

Lick e licks, plus the vet once gave one of my cats an tablet to stimulate his appetite. Hand hold and hugs x

Hand held and get well soon poor little puss.

Cooked chicken finely chopped is often acceptable when they’re under the weather, I’ve found.

My oldest cat, who had a very poor start in life, had a very bad bout of cat flu and nearly died when he was a kitten. But he is a chunky, solid, cuddly, happy 12-year-old now.

My vet gave my food refusing cat an antihistamine to get her eating again. It's a worry when they're not eating as they can go downhill fast but it sounds like you're doing all the right things. Vets again if she continues not drinking though.

Handhold from me too. We're gradually getting our sick tuxedo cat eating again by using lick-e-lix and wafer thin chicken so fingers crossed.

Really appreciate all the kind and lovely comments - success! She ate all her lick e lix, I'll try putting it on her wet food later as a topper.

I've also seen she's eaten a little bit of dry food and drunk a tiny bit of water. Good girl!

We have cosy places for her set up in bathroom but she's currently squeezed in between the toilet and the wall looking quite grumpy. So it might be she is improving, I'm cautiously optimistic but will see how she goes over next few days.

@Heronatemygoldfish Sending love to your poor wee tux, hope they are feeling well and back to eating lots soon.

Hooray! Grumpiness is a great sign!

I agree with others, important thing is to get her eating and get calories into her. The less she eats, the less she'll feel like eating.

In my house, this means handfeeding with anything cat will take: chicken, smoked salmon, tuna, mackerel in tomato sauce, ham, chicken, lik e lix, dreamies, licks of marmite, even the odd small piece of cheese.

Also try different brands of cat food. My cat has been very ill lately and none of the above was working, she was fading, then put down some sheba she'd never had before. She loved it! Started eating from that point and with food inside her picked up quickly.

@Collywobblewobbles She won't take anything hand fed, still too nervous but I've just put down some warmed bits of chicken on a little saucer to see if she'll have it.

If she keeps on not eating, my vet has just given my old lady Mirtazapine (I think) which is an appetite stimulant that you rub in their ears. And it's working.

Thanks @VeryQuaintIrene I think we've got her eating little bits but I'll bear it in mind and see how she does over weekend.

Handhold from me, too.
She's a lovely little thing.
Your updates sound more hopeful.

Another handhold here! Don't know what is in Lik-e-lix but most cats love it! Here's hoping for continuing good progress and before too long she will be a little barrel of a Tortie!

Hand hold from me too! You sound like a lovely owner to your kittens, hopefully your poorly little one will pick up soon

Hi OP - I had a similar issue with my kitten though he was only 5 months old.

He barely ate for several days and had the most horrendous smelling runny poo. He was also sick a couple of times.

The vet gave him an anti-sickness jab, some antibiotics (which he hated) and some Metacam - it took about a week but he came good in the end and he's now 10 months old and fit as a fiddle. If she's eating (even if it's only small amounts) that's a really good sign. We just kept offering him small amounts every couple of hours, and then one morning we came down and he was shouting for food along with our other cats - he ate the lot and has been fine ever since :)

The lovely messages are really bolstering me, I'm so tired as I didn't sleep well last night for worrying about her. Have been checking on the other one downstairs who seems ok too -I don't want to neglect her either.

I hope little one won't get too bored in the small bathroom - I put a scratching post, couple of cosy hiding spots in there but they don't react to toys yet though they watch them with interest when I have them out. After her eye drops she was cross and managed to wedge herself into the back of the toilet tank at the bottom (only a furry bum could be seen!) My husband tempted her out with some more chicken before he went to work and we've blocked it now - kittens do get in anywhere 🤣.

She's eaten two lots of chicken now and I'm trying her now on a bit of her usual cat food mixed with a new posher one, topped with lickylix. Will report back later!

She hasn't gone in her litter tray yet but she's got water. I'll keep an eye and hopefully in the morning there'll be something in there.

@lifebeginsaftercoffee Aw he sounds like a little smasher! Sounds like it was nasty for him but so good that he got better.

It's so nice to hear similar stories of people's cats who got over it, I hope that my teeny fierce tortie can get back to fighting fit asap.

I'm sure she'll be fine, kittens are tougher than we think!

If she's eating then that's really, really positive. WRT to the vet mentioning cat flu, it's often triggered by stress - some cats really don't cope with new environments very well, so it's very common for them to get a bit run down.

Applaws is what helps mine when they sick.. it isn’t a complete food but it helps get them eating.. the fish one is a particular favourite in this house..
Size wise don’t stress too much.. sometimes ( esp if Mums havnt been well looked after etc) cats are smaller.. one of mine has only just reached 2kg.. she is nearly a year old and looks like a six month old and probo will rest of her life.. She is perfectly healthy just tiny..

She's lovely, I hope she gets better soon

Well, she ate a little wet food I put out for her, and later, some air fried salmon that I gave to both the girls. I've noticed poor sick kitty is more likely to eat the food if I put it right in front of her rather than if she has to go to her food dish - so she might still be a bit run down. At least I've got some food into her. Very thankful for that.

@Potentialmadcatlady Bet she is so cute - any pictures?

Super cute but no pictures cause I haven’t got a clue how to put them up 😂😂😂 Her brother is here and he is huge.. I have various others who are all quite big which makes her look even smaller 🐾