Scrawny 15 week old kitten

[CatHugger]

We have just taken on two 15 week-old kittens. They're joyful but one of them is seriously underweight at only 880g. I've booked her in with the vet but they can't see her until Thursday so I'm after tips for what to do in the meantime.

I'm spoon-feeding her Royal Canin gastrointestinal kitten mousse mixed with kitten milk for the calories. A bowl of RC mother and babycat biscuits is out at all times. She has cat-safe hot water bottles to keep her warm. We're weighing her to check that her weight isn't dropping (she's put on over 100g since the vet saw last her on Tuesday). I've wormed her and treated her for fleas.

Anything else we should be doing?

How is she in herself? Clean eyes and nose? Energy good and up to mischief? If so she should pile the weight on now that she's got the basics covered.

What was her circumstance before?

She's been busy chasing her sister round and round DD's bedroom, interspersed with naps. Her eyes and nose are fine except for her eyes being too big for her face.

She came from a TICA breeder.

Sounds like she is getting very good care with you! What is her sister's weight because I would expect her to be nearing double that? If there is a significant difference how did the breeder explain that, and was the vet last week not concerned? It's great she is putting on some weight though and that she is not lethargic in any way. I've used Hills Prescription diet a/d wet food (mixed with a drop of hot water) to get under-nourished ferals up to weight.

Her sister weighs 1.2kg, so not quite where it needs to be either but she has noticeably better body condition. The vet gave them both perfect body scores

No explanation from the breeder. They were feeding them raw food and huge biscuits, so I'm hoping they just weren't getting enough and kitten-friendly food will resolve the issue.

Pisses me off that a breeder can claim to be superior than someone who has just let their moggy have kittens when they don't even know how to feed the cats so that they eat the food and gain weight!

We started bottle-feeding her today and she's guzzling it down so hopefully that will spark more interest in the mousse. Her sister's getting a bit jealous so we might let her have some too.

It’s appalling that a registered breeder is selling underweight cats.

Gosh that is tiny! I’ve got a 18 week old semi feral kitten who is raw fed and she’s just over 2kgs. She was found in a barn at about 6 weeks old and I got her at 7 weeks when she was just under a kilo so something definitely isn’t quite right for yours to be so underweight.

Glad she has taken to the bottle - you are doing everything you can to stimulate her interest in food, Has your vet actually seen the kittens or have the veterinary reports come via the breeder. Did you ever see the kittens with mum?

My vet hasn't seen the kittens yet but I have their record from the breeder's vet. They had their second vaccinations on Tuesday so the vaccination stickers are in there as well as the vet notes. The breeder said that the vet wasn't concerned about her weight as she was playing and eating well.

They'd been separated from their mum when I saw them but I did see the mum and dad at the house. They look just like mum.

Cat tax, please.

Cat tax must be paid!

Kitten tax incoming. The diddy one has her eyes open.

Make sure she is sleeping with her eyes closed. My Persian kept getting eye ulcers as her eyes were drying out, as her eyes were too big for her, and the eyelids didn’t cover them properly.

Maybe she doesn’t like the texture of mousse!

She wolfed it down this morning, so that's positive. She's been offered wet kitten food (Blink) and biscuits as well.

She definitely sleeps with her eyes closed. It's adorable when they are struggling to stay awake but the eyelids keep closing all on their own.

I am already far too invested in this teeny kitty's health - and now I have had to see her as well. OMG I am now in love 😅

She is so lucky to have you - and I think, to be away from the breeder. I hope she has gained a little more weight. They both look like "well" kittens albeit tiny for their age. Hopefully you will get positive feedback from your vet and that all is well.

My youngest cat was about the same weight at the same age, took her forever to hit 1kg! Our vet gave us a few tins of Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Recovery food because she wouldn't touch kitten food. She's now 3.5y and still only 2.5kg. She had a few digestive issues though, yours seems generally healthy and very adorable.

Is she scrawny or just small? Our newest kitty was about the same weight at the same age and now fully grown is 2.5kg, which is a bit odd next to her 6.2 and 5.8kg brothers!

I’m not well up on cat breeds. Are they something specific?

They're Siberian cats. Our older girl was 1.2kg at 14 weeks, so this one really is dinky at 800g at 15 weeks old. She just doesn't look 100% either. Her spine and ribs are right under the skin and her eyes are too prominent in her face.

Other than the weight are there any other symptoms that might seem like a medical condition? For example like being extra starving hungry, a rough unkempt coat and soft/tunny poo, those could indicate a thyroid issue. That can be checked by a blood test so if you think its a possibilty do ask your vet.

Also do you know what raw food they were feedling, Raw has to be storeed and handled with great care or it can breed bacteria and cause digestive problems.

I'd be getting them in to see your vet as soon practical and see why they say.

She was doing foamy, runny poos for the first couple of days but we've been giving her Pro-Kolin and they've firmed up. No other symptoms since then.

Both kittens have been eating like champions today and are positively spherical. Their tummies were so round earlier that they were waddling. Little one is 950g now.

Operation Fat Cat is showing promising early results: she's hit the 1kg mark.