My 5-mo old kitten doesn't want to eat or drink much. What can I do for him?

Question

I picked up a kitten from the humane society one week ago. He came down with an upper respiratory infection the day after I got him (quite common) and I took him to the vet for an exam three days later. He had a fever, became lethargic and slept all the time, sneezing, and watery drainage from his mouth and nose. He was also not eating or drinking very much. He has been on antibiotics for three full days but symptoms still persist. The vet said that he is starting to grow his adult teeth and will soon loose the baby teeth. I have tried many ways of getting him to eat including all kinds of wet food. He nibbles a little at first but then becomes disinterested. I am concerned he may be getting dehydrated because of the amount of watery drainage he has and not drinking much. Any vets out there with some advice?

Answer 1

URI as I'm sure the vet told you can be very lethal to cats. I took 2 cats home from the humane society, brother and sister that were going to be put down because of URI. They were so sick and was just like your cat, not eating or drinking. This might sound cruel to some people, but, it worked for my 2 cats. I force fed them their wet food. I took just a tiny bit on a spoon, and made them eat. I also got them to drink water with an eye dropper. Within a few days of doing this they started to get better. Your kitty needs to eat and drink as it sounds like he is getting dehydrated, which you don't need.

I only have 1 of my shelter kitties now and she's 13 years old. She's as healthy as a horse too. ; ) I don't own her, she owns me and I'm lovin it.

I really hope my advice helps you and your kitty. URI is an awful thing for cats to get.

Answer 2

Fristly, give the medicine time to work. If there is no improvement by the time the precribed medication is gone, take him back to the vet, and have him checked for Felv/Fiv (the humane society where I live it AWFUL about having animals checked and allowed unchecked animals to mingle). If he has either it could be making the infection much worse, and the humane society could be held responsible for not checking.

Is he on Clavamox or Amoxicilin? I know that Amoxicilin usually increases a pet appitite, but Clavamox is a stronger med.

Answer 3

take him to a vet

Answer 4

Cats rely on sense of smell before eating - they will stick their noses as close to the food as possible to see if they want to eat it based on the smell.

If your little guy has a stuffy nose, then chances are he won't want to eat anything, cos he cant smell it.

Is he drinking?  Have a bowl of water available - not milk, most cats have a lactose intolerance, which will upset their stomachs if they take milk - and so long as he's drinking then I wouldn't worry just yet.  I say just yet, cos obviously not eating for a very long time is not good!

He may not eat a lot all at once, but if you are willing to try him with a little food maybe once an hour, you may be able to give him the equivalent of a full meal over a long period of time.

Did the vet give you medication for the sniffles and watery eyes?  If not, I'd go back and tell him the cat isn't eating and you'd like something to dry up his nose.  

Good luck and I hope he gets better soon.