We just got back from a visit to Afford A Vet where they can't run any sort of big blood test but here's what's going on: This past week my kitten (roughly 6 months old) has lost her appetite and although she;s always been small the vet said she very underweight. she's a little over 3 lbs. and should around 5-6. She can barely meow, is dehydrated although she received fliuds at the vet a couple days ago.
She is very lethargic, hardly ever coming out from under my bed, she doesn't eat or drink and I've caught her trying to eat her litter the past couple days. She can barely walk on her back legs, she wobbles and then falls down after a couple steps.
From the research I've done it looks like she's having problems with her kidneys, but not test have been done yet. I just need any kind of help for things like getting her to eat and drink. Thank you
Answer:
Science Times: Doesn't necessarily have to be renal - can be many other things, too, that can't be diagnosed without labs and/or xrays.
HOWEVER - if that cat has NOT been eating or drinking enough for her size, get her to the EMERGENCY vet right away. As in NOW. She will die quickly if you wait. Next week is not soon enough. What I'm writing below, is for a cat who shows NO signs of dehydration and is eating/drinking some but not quite enough, and is already under treatment (with a diagnosis from the vet).
Get kitten milk replacement (powder is easiest), and Nutri-cal (vitamin/calories in a tube). Get an eyedropper or get the vet to give you a large(r) syringe (5mm). Have tuna in water on hand just in case.
KMR (whatever brand you get) : mix with warm water in a cup, making a thick paste first, and mash a small bit of Nutri-cal in, then add more water until it's per the directions on the powder box. Hold the kitty, or if she will lie on a pillow covered by a towel, set her up there. With a small towel to clean up her fur, put small drops in her mouth, pet her, praise her, etc.
Call and ask your vet how much she needs in fluid per day (by her weight) to keep her from becoming dehydrated. Take that amount and divide by the number of hours you are available to give her fluids per day until she sees the "real" vet, and get fluids in her. If she rejects the KMR with Vita, try just KMR by itself, and intersperse with water (or switch to pedialyte if she spits out KMR almost entirely). The tuna: if all is rejected, try a bit of tuna water (tuna water from can, mixed with at least 3 times the amount of tap water).
Tina: I know you said that she is going to the vets next week but if it is a couple of days since she had any fluids and she is showing all the signs of severe dehydration, then the only thing to do is get her back there as an emergency and get her back on a drip or she may not make it to next week, you could try feeding her water with a syringe or teaspoon, just drip it slowly into the back of her mouth, usually from the side and aim towards the back teeth if you can, she will probably spit as much as she swallows but give her as much as you can get her to take every 30 minutes or so (day and night) If you don't manage to get some fluids on board quickly you are in real danger of losing her.
She will probably object the first few times you try it, but persevere if you can, I wouldn't even try to give her any food until she is not dehydrated as it will just make the problem worse, concentrate on the fluids, the eating litter thing is a bit of a worry and could indicate some kind of brain deterioration or hallucination caused by the dehydration, Good luck with her I hope she makes it -
Kai: If you truly do love your cat, you'll spend the money to get her to a vet who can see her NOW, by next week she may be too far gone to do anything but watch her die. And take that "we got nothing useful" vet off your list, don't waste your money on going to a doctor who can't do the necessary tests to get a fairly good idea of what the problem is. Don't try to force feed or anything your cat since you don't know what's wrong with her, could do ore damage then good. But she does need to see a full service vet NOW.
Mamma Cat: Do NOT give your 6 month old kitten kitten milk. She needs fluids. She needs a trip to the vet NOW for more subcutaneous fluids or you are going to lose her. Give her diluted pedialyte for fluid replacement by force feedings, but she will die if she doesn't get to a vet NOW. Why she is not eating can be worked on next week, but without those fluids, she will not be here. The vet can teach you how to administer the fluids and give you the supplies you need to get her going again.
