Dangerously underweight kitten

SkinnyCat_2

That's absolutely fair enough. I have a tendency to the dramatic and was trying to underline that I think this is serious and how much I would like any tips about how to feed up my kitten. I was only trying to explain briefly that the vet route doesn't seem to be useful/viable right now so that I could get on to advice about home care. I fully understand and am grateful for your responses but think a couple of other people have jumped off the deep end here with their accusations, especially after I established that the vet has been involved. I will do as you say and amend the post.

I would still appreciate any advice if anybody has some.

Better_Days

If this was my kitten I'd take him back to the vet and possibly ask to see a different vet. If funds are a problem ring up beforehand and explain the difficulty and make sure you are fully consulted regarding the cost of each possible course of action.

A repeat consult plus antibiotics may be enough to get your kitten back on his feet and likely cost in the region of say £50 (which is what an insurance excess would probably be anyway). I'd also use a heat pad in his bed to keep him warm. The problem is that if he becomes dehydrated it could damage his internal organs which will impact on the rest of his life.

Has your vet suggested antibiotics and possibly also probiotics (eg protexin)? I'd be very surprised indeed that a vet wouldn't at least try this course of action given the symptoms you have described.

Has the kitten been wormed and flea treated?

SkinnyCat_2

Wormed/flea treated - yes he has.

No antibiotics or probiotics suggested - happy to pay for them if they were. I was thinking of a heat pad - he spends a lot of time on kitten blankets we've set up on the radiator at the moment, which he loves - so I will do my research on the best option for this. Can you explain a little about what you mean about dehydration? He's eating wet food and drinking water and kitten milk, and appears to be weeing normally, so I hadn't considered this. Is there a specific risk?

We are thinking about other vets but are a little reluctant to move as ours seem to get good reviews, appear to be well established and reasonably large, take direct payments and are really convenient in terms of location and opening times... but will give more serious consideration to this if you think they're not giving the right advice. I will talk to the other half.

Better_Days

Sorry not to be clear, I meant ask to see a different vet at the same practice. Sometimes a different perspective can be useful.

Those hardshell microwave heat-pads hold the heat for many hours - just be careful to wrap well so kitty doesn't get burnt.

Dehydration can be a problem if the kitten has diarrhoea. And as your vet has said the kitten can go downhill very quickly. Just google cat/kitten dehydration for some more info.

If you are happy to pay for antibiotics and probiotics then give your vet a ring and ask if s/he thinks it will be worth trying for your kitten. I do think it is well worth considering being a bit more proactive with the vets, you don't have to spend a fortune on hospitalisation and drips, but there may well be a middle ground.

gettingready

Sorry but vet can not guess what is wrong without blood/other tests - could be anything. Those need to be done for the kitty.

However you dress it up - kitty needs care you can not provide. Kitty needs diagnostic tests to find out what is wrong and then to treat it.

Taking kitty to the vets even several times but only to be looked over without any tests to determine the cause of kitty being unwell - pointless.

NO idea where in UK are you but try PDSA, try any charity vets you may have in your area (London would be Celia Hammond, they would help) but do not try to "treat cat at home" when you have no idea what is wrong. You can do more damage then good this way.

Forget the heat pads etc - get the kitty diagnosed with appropriate tests.

sheramber

If he still has diarrhoea , even intermittently, he will be losing liquid and not getting the benefit of his food as it is passing through him too quickly.

He will struggle to put on weight.

You need to find the cause before you can treat whatever is the problem which is why the vet will want to do tests. Blindly dishing out pills is no answer and could be dangerous.

SkinnyCat_2

Re vet change: ah I see. We've actually seen 3 or 4 separate vets at our practice. Granted that a couple of those saw the kitten when he was just small and not properly skinny, but we have seen 2 different vets since he lost the weight and neither has recommended antibiotics or probiotics.

Re blood tests: We are going to speak to vet to find out cost. Impression we were given was that they would have to do several as they had no idea what was wrong, and each one would be £100+. After looking into it again I'm wondering whether this is right and will enquire again. If we only have to pay for a few then, again, happy to do that. Despite the person who told me I shouldn't have a pet if I can't afford it, we do have a few hundred set aside for unexpected kitten costs - we just don't have thousands.

Update on kitty generally: getting home today I found that he has continued to put on weight, he continues to eat, and today's poos are normal colour and have no blood in them. Starting to think that hunch about beef might be right but will continue to monitor and look into options including diagnostics.

pinkteapot

He lost a quarter to a third of his body weight in 1-2 weeks and had bloody stools multiple times. I would struggle to believe that's a food allergy without ruling out more serious problems.

You can't wait for the insurance to start them claim as you've been to the vet and there are records, so the symptoms are pre-existing. Phone the vet tomorrow and query those blood test costs. If they are that much, ring other vets for quotes.

Better_Days

OP, when you speak to your vet re blood tests find out exactly what they are testing for, and how likely the test is to be helpful diagnositically given kitty's symptoms.

To give you an idea of the cost of blood testing my elderly dog is regularly blood tested as she is on Previcox. It costs about £70 and kidney, liver function is checked, and for anemia etc. It is a good idea as it picks up problems before there are clinical signs. But I do appreciate that not everyone can afford this kind of expense.

But - a good vet will should also be able to decide if a blood test is necessary given the clinical signs. It is only recently that routine blood testing has become more common. If you and the vet decide not to blood test then the vet can medicate based on the symptoms and his/her experience as what is the most likely cause of kitty's problems. This is not giving out pills blindly - it is relying on the vets training and clinical experience to treat kitty most appropriately.

Sounds like kitty is improving atm, I do hope this continues, but keep a very close eye on him, as has already been said, he may go downhill again very quickly.

SkinnyCat_2

Thanks both - will see what vets say.

Kitty has regained all lost weight, is washing himself and much more active. Solid stools with no blood. Doesn't hang around the radiator all the time. We're not out of the woods and I'm still going to keep taking him to the vet but I'm slightly less nervous than I was.

PT - I feel dubious about the idea that it's a food allergy as well, which is why it took me a while to pull him off the old food, because I thought it couldn't possibly be making him so sick and at least he was eating it (I was happy that he was eating anything). And I still don't necessarily buy that this is what was/is wrong with him. However, since taking him off that food (Animonda Carny if anyone's interested, although I have to point out that our other cat loves it and has had no ill effects, and it has loads of brilliant reviews, which is why I bought it) and putting him onto a mix of boiled chicken, a pate-type chicken food from Pets at Home, Applaws complementary chicken/rice mix, Nurish-Em nutritional paste, and mixed Felix pouches (cheap I know, but he had it when we first got him so we knew he had no problems with it), he has vastly improved. So I'm keeping an open mind at the moment.