How to bathe and feed a sick foster kitten with no appetite?

If she is ill, a bath would not be recommended. You can use a pet wipe or plain, unscented baby wipes to clean her up without getting her soaked. The fleas can be treated using Frontline Spray. Do not use any other topicals or oral preventatives. Frontline Spray is safe to use on young kittens. You will also need to wash all the bedding and vacuum everywhere she has been. Use a cat safe area treatment afterwards to prevent reinfestation. Warm the food slightly or mix in a teaspoon of baby food to stimulate her appetite. Offer small amounts of an electrolyte replacement beverage to treat or prevent mild dehydration. If she doesn't begin eating in the next 24 hours, have her rechecked by your veterinarian. She may need more intensive supportive care or hospitalization until she begins eating.

Poor kitten! I suspect the kitten is very sick and that’s why it is not eating or drinking. Although it may not work, giving subcutaneous fluids every day and force feeding may be needed until the kitten feels better. Feed a diet such as a/d or r/s as they are high calorie. You also have more aggressive options such as hospitalization with intravenous fluids or even a feeding tube placement. Sometimes these kittens need a lot of intense care and time to feel better. Make sure it stays warm and visits the veterinarian as needed. The vet may be able to show you how to give subcutaneous fluids if needed. I hope this is helpful and best of luck.

Doxycycline can cause nausea and affect appetite. You may want to ask whether you can stop the Doxy and either not replace it or replace it with another antibiotic if needed. It is really important that your kitty drinks her kitten milk otherwise she will not survive due to dehydration. The other problem is if she is so congested that she cannot smell her food that will not eat. I can only suggest that you keep her warm and massaged, speak cat to her if you can (no this is no joke, try purring like a cat mama does) and often try to offer warm kitten milk. I hope she will start eating for you again.

What a cute kitten! Offering a meat flavored baby food may help entice him to eat. Warming his food may also allow him to smell it better which will help his appetite. Offer him small meals several times a day as his stomach is too small to eat a lot at one time at this age. Definitely have him rechecked by your veterinarian if he's not eating by tomorrow. I hope he's feeling better soon.

Poor Oreo! My main concern would be a possible viral infection that is affecting the nervous system. I would recommend making sure Oreo stays warm. You can take her temperature at home and monitor for a fever. I would start supplementing with taurine just incase she is deficient. I would recommend syringe feeding can cat food and you can even give her small amounts of maple syrup a few times a day. Unfortunately with such a small kitten supportive care if going to the best option until you can get her back to the vet for blood work to evaluate her organ function. Hope that helps!

Since the mother cat is refusing to nurse or care for this kitten Brownie is probably suffering from a failure to thrive. If you are not doing so already, I would recommend supplementing her with a bottle of some kitten milk replacer. She’s probably not getting the nutrition she needs if the mother is not caring for her. She may also have a respiratory infection and/or intestinal parasites that need to be addressed. I would try bottle feeding her every 2 to 3 hours for a 24 hour period. If there is no improvement after this then I would recommend taking the small kitten into the vet to be examined. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Yes, pedialyte is safe to give to kittens. You can offer this 3-4 times a day. Let her drink as much as she wants and then offer her plenty of fresh clean water. Alternatively, you can mix oral rehydration salts in water as directed by the manufacturer and give this free-choice along with fresh water. Ideally, you should consult your vet if she is having problems. Doxycycline can cause damage to the esophagus and stomach, which will decrease her appetite. In these cases we usually advise to stop the doxycycline and switch the antibiotic. You can help the congestion by giving him a steam bath. There is a link below that has good information about how to do this and other helpful tips for this condition. http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Your-Cat-Breathe-Easier It's best if you can get her to a vet within the next day. While these infections are often due to a virus, they can become complicated with bacterial infections, which will make things much worse. The vet would be able to prescribe the necessary treatment to make her feel better and keep the infection from getting worse. I hope this helps and she feels better soon.