My 2-week-old kitten is dehydrated and not gaining weight. What should I do?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A kitten this young & dehydrated needs to be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. She may need supplemental fluids, either give intravenously or under the skin. Then, we need to know why Acil has become dehydrated. Is she sick with an infection, was there any trauma, or does she have a large intestinal parasite burden? If she is eating, you can give her any food that has a high moisture content ( ie canned ), but if she is already dehydrated, it is difficult to remedy this just depending on what she eats on her own. I hope she is well soon. Take care.

Poor little one, I would recommend that he has fluids intravenously and medications through the drip until he starts to eat.. then you can start oral medications. If he is dehydrated already, as time goes by without eating, he will be getting worse. Hope you can have him rechecked and that something a little more intensive can be done for him. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Tigger. You can try offering her canned food and adding water to it, but if she is already dehydrated and weak, she needs to see a vet now. She needs IV fluids. I strongly urge you to take her into an ER vet immediately. Best of luck.

I would highly recommend bringing her back to a vet. She most likely needs some fluid and nutritional support. This can be a virus that she is fighting off but to fight it off properly she needs nutrition. Her glucose can drop very low if she does not eat and cause seizures and even death. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Make sure what you are feeding the kitten is an appropriate kitten milk replacer. Kittens this young are not able to regulate their temperatures well, so make sure you have her on a heating pad set on low with a towel on top. There should be an area for the kitten to move off if it gets too warm. Make sure you are not overfeeding the kitten. A kitten needs 2 tablespoons ( 30 mls ) per 4 ounces ( 115 grams ) of body weight daily. Divide the daily amount into equal portions for each feeding & fed every 3-4 hours until bedtime. Stimulate the genital area after each meal, but do not be concerned if she does not have a BM each time. You can try feeding her a congee, which is often tolerated by the sickest kittens. Take 1-2 cups chicken broth ( low or no salt added ), add 1/4 cup white rice & a tiny sliver of fresh ginger. Boil for 2 hours. While cooling, add 1 Tbsp good quality protein powder - egg or casein, not soy. Stir together very well. The mix should be a bit thick. Drip into kittens mouth 1/2 - 1 ml at a time. Hopefully she will start to turn around. Just keep at it. Good luck.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Storm. Applying some Karo syrup or honey to her gums and tongue will provide some rapid glucose for her body to burn. You should try to force feed her with a good kitten milk replacer via bottle or syringe but if she is weak she might not nurse. Your best bet would be to get her to a vet immediately so they can evaluate her and then treat her accordingly while trying to figure out what is going on. Make sure she is nice and warm since small kittens cannot regulate their body temperature. Their normal temp should be around 99 degrees to 102 degrees farenheit. Not sure how old she is but you need to be stimulating her genital area also to get her to eliminate. Again these little guys can get sick very quickly and it's important you get her help as soon as you can. Good luck with her. I would also advise deworming her unless that was already done. Deworming should be done every 3 weeks after 2 weeks of age for at least 3-4 times.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor baby! I am worried about the eye. I would get the kitten to a Vet to see if it needs an antibiotic. Sometimes there is a kitten or 2 that doesn't make it not matter how hard we try. If the kitten isn't taking the bottle or nursing you will have to be taught by your vet to tube feed the kitten. Sometimes we never know why some kittens don't thrive: genetic issues, trauma, infections, etc. I wish you the best