My kitten is lethargic and won't eat. How can I save my kitten?

Honey or karo syrup can be placed on the gums every 30 minutes to prevent hypoglycemia, but you have to be careful not to use too much if she has trouble swallowing as it can go down into the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia. If she is not doing better in a few hours, though, I would recommend taking her to an emergency vet. Small kittens can get dehydrated very quickly, and it appears that she is very sick.

This is a medical emergency, and Blacky has to see a vet now. If a kitten goes longer than 72 hours without eating, they will develop a fatty liver, which is fatal without treatment. Leaving her like this is cruel, and you need to find a way to afford a vet. Borrow money from family and friends. See if your vet accepts payment plans. You cannot treat this at home, please take her into a vet right away.

Your kitten needs to be seen by a vet immediately. Cats cannot go without eating for more than a few days without suffering liver damage. Your kitten is likely very dehydrated and weak and will need supportive care to help him survive. Right now, make sure he stays warm and mix some honey or corn syrup with warm water and very carefully use a syringe or dropper to get him to swallow some of this to help rehydrate him and give him some calories. Be very careful because it is easy to choke him when he is this weak.

Please take Dorito to the vet immediately. If Dorito is lethargic and not eating he should be seen right away to check his blood sugar levels, assess for dehydration, and start treatment. He may be dealing with parasites, toxin ingestion, infectious viral diseases, blockage in the intestines caused by ingestion of a foreign body, food sensitivity/allergy, decreased pancreatic function, or a mass/growth in the gastrointestinal tract. A young kitten that is not eating is at risk for dehydration and low blood sugar, which can quickly become deadly, so I recommend you have him checked by a vet.

If she had what appeared to be a seizure, I would place a small amount of karo syrup on the gums and get her seen right away as her sugar level may be low. This could easily cause the seizures with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Sick kittens oftentimes do not eat enough and will secondarily get hypoglycemia. I would take her into her vet right away to be examined and treated. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns you may have. I am also available via consultation.

Thank you for saving this kitten. If he is lethargic and not eating he should really see a veterinarian. A recently rescued kitten does not refuse food if they are healthy. I would recommend getting Mario evaluated by a veterinarian asap. They can test for Feline leukemia, check for intestinal parasites or see if Mario has an infection. In the mean time offer smelly canned kitten food to try to tempt his appetite.

It sounds like he is getting sick. Without additional clinical signs it is hard to say exactly what is causing his lethargy and decreased appetite but he could be starting with a respiratory virus or a gastrointestinal virus. He could also have parasites that need to be treated. If it continues than he should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. Your vet can run lab work to help diagnose and then determine the best way to treat. If he is unvaccinated, please discuss a vaccine plan with your vet once he has recovered from this illness.