Why is my 4-week-old kitten lethargic, vomiting, and not urinating?

Kittens are susceptible to many different infections, both viral & bacterial. A heavy parasite burden from coccidia, or roundworms can also wear a kitten down & leave it weak. Pascal is too young & small to try & fight this off on his own. He needs to be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. If you can not have him seen tonight or tomorrow, pick up some Nutrical from Petco tomorrow, & try to give him small amount frequently throughout the day. This is a high calorie supplement to hopefully keep his energy up. Then please try to have him seen by your veterinarian as early as possible on Monday. I hope he does better soon. 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 there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be related to some degree of gastroenteritis or upset stomach. This would be the best case scenario. I recommend that you continue to monitor Whiskers closely for now. Have water available at all times to try to avoid dehydration. If no improvement is seen in the next 24 hours or he develops more vomiting and becomes more lethargic, have Whiskers evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment based on findings. Good luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Vomiting can be observed with gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, food sensitivity, foreign body ingestion and obstruction or other conditions such as pancreatitis or kidney disease. I am concerned that she is becoming dehydrated. I do not think this is because of the fish. I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include abdominal imaging and general bloodwork. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day!

That is not normal behavior from a young kitten. Yes it sounds like she has a fever and stomach upset. Since she’s so small and sick she should have veterinary treatment soon so she doesn’t get worse. Healthy kittens are very playful and don’t vomit or sleep that much. Please take her in for treatment. They will give medication to resolve the vomiting and reduce her fever if she has one. She may need fluids to prevent dehydration and she may need to be dewormed also. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your kitten.

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.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There can be many causes for decreased appetite. If you just got her on Friday, it may be the move has stressed her out a bit and she needs a few days to adjust. However, there can be other causes such as viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections that may cause decreased appetite potentially. It is good to hear she is having normal bowel movements and is urinating, however. You can try heating up her food a bit to bring out the flavor and try feeding small amounts frequently. If a couple more days go by and she still has not eaten, I would recommend she see her veterinarian just to make sure there is nothing more serious going on. I hope this helps!