Kitten eating premium food but still skinny. What should I do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would deworm him. Intestinal parasites are almost always present in young animals as they are passed from the milk. He could be getting more lean but this could also be an early warning sign that something is going on. I would collect a stool sample and have him seen for his first vet visit. The Vet can do an exam, test his stool, feline leukemia and FIV test him and consider giving his first vaccination. I wish you and Noah the very best!

You can try to give her an over the counter dewormer. Make sure it is for cats and okay for 8 weeks and older. Depending on the type of worms she has and the type of dewormer you give will depend on whether or not they will go away. Unfortunately, there are some types of worms that will need prescription dewormer to get rid of them. Most common types of worms are tapeworms and roundworms, but there are several other types. I would deworm now and repeat in 3 weeks or whatever the label says. If she is continuing to expel worms in her feces or she isn't gaining weight, I would strongly recommend to have your vet take a look at her to ensure she doesn't need a stronger dewormer and/or other medications. I hope this helps!

If your kitten has not been wormed yet, I suggest you worm him with a kitten wormer and again in 2 weeks. If he has intestinal parasites he would have a problem holding weight and it could also cause diarrhea. You should also take a fresh stool sample to your veterinarian for a fecal exam. If this does not help, if your kitten's diarrhea does not clear up, or if he does not gain weight, or if your kitten gets lethargic or appears ill, he should be seen by a veterinarian for an exam. Make sure you feed him a good quality kitten food.

Intestinal parasites can be picked up from the environment. If this is a tapeworm you saw (looks similar to a grain of rice), fleas can transmit tapeworm to cats. I would recommend treating Venus with a product called Profender, which will treat intestinal parasites including tapeworm. I would also consider using a flea and tick preventative such as Revolution or Frontline. I would also consider bringing a stool sample to a veterinarian to help diagnose what kind of intestinal parasites these could be. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Wizzy is so cute! He may have intestinal worms causing the swollen belly, those are common in kittens. Give him a deworming treatment. He doesn't need nutritional supplements, his kitten food will provide all the nutrients he needs. To help him wean and to get used to dry food, I would soak a high quality kitten formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with kitten formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry kitten food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until he is eating the dry kitten food only. Best of luck.

Kittens can sleep up to 18-20 hours a day, so it is normal that they appear to sleep all the time. If she is skinny, that could be caused by intestinal worms, which are very common in kittens. I would give her a deworming treatment such as Panacur, which you can get OTC. You will need to give a deworming treatment every two weeks until she is three months old, then once a month until she is six months old, and then every three months after that. I would leave a kitten formulated food out for her at all times. To help her wean and get used to kitten food, I would soak a high quality kitten formulated dry food in warm water until soft. Then mix that with kitten formula such as KMR to make a mush the consistency of oatmeal. Over the next two weeks, gradually increase the amount of dry kitten food and decrease the amount of water and KMR you use until she is eating the dry kitten food only.

It would be the right time to start introducing solid food gradually. Initially just mixing it with kitten milk, then over 4-5 days wean her off onto solids completely. She is too big to rely on milk only.