My 2-week-old kitten is weak, has diarrhea, and won't nurse. Urgent!

At 8 weeks your kitten can be on a completely solid diet, and if you're feeding regular cow's milk it could be what is causing the diarrhea (cats can't handle milk.) If she doesn't drink a lot and doesn't like moistened food, you can try adding in a pet fountain or other running water source that may encourage her to play or drink a bit more. If she is still having loose stools even after feeding only her regular food, a vet checkup to rule out parasites and GI upset is also a good idea. If she is trying to nurse your other cat, just separating her for a bit can help deter the behavior.

Given her age there are several things that cross my mind, but a common issue in these young kittens is parasites. Sometimes their parasite burden can be so high that they cannot maintain adequate glucose levels, and also can become uninterested in food and sometimes will begin vomiting. I would recommend deworming her. Also, it would be important to rule out signs of infection and/or sepsis. I think she needs to be seen by a veterinarian right away. Such a young and small animal can deteriorate quickly even with easy to resolve issues like gastrointestinal parasites.

The most likely cause of the diarrhea you are seeing is gastrointestinal parasites. At 6 weeks, you should definitely start deworming the kitties. While I understand your financial constraints, I would see if you could simply bring in a fecal sample to the vet to be tested for parasites. This way, in a couple weeks, you have it retested and see if another deworming is necessary. In regards to cross-contamination, the best thing you can do is wear gloves between litters and wash your hands and arms thoroughly between sessions. If you touch them to your clothing, change clothes as well, reserving certain outfits for time spent with certain litters. Lastly, kittens should be starting the weaning process at about four weeks. While nursing at six weeks isn't unheard of, I would definitely try to start encouraging the feeding or regular food as soon as possible. Hope this helps!

Kitties can't digest human milk well. This is likely what gave your little one diarrhea. I would switch back to the KMR and start mixing in small amounts of wet kitty starter formula food. You can also mix in 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) to help harden her stools and continue feeding her kitten only food. If he stools are not getting better after 24-48 hrs then its best to take her to your vet for a short course of antibiotics to get her bacterial flora back to normal. I hope that your ktity feels better soon! Best wishes and take care!

Make sure they are on a good quality milk replacer such as kmr. Changing it at all between different brands or switching from powder to liguid can cause diarrhea. Increase frequency of feedings to compensate for the diarrhea. And a probiotic such as bene back may help. If constant a vet visit for fluids may be recommended. If they didn't receive colostrum or milk from mom at all they are at higher risk from infections and may not survive despite best care. Sometimes the vet can help with injecting serum from a healthy cat to boost their immune system. Benebachttp://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3563 http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576

Poor Snow! If he has no energy and can't even stand up, this is a very serious problem - he needs to see an emergency vet immediately. This would not be caused by withholding food for 10 hours; severe lethargy or weakness like this is generally a sign of a serious illness such as feline panleukopenia. Your vet can do some diagnostic testing to help determine what's wrong and get him started on appropriate treatment. I would recommend taking him to see the vet right now, as this may be a life-threatening problem.

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.