2 week old kitten refused to eat

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  • 15 March, 2017 at 4:24 pm #857249
    elijah
    Participant

    Hi everyone. I have rescued two 2-week old kittens on 5th of March. I initially gave them a pet milk (no lactose). Both of them have been eating well and have gained weight.

    Then on 13th of March I purchased a kitten formula called Lactol. I fed them the new one that night and had no problem with their appetite. It has been like this on several feedings until the night of 14th when one of the kittens started to eat less.

    He seemed to suddenly not like the milk. He hasnt pooped in 2 days so I thought he might be constipated and so I diluted the formula. After two feedings, nothing changed with the appetite and then he had pooped this morning that seemed to be diarrhea.

    I still tried to get him to eat. I can tell that he is hungry as he tried to suckle the fluffy towel where I put him during feeding. However, as soon as he tastes the milk he would turn away.

    Then after reading the fine print on the formula label, it turns out it has small amounts of lactose. I now put him back on the old milk that he didn’t have any problem drinking but he still refuses as if it was the new milk.

    The other kitten does not have any problem and has good appetite as always.

    I don’t know what else to do. He seemed to have a trauma or something that now he didn’t want any kind of milk at all. I hope somebody can help me resolve this one. Thank you.

    16 March, 2017 at 12:31 am #857263
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    There are times when nothing you try seems to make a difference. Make sure he is warm, and I would keep him on the first milk. I usually always recommend goat’s milk as it’s full of probiotics and doesn’t cause the diarrhea and constipation that cat milk formula does (from my personal experience).

    I am going to post some links for you on hand rearing, they are full of all kinds of things to try with kittens who don’t want to eat. You can also try rubbing some honey or syrup on his gums to raise his sugar level, as it usually drops when they don’t eat. Kittens can crash quickly, so keep trying to get something into him. Once he perks up, try feeding him his milk.

    http://messybeast.com/handrear.htm
    http://www.safehavenforcats.com/newborn.htm

    16 March, 2017 at 5:16 pm #857279
    elijah
    Participant

    Thank you Kittyzee. I kept him on the first milk like you said and tried to feed him drop by drop. It took me a lot of attempts over several feedings but finally he remembered that it was his favourite milk.

    The tiring and sleepless night was worth it, he is now back to his old self. I got worried when he pooped a number of times yesterday. The vet near our place was not really positive regarding the survival of hand-reared young kittens and is not helping at all. I’m glad I found this forum. I’ll be sure to read the links to better take care my kittens. 🙂

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