Kitten won't eat

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Boo - 09 Mar 2005 12:31 GMT

Hi,

I've just got a new kitten who's 10 weeks old and really cute.
Yesterday was his first day at home and he was extremely loath to eat
anything in the morning and seemed really lethargic. In the afternoon
however he perked up and played with a ball and ate some (not that much)
food. He weighs 16 oz which is very low for his breed (Bengal) at 10
weeks and I understand from the breeder that he was off his food for a
while, she assured me that he'll make the weight back up though.

So my questions are: is normal for a kitten to not be hungry in the
mornings ? And what can I do to tempt him into eating more ?

This morning I already tried varying the food from dried kitten Whiskas,
tinned adult Whiskas, kitten Whiskas pouches, tinned red salmon,
tinned tuna, fresh (raw) chopped chicken, fresh (raw) chopped beef.
He wasn't tempted by anything on this list today although yesterday he
tried a bit of each and in the afternoon had a reasonable amount of
several of them.

Am I being paranoid about this because it seems as if he's just not hungry ?

Any ideas about how to interest his palate would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

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Boo

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M.C. Mullen - 09 Mar 2005 13:03 GMT

| Hi,
|
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
| So my questions are: is normal for a kitten to not be hungry in the
| mornings ? And what can I do to tempt him into eating more ?

If it has just moved in: yes, because it's nervous and insecure.
It will happen, don't worry.

| This morning I already tried varying the food from dried kitten Whiskas,
| tinned adult Whiskas, kitten Whiskas pouches, tinned red salmon,
| tinned tuna, fresh (raw) chopped chicken, fresh (raw) chopped beef.

My cats don't eat Whiskas.

| He wasn't tempted by anything on this list today although yesterday he
| tried a bit of each and in the afternoon had a reasonable amount of
| several of them.

Don't overdo it. It's better for the digestion if he sticks to one or two
things at the time.

| Am I being paranoid about this because it seems as if he's just not hungry ?

No, not (yet) :-)

| Any ideas about how to interest his palate would be gratefully received.
|
| Thanks,

Carola

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DL - 10 Mar 2005 01:10 GMT

>| This morning I already tried varying the food from dried kitten Whiskas,
>| tinned adult Whiskas, kitten Whiskas pouches, tinned red salmon,
>| tinned tuna, fresh (raw) chopped chicken, fresh (raw) chopped beef.
>
>My cats don't eat Whiskas.

I tired a sample of Whiska with Carlisle a few years ago. His poop
smelled so bad we just about had to clear out of our house.

Never again.

- -

DL

http://www.geocities.com/dicklong14_ca/fanclub.htm

"Hopefully with the demon-spawn Whitsitt out of the
picture our scouts and coaches will be able to do their jobs."

::::::::::::::::

Halter Sucks!

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Wayne Boatwright - 10 Mar 2005 02:57 GMT

>>| This morning I already tried varying the food from dried kitten
>>| Whiskas, tinned adult Whiskas, kitten Whiskas pouches, tinned red
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Never again.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a week's supply of Whiskas canned food for
our four cats. Mostly it went uneaten. I had never bought it before and
never will again.

The type of food aside, your new kitten is probably frightened, possibly a
little depressed, and needing to get used to you and his surroundings.
Watch him carefully and find out what type of food he was eating before
you got him. If another day goes by with no food or drink, get to the
vet.

Signature

Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

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M.C. Mullen - 10 Mar 2005 11:17 GMT

| >>| This morning I already tried varying the food from dried kitten
| >>| Whiskas, tinned adult Whiskas, kitten Whiskas pouches, tinned red
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
| you got him. If another day goes by with no food or drink, get to the
| vet.

Just for my own interest:

Here in the German speaking world the Whiskas advertisements are very
successful. Every non-cat person honestly believes that Whiskas is the
*very* thing. The slogan goes: Katzen w?rden Whiskas kaufen! Cats would buy
Whiskas. What is it like in English advertisements?
My personal opinion is, after looking at the ingredients: It's just average
and overpriced.

Carola

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jacquie0 - 09 Mar 2005 18:58 GMT

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Thanks,

The kitten is probably still getting used to being in a new environment.
I wouldn't worry too much about it not eating for a couple or three
days. However, if the kitten is not drinking enough water during this
time, it could cause some serious problems to come up.
My suggestion is to just give the little furball a chance to get used to
things, and I am sure that it will come around.
As for the weight of the little guy, ask your vet when you take it in
for a check up. You do have an appointment scheduled right?

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Rhonda - 09 Mar 2005 19:29 GMT

You might want to find out what type of food he was being fed by the
previous owner. Start with that, then gradually switch to whatever you
plan to feed long-term.

Do you have a baby scale? It would be a good idea to keep track of his
weight and take him for a check-up if he doesn't gain soon.

Good luck,

Rhonda

> So my questions are: is normal for a kitten to not be hungry in the
> mornings ? And what can I do to tempt him into eating more ?

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Mike Rhino - 10 Mar 2005 00:55 GMT

> I understand from the breeder that he was off his food for a
> while,

I was curious to know what this means.

My cat spent the first day and a half hiding behind the dryer, because she
was terrified of me. She was willing to eat and drink when I wasn't around.

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Dicky - 11 Mar 2005 22:37 GMT

kittenhelp
http://www.geocities.com/turbo502002/index-en.html

good luck

Dicky

>> I understand from the breeder that he was off his food for a
>> while,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> was terrified of me. She was willing to eat and drink when I wasn't
> around.

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Boo - 13 Mar 2005 21:09 GMT

Thanks for all the replies. The idea of weighing him is a good one and
he does seem to have put on some weight in the last 6 days.

I'd been trying to feed him Whiskas which is what he'd been fed at home
but he wouldn't take any at all. Other tinned food was also ignored but
then I hit on chicken livers which he ate for all of a day and a half.
I read that you shouldn't feed too much liver so I rang the breeder and
she agreed to take him back for another week or two and see if he
improves.

Anyway, two days ago I read around on the web and hit on the idea of
trying chicken hearts which he seems to really like. Phew :-) I've
just taken him back to the breeders' tonight because they've already
booked him in at the vets but I'm pretty confident he's OK now and if
the vet agrees tomorrow then I'll have him back straight away.

I'm concerned that a diet of chicken hearts is a bit unbalanced and I
wondered if anyone here can recommend a good supplement that's available
in the UK ? I guess there must be a risk of calcium deficiency in such
a diet ? I've tried mixing dried and/or tinned food in with the fresh
hearts but he basically picks around that.

>> I understand from the breeder that he was off his food for a
>> while,
>
> I was curious to know what this means.

I don't know the details but apparently for a while he would abstain
from food for a few days and then eat and then stop again.

> My cat spent the first day and a half hiding behind the dryer,
> because she was terrified of me. She was willing to eat
> and drink when I wasn't around.

He didn't show any signs of timidity at all and basically purred away in
my lap right from the very first. Learned to use the litter tray in the
first morning and apart from not eating and seeming very lethargic was
otherwise normal.

Cheers,

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Boo

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M.C. Mullen - 14 Mar 2005 05:41 GMT

| I'm concerned that a diet of chicken hearts is a bit unbalanced and I
| wondered if anyone here can recommend a good supplement that's available
| in the UK ? I guess there must be a risk of calcium deficiency in such
| a diet ? I've tried mixing dried and/or tinned food in with the fresh
| hearts but he basically picks around that.

It's definitely not a balanced diet.
I know they like chicken hearts - imagine what *real* chicken would do for
him!
You cook the hearts, don't you?
I fed them to Minka after she had lost a lot of weight and it helped.
But you have to be very careful now that you don't train him to be a picky
eater.
The best would be a balanced diet of good quality wet and dry and the
occasional sugar free treat.
The question is which brand? Good pet shops would give you free samples if
you explained the problem.

Start with a kitten food, chicken is always good. If you find one he likes
you can mix a little Whiskas in to get rid of that too :-)

My cats don't like: Iams, Science Hill
Eukanuba seems OK but is expensive.

Carola

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