Dehydration in Kitten

[AerisAllieandPJ]

Our 18 week old kitten has only been with us for a week. When we got her she was so loving and perky, eating all the food we gave her and constantly, playing and drinking and super healthy. A few days into her new home with us she began getting lethargic, not playing, not eating, just sleeping and looking depressed. We did a no-no, and changed her diet rapidly fast and then everytime she rejected a wet food we tried a different can- instead of doing all this gradually. So we definitely screwed up her system. But she got so dehydrated from all this that she had to be hospitalized. Her blood results came back clear and healthy as well as her fecal test. The only possible concern in her results was that her ALT level was MILDLY high but even our awesome vet said she wasn't insanely concerned because all her other liver levels were perfect. The vet gave her an IV and fully hydrated her and she ate prescription food for her off and on. The vet also gave us antibiotics to give her. Her first day back home and she only wants to sleep again and not interested in eating. Is it going to take time for her to recover? Not fully knowledgable about dehydration

[Longblades]

Please keep close contact with your Vet. You may need Subcutaneous liquids and your Vet can show you how to do this yourself. You can't know how long recovery will take, they are all different.

Your kitty was vaccinated and checked for disease by blood draw and faecal float?

Hopefully she did not get a whole lot of vaccinations together all at one time? That could cause all you are seeing. It's a good idea to give the Rabies several weeks apart from the others.

To get her eating again I suggest trying the food she was on in the first place. Even poor quality food is better than no food in cats, who can get fatty liver disease if they don't eat.

Also try offering only very tiny amounts of food at a time. Tiny in as small as 1/4 tsp. My old girl will only eat about a teaspoon (tsp) at a time. She can't seem to stand seeing any more than that in her bowl at one time. Think of when you were sick yourself, likely you were the same, too much on the plate turned you off I bet, right?

If you try different foods still only offer small amounts. Human baby food is often tolerated well. Good luck.

[marko]

Welcome to the forum AerisAllieandPJ,

I agree with Longblades, close contact with the vet is wise....but sounds like a good caring vet.

It might have been the food and if so, I'd suspect kitty will return to normal quickly. Either way though, please update to to let us know how she is doing. Good luck!

[AerisAllieandPJ]

Thanks so much for the replies!! We were up every hour or so with her giving her pedialyte and nutrical because she got dehydrated again and so quickly. In the morning we gave her more and then she actually ate some of her prescription cat food and even drank water all on her own. She's still groggy and uninterested in everything, especially our younger 8 week old kitten who just wants to play with her so badly but it just aggravates her.

Yes all blood and feces clear except mild ALT level. No fever either. She did get her second booster a few days before this all happened but we did only that, we held off on the rabies. Good thing we did!

Keeping a close eye. <33 and will take your advice!

[Barkingdog]

Does your kitten get canned food too, if yes you could try adding a little water to it to get more fluid in her. I had to do this when my dog was sick , and I brought canned food that was extra soupy .

[AerisAllieandPJ]

I have horrible news regarding Luna, our 4 month old who was dehydrated and not eating.
She was put on Iv twice and finally began eating and drinking on her own but she tested positive for FelV. Even though she was vaccinated twice. We don't understand how she even got it. We have only had her for twelve days and we unfortunately got her from a breeder because I have no allergies to Bengals which is why we sought them out. Breeder is telling me she must have gotten felv in the past 12 days. But could she have gotten it and then started deteriorating this quickly? Vet says no way. Vet says she has had it for a while.

We are so heartbroken. We lost a kitten to FIP before this. And now she has felv. And we have an 8 week old male who is our baby we are trying to separate but he was all over her the past couple weeks. Maybe is not enough time to spread it. We are praying for a miracle. But she is wasting away

[Longblades]

I'm so sorry. Vaccinations can fail and are not 100% effective for the whole population. My fully vaccinated pup got Parvo at 6 months old. It was touch and go but she survived and lived a long and healthy life. Hoping the same for your kitten.

[AerisAllieandPJ]

Luna's test was a false positive and she doesn't have felv!!!
Now it's just figuring out what she actually has.
She's eating but not gaining any weight. And still dehydrating.
No worms. And no other symptoms except lethargic and not playing.
Someone said she's possibly severely depressed or anxious from the move but it's been two weeks
She's also been this way since we blocked off access to under the bed but she wouldn't be spiteful this long right?

Any help?