Tips for feeding a 4mth old kitten who won’t eat, please.

Years ago when we had a very young kitten we fed her on baby food for a while.

Have you tried mixing a little warm water with the kitten kibble to ensure she doesn't get dehydrated? Also perhaps water mixed with the food she was on before coming to you? Putting a bit on a spoon or even dapping a little on her nose sometimes works, it did with one of our kittens who was a slow starter compared to his litter mates when it came to eating. Possibly kitten milk to get some extra goodness into her too? Another thought, is her food dish near the litter tray? She may not like that. Let us know how it goes. 🐱

I'd ask the vet to maybe do blood tests and to check out her mouth to make sure there are no sore patches inside. Also, have you tried raising her food off the floor? You can get raised frames to put the food bowl on, so she's at a more comfortable eating height. Just a thought .....
I agree re weight, she may be lively now, but she should be putting on more weight than you say she is, and they can go downhill so quickly. Hope this helps and she starts to eat again soon.

Is she teething? If so teeth may be wobbly / troubling her?

We gave our kittens a cat formula milk (not cows milk) as a supplement for a while when this happened.

I don’t know what to suggest as we never had kittens, only adult rescue cats. Feeding them was never a problem, and so I haven’t got any suggestions, but couldn’t just scroll by without saying I hope she improves soon, and starts to eat. You must be extremely worried. I hope the suggestions of the others are helpful. Let us know how she gets on.

Maybe try a little soft kitten food, diluted with kitten milk. Put the mixture into a plastic syringe. Give your kitten tiny sqirts and see if she will swallow it. Hope this is helpful.

We’ve had many cats/kittens. As you say a kitten not eating is odd and a huge concern. Has she been wormed recently? I would be taking her back to the vet - see another vet though. I hope to read she is on the mend.

There is a thread on Mums net with this same problem. Lots of ideas there and some are working.

Might it be something to do with having another kitten? Is it a litter mate? Is she intimidated by it? Doesn’t like having her food in the same area?? Worth trying a dap diffuser ( my go to solution for most things puppy or kitten wise!)?

Thank you for the ideas, they’re helpful. I’ve tried soaking the kibble in warm water. Same result, a couple of mouthfuls then she won’t eat it again. The other kitten happily hoovers it up, though!

They are not from the same litter but come from the same breeder/household. They are one each from two litters born two weeks apart. We got them two weeks apart, so maybe that’s part of the problem. I have a Feliway diffuser - is that the same as a dap diffuser?

I’ll try the kitten milk - I don’t know why I didn’t think of that as I’ve seen it on the pet shop shelf! They’re fully up to date with jabs and worming etc.

This evening she’s eaten about a quarter of a tin of tuna and a few Hills kibble biscuits, which she seems to like. She eats them out of my hand while sitting on my lap. I’m not too concerned about her fluid intake as they’ve both discovered the sink where dirty dishes being soaked prior to washing up offer a much tastier drink. Honestly, these pets. 🙄

I’ll weigh both kittens tomorrow and if she hasn’t gained anything it’ll be the vet on Monday, for sure.

Do you feed them separately?
It might help if you did, perhaps?

I’ve tried that this morning, MissAdventure and that, along with moving her bowl elsewhere, seems to have helped. She’s had more tuna this morning, eating up all I put down.

I also found a couple of useful websites with vet advice and will try some of those tips, too. They advise trying different bowls, so I’ve used a plate for her, and things like warming the food to make it smell stronger. 😷

I hope I’ll be able to sort it out now and get her eating nicely, thanks to everyone’s help.

PS they’re both very lively today - they’ve just smashed a glass hurricane lamp and managed to collapse a fabric linen basket.

That's good to hear.
Playful kittens, nothing better, in my opinion, anyway.

I’ve spent some time and money in the pet store today and bought several tempting items.

Specially prepared chicken fillet - no thanks.
Tuna cat soup - no thanks.
Kitten milk - nope.

Trying to steal a piece of chicken from dh’s stir fry in hoisin sauce - don’t mind if I do!

I have no idea what’s going on with her.

We adopted a funny little kitten once whose mum had died when she was about 4 or 5 weeks old. I used to actually hand feed her cooked chicken, tiny pieces. She got over it but she was never a big cat. 🐈

Are you weighing her? Is she losing weight at all? I’d definitely think about a second opinion if she’s not eating the recommended amount of food for a kitten of her age. I’m hoping the vet has done blood tests to rule out infection/FIV/FELV. Also, you mentioned breeder - is she a pedigree?
Hopefully she’ll be fine and gain weight soon.

I weighed both kittens yesterday. The boy put on 200g while the girl put on 100g. They both seem well enough, they’ve been absolutely bonkers today, racing round the house at 100mph.

I’ve tried a couple of other foods, which neither of them would eat! This evening I’ll try her on scrambled egg.

She eats them out of my hand while sitting on my lap

We had a dog once which had belonged to an old lady who died, he had been quite pampered and wouldn't eat when we first got him. I sat on the floor with him and he'd eat from my fingers; I gradually got him to eat from the bowl.

She seems to be improving but if she regressed, I'd try a different vet. Did they test her poo in case she has an infection?

Is it worth staying with the food she was raised on. Pups/kittens seem to do better on bland and boring in the early weeks in their new home. Too much variety can unsettle,
Is she wormed? Is her poo normal.

I don’t want to be alarmist but years ago, after losing what had been our best cat ever we bought a Burmese kitten from a breeder ( we felt the only cat that could replace ours would be a Burmese as although he was a moggie he was quite oriental). They gave us a two for the price of one, the second one being much smaller. Alas, after several weeks and trips to the vets, he died. I think it might be an idea to speak to the breeder and find out more about the history of the smaller kitten. I think, in our case, the breeder just wanted to give the little kitten a chance, but it resulted in heartache for our family.

That’s very sad, Maybe. Poor little kitty. 😢

She now won’t eat the food she was weaned on, Iam64, which was Felix.

She is fully up to date with all jabs and worming, normal poos etc. It’s quite a mystery, as she seems well in herself, lively and curious. I’ll give the vet a call anyway and get her seen, I think.

Is the other one a sibling? Is it bullying her?

Good idea to get another vet check SueDonim. Let’s hope they don’t find anything worrying and can be helpful on feeding. I’m more experienced with dogs. My several cats have all rather ruled the roost. I remember my two going onto the garage roof and refusing to eat anything I put down. I’d rescued a poor screaming frog they and next doors cat were playing with. They made their feelings known even when in desperation I tried tuna fish best of luck with your kitten

Is she any particular breed? We had a female Abyssinian once who would only eat the jelly round special cat food. It was getting worse and worse. The vet told us that Abys are a breed which could starve themselves to death! Finally we returned her to the breeder as we couldn't do any more for her and she was wasting away.