# Kitten not gaining weight



## Bellebell (Feb 21, 2019)

My rag doll had 4 kittens 2 weeks ago . 2 weighed 52 g at birth and 2 weighed around 110g ( a significant difference)
They are 17 days old now and developing well but one of the smaller kittens is still only weighing in at 146 g. He seems fine but won’t feed so we’ve started syringe feeding .. he’s still not putting on weight though !
Can anyone give advice as we are so scared of losing him .
Thankyou


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## Rufus15 (Dec 4, 2015)

Have you taken him to the vet? He may need a course of antibiotics


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

Is the smallest gaining weight daily? 

How long was mum with the sire?


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Vets tend not to know much about baby kittens.

When did you start bottle feeding? Are you putting NutriDrops in the formula, that can make a big difference. Being born so small he may just be nqr sadly.


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## Bellebell (Feb 21, 2019)

spotty cats said:


> Vets tend not to know much about baby kittens.
> 
> When did you start bottle feeding? Are you putting NutriDrops in the formula, that can make a big difference. Being born so small he may just be nqr sadly.


NQR? - sorry new to this ?
Ok - I'll pick up some nutridrops . At the moment he just climbs on top of mums back every time we try to put him on her nipple to feed , he seems healthy though - open eyes , learning to walk etc ...


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## Bellebell (Feb 21, 2019)

lillytheunicorn said:


> Is the smallest gaining weight daily?
> 
> How long was mum with the sire?


He was but it's up and down now - not losing but not gaining 10g a day . 
Mum was with him for a week - I was thinking possibly the smaller two were born prematurely?


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

Bellebell said:


> NQR?.


Sorry, not quite right.

Littlies don't always gain 10g a day. It's good he's not losing and is active.

Have you not got a breeding mentor?


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## Bellebell (Feb 21, 2019)

spotty cats said:


> Sorry, not quite right.
> 
> Littlies don't always gain 10g a day. It's good he's not losing and is active.
> 
> Have you not got a breeding mentor?


Not really , our vet seems to know less than nothing (except how to make money !) 
A family friend ( novice breeder) has given some advice but mainly we've been reading and watching everything available on the internet


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

The breeder of my foundation queen gave me advice when I needed it. The breeder of your girl may be able to tell you about problems in the line. The stud owner may also be able to advise. 52gms seems a worryingly low birth weight.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

QOTN said:


> The breeder of my foundation queen gave me advice when I needed it. The breeder of your girl may be able to tell you about problems in the line. The stud owner may also be able to advise. 52gms seems a worryingly low birth weight.


I agree both that vets know very little about perinatal problems in kittens and that 52g is very low. It's low even for my OSH kittens which are generally smaller than ragdoll kittens.

However if the kitten continues well, and is gaining albeit rather slowly, I don't think there's much you can do other than be sure it's not getting pushed out at the milk bar. I would try giving the bigger kittens a bottle 2-3 times a day - he needs his mother's milk more than they do. She might simply not have quite enough to go round.

Also it has nearly tripled it's weight in 2 weeks, that's not a bad weight gain for such a tiny baby but if the weight gain is tailing off that's not great. How much does the other tiny kitten weigh now?


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

My concern would be heart problems. Are the parents tested for the ragdoll HCM gene?

So many times I have heard of breeders who hand rear kittens even though the dam is producing milk only to lose them when they get to a few months old, usually with no warning and no apparent reason.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

QOTN said:


> My concern would be heart problems. Are the parents tested for the ragdoll HCM gene?
> 
> So many times I have heard of breeders who hand rear kittens even though the dam is producing milk only to lose them when they get to a few months old, usually with no warning and no apparent reason.


Heart problems showing up this early would be very serious, agree it could be a possibility.


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

I wondered 2 little ones could be preemies, which fits with mum being in with dad for a week.



QOTN said:


> So many times I have heard of breeders who hand rear kittens even though the dam is producing milk only to lose them when they get to a few months old, usually with no warning and no apparent reason.


I took the hard decision not to supplement Sheep's smallest kitten who's weight gain was dropping off, as my mentor suspected something not right at about a week old, and advised me against bottle feeding him as often they die if they can't grow when mum has plenty of milk and you only delay the inevitable. She did suggest I supplement the two big babies 3 times a day to give him a chance. He carried on gaining slowly until he was the first to wean and then started to catch up. Now he is the biggest of them all at 16 months old.


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## Bellebell (Feb 21, 2019)

Just been checking her and have noticed that only 3 of her nipples are producing milk ! 
He won’t take formula so we will try and give the bigger 2 bottles a couple of times a day ...
Feel so sad I didn’t check this earlier


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## lillytheunicorn (Nov 17, 2012)

Bellebell said:


> Just been checking her and have noticed that only 3 of her nipples are producing milk !
> He won't take formula so we will try and give the bigger 2 bottles a couple of times a day ...
> Feel so sad I didn't check this earlier


Fingers crossed for your little kitten.


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