# underweight kitten



## delainew (May 15, 2010)

hi i have a kitten that is 6 weeks old, she has a deformed leg and a flat chest, i am bottle feeding 4 times a day - kitten still only weighs 250grams not putting on weight, ive been to the vets , they said they could amputate leg, and chest might mend, but kitten not putting on weight or eating solid foods - any advice:confused1:


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## Guest (May 15, 2010)

I have no advice - Just wanted to say well done for what your doing and I hope the kitten will be ok x


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

I think this is a condition kittens can be born with.

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/90/Flat-Chested-Kitten-FCK.html


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

PawPeds

I havent personally had any dealings with FCKS but i hope the kitten will be ok.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

Oh gee, she is small. Poor wee thing! And poor you! 

Have you discussed her lack of weight gain with the vet? If so what did he/she say?

Has her weight been static or has she continually been gaining very small amounts? 

How much milk is she drinking in a day (and how often) ? 

Have you tried upping the amount of milk per feed and maybe decreasing the time between feeds? 

And personally with such a tiny kitten I would still be doing night time feeds too. Id be aiming for about 7 feeds a day but I dont know if your circumstances will allow that many bottle feeds in a day. 

Have you tried introducing any solids, like Hills AD, and feeding it to her through a syringe? Ive had a few kittens who didnt thrive at all on bottle feeding, but did eventually thrive with force-fed semi-solids.

However, I would only consider these (possible options) after checking with a vet. She does have a health condition... so it's not just a question of her not eating enough... maybe she can't eat anymore. 

The very best of luck with this wee kitten. Please keep us posted how it goes.


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## Slave2Many (May 7, 2010)

I'm sorry, I know, flat chests are not nice. Most of the time they are caused by an infection in the womb of the queen. Some kittens in the litter are affected and some are not. It is very rarely genetic (which is good news).

If the flat chest is severe (ie: you can feel an edge to the side of the ribs), it might be that there is something wrong with the internal organs and nothing you do will help. The kitten might continue to lose weight until the end.

If the chest is not severe, you could go to the vets and ask for Royal Canin electrolyte solution, it is not medicine, it is a rehydration solution for weak and recovering cats and this needs syringing into the kitten's mouth so ask for a pack of syringes if you do not have any.

I really hope it is the latter, and the kitten pulls through.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

thanks for your replies, I have called the kitten peggle, her chest is flat from armpit to armpit, shes a bit up and down on the scales - losing then gaining weight shes been as low as 130gram and as high as 250gram, but then she is a bit up and down with the bottle feeding, sometimes she take about 25 grams and sometimes just a few drops.I have been feeding her for about 3 weeks as the other kittens got up to walk, she was smaller and started dragging her leg.

it has been wonderful to air my concerns on this forum as I don't really have many people to talk to about her.

I have had an xray at the vets and have another appointment on tuesday, next week, so I can ask them about feeding via syringe - as I didnt know about that.


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## Slave2Many (May 7, 2010)

The bottle doesn't work for me and if the vet has one small enough, you can get a tiny tube to feed into the stomach, connect to the syringe and squeeze it in - then you KNOW it is going in. 

Measuring the exact amount also helps to know where you are at.

You can buy a lot of supplies on the internet, everything you can get at the vets (cheaper too) but it is only worth it if you are having future litters.

HTH

:thumbup:


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

this is an update on peggle, shes been to the vets today and she has put on a bit of weight up to 280 grams - its very slow going as shes 6 weeks old now, the vet has advised to feed her semi solid hills A/D through a syringe.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

i have attached a photo of peggle - taken a couple of weeks ago.


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

wow how on earth did i miss this thread!

Your vet sounds like a good one, i too would be suggesting a/d (or another high meat content food liquidised) through syringe. 

Tube feeding is all well and good for a kitten who is still on milk feeds only, but not really suitable for long term feeding soloutions and you run a much higher risk of infection. 

Has the vet suggested any possible surgeries she can have to help correct her chest? or given an idea on the long term prognosis?... Ive heard some of the more modern surgical techniques have a greater success ratio.

Will keep everything crossed for you.


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

shes so sweet thanks for sharing the pic


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

picture of the litter she is the 3rd kitten at the back, all the other kittens are boys and are 2 or 3 times her size.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

the vet says that her chest might pop out on its own, up until she is 6 months old, they are also going to amputate her leg as it is deformed, the hock (knee) is not in the right place its at the top of her leg, she the kittens just drags it along,


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## DKDREAM (Sep 15, 2008)

what beautiful cats I want one lol.... I am jealous


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## Honeybunch (Apr 25, 2010)

Aww those kittens are gorgeous. sorry to hear about the poorly one.I hope that she gains strength and weight and everything works out well for her. When I was a child my neighbour had a cat with an amputated leg and she did absolutely fine. x:001_wub:


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

hi everyone
an update on peggle for you, she is been having hills ad and water thro syringe for a week , however she has now started eating food from a bowl, her weight is 330 grams which is still very small fop 7 weeks but she is putting on, as it was 250 grams last week , just hoping her chest will pop out as the vet said it would , fingers crossed :thumbup:


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

delainew said:


> hi everyone
> an update on peggle for you, she is been having hills ad and water thro syringe for a week , however she has now started eating food from a bowl, her weight is 330 grams which is still very small fop 7 weeks but she is putting on, as it was 250 grams last week , just hoping her chest will pop out as the vet said it would , fingers crossed :thumbup:


80grams in a week and eating on her own - thats brilliant news. Long may it continue. Hills AD can be kind of addictive for cats (so she might not want to try other foods), so if you feel she is not eating enough of the food in her bowl, then try smothering/covering the other food with a bit of Hills AD. Or sometimes just a wee bit of AD through the syringe stimulates their appetite to eat from the bowl. Or put a blob of (undiluted) Hills AD on to her paw or leg and see if shell lick it off (again, in the hope that the taste stimulates her own appetite, it often does). Best of luck with this wee one, theyre all gorgeous kittens.


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## shutterspeed (Mar 23, 2010)

Way to go Peggy!! 
She's very sweet, your heart goes out to her immediately.


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

wooo hoooo

congratulations peggle! Long may it continue, dont really need to add anything else as tje has already covered them.

Another alternative if you do find she becomes addicted to the AD (and is refusing all other foods) is to liquidise her own normal food and syringe feed her that until her appetite is stimulated by normal food.


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

Glad she is doing better now. 

I hope you don't think I am being insensitive but do you think it might have anything to do with having 2 litters so close together that may have caused this ? Or was Mum is good condition and/or calling constantly? 

I just think 10 kittens in such a short space of time is an awful lot but perhaps I am being naive (again)!  

I get lots of things wrong. i.e. there was a thread recently about a young girl (14/15 weeks being pregnant) I thought "Oh rubbish", I finally get my new little baby home (15 weeks old) only to find her rolling around the floor and treading this morning! 

I was/am thinking of putting Poppy out again after around 17/20 weeks but she only had 2 kittens and was calling a week after having them!  I will see how she goes though. 

Glad the little one is getting better, I have heard good stories about FCK and it's good she is on the move and eating more.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

Peggle is eating from the food bowl now ,she weighed 390 grams, Ive put in half a/d and half wet kitten food in her bowl, shes also eaten some chicken, so she really has found a taste for food! she is also playing with the other kittens , so fingers crossed her chest pops out! as she still might not make it.
the vet thinks it could take up to 6 months to do this, then she has to have her deformed leg amputated.......:confused1:
the vet thinks it could be genetic but need to see if it happens again, or my queen could have had an infection in the womb,
I am also changing my breeding plan to rest my queen, giving her a few months rest,
I have a male stud in my home , but I am able to separate them as we have an indoor kittening pen.


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## Elmstar (Apr 7, 2008)

delainew said:


> hi i have a kitten that is 6 weeks old, she has a deformed leg and a flat chest, i am bottle feeding 4 times a day - kitten still only weighs 250grams not putting on weight, ive been to the vets , they said they could amputate leg, and chest might mend, but kitten not putting on weight or eating solid foods - any advice:confused1:


For the flat chest, try using a toilet roll tube.

Seriously, we did this for two of our flat chested babies, one you would never know and the other you can still see slightly but he is doing well.

I'll look for a page that shows the technique.

Here's the link.

6 weeks old may be a little late to start this as we did ours when they were 2 weeks old but it must be worth a shot. Not sure if it will be so easy with a cat that has a bad leg too though :confused1:


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

That's a fantastic link, I have read about splinting but the images are great. With her being a little bigger now the bottom option looks like a good one but I am also unsure how she would do with her bad leg ? The bottom image looks like wrists straps used at the gym, so perhaps it you could make something out of one of them?

Glad she is eating more now.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

delainew said:


> Peggle is eating from the food bowl now ,she weighed 390 grams, Ive put in half a/d and half wet kitten food in her bowl, shes also eaten some chicken, so she really has found a taste for food! she is also playing with the other kittens ,


heyyy that's great news about the weight gain. 140 grams in 10 days is (just a table spoon off) text book amounts that they should grow in that time span :thumbup:. I can't help you with the flat-chested problem or with her leg, but just wanted to pat you on the back for getting her eating.

Underweight kittens are weird things... the more hungry they are the less likely they are to eat... we need to "kick start" their appetities (sometimes repeatedly)... and then it's like "heyyyy that's actually quite nice that food stuff, I think i will have me some more of that". Once they get the hang of it, it's fine, but when they're not eating, it's a downwards spiral. So very well done for getting the eating sorted out.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

thanks for the link, I have made a splint for peggle out of a adapted toilet roll! she immediately rolled on her back when i put her on the floor, however she found it difficult to run around, as her back leg is deformed, and she couldn't balance, she miaowed a bit and took some deep breaths but is ok now , sleeping in the pen, 
i guess because she is 7 weeks old , she is active now and splint hard on her, it would have been easier when she was smaller and less active,

fingers crossed that it works :001_cool:
and she carries on eating


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

delainew said:


> thanks for the link, I have made a splint for peggle out of a adapted toilet roll! she immediately rolled on her back when i put her on the floor, however she found it difficult to run around, as her back leg is deformed, and she couldn't balance, she miaowed a bit and took some deep breaths but is ok now , sleeping in the pen,
> i guess because she is 7 weeks old , she is active now and splint hard on her, it would have been easier when she was smaller and less active,
> 
> fingers crossed that it works :001_cool:
> and she carries on eating


That sounds promising, it will, no doubt take a bit of getting used to for her. Keep us updated.


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## Elmstar (Apr 7, 2008)

delainew said:


> i guess because she is 7 weeks old , she is active now and splint hard on her, it would have been easier when she was smaller and less active


It's definitely easier when it first shows, around 10 days. However her bones will still be very soft so it should be able to help providing its not restricting her breathing, she should actually find it easier to breath with it on as the pressure should force the sternum out (it's important to check that the sternum doesn't go in when pressure is applied).

Good luck and I hope this does help her.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

peggle had taken the splint off this morning, when i put it back on her she s not happy, not eating and just trying to get it off, unable to get around,

so i will leave it off today so she can eat her food and put it on this evening so she sleeps with it at night time.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

An update on Peggle, she is now 8 weeks old and i am surprised that shes still here, she has now put on weight and is up to 460 grams, and is eating a watered down hills a/d from a bowl , 
she is very up and down she lost some weight and then put some on,
she has also had a nasty eye infection , so I have got some medicine from the vets,

she didn't cope with the toilet roll splint , so I abandoned that, however I made her a hammock bed to lie in , to that shes not always lying on her chest,

Fingers crossed that we get there with her


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## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

well done you so far!

Is she eating enough of the a/d from the bowl? If not then top up with the syringe.

bless her the little fighter, but she must now put some weight on othwise she wont have the strength to grow and develope (which she desperatly needs with her medical condition).

hugs x


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

it's great news that she's gained + - 200grams in a fortnight. I agree with BBM about her weight... if she goes down in any 24 hour period, or remains static, I'd be right in there with the AD and a syringe. Sometimes even half of a 5ml syringe gives them enough of a boost to start licking out of their bowl.


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

a Peggle update - we have been to the vets again and peggle now up to 540 grams , she can run and today started climbing at 8 1/2 weeks.
chest still not popped out, but fingers crossed,


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

delainew said:


> a Peggle update - we have been to the vets again and peggle now up to 540 grams , she can run and today started climbing at 8 1/2 weeks.
> chest still not popped out, but fingers crossed,


It all sounded so drastic in the beginning, she was sooo tiny. But you know, 540grams at 8 weeks isnt _that_ bad (ok, not great, but Ive seen worse, and they've turned into normal weight and size cats). I am sure the extra weight shes gaining will be of great benefit to her with her other problems. Bless you both!! And keep up the good work 

Fingers crossed for the "pop"


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## Momo12 (May 11, 2010)

delainew said:


> a Peggle update - we have been to the vets again and peggle now up to 540 grams , she can run and today started climbing at 8 1/2 weeks.
> chest still not popped out, but fingers crossed,


Aw have read thru this thread and have to say made me really emotional but Peggle sounds like a real little fighter to me and keep up the good work you, she wouldn't have been able to do it without you, fingers crossed for a long & happy future for her:thumbup:

Mo xx


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

was just wondering how wee Peggle was doing now ?? 

any updates ?? 

(such a gorgeous wee thing, can't stop thinking of her)


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

hi, peggle is now 11 weeks old, I have realised that she is a he! , and he is climbing and playing with the other kittens, he weighs 640 grams now and the vet has said to wait til he weighs 1k to get him vaccinated,
he still has a flat chest and deformed leg, so fingers crossed there. that his chest pops out!
I was just wondering if I can keep him as I have an entire male in the house, and I wondered whether if I get peggle neutered then he can live in the house ok together, if not then I will have to rehome him if he is ok at 6 months. 
I am very attached to him now as been bottlefeeding him since he was 3 weeks old :001_cool:


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## Momo12 (May 11, 2010)

delainew said:


> hi, peggle is now 11 weeks old, I have realised that she is a he! , and he is climbing and playing with the other kittens, he weighs 640 grams now and the vet has said to wait til he weighs 1k to get him vaccinated,
> he still has a flat chest and deformed leg, so fingers crossed there. that his chest pops out!
> I was just wondering if I can keep him as I have an entire male in the house, and I wondered whether if I get peggle neutered then he can live in the house ok together, if not then I will have to rehome him if he is ok at 6 months.
> I am very attached to him now as been bottlefeeding him since he was 3 weeks old :001_cool:


Aw bless him so glad he is doing so well, and well done you for doing such a good job, not sure about whether you can keep him, sorry don't have the experience, but with everything you been thru with him be nice if you did, keep the updates coming:thumbup::thumbup:

Mo xxx


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

delainew said:


> hi, peggle is now 11 weeks old, I have realised that she is a he! , and he is climbing and playing with the other kittens, he weighs 640 grams now and the vet has said to wait til he weighs 1k to get him vaccinated,
> he still has a flat chest and deformed leg, so fingers crossed there. that his chest pops out!
> I was just wondering if I can keep him as I have an entire male in the house, and I wondered whether if I get peggle neutered then he can live in the house ok together, if not then I will have to rehome him if he is ok at 6 months.
> I am very attached to him now as been bottlefeeding him since he was 3 weeks old :001_cool:


250g on the 15th May and 640g on the 20th of June :thumbup:

thats 400grams in 5 weeks that is not bad at all!!! In fact, in your shoes with this cats other issues, Id be dead chuffed. GREAT news!!!! I had a heavy heart when I first read this post, so its great to now see how well hes doing. 

I think whether you will be able to keep him in the house with your entire male well I am no breeder and have very little experience of entire males, but I have friends who breed whose entire males, while they live in their outdoor run, they do spend plenty of time in the home with the castrated males and sterilized/entire females. I think a lot (if not all) well depend on the two personalities of your entire male and Peggle clicking. I think it must be a big advantage though that your entire male can see Peggle developing from kitten into cat. I will keep everything crossed for you that it does work out.

I totally agree with the vet about hanging off with the vaccinations. The smaller and weaker a kitten is the more chance they get knocked sideways by the vaccinations.

And LOL at Peggle being a he. I have made this mistake so many times that I just dont sex kittens anymore. (that way I can't be wrong, haha)

Please keep us updated on his progress and thanks for the pic (he is such a cutey).


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## delainew (May 15, 2010)

I m uploading a couple of photos of peggle that i took yesterday,


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## Honeybunch (Apr 25, 2010)

delainew said:


> I m uploading a couple of photos of peggle that i took yesterday,


He is such a sweetie well done you! You have done such a good job with his feeding he has come on a treat. Give yourself a pat on the back and fingers crossed everything works out good for his future x


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## Milly22 (Sep 15, 2008)

Awww he is gorgeous!!


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## sootisox (Apr 23, 2009)

He's lovely! Well done you - he's coming on a treat! 

We keep one of our stud boys (younger stud boy in training) with his now neutered father, they get along brilliantly, so it is possible. I agree with the poster above tho - it does depend on their individual personalities. 

I have everything crossed that Pegs chest "pops" soon.


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## Emma76 (Jun 20, 2010)

Your TLC is obviously working - he's a cute little thing. Keep up the good work :thumbup: 
I've just come across a Norwegian Forest Kitten for adoption with the same condition. If I had more experience with cats I would have loved to help this fellow....

If there's anyone on here that is interested in helping the little guy (in Doncaster) his details are on Pets4homes


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