Berties eating less, losing a little weight

On Saturday Bertie weighted in fine @ 2.5kg and we all went to the vet to have a little check-up on the sneezing etc. All was well in temperature etc. The vet did check Bertie's mouth specifically as I mentioned he has the dirtiest eyes etc. Perhaps the vet may have hurt him a little ? I doubt it but..

I weighed him yesterday and he was down to 2.4kg or so and he didn't really wolf down his dinner as they have all done in general everyday. I gave him a handful of freeze-dried treats which he ate but seemed to be have probs chewing - hesitation and treats dropping back out - but he was enthusiastic enough to keep going until they went down. I am wondering if he is teething ? 16 weeks and all that. I checked his mouth and all the teeth look OK on quick glance and no redness.

He ate a reasonable amount of wet food this morning, but quite slowly - not a full 1/3rd. Measured his weight again and a little lighter at 2.34kg. Hmm. Still, he's playing much the same this morning with the other two and doesn't seem lethargic or anything. Drinking seems normal and no particular mess in the litter tray from any of them.

I am going to leave it another 24 hours, but I am a worrier. The other two are fine on the food front.

Advice, reassurance, comments ?

Thanks all.

After I put the laptop away I went and microwaved some frozen Pollock (half a fillet) and crushed it up in my fingers for him. Fed him separate in the kitchen and he slowly ate it all apart from some skin bits. He chewed OK but the swallowing was a bit hesitant.

He wasn't dropping the food, he was dropping the slightly hard (freeze dried tuna cubes) treats. They all did at some point. But he is fine if I break them in half.

His mouth only has baby teeth that I can see and is all a nice light pink colour. I will try to check more carefully tonight and if there is no improvement by the morning it's down the the vets...

Not too sure - I don't like them losing weight especially when they are kittens and should be putting on weight every day.

If he is struggling with swallowing, he could have a sore throat or he could have a sore back tooth which is causing him pain. Very difficult to tell without a proper examination.

I would definately consider a trip to the vet to check temperature and glands as they will indicate of there is an infection or a virus. Could be he has eaten something he shouldn't have done and it has scratched him in the way down, which again is making swallowing sore.

Give him 24 hours, monitor his eating and weigh him again tomorrow....make a vet appointment just in case so that he can definately be seen tomorrow if he needs it but then you can cancel if you are happier with him.

Have booked the 9am slot and agreed with them it's tentative. Sigh, poor dear.

Trouble swallowing points towards swollen glands in his throat,have you got a syringe or dropper of some sort,if you have fill with water & gently dribble in the side of Berties mouth,never do it from the front,then just watch how he swallows,if he is still gulping as he swallows then bets are on for a sore throat bless him,could also be do to him starting to teeth,it affects some more than others & as Candes points out he is a male....! If he is having trouble with eating make sure everything is more moister than usual,fluid intake is important.
Bet you are pleased now that you got three to worry about in one swoop,I reckon your vet will be looking forward to a good bonus this year....!

Right, all better. I think.

Came home and prepared him a separate pouch of Whiskas Kitten, since this is what they know best from the breeder. I let them all in eat in the same room but I tried to protect him from the other two's curiosity. He ate 2/3rd very slowly, chewing lots. I then also heated another 1/2 fillet of pollock and let him eat most of it on his own in the kitchen.

Appetite is not a problem, I just think he is off dry food for now. I will give him more soft food or fish before I go to bed and make sure he has plenty of time to eat it on his own.

He is chewing lots ... munch munch munch munch, swallow ... so I suspect it is teething and maybe his gums are sensitive. It all looks OK upon a quick look, no inflamation.

Will repeat all this in the morning and check his weight again.

More advice and hints welcome. I may well try the syringe thing with water but for now will let him eat soft food until he explodes :)

Wet food is fine he will get most of his fluid requirement from it,only suggested syringe because it is a good way to dribble fluid into them & watch how they swallow,if it is a sore throat they are like us when we have the same,really do a big gulp as it goes down & stretch the neck. Does seem as if it could be teething more though doesn't it although some could also be the individual attention he is getting,bless....

Never have noticed any of our guys as kittens ever eating less due to teething. Teething typically manifests as lots of chewing on toys and such, plus biting us. Our girl Bella did have an issue with her bottom incisors (those teeny tiny teeth between the canines) that led to very sore gum and she definitely was not eating as well then. Was very obvious to vet what the issue was though (most cats are much more cooperative with vet holding their mouths open than they are with their owners). She was over a year old at that point and long past teething.

Just a thought, if it is his glands up then it should be very easy to check - with your kitten facing you, feel gently under the jaw towards the ears. If the glands are up they will feel like 2 little marbles sitting under the skin. My vet is very hands on and likes to show me what they are looking for!!

Well, appetite is back again this morning, almost a whole pouch of Whiskas plus some of the Bozita they had been on for a while. Weighed him after breakfast (as I have always done) and he is back up .1kg in 24 hours. Good.

I will prepare some more Pollock before I leave and put it down for them to eat over the morning - it will not be down long enough to spoil and the heating is off during the day anyway :)

Well that planned failed. Between putting the Pollock down and getting ready to leave the house it all vanished - Bertie had his fair share too. So down went the rest of the tetra-pack of the Bozita for them. Hopefully it won't go too stale during the day - but I suspect it will be eaten.

Sounds like Bertie's appetite is back on track. I've noticed dudley's appetite wanes every so often and then he can be quite picky about the temperature and freshness of his food. Sometimes he goes off his bozita for a bit then likes it again a couple of days later!

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Originally Posted by WoodsideMaineCoons

Just a thought, if it is his glands up then it should be very easy to check - with your kitten facing you, feel gently under the jaw towards the ears. If the glands are up they will feel like 2 little marbles sitting under the skin. My vet is very hands on and likes to show me what they are looking for!!

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My boss feels for swollen glands first but always backs up with the syringe & water test as well especially if he thinks it is tied in with throat but glands feel normal, this can very often happen by the cat swallowing something that scratches throat on way down such as poor little featheries,not something luckily ours catch but then Welly is very handy at plucking his feather tickling stick so wouldn't be surprised if at some point he suffers the same symptom....!

So pleased Bertie seems to have found his appetite again,when one of the others decide to behave the same way dad will not be so worried.

:-)

Checked him this morning, 2.5kg. Dicky is now way ahead at 2.7kg, but at least he is back on the "up". All are now eating well, but I have not seen Bertie near the dry food since, so going to make sure he has as much wet as he needs for now. He is probably playing me now...

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Originally Posted by Peter Galbavy

:-)

Checked him this morning, 2.5kg. Dicky is now way ahead at 2.7kg, but at least he is back on the "up". All are now eating well, but I have not seen Bertie near the dry food since, so going to make sure he has as much wet as he needs for now. He is probably playing me now...

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....like a violin! They're not daft, these MCs, are they? :LOL: