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

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. 🐈

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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!)?

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

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.

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.

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.

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'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.

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. 🐱

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