Conference misery::feline_v1

    Have you checked her stool for tapeworm segments?  That would cause her
    to not gain weight and at the same time eat well and act normal.  My
    Hoover was the same way.
    
    Good Luck,
    
    Terry
                     

    
    
    
    Yes, I have checked for worms I thought that Might have been the
    problem, she had been wormed before I got her and then I have wormed
    her twice since.
    

    Hi, 
      I am having the same problem with my new six month old kitten. I have
    kept him on IAMS kitten food, and I still can't get him to put any
    weight on. His coat is kind of shabby looking, where my other cats are
    all healthy with beautiful healthy coats. I have tried everything
    imaginable to get this kitten healthy, and it seems like nothing works.
      He is going to have his second series of shots tomorrow at the vets.
    So he is alright that way. He isn't sick or anything. He just sleeps
    alot and purrs and purrs, and he eats regularly and drinks too, but he
    won't put on any weight.
      I can understand your concern with your kitten, because I am having
    the same problem. 
      Sincerely, 
      Another feliner with the same problem. 
      Denise 

Does the vet feel she's underweight?  It's hard to compare kittens from 
different litters to each other. Since they came from different backgrounds,
one might also conclude that one kitty may have a higher/lower metabolism than
the other.  My Hannah always looks like a midget to me. She weighs half of what
Josh weighs.  She's also half his size.  She is now a year and a half. At this
point, I have accepted the fact that she will always be 'petite' - the only
thing in my family that is tiny (all people are tall, all cats in the 12-15 
pound range and *big*, and there's spacey little Hannah, boppin' along at 6.5 
pounds!)

If the vet say's she's healthy, I'd just give her what she'll eat.  At least 
you won't have to put her on a reducing diet!!!

    Just to cover all your bases, I would test her for Felv and Fiv.  You
    should also take in another stool sample since some parasites are
    easily missed, depending on the "freshness" of the sample. :^)
    
    If she is weak looking and sickly, or if she spends lots of time
    sleeping, rejecting food, or laying with her head close to the water
    dish, then I would get her in for a full blood panel.
    
    It is probably just that she has a different metabolism than your other
    cat, but if you want to be sure, the above are the steps I would take
    with any of my Birman kittens that were what I would call "poor-doers".
    
    Jo

    
    
    	Chloe is 2 years old and she just *now* started to really
    	put some weight on.  Of course that might be because she's
    	happier in our new apartment and has someone to play with
    	(Audrey). But for the longest time, Cary and I were convinced
    	she was going to be a 'skinny minny' like mom. =)  She's
    	gained some weight now and is even more beautiful.  Like
    	mentioned before, it could be the metabolism.  If the vet
    	can't find anything physically wrong with her she may just
    	be a small kitty!  
    
    	JJ
    

you haven't said whether you had the vet worm your kitten or whether you did
it yourself.  If you used over-the-counter meds, you may not have gotten the
parasites she is suffering from.  That is one consideration.  I agree with
the rest, however, with moggies (as in: wonderful kittens of unknown lineage),
you can simply have a cat that runs small next to a big robust cat...sorta
like the differences between humans.

If she continues to be small, AND seems frail, you can be dealing with
thyroid, heart, etc. problems -- things only a vet can diagnose.  MOST
IMPORTANT:  If you have not had your kittens tested for FeLV, 
DO IT NOW.  FeLV is contagious and if one cat has it and is not isolated
from the other, eventually both cats can get it.  It is NOT a good disease
for a kitten to have...and it often is passed to kittens from an infected
mother.

    My cat of 1 � years is the same way.  She was always tiny and too
    skinny to me. Once she was a little over a year old she settled down
    (as in not as much exercise) probably due to no longer being a kitten
    and she has since put on more weight. She still is very tiny and I
    assume always will be but I know she is healthy. I wouldnt worry about
    it your kitten is still young. She will put on weight as she grows
    older.

    I agree with Jo etc - let the vet rule out any physical problems first.
    Bonnie is the smallest cat in the house now.  She's a bit over 1 yr 
    old and is smaller than the 4.5 month old kittens.   But she has
    plenty of energy so I know there's no health problem.  Tony (her
    breeder) tells me that her grandmother was tiny too.
      Nancy

    
    
    
    Just thought I would give everone an update on Mitsy (see note 4156).
    
    Right up untill and just after Christmas Mistsy was ok untill just at
    the beggining of the new year I started to notice that she was losing
    even more weight than before.  Well she was at the stage where she was
    not eating for a least 3 days at a time and then when she did eat, she
    was only picking.  I decided that it was time to take her to the vet to 
    get her checked out.
    
    The vet had a look at her asked a lot of questions, and said that he
    didnt really know what was wrong with her, but had an idea what the
    problem might be.  He gave her a shot and told me that if she didnt eat 
    anything and was still the same in 10 days I was to take her back and
    she would have to get blood test done as she might hav Feline Lukemia.
    I have never heard of this and hope that someone can tell me what this
    is? How has she got it.  Anyway after the trip to the vets we got home
    and she suddenly started eating for a couple of day up till saturday
    night when she has went right of her food again, whats more she has bee
    drinking a lot of water (which she doesnt usually drink, it has always)
    been milk. Anyway to my horror whe was really sick last night. All she
    want to do is sleep.  I have another cat a month younger and she is
    that full of life it is so depressing to see one running about mad and
    the other just lying about all day.
    
    I hope someone can shed some light on this Lukemia thing and help me
    out.
    
    
    
    Tamara (Mitsy, and Hazel)
    

   Your kitten sounds very sick; I would get her to the vet without delay.
   I may have the wrong impression, but it sounds like your vet may not be
   concerned about your kitten, and I think he should be. It's one thing for
   a kitten to be on the thin side, but losing weight and not eating for 3
   days is not only NOT normal but serious! You might consider asking other 
   cat owners in your area for a vet they recommend if you think your vet is 
   not taking this seriously or you want to get a second opinion. 

   There are many notes in this file about feline leukemia. It is also called
   FeLV (for FEline Leukemia Virus), and you can find the related notes
   by typing DIR/KEYWORD=FELV at the Feline notes prompt. Also, I have some 
   general information I got from the vet's office that I can send you if you 
   want.

   Feline leukemia is common in the U.S. but I don't know about other 
   countries. Just to warn you, it is fatal, although some cats do reject 
   the virus. I don't remember drinking a lot of water (which you said Mitsy 
   was doing) as being one of the symptoms but I could be wrong.

   Hoping for the best for you and Mitsy.

   Linda

    
    Don't take my word for it but.....
    
    That sounds like the classic symptoms of a kidney disorder - my
    cat has just recovered from a kidney infection and had the same
    symptoms - Drinking water, loss of weight and being sick.
    
    I would go back and see your vet again or maybe another vet for
    a second opinion - I don't want to worry you but if you catch kidney
    disorders early they can recover...if left it can be fatal!!!
    
    Keep us posted
    
    Sharon

    I would certainly go see another vet.  It doesn't sound
    like your vet is concerned properly enough about this.  Can someone
    in this file recommend a vet near you?  
    

    
    
    After reading your reply's I will definately take her to another Vet. 
    I only took her to that one as I stay in a small village, but I know of
    a really good vet about 12 miles away.  I will see if I can take her
    some time this week.  
    
    I will let you all know what happens.
    
    
    
    Tamara
    
    

    Tamara,
    
    Where do you stay?  
    
    When I lived in Ayr all my cats went to the DVS in Dalblair road.  They 
    were really good and always seemed to be very concerned about my babies.
    
    Try to atleast make sure she is drinking.  The symptoms sound similar
    to what Spookie had nearly two years ago, it was diagnosed as a severe
    case of gastro-enteritis, if this is what's wrong try not to let her
    drink milk as this will only irritate the stomach lining more.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Tracy
    

    
    
    Hi Tracy,
    
    I live in the Galston Area and I was thinking of taking her to the vet
    in Troon.  I here they are quite good.
    
    
    tamara
    
    

    
    
    Here is yet another update.  I took her to another Vet on Saturday 
    Morning and he couldn't have been any nicer.  The vet examined her for
    a long time, and then took her temperature to find that it was up at
    105.. I was furious It had just clicked to me that the first vet that I
    took her to hadn't even taken her temperature.  The vet was very
    concered and after asking a lot of questions, came to the conclusion
    that it could still been FELV... But was not 100% sure.  At the moment
    he is treating her for a Liver infection.  He gave her a shot and has
    two types of tablets to take twice a day.  He also gave me a can of
    meat for her to eat... He said that she might not take to it straight
    away. ha! he was wrong she cant get enought of the stuff.  I have
    to feed her on white meats only and the canned stuff that he gave me as
    well.
    
    She is certainly making sign off improvement.. like she wants to eat
    all the time now.  And instead of sleeping all day she is starting to
    show interest in things around her.  I have to take her back to the
    Vets on Thursday.  So here hoping that everything is going to be ok.
    
    I will keep you posted on any changes.
    
    
    Tamara (Mitsy, Hazel)
    
    

    Glad to hear things are improving.  Keep us posted.
      Nancy DC
    

    
    
    
    
    
    Well just to let you know that I take mitsy back to the Vets tonight. 
    She is certainly improving. So let hope the vets is pleased as well.
    
    I will keep you all informed.
    
    Tamara (Mitsy, hazel)
    

    I'm glad to hear Mitsy is doing so much better -- that is very good
    news! Yes, please let us know how she makes out at the vet's.
    
    Linda

    
    
    
    Well I took her to back last night and the vets was very pleased with
    the response to the pills that she has been taken the only thing is
    that her temperature is still high.  He has prescribed that she takes
    the pill for another five days and we have to take her back next
    Thursday,  if her temperature is still high then he has to consider
    that he take a blod test for FELV.  So here we are still waiting.
    
    Tamara (Mitsy, Hazel)