Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A couple of days ago, I adopted a (TINY) 6 week old kitten. I noticed when I got her that she and the other kittens in her litter were still nursing from the mother cat, even though there was food and water provided for them, but when I asked one of the sales clerks if the kittens were old enough to leave their mother, she said yes... so, I adopted my kitty. There at the pet store, they gave me some dry kitten food free with the adoption fee. When I brought my kitten home, she didn't eat any of the food, and only drank one or two sips of water. The next day I tried to feed her some of the food piece by piece, and she seemed to have trouble chewing it up, so I tried softening it with water... but she wouldn't eat that. She was still not drinking very much water, and when she tried to drink it, she snorted it up her nose a bit and sneezed, like she really didn't know how to drink out of a bowl.

Since then, the problem has progressed... even though my kitten seems to be healthy (she's very active and loving, even though she does take lots of cat naps), she hardly EVER eats. I've tried canned Iams food and even kitten formula, since I thought that maybe she was taken away from her mama too soon. But now she won't even drink the milk, she hasn't really eaten today, AND she spit up a whitish fluid a few times. Is this normal for a kitten that has only been in a new home for a few days, or are my worries validated? And is my kitten too young to have been taken from her mother?
Pics of my kitten

Has you kitty been to a vet for this problem?

From her pictures it looks like she is old enough to survive away from mom, but she is younger than most people would recommend a kitten should be before being taken away from the mother if the mother is available. If they are orphaned, kittens as young as 4 weeks can begin eating kitten food, but it's usually a good idea to leave them with mom until 8 weeks or so if she's still living, to learn important social skills by horsing around with their littermates and learning lessons from mom.

It sounds to me like she is able to eat, because you said she does eat some, just not much. Vomiting should not be happening, though. I would certainly have her checked out by your vet.

Please take the kitten ASAP to the vet if you have not already done so. Do not delay. Kittens can dehydrate rapidly if they don't get enough liquid. And she shouldn't be vomiting.

Take care and best wishes to the baby. She sure is cute!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Just wondering if you took the kitten to the vet. She is adorable. Let us know what is happening.

Jaime