Kitten's reduced appetite, and not gaining weight

[JoanneDM]

My 17-week old kitten has not been eating as much lately and for the past 2 days and today (3 days in a row), has not gained any weight. I used to work from home but now have to go to the office in the morning ... not sure if this is contributing to her reduced food intake ... she appears happy and is her usual playful self ... it's the no weight gain as a kitten that concerns me

So this morning, she only ate a bit at a time and after about 2 hours, had only eaten 1/4 of her meal.

However, the thought came to me to see how she would do with high-quality nutritional yeast. I got some a way back since I read it can stimulate appetite and so I had a container stored in my kitchen in case that would happen. Well, lo and behold, after showing a sluggish appetite, I sprinkled some nutritional yeast (1/64 tsp) on top of her food and she ate the whole meal in minutes!!

Now, I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts about this. Is this a practice that if done repeatedly may lose its effect? Or can I sprinkle nutritional yeast if she doesn't eat her meal within the hour and have this work long-term?

@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff @Dr. Jean Hofve

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Good work with your kitten Joanne!

Is this a practice that if done repeatedly may lose its effect?

Great question. The answer depends on the full energetic context and balance of your kitten.

By that I mean that it is different for every individual. Depending on things like genetics, vaccinations, environment, etc.

Since not eating or gaining weight is often related to an energetic imbalance, now may be a good time to start working with a vet homeopath.

If her her vitality is strong enough, she may just continue to improve and "grow out of" her picky appetite.

Has she been seen by your vet and examined, had stool checks, etc.?

 

[JoanneDM]

She was seen by her primary vet on August 12 and I had a stool sample tested, which was negative. Is there a way of having access to homeopathic services directly through Holistic Action?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

She was seen by her primary vet on August 12

What did your vet think of her exam at that time?

Is there a way of having access to homeopathic services directly through Holistic Action?

Sure, thanks for asking! There are lots of homeopathic resources in your HA! member area.

Dr. Judy Herman is an HA! faculty member that also offers private appointments. Drs. Todd Cooney, Adriana Sagrera and myself also offer 1:1 homeopathic care. Individualized appointments are separate from the community education of HA!

Animal Wellness Center

At Animal Wellness Center, our primary modality of treatment is homeopathy. We also use nutritional supplements, western and eastern herbs, Bach flower essences, and conventional medicines where deemed appropriate.

www.judithhermandvm.com

 

[JoanneDM]

Thanks Dr. Jeff for this information. Before my kitty's second meal of the day we spent some time on the balcony to get some fresh air, hoping this would help with balancing her energy.

When coming back in, she did eat half her meal in one sitting, and then walked away from her food plate. About 45 minutes later, she still showed no interest in eating the other half. As it was getting late in mid-afternoon (didn't want her to eat too late in the evening), I sprinkled a very tiny bit of nutritional yeast on her food, and like magic, she ate the rest in just a few minutes again ...

I'm giving her Nutritional Yeast Flakes from the brand, NOW. On the label, it states: "This is a primary grown yeast and is therefore not a brewery by-product as is brewer's yeast." So no Candida present. It is even fortified with additional B-vitamins, so even if it may be considered MSG, it looks like it's still beneficial.

She was quite playful this afternoon, so here's hoping she's snapped out of it ...

As for her vet visit last August, she got a clean bill of health, with no vaccination requirements enforced, yeay! On the Quebec side, in particular Gatineau, they don't even mandate the rabies vaccine.

 

[Dr. Christina]

@Dr. Jean Hofve may have a better idea on weight gain. Sometimes I have seen weight plateau for even a week when they are young (17 weeks is getting to teen age), so I would not worry about that.

I would use the yeast only when she has not shown interest in about 5 minutes. I would only leave food down 20 mins or less - do not cater to her.

Watch Anitra Frazier's 2 webinars about how your attitude about appetite has great effect - positive and negative.

And it is never too early to begin a relationship with a holistic vet, as Dr. Jeff suggested.

Dr. christina

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Hi Joanne!

The nutritional yeast is fine to continue using. You can't overdo the B vitamins as they are water soluble. The only problem I've ever seen with it is the potential to develop an allergy, but that is very rare. (It happened with my own dog so I'm a little keyed to it!)

Are you playing vigorously with her? I'm thinking maybe she is just not expending that much energy to want more food. See Play Therapy | Little Big Cat - Dr. Jean Hofve. I would play 15-20 minutes twice a day with her.

The easiest way for cats (or dogs or people!) to gain weight is to eat carbohydrates. Cats don't need them, but you could add something like sweet potatoes (which oddly enough my cats always liked), or other semi-starchy vegetables... organic corn or legumes, or fruit like apples, for example. (All must be organic, since most produce is sprayed with glyphosate at harvest.) She may just need those calories, and some cats do better with some carbs.

You could also try adding fat, though you may run into taste problems there. That will increase the calorie content of the diet without the carbs. This is the one situation in which I would be okay with coconut oil.

Cheese is another good addition, since it's typically high fat with a small amount of carbs. Hard cheese, cottage cheese, etc.

If she gets bored with the yeast, maybe try Wysong's DentaTreat, which is a cheese mixture. It's also good for the teeth!

 

[JoanneDM]

Thank you Dr. Jean ... yes, my little kitty likes to play vigorously with me and on her own, with zoomies now and then. She was active yesterday and today

I gave her 1/4 tsp of coconut oil this afternoon; she seemed to like it, but I felt that 1/4 tsp was all she could take in per sitting. She only ate half her lunch and the nutritional yeast has lost its effect .... but I think this is because she is constipated; no bowel movements since Friday at 1 pm. I figured that the coconut oil might help soften her stools at the same time.

If no bowel movement this evening, I'm wondering if I should try for the vaseline .... but not sure it you will get this message by then to guide me as to whether to go for it or wait to see if the coconut oil will have an effect by tomorrow morning...

I think she got stressed since I had to go to the office every morning last week and she was by herself for about 5 hours each morning ... She is sleeping a lot this week-end, I have the impression that she didn't get to rest that much during the week, perhaps being hyper-vigilant.... and this may have contributed to the constipation now

I know that when I first brought her home, it took a couple of weeks for her to feel settled in her new environment ... she doesn't do well with change, I think ... but I play soothing cat music with purring sounds while I'm away, and I have the feliway pheromone in a diffuser on all the time; plus I spray her blanket with a dilution of a stress relief homeopathic solution for pets .... not sure what to do more .... any guidance would be so much appreciated at this time.

If she is still constipated tomorrow morning, how long should I wait before taking her to the vet? At 1 pm tomorrow it will be 72 hours without at bowel movement ...

@Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Go for the vaseline now. Coconut won't help with constipation, it is digested and absorbed in the small intestine and does nothing for the colon. Can you gently palpate her belly to see if you feel hard stool in there? You could even do a little *very* gentle massage... I think there is a video on that around here somewhere, maybe someone knows how to find it? (I am not very good at that!)

You're so right, cats are very routine-oriented and changes are often quite disorienting.

Have you tried Rescue Remedy or other flower essences? They are safer and gentler than the homeopathic solution.

 

[JoanneDM]

Thank you Dr. Jean for your timely response. ... yes I use Bach's Rescue Pet and take some drops and dilute in a bottle of distilled water and spray in areas where she tends to be. The label says not to administer orally but put in drinking water bowl, but she doesn't drink from a bowl.

She tried twice earlier today to defecate but without success...I added slippery elm as well in the first half of her lunch which she took in ... and later on I did do gentle massage of her belly. At 9:30 pm, she produced nice stools despite it taking over 56 hours to have a bowel movement ... but she had been eating less than usual

I also took a swab full of coconut oil and quickly went in and out of her rectum early this afternoon and early this evening... was this okay to do? (after 48 hours, it was getting to me and I had to do something, I was concerned it might be getting dry and hard).

I played vigorously with her for 15 minutes after she was done in the litter box and gave her dinner, but she did not want to eat ... so she just ate 68 g of raw food today when she used to eat about 115 g, even after sprinkling some nutritional yeast...she just doesn't feel like eating even though she last ate at 1pm ... I wish I knew what was the matter with her ... I've been giving her attention all week-end ...

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Since it sounds like her activity and attitude are good, let's give her appetite time to settle. My big adult cats only ate 4 oz of raw homemade a day, at 68 g that's 2 oz, probably plenty for a kitten. If she had been constipated her tummy may just not be that anxious to load up again (though her reduced food certainly contributes to lack of pooping for a couple of days). Not sure there is anything "the matter" with her, try to relax and allow her to just be herself and see how it goes. Maybe take some of that Rescue Remedy yourself eh? Your anxiety may be transmitting to her, so I'm only kidding a little bit about that, lol.

 

[JoanneDM]

Yes, got some for me too! Thanks for the reminder, will be going for some squirts now ...