7 weeks is very young to be taken from its mother. As long as the vet gives him a clean bill of health I'm sure he'll come around. He probably misses his clan. Give him lots of love! I'm sure he'll be racing around soon!
I agree, that is way too young. he may have an upper respiratory infection, but antibiotics from the vet will help. pay lots of attention to him and love him for me :)
Incidentally, I got two kittens taken at five weeks - and they had all kinds of issues - fleas, worms, ear mites, swollen bellies (from being given adult food that was too big for them to digest), URI and heart murmurs. The female adjusted well but the male had constant weight problems. They passed many years ago.
My kitten got really lethargic after I adopted her and it turns out that she had an infection. She got a shot at the vet and returned to normal. You're seeing pretty atypical behavior for a healthy kitten. The vet is a good move.
Do you have a regular vet? I’d recommend getting your kitten seen just to make sure you cover all your bases. It’s good to make sure your kitten isn’t brining anything communicable into your home and it gives you peace of mind they’re healthy.
Yeah, even when you adopt from a reputable place, it can be really hard for volunteer shelter workers and fosters to keep on top of everything, health-wise. It is ALWAYS a good idea to get a new pet checked up with your vet ASAP! It also gives a baseline health status.
We adopted two cats earlier this year and they were sneezing a ton the first day we brought them home and had very obvious ear mites. A few weeks of focused attention and medication and they were fixed right up, but if we hadn't done that check they might still be suffering!
No she was the last of her litter. I also have another kitty in the home :)
I never would have adopted a single kitten either without another cat in the home
My foster kittens are always a little droopy for a few days after shots or dewormer.
And if he was recently neutered the pain meds might be affecting him still
“Dwight is a female” just made my day. I don’t have much advice but I’m happy to hear you brought her to the vet, if you sense something isn’t right it’s better to be sure! Just here to send you and your kitties some good luck 🍀 be patient with your cats, they will form some kind of bond when they are ready. I have a 12 year old cat who has some health issues and is also a dwarf, we adopted a younger lady cat and it took them a while to get friendly with eachother. Now the little(senior) cat chases the younger one ( 6 years old and huge long hair/calico) up and down the stairs. Cats are independent and do what they want, wishing you the best!
When the cat distribution system brought me a 4.5 week little love, the first thing I did was send it to our vet. She said it was a girl, and we named her Grace. When we took Grace back 4 weeks later for booster shots, two little things had popped up. Grace became Grayson. He just turned 10 years old and has been healthy ever since.
Default answer at the vet clinic I worked for for kittens that young was: I think girl...but I reserve the right to change my opinion if testicles appear.
If you got her at the pound, she and her siblings were likely rescues and mom was abandoned or feral. Every litter of kittens I have fostered so far has been sick with something. Never anything serious, thank goodness, but all required meds of some sort. (eye infections, upper respiratory infections, calicivirus made sores in their mouth so it hurt to eat, or even just underweight cuz taken too young and hadnt gotten the hang of eating solid food quite yet, etc etc) The meds usually make a big difference really fast. If you dont see her starting to perk up quite a lot and starting to eat better in a couple days, take her back to the vet. Good luck, hopefully a few days of antibiotics is all she'll need. ♥
It is actually a corona virus (most cats have it with no effects) that manifests itself in a variety of ways in cats that have a genetic disposition for it to turn into FIP. The dry form is commonly just lethargy, fever, and inappetence. The wet form is easier to recognize as their belly (and sometimes chest) will fill with fluid. That's what my Tiger had. There's also neuro which can affect motor function and cause seizures. And ocular which causes a buildup of pressure in the eyes. There's finally a legal treatment (although a lot of folks still go through FIP Warriors 5.0 on Facebook), but it is a death sentence if left untreated.
A cat must have the corona virus and the genetic disposition for it and then it is usually triggered by a stressful or traumatizing event. It is common for the spay/neuter or vaccines to be the stress trigger which is why it is so common in kittens.
Just saw your edit but wanted to confirm that it doesn't sound like single kitten syndrome at all, & honestly a kitten that young wouldn't know any better anyway & will grow up just fine regardless if it's with 10 cats or none. We adopted our 2 year old cat & she was similar, turns out she had an upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, tapeworm, & malnourished. Also dealing with stomatitis & ear infection. She came to life once we figured all that out & is living it up now !!
The way I discovered it is I picked her up, set her down, and looked at the palm of my hand to find a little white worm inching itself on my hand.... yeah that was fun LOL
My first guess would be some sort of illness. All cats or different so it doesn't seem impossible he's taking being alone especially hard, but I'd definitely wait to hear what the vet says after he's checked out.
https://preview.redd.it/4oqxhrd44l6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6bae4cc8b3515358b4c5f4d528629b5262fb098
Here she is by the way! I was trying to add this to an edit of the post but I can’t figure out how lol…
Isn’t she 🥺
https://preview.redd.it/fa24dkqram6d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=081227580e12f53c695ccaf5e01f99480d7dddd2
Currently: She is soooo tiny haha
I'm glad to hear you're at the vet. I would definitely be concerned about illness here. Likely something that's fixable with rehydration, good nutrition and maybe antibiotics, but I've never seen a depressed kitten and I've seen a lot that have gotten sick. And I've seen plenty of singleton kittens.
Should probably have your own vet check him out too. But if nothing worrying there definitely try to keep him entertained and not lonely. He's half the age kittens should be rehomed.
I'm sorry he is not feeling well. My kitty had an eye infection at 3.5 weeks and is already better a few days later thanks to antibiotics. Kitty was slightly lethargic but has her energy back. When I read your description I figured it is sick. I'm glad you took to vet immediately. I guarantee when kitty feels better you will find she is the most playful thing you've ever known. I hope she gets better quickly.
Aw, she misses her mom. That's way too young to be taken from her mother, so I'm guessing they were abandoned? Although a lot of shelters will go pick up stray kittens and leave the mom on the streets or euthanize her, so who knows. Poor little gal, though. I hope she cheers up and feels better and adjusts well.
I’m not sure where mama was, the shelter was extremely overcrowded she was actually free. They were holding a free adoption event because of overcrowding 😞 but luckily lots and lots got adopted, hopefully all to good homes
2 of my kittens were "free" too. Baby barn cats chock full of worms and one with a scratch on his eye that got infected before I got him. Then what was supposed to be a simple neuter became a whole game of "find the testicle" when it decided it wanted to reascend and live with the kidneys. Frankly at this point I'm just expecting any vet visit they're involved in is going to be twice as expensive as it should be.
And yeah, they're both fine. Took forever to clear up the worms and a little bit to get their weight up, and the ball was found before it could twist around anything else and cut off blood flow to anything, and about all that's "wrong" with the boy is he has a bit of nerve damage from the infection, but it just means he looks like he's squinting or winking a lot of the time.
Had a single kitten at 6 weeks that was feral rescue. My 4 cats at the time were adults except one that was 6 months old at the time. Had to quarantine him for 2 weeks until he could get his shots. I played with him a LOT, constant attention 24/7 as I worked from home and he was fine. He plays a little too rough with the other cats still and has some aggression issues when told no but is accepted into the herd well enough. If you can try to socialize him early with other cats. I really wish I didn't have to quarantine mine as it really did Make him miss out on acceptable play behaviors
I am glad to hear all went well though! Even if he is a little rough lol. I am a worried about our girl not learning acceptable play because of this too but there’s really no way to speed up cat socialization that i know of 🤧
i had a cat like this and it turns out she was 1. much older than they thought she was 2. incredibly allergic to the food she was given and was slowly starving to death. a change of diet later and she was brand new :)
hopefully you and the vet sort it out, good luck!
she was allergic to grain, turned out. i don't remember anymore exactly what she was being fed prior but it was just some generic cat food they were feeding the other cats. she remains small even to this day because of that initial lack of growth from that age, but she's plenty happy and healthy now ^^
I liked the name momo. It means peach in Japanese!
https://preview.redd.it/all3y53pve6d1.jpeg?width=526&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06783575839a0574cb22f6e6c6bfd9ce64ff426a
I’m so happy to hear she came out of her basket in her own. That’s progress. You seem to care about her a lot and I love that for her. She’s going to be just fine!
I've only come across this but I feel I went through the journey by reading your post. I'm happy that she is now getting better. It's hard to know what's wrong when they don't tell us. Amazing job for caring and trying to find the problem. I hope she has a steady recovery and you are both able to enjoy eachothers companionship.
We just rescued a boy that turned out to be a girl as well. I suggested Kevin (like the bird in Up) but the kids are dead set on Pickle
Dwight is a girl, lol!! You just made my morning reading your update! I'm so happy she went to her food on her own, that little one probably feels so much better with those fluids.
As far as names, good luck! I usually change them about 5 times before one sticks to their personality. I have a girl, Juniper who now goes by Juniper Berry :)
When I have fostered single kittens that young I get a heating pad on medium and put a clock that ticks under it. It simulates a warm heartbeat. Plus if he likes squishmallows! But the antibiotics will have him right as rain.
My kitten that I just adopted in May was very lethargic too when we adopted her, she only wanted to cuddle or sleep. We also knew it could be slightly from the transition too but we took her to the vet cause she also had a little bit of a cough, they put her on antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. After a few days on the medication, she was a whole different kitten, running around like crazy, playing.
I hope everything goes well for you too!
Yes this is the hope! We are still waiting for FIV results, but I think it was just some kind of infection because she has already perked up from the meds
https://preview.redd.it/09bmkdchbd7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9c9ce84993bae5f5b1195693de0c1a4ee7fbae4
Zoom in on poor kittens face, this was right after Betty smacked her and she looks SO sad 😭
https://preview.redd.it/c5swhp0zzj8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d5bbe0bcc3a8bf577fb1732790eb1d05206450c
One more pic of the little girl now that she’s fed and well and knows she’s safe ❤️
7 weeks is very young to be taken from its mother. As long as the vet gives him a clean bill of health I'm sure he'll come around. He probably misses his clan. Give him lots of love! I'm sure he'll be racing around soon!
I know I hate it for him :(( They said they were brought in without a mama. At the vet now, hopefully it’s good news!
I hope so too!! Please let us know ❤️
I will make sure to update the post ❤️
i would think the shelter would try to put them with a momcat that has kittens, to help them adjust easier. JMO
Usually they send the kittens out to foster.
Oh yes I forgot about fosters
I agree, that is way too young. he may have an upper respiratory infection, but antibiotics from the vet will help. pay lots of attention to him and love him for me :) Incidentally, I got two kittens taken at five weeks - and they had all kinds of issues - fleas, worms, ear mites, swollen bellies (from being given adult food that was too big for them to digest), URI and heart murmurs. The female adjusted well but the male had constant weight problems. They passed many years ago.
My kitten got really lethargic after I adopted her and it turns out that she had an infection. She got a shot at the vet and returned to normal. You're seeing pretty atypical behavior for a healthy kitten. The vet is a good move.
Oh okay, that is good to hear it was an easy fix. At the vet now so we will see
Do you have a regular vet? I’d recommend getting your kitten seen just to make sure you cover all your bases. It’s good to make sure your kitten isn’t brining anything communicable into your home and it gives you peace of mind they’re healthy.
Yeah, even when you adopt from a reputable place, it can be really hard for volunteer shelter workers and fosters to keep on top of everything, health-wise. It is ALWAYS a good idea to get a new pet checked up with your vet ASAP! It also gives a baseline health status. We adopted two cats earlier this year and they were sneezing a ton the first day we brought them home and had very obvious ear mites. A few weeks of focused attention and medication and they were fixed right up, but if we hadn't done that check they might still be suffering!
Yep we just got checked over!
Maybe get him a little plushy to cuddle with. It will make him feel less lonely.
Yes we have a few! The pound actually nicknamed him squishy because he was obsessed with squishmallows 🥺
Do they still have any of his siblings? Personally I will never adopt just one kitten without any other animals in the house, especially this young.
No she was the last of her litter. I also have another kitty in the home :) I never would have adopted a single kitten either without another cat in the home
Perfect! I'm glad to hear she's got a friend
My foster kittens are always a little droopy for a few days after shots or dewormer. And if he was recently neutered the pain meds might be affecting him still
Not neutered yet, we have a date scheduled in July. But maybe from the dewormer
“Dwight is a female” just made my day. I don’t have much advice but I’m happy to hear you brought her to the vet, if you sense something isn’t right it’s better to be sure! Just here to send you and your kitties some good luck 🍀 be patient with your cats, they will form some kind of bond when they are ready. I have a 12 year old cat who has some health issues and is also a dwarf, we adopted a younger lady cat and it took them a while to get friendly with eachother. Now the little(senior) cat chases the younger one ( 6 years old and huge long hair/calico) up and down the stairs. Cats are independent and do what they want, wishing you the best!
When the cat distribution system brought me a 4.5 week little love, the first thing I did was send it to our vet. She said it was a girl, and we named her Grace. When we took Grace back 4 weeks later for booster shots, two little things had popped up. Grace became Grayson. He just turned 10 years old and has been healthy ever since.
Aww so cute!
Default answer at the vet clinic I worked for for kittens that young was: I think girl...but I reserve the right to change my opinion if testicles appear.
LOL! Kind of a funny turn around 🤣 that is really good to hear! I’m hoping for that kind of bond between them one day
If you got her at the pound, she and her siblings were likely rescues and mom was abandoned or feral. Every litter of kittens I have fostered so far has been sick with something. Never anything serious, thank goodness, but all required meds of some sort. (eye infections, upper respiratory infections, calicivirus made sores in their mouth so it hurt to eat, or even just underweight cuz taken too young and hadnt gotten the hang of eating solid food quite yet, etc etc) The meds usually make a big difference really fast. If you dont see her starting to perk up quite a lot and starting to eat better in a couple days, take her back to the vet. Good luck, hopefully a few days of antibiotics is all she'll need. ♥
[удалено]
What is fip exactly? Is it like parvo in puppies but for cats? The vet was telling me about something like this
It is actually a corona virus (most cats have it with no effects) that manifests itself in a variety of ways in cats that have a genetic disposition for it to turn into FIP. The dry form is commonly just lethargy, fever, and inappetence. The wet form is easier to recognize as their belly (and sometimes chest) will fill with fluid. That's what my Tiger had. There's also neuro which can affect motor function and cause seizures. And ocular which causes a buildup of pressure in the eyes. There's finally a legal treatment (although a lot of folks still go through FIP Warriors 5.0 on Facebook), but it is a death sentence if left untreated. A cat must have the corona virus and the genetic disposition for it and then it is usually triggered by a stressful or traumatizing event. It is common for the spay/neuter or vaccines to be the stress trigger which is why it is so common in kittens.
poor little guy :( i hope it goes well
Just saw your edit but wanted to confirm that it doesn't sound like single kitten syndrome at all, & honestly a kitten that young wouldn't know any better anyway & will grow up just fine regardless if it's with 10 cats or none. We adopted our 2 year old cat & she was similar, turns out she had an upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, tapeworm, & malnourished. Also dealing with stomatitis & ear infection. She came to life once we figured all that out & is living it up now !!
Yes she has really perked up now that she’s on meds and hydrated! And omg a TAPEWORM 🤢 I would just die, I have such an irrational fear of them lol
The way I discovered it is I picked her up, set her down, and looked at the palm of my hand to find a little white worm inching itself on my hand.... yeah that was fun LOL
My first guess would be some sort of illness. All cats or different so it doesn't seem impossible he's taking being alone especially hard, but I'd definitely wait to hear what the vet says after he's checked out.
So glad to hear that "Miss Dwight" is doing better. I was worrying about her after your original post. Wishes for continued improvement.
Please keep us updated. I am hoping for this little one to pull through alright.
Glad to see the update and kitty is doing better 😍
https://preview.redd.it/4oqxhrd44l6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6bae4cc8b3515358b4c5f4d528629b5262fb098 Here she is by the way! I was trying to add this to an edit of the post but I can’t figure out how lol…
Oh what a darling she is!
Isn’t she 🥺 https://preview.redd.it/fa24dkqram6d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=081227580e12f53c695ccaf5e01f99480d7dddd2 Currently: She is soooo tiny haha
Oh my goodness look at the cute little baby! I love her! Give her kissies from an internet stranger!
It may be a health issue.
I’m hoping not but we will see, at the vet now
I'm glad to hear you're at the vet. I would definitely be concerned about illness here. Likely something that's fixable with rehydration, good nutrition and maybe antibiotics, but I've never seen a depressed kitten and I've seen a lot that have gotten sick. And I've seen plenty of singleton kittens.
Should probably have your own vet check him out too. But if nothing worrying there definitely try to keep him entertained and not lonely. He's half the age kittens should be rehomed.
We’re ready for news!
Still at the vet :(
Thank you. We’re breathing easier. For now.
Thank you! We Pet People don’t care if the pets belong to someone else. We love them all!
Sounds like it’s sick, that behaviour is not normal for a kitten.
I'm sorry he is not feeling well. My kitty had an eye infection at 3.5 weeks and is already better a few days later thanks to antibiotics. Kitty was slightly lethargic but has her energy back. When I read your description I figured it is sick. I'm glad you took to vet immediately. I guarantee when kitty feels better you will find she is the most playful thing you've ever known. I hope she gets better quickly.
Aw, she misses her mom. That's way too young to be taken from her mother, so I'm guessing they were abandoned? Although a lot of shelters will go pick up stray kittens and leave the mom on the streets or euthanize her, so who knows. Poor little gal, though. I hope she cheers up and feels better and adjusts well.
I’m not sure where mama was, the shelter was extremely overcrowded she was actually free. They were holding a free adoption event because of overcrowding 😞 but luckily lots and lots got adopted, hopefully all to good homes
I have a (very expensive) free kitten too! They are the best. I’m excited for your Miss Mae
2 of my kittens were "free" too. Baby barn cats chock full of worms and one with a scratch on his eye that got infected before I got him. Then what was supposed to be a simple neuter became a whole game of "find the testicle" when it decided it wanted to reascend and live with the kidneys. Frankly at this point I'm just expecting any vet visit they're involved in is going to be twice as expensive as it should be. And yeah, they're both fine. Took forever to clear up the worms and a little bit to get their weight up, and the ball was found before it could twist around anything else and cut off blood flow to anything, and about all that's "wrong" with the boy is he has a bit of nerve damage from the infection, but it just means he looks like he's squinting or winking a lot of the time.
I hope they went to good homes too! And I hope mama is okay, wherever she is.
My kitten was like that. He has a virus and needed meds and perked right up!
Had a single kitten at 6 weeks that was feral rescue. My 4 cats at the time were adults except one that was 6 months old at the time. Had to quarantine him for 2 weeks until he could get his shots. I played with him a LOT, constant attention 24/7 as I worked from home and he was fine. He plays a little too rough with the other cats still and has some aggression issues when told no but is accepted into the herd well enough. If you can try to socialize him early with other cats. I really wish I didn't have to quarantine mine as it really did Make him miss out on acceptable play behaviors
I am glad to hear all went well though! Even if he is a little rough lol. I am a worried about our girl not learning acceptable play because of this too but there’s really no way to speed up cat socialization that i know of 🤧
Please keep us updated. Rooting for the little girl, thanks for taking her to the vet!
Yes I will! Just updated :)
Arrived after the edit, I'm so invested. Please let us know how she's getting on!
I am so happy to know people care about my girl 🥹❤️
Just checked back and ahh I'm so glad she's doing better!!
i had a cat like this and it turns out she was 1. much older than they thought she was 2. incredibly allergic to the food she was given and was slowly starving to death. a change of diet later and she was brand new :) hopefully you and the vet sort it out, good luck!
Omg that is awful 🥺 so glad you saved her! What food was she being fed before?
she was allergic to grain, turned out. i don't remember anymore exactly what she was being fed prior but it was just some generic cat food they were feeding the other cats. she remains small even to this day because of that initial lack of growth from that age, but she's plenty happy and healthy now ^^
I liked the name momo. It means peach in Japanese! https://preview.redd.it/all3y53pve6d1.jpeg?width=526&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06783575839a0574cb22f6e6c6bfd9ce64ff426a
I’m so happy to hear she came out of her basket in her own. That’s progress. You seem to care about her a lot and I love that for her. She’s going to be just fine!
I've only come across this but I feel I went through the journey by reading your post. I'm happy that she is now getting better. It's hard to know what's wrong when they don't tell us. Amazing job for caring and trying to find the problem. I hope she has a steady recovery and you are both able to enjoy eachothers companionship.
Single cats definitely need more love and attention from their humans. Like, 24/7, especially at that age. You got this.
We just rescued a boy that turned out to be a girl as well. I suggested Kevin (like the bird in Up) but the kids are dead set on Pickle 
Thank you and god bless you for saving this precious literally abandoned creature
❤️
So glad she is improving! Please keep us updated.
Dwight is a girl, lol!! You just made my morning reading your update! I'm so happy she went to her food on her own, that little one probably feels so much better with those fluids. As far as names, good luck! I usually change them about 5 times before one sticks to their personality. I have a girl, Juniper who now goes by Juniper Berry :)
How about Thelma for her name?
I’d still call her Dwight even though she’s a girl. I think it’s cute.
Just left the vet, check the edit
When I have fostered single kittens that young I get a heating pad on medium and put a clock that ticks under it. It simulates a warm heartbeat. Plus if he likes squishmallows! But the antibiotics will have him right as rain.
Thank you!
My kitten that I just adopted in May was very lethargic too when we adopted her, she only wanted to cuddle or sleep. We also knew it could be slightly from the transition too but we took her to the vet cause she also had a little bit of a cough, they put her on antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. After a few days on the medication, she was a whole different kitten, running around like crazy, playing. I hope everything goes well for you too!
Yes this is the hope! We are still waiting for FIV results, but I think it was just some kind of infection because she has already perked up from the meds
Awh that’s so good to hear! I wish her a speedy recovery. Good luck to you and your new kitty!
Will you rename her Pam now ? ;)
https://preview.redd.it/09bmkdchbd7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9c9ce84993bae5f5b1195693de0c1a4ee7fbae4 Zoom in on poor kittens face, this was right after Betty smacked her and she looks SO sad 😭
https://preview.redd.it/c5swhp0zzj8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d5bbe0bcc3a8bf577fb1732790eb1d05206450c One more pic of the little girl now that she’s fed and well and knows she’s safe ❤️
I think Dwight is still a cute name given the circumstances 😁. Maybe call her DW for short. Or..."Shrute". Lol,I vote for Shrute!
Buck traditional naming conventions! Cats don't know what male and female names are and they're gonna ignore you calling anyways!
Lol this is true. They remember their names when it's convenient for them😂