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My baby boy is so skinny!

GenevaS

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Hi there! My boyfriend and I recently adopted brother and sister spyhnx babies that were born on March 7th. The little girl, Matcha, has really been growing and looks as healthy as can be at 4.5 pounds! She is extremely energetic and eats very well from what I have monitored. Our boy, Mochi, on the other hand is very small at only 2 pounds. Upon their adoption we were made aware that he was the runt of the litter but he has been with us for a few weeks now and is just so skinny! Spine, ribs, it all shows. He is very sweet and much less energetic than his sister, which worries me as well. My main concern is that our girl seems to beat up on him a bit. One minute they are best friends and the next she is playing a much too rough with him. We have been separating their feedings in the evenings and leave dry kitten food out for them to graze throughout the day. I also just began giving our boy a gel vitamin supplement. I guess my question is, does this seem typical? My boyfriend and I are new parents and have done our research but would love to hear from some more experienced sphynx owner! Thanks so much!
 

Caloci

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Go to the vet. Get the vet to look at him. I don't want to alarm you, but the symptoms you are describing can be very serious. On the other hand we have seen symptoms before like this that have turned out just fine. In the mean time swing by the clinic and get some Hills Science Diet AD. It is a calorie dense food that should help him to gain some weight. Feed it to him separately from his sister, she likely doesn't need it.

Also, have you been in touch with the breeder. She should be your biggest support right now. Does she have a health guarantee and were you required to have him vet checked within 72 hours of bringing him home? Just curious, as that is fairly typical requirement for most breeders.
 

GenevaS

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Go to the vet. Get the vet to look at him. I don't want to alarm you, but the symptoms you are describing can be very serious. On the other hand we have seen symptoms before like this that have turned out just fine. In the mean time swing by the clinic and get some Hills Science Diet AD. It is a calorie dense food that should help him to gain some weight. Feed it to him separately from his sister, she likely doesn't need it.

Also, have you been in touch with the breeder. She should be your biggest support right now. Does she have a health guarantee and were you required to have him vet checked within 72 hours of bringing him home? Just curious, as that is fairly typical requirement for most breeders.
I had him in at the vet about two weeks ago for a wellness check and they said everything was perfectly fine. They did not make any mention of his weight being abnormal but since then he has not gained at all. I did have him fixed then and I am wondering if that may have something to do with it but he healed up perfectly. Just comparing him to the rate his sister is growing is what worries me.

Our breeder is great and did give us health documents on both of them. I contacted her a few days ago to get her opinion and she says that he seems to have similar characteristics to his mother and that I should not worry. She suggested the vitamin supplement that I started him on.

Thank you for the food suggestion! I will go ahead and purchase that for him. I just want to make sure we are doing everything in our power to make sure he is happy and healthy. I am already planning to take him back to the vet tomorrow morning.
 

Caloci

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I would take him to the vet again just to be safe. My baby checked out fine and 3 days later was not fine.
 

Toa and Ross

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Hello @GenevaS and welcome to sphynxlair for you, Matcha and Mochi! Congrats with your boy and girl. I love their names.
Good to hear Matcha is doing well and growing to be a big girl full of energy.
When my boys came to live with me I had sort of less the same as you. One boy (Ross) was doing well, the other one (Toa) didn't grow that well, hardly gained weight and had less energy. But he also had very bad diarrhea so that's a difference.
Finally everything turned out well for Toa and he did grow out to by a big boy full of energy.

I hope your boy Mochi will do so too. But I would call the vet and bring Mochi in for a visit cause kittens are supposed to grow a lot!

Hope to hear good news. Oh and we love pictures so if your willing to share you make me very happy:)
 

admin

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Hi there! My boyfriend and I recently adopted brother and sister spyhnx babies that were born on March 7th. The little girl, Matcha, has really been growing and looks as healthy as can be at 4.5 pounds! She is extremely energetic and eats very well from what I have monitored. Our boy, Mochi, on the other hand is very small at only 2 pounds. Upon their adoption we were made aware that he was the runt of the litter but he has been with us for a few weeks now and is just so skinny! Spine, ribs, it all shows. He is very sweet and much less energetic than his sister, which worries me as well. My main concern is that our girl seems to beat up on him a bit. One minute they are best friends and the next she is playing a much too rough with him. We have been separating their feedings in the evenings and leave dry kitten food out for them to graze throughout the day. I also just began giving our boy a gel vitamin supplement. I guess my question is, does this seem typical? My boyfriend and I are new parents and have done our research but would love to hear from some more experienced sphynx owner! Thanks so much!
Hello,
How much are you feeding them besides the dry food? Wet food? What food brand are you feeding? Is their poop ok? :)
 

Yoda mom

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Welcome to you yours and adorable babies! Head smooches!
Let us know how how vet visit goes- they should weigh him and I would at least do a stool sample check - see if they recommend a blood test to be sure all is in check-
Has he had loose stool or any vomiting, eye boogers, sneezing? Since he has been home?
Many of us keep 100% pure pumpkin on hams for amy poo issues-
A teaspoon warmed or mixed in their wet food

Lots of us use 100 %. Pure L-lysine powder added to wet food as an immune booster for all our kitties
L-Lysine for Sphynx Cats

( mine refused to eat the expensive paste version from the vet )
I ended up using Now Brand L-Lysine that is sold on line , several good brands, and often in local health food stores for about $15

You can also ask your vet about nutri cal kitten supplement



Please keep us updated on the vet visit !
(My adoptee was a little thin when I got him and he was the quieter more stressed longer to transition
You should see him now! Never shuts up and is go go go :) now a little tells tubby belly)
 

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Dallassummer

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I just copied this from a previous post of Susi's on a past thread.
You can also feed him glop--it is extremely healthy and meant to fatten up sick or orphaned cats. Here are a couple of recipes for it:

ALTABELLA CATTERY'S KITTEN GLOP

INGREDIENTS:
1 lg. can evaporated milk
2 tbsp. plain yogurt (not diet)
2 tbsp. mayonnaise (real)
1 tbs. Karo Syrup (light)
1 pkg. Knox gelatin
1 egg yolk (beaten)
1 cup of liquid unflavored Pedialyte

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix milk, yogurt, mayonnaise and syrup together well.
Bring 1 cup water to boil and mix in Knox gelatin; set aside.
Mix egg yolk with small amount of milk mixture and beat well.
Add gelatin and water to milk mixture and beat well. Add in egg yolk mixture and beat well.
Pour into a freezer safe bowl or similar type of bowl with a cover and set in refrigerator.
We usually use Ice Cube Trays for our glop pudding. Pudding will last for two weeks covered in refrigerator.
Always warm pudding to room temperature (milk form) before feeding.
It is very rich in calcium, this pudding can be used as a supplement for kittens, sick cats and show cats to put on weight. Several Veterinarians have approved this recipe as being balanced and nutritious.


FRANNY SYUFY'S ABOUT.COM GLOP

Popularly known as "Kitty Glop" among breeders, this recipe is packed with nutrition for orphaned kittens, nursing mother cats and their babies, cats recuperating from illness and older cats who need nutritional supplementing. Some recipes call for canned goats milk; if you have it readily available it's fine, otherwise canned evaporated cows' milk works well.¹ The recipe sets up to a gelatin-like consistency in the refrigerator, and can be stored there for up to two weeks. It can also be frozen in an ice tray for convenience in serving. To serve, warm to room temperature. Do not pour back unused portions into the mix.

12 oz. of water
1 envelope Knox Gelatin
1 12oz can of whole evaporated milk (not skim)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt, not nonfat

Boil the water, add the gelatin - stir well. Add the following ingredients in order, mixing well after each addition: 1/2 of the canned milk, mayonnaise and yogurt; the rest of the milk. Variations include the addition of kitty vitamins, acidophilus, and/or pureed baby food meat such as lamb, chicken, or beef. Franny adds: "I have seen variations with two egg yolks added, but I would caution against this, due to the risk of salmonella with raw eggs. For very easy mixing, you can use a blender at low speed, but I also like a bowl with a wire whisk."





DEBBIE ARSICH'S BELLBOOKNBENGAL GLOP

Pedialyte: 10-12 ounces
Goat's Milk: 12 ounce can
Knox gelatin: 1 package
Mayonnaise (the real stuff): 2 Tablespoons
Plain, Live Culture Yogurt: 2 Tablespoons
Karo Syrup: 1 teaspoon
Baby Meat (I use Beechnut turkey or veal): 2 jars


I usually use the last one, but I use a can of evaporated milk instead of the goat's milk.
 

GenevaS

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Aug 2, 2015
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Hello,
How much are you feeding them besides the dry food? Wet food? What food brand are you feeding? Is their poop ok? :)
I feed them wet food in the evening on top of the dry throughout the day. The dry food is Hill's Ideal Balance Kitten. The wet is Royal Canin Kitten, which is what the breeder fed them. I also picked up Nature's recipe High Protein Wet for the boy but he doesn't seem to care for it. There poop is totally normal! Nothing abnormal.
 

GenevaS

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Aug 2, 2015
Messages
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Welcome to you yours and adorable babies! Head smooches!
Let us know how how vet visit goes- they should weigh him and I would at least do a stool sample check - see if they recommend a blood test to be sure all is in check-
Has he had loose stool or any vomiting, eye boogers, sneezing? Since he has been home?
Many of us keep 100% pure pumpkin on hams for amy poo issues-
A teaspoon warmed or mixed in their wet food

Lots of us use 100 %. Pure L-lysine powder added to wet food as an immune booster for all our kitties
L-Lysine for Sphynx Cats

( mine refused to eat the expensive paste version from the vet )
I ended up using Now Brand L-Lysine that is sold on line , several good brands, and often in local health food stores for about $15

You can also ask your vet about nutri cal kitten supplement



Please keep us updated on the vet visit !
(My adoptee was a little thin when I got him and he was the quieter more stressed longer to transition
You should see him now! Never shuts up and is go go go :) now a little tells tubby belly)

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! His health is perfect from what I can see! Normal poop, no sneezing, no abnormal eye discharge. I have the vitamin gel you posted! He loved it the first few days and now I'm having a hard time getting him to eat it. I'm at the vet now getting him checked! Thanks so much for your advice. That pumpkin purée tip is a great one to keep in mind. I will update on his status for sure!
 

GenevaS

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I wanted to say thank you so much for everyone's advice and support. We took little Mochi to the vet and his blood results came back. He tested positive for Corona Virus. It can be assumed my little girl Matcha has it as well. The vet says that there is nothing to worry about right now but the research I have done is worrying me. Does anyone have experience with this?!
 

Yoda mom

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So glad you got him into the vet - you are a good mum!
Did the vet give some food , supplement advise? Kitty glop recipe idea?
I am sure others will chime in with information @Toa and Ross May have some good input too

Give kisses to your babies from me!
Hope to see more pics soon :) they are so sweet!
 

Hairless Blessing

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I can't help you with this Virus, I'm not fimiluar with it.
Just what I've read.
You were talking about what you are feeding and How much.
They need to be feed wet food three times a day and leave dry out
at all times.
I wouldn't change their food as long as they like it.
The wet and dry your feeding is good food. Sphynx need more food
because of their metabolism. To keep the warm also.
What did the Vet tell you to do about the Corona Virus?
Did he give you and meds?
 

Toa and Ross

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I wanted to say thank you so much for everyone's advice and support. We took little Mochi to the vet and his blood results came back. He tested positive for Corona Virus. It can be assumed my little girl Matcha has it as well. The vet says that there is nothing to worry about right now but the research I have done is worrying me. Does anyone have experience with this?!

My both boys do have the corona virus. The coronavirus itself doesn't do any harm to your cat nor cause serious health issues (can cause some diarrhea for a few days). About 80% (!) of all cats do have the coronavirus. Most people don't know cause you only let it test if your cat has a health issue.
About 5% of the cats with the coronavirus do develope fip. Please do not try to stress too much about it! Unfortunally they can't tell why some cats develope fip and others not. There's nothing you can do about it. Remember, 5% is just a small amount. That's what I tell myself when I worry!
Hope your boy will fatten up:)
 
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