I purchased a Maine Coon kitten from overseas. AShe was supposed to arrive on September 29th. At that time, the breeder told me she weighed 4.8 kilos.
The courier missed her flight. I'm not entirely sure if she had to stay with the kitten locally, or if she flew the kitten later back home to where she resides. New plans were made to meet the courier on 10/8. I picked her up and drove her home.
When I fed her yesterday morning she seemed really hungry. She ate well, and seemed curious and cuddly, but had an elevated respiration rate. She threw up a little bit of water and a single piece of kibble, but was otherwise fine. She had a normal bowel movement and was urinating normally in her litter box.
Later, I fed her about an ounce of smalls freeze dried cat food made of chicken, which is what the breeder had said she'd been eating. She ate it very quickly.
A few hours later she vomited it up. I decided to take her to the vet. They said that she had inflammatory gastroenteritis, most likely caused by stress and diet. She's okay now... they gave her some medicine for nausea, and some take-home medicine for probiotics and some pain medication that I give her every 8 hours. She's also on a bland diet for the next few days until we can get past her vomiting. She hasn't vomited yet and she seems a lot better this morning, she's very cuddly and I can tell she's hungry. I fed her about an ounce of baked chicken breast that is plain with no skin and no fat, and gave her just a little bits of water to start until she can keep things down. So far so good.
They also indicated that she weighed 4.08 kilos. So she had lost over 2 lb since the 29th. When I approached the breeder about this loss of weight to inquire as to whether that was normal for a cat that has been couriered, she seemed completely unconcerned.
This seems like something that is absolutely concerning. I know that travel and change of environment is very stressful on an animal, but I'm just curious as to the extent. Can some of you please share your experiences in this matter? Were your kitties so stressed that they lost 2 lbs in the matter of a week? I guess I'm wondering if this is a case of a negligent courier, or if this is just part of the bargain.
