[Simcha]

12 week old kitten--just got him from adoption center yesterday.
They had to hold him an extra day because they checked his temperature and it was slightly high (don't know exactly what it was).

He plays and eats/drinks normally, but sleeps A LOT. He feels slightly warm to touch, but I don't know if it is normal. Might take him to vet soon just in case.

Thoughts?

[Musashi]

Cats have higher temps than we do...
(googling...) between 38 and 39 °C (101 and 102.2 °F) - wikipedia
And the itty bitty ones (as well as many adult cats) do sleep a lot.
I am not a cat expert at all, but it sounds normal that'd it feel hot to you... but if the adoption center had him as a little hot and you're worried, you should take it to a vet.
If all's well, at the least the vet could help provide you with some pointers on kitty care, and maybe double-check it's vaccinations and whatever else the little guys should have done when young. And maybe suggest how to check a kitty's temp... I have no idea on that.
Good luck with el gato! What's it's name, btw? Or post a too cute pic of it!

[Zorah]

we breed cats,
Musashi is right, they should normally feel warmer than we are,
a 12 week old kitten may only be awake about 4 hours a day
(ours have an annoying habit of scheduling one hour of play for 3 am, lol)

as long as the nose is wet & cold your kitty probably does not have a raised temperature

did they worm him & vaccinate him at the adoption centre ? maybe even neuter him ?

[Simcha]

Originally Posted by Zorah

we breed cats,
Musashi is right, they should normally feel warmer than we are,
a 12 week old kitten may only be awake about 4 hours a day
(ours have an annoying habit of scheduling one hour of play for 3 am, lol)

as long as the nose is wet & cold your kitty probably does not have a raised temperature

did they worm him & vaccinate him at the adoption centre ? maybe even neuter him ?

Zorah and Musashi (((((((((((hugs)))))))))))
Thanks for taking the time to answer!!

I haven't had a kitten this young in a loooonnngg time. 12 weeks old is just an estimate that the adoption/rescue center had on him--he might be younger, but I wouldn't put him under 9 weeks at the youngest. What worried me is that his nose was warm, and while earlier today it was cold and wet, right now it feels warm again. This could just be because he's sleeping again and snuggled up in a blanket. They reported that for his last two days at the center when he had the temperature that they gave him oral fluids and Interferon.

I do have pics for you kitty lovers, but I have to download them later as I have to be getting some shut-eye myself. I'll try to get them on here tomorrow, but I'm sometimes one heck of a procrastinator. The center did a good job of documenting everything that they have ever done to him (including multiple baths), and he's had all of his vaccinations and de-worming and all that. He was too young to neuter or give Rabies vaccination to, but he'll get that at the end of the month. We have a really good adoption/rescue center here; I know some of them are pig-styes in other places.

I've read different material on how much I should feed him... at 12 weeks old, any suggestions?

[Simcha]

Originally Posted by Musashi

Cats have higher temps than we do...
(googling...) between 38 and 39 °C (101 and 102.2 °F) - wikipedia
And the itty bitty ones (as well as many adult cats) do sleep a lot.
I am not a cat expert at all, but it sounds normal that'd it feel hot to you... but if the adoption center had him as a little hot and you're worried, you should take it to a vet.
If all's well, at the least the vet could help provide you with some pointers on kitty care, and maybe double-check it's vaccinations and whatever else the little guys should have done when young. And maybe suggest how to check a kitty's temp... I have no idea on that.
Good luck with el gato! What's it's name, btw? Or post a too cute pic of it!

Forgot to say---
Believe it or not, I can't decide on a name!
If any of you have suggestions on what to name a 12 week old male kitten who has the sweetest temperament in the world, I'm really open to suggestion!

A dry nose, sneezing, and watery eyes are generaly the things to look for

I would take Kitten to the vets.....
just to be safe awwwww

[digdug]

Definitely check his eyes. Discharges from the eyes are a big sign of sickness in a kitten. Also, like a human, you can tell a lot about how a kitten is feeling by their eyes (eg. if they look lively, lethargic, etc.).

Another big thing to check is his gums. They should be pink. Any sign of white gums is bad, and he should be checked out immediately.

As for the sleeping...well, some kittens are livelier than others. I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I'm so indecisive about naming pets...there are some good cat name websites out there if you Google them, though.

Oh yeah, get pics up ASAP.

[Musashi]

A name...

Tau. Apparently they've either named more lions for him or are taking journalist liberties with his story but...

the original story I watched years ago (National Geographic?) was, long story real short: this young lion Tau, mom died, Tau was too young to survive and the film crew felt he was a goner. Years later on another documentary a magnificently maned young stud lion appears... no doubt it's Tau and he's huge, beautiful, and the "top dog" male lion.

As I said, something happened though... I googled Tau the lion and the summaries in the results weren't what I watched years ago.

But I vote for Tau regardless.

[e_sort]

i foster young kittens (less than 8 weeks) through a shelter program. basically as long as they're eating and run around occasionally or play with stuff, they're fine. i wouldn't worry about temperature unless they are vomiting or have diarrhea. even then i wouldn't be too concerned as long as he continues to eat. (don't get me wrong, those are bad things, but common and usually easily treated if they go on.)

a healthy 12-week-old should be pretty active I think. but he might have a little bug from being in the shelter, that happens a lot. vaccinations can sometimes slow them down (i don't usually have them that long but that's what i hear). a 12 week old who is eating is likely to get over it fine.

also i think you can feed a kitten as much as he will eat. older cats might have to be limited, but not kittens.

looking forward to pictures