Is my new kitten sick?

Question
Recently I bought a kitten from a reputable breeder and brought it into my
house about 4 days ago.  Since then, she has began to seem sick.  She was
playful for the first day, but she started to stop playing the next day.  At this
point she had not drank or eaten anything and I began to notice a large lump
on the area where she was operated on (the stitches are still in).  Yesterday
she had bad diarreah and today, she began to eat and drink (drinking
excessivly)  for the first time, but she has not urinated.  I am not sure what I
should do.  Is this a normal thing for kittens when they are introduced into a
new house?

Answer
Hi Lisa,

Some of what you're describing is normal.  She may be feeling somewhat homesick for her mother and litter mates and that would cause her to stop eating.  The fact that she is eating and drinking again is good and I would expect her to at least urinate today.  The diarrhea would be normal if you changed her to a different food than what she was used to at the breeders.  Even reputable breeders can have trouble with things like intestinal parasites which could also cause her diarrhea.  Once she's feeling better because she's eating and drinking she'll start playing again.  Hold her and comfort her so she feels safe.  The lump where she was spayed could be a hematoma, which is nothing to worry about, or it could be an umbilical hernia which you would want to have taken care of.  If the lump gets bigger or she continues to be lethargic (remember kittens should be VERY active) you should take a trip to the vet.  Make sure she's drinking a lot of water if she's still having the diarrhea as she can get dehydrated very easily.  You could even put some plain Pedialyte in her water.