my kitten is not eating

Question
hi
i just adopted a 12 week old kitten yesterday. i was told that she is still suffering from an upper respiratory infection. she is sneezing a lot and sometimes has trouble breathing. she does not seem to have any trouble to go to the bathroom and also drinks  water, but she has not been eating . i have offered her several different food choices of dry and wet food and went to the vet today . the vet gave me a vitamin supplement and also an anti biotic for the kitten.i was told that i should try to dissolve some food in water and feed it to it with a syringe. i have done this several times today but i find it extremely difficult to get the food dissolved and have a lot of trouble to get it in my kitty! she sleeps a lot (on my body) but still has not been eating by herself , i am very worried because she is weak and skinny.    Do you have any advise for me? Is there anything else i could do to get her to eat? an answer is very much appreciated.thanks in advance
alice

Answer
Hi Alice!
Your kitten is probably not eating because of several reasons. She doesn't feel good, she can't smell the food, and she is weak.  She MUST eat or she will die, that is just all there is to it.  You will have to force feed her. It can be done, I have done it many times.  Here is what you need to do.  Take some dry kitten food, and moisten it with hot water.  Don't put too much water, you want to just put a little bit. Wait for the food to get mushy.  Add to this: some cottage cheese and some canned cat food. Mix all of this up.  Go to a pharmacy and ask for a syringe without the needle.  You need to get a syringe with a large opening. Tell the pharmacist what you are using it for. They usually will just give it to you. (or if you think the syringe you have is good enough, use it).  Fill the syringe up.  Take your kitten and with your left hand grab the nape of her neck and pull her head back, with the syringe in your right hand put it as far back to her throat as you can and squirt it in.  This will force her to swallow.  Do this several times a day. One syringe full at first, then as time goes by, give her more.  This is the only way you will get her to eat because I promise you she will not eat on her own as long as she is as sick as you say she is.   She might struggle a bit, but the more you do it, the quicker you will be.  She will hopefully start getting stronger and then eat on her own.  I hope she does ok.

God Bless,
Becky