8 week old kitten not eating solid foods

Question
Hello,

We just adopted an 8 week old kitten, and the lady we adopted from said he had gotten all of his shots and was checked for feline luekemia and all that. She also informed us that they had been feeding the kittens dry Iams, wet chicken or tuna and KMR 2-3 times daily. She warned me that he may be a little spooked by the whole 'new home' thing so he may stop eating for a bit, but that's normal. Well, it's been since saturday that we brought him home and he won't eat ANY solid food and hardly any KMR or water. Then today he started to get diarrhea, so we went out and got some baby food (chicken and tuna, no onion powder) and pedialyte to make sure he's getting some nutrition and isn't getting dehydrated.

Any ideas what this could be or how to get him to eat solid food?

Thanks a lot.  

Answer
Feed KMR, as much as you can force down him.  Baby food is ok for supplement to get calories down him, but make sure he gets the KMR too.  If he doesn't start eating soon, get him to the vet fast.  Also, make sure he is warm.  Get a heating pad, set it on LOW only, put a towel over it, and have him sleep on it.  They are too little to regulate their body heat.  If their body heat gets too low, they cannot digest their food.  Get him warm fast.  Their body temperature is normally 101.  Get a dropper if you have to but get the KMR into him, keep him warm, and that should bring him back to normal.  The heat is the key to all this.  If that does not work, then the vet is the next step.
Let me know if I can help further.  Hugs....  Barb