Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   Hi.. My mama cat just died, leaving behind 3 three-week-old kittens.
   I am now feeding them beaphar's kitty milk, sometimes mixed with kitten food, but the babies don't seem to like it very much. Sometimes they would suckle, other times they won't.
   When I first fed them, they all have diarrhea. Afraid that I might be overfeeding, I cut down the milk. Now they have around 25ml of milk, 3 times a day, one of which is mixed with kitten food. Is this enough for them? Tonight I tried giving more, but they stopped at around 25ml.

   And one more problem, one of the kittens (the only girl in the litter) has a runny bum, and she shakes after feeding. I tried putting more water to the milk formula, and reducing the milk powder. This seems to help a little, but she is not completely cured, plus I'm worried I might be underfeeding her. Of all 3, she is the hardest one to feed, but is the most playful one.
   I need help and need to talk a lot about these kittes. This is my first time rearing young orphans.
   Thanks

   Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

2. 

   Hi Dion... I'm sorry I cannot offer much help. It's going to be scarce around here as it's Thanksgiving in US and the other TDK'ers are probably sleeping. Where are you located? Will try and keep this bumped up for you till others can offer some advice. I'm only on here sporadically today. Good luck and bless you for helping these babies.

   Posted 2 years ago by Jetta and Boo Boo's Mom #

3. 

   Thank you lainey.. :)
   I live in indonesia.., it is past midnight here, as I live in GMT +7 timezone. Thank you for helping me bump...
   As for the kittens, their mother was a very dear soul to me.., and I owe it to her to rear the babies.

   Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

4. 

   Hello! Please check out this website - it has all the answers to your questions: http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm. If you try this link and it doesnt work, just paste it into the http box on your browser. The most important thing about kittens is temprature - if they're cold, they wont want to eat, and if they do manage to eat something, they wont be able to digest their food properly. So put them on a hotwater bottle that covered with a towel so they dont burn, and put it in a place where the kittens can crawl away from it if they get too hot. Another thing I've never seen anyone mention on a website, is that you have to burp them after they've been fed. If you dont do it, they can vomit up the milk and it can end up in their lungs. Which is very bad - kittens always die when that happens. Just stand the kitty up on your knee, so that it's basically sitting 'upright' with your one hand supporting its chest, and the other had rubbing up and down over its back. I'm from SA, its about 11:00 pm here, but I'm sur the other tdk-ers will emerge shortly to give you some more advice :)

   Posted 2 years ago by Skyron #

5. 

   Hi, here is the corrected link from above.

   http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

   Posted 2 years ago by Mojo #

6. 

   Hi thank you... I checked the site already, it's really helpful.. :)
   I do have questions that the site doesn't have the answers of, though...
   Of all the 3 kittens, only one of them is gaining weight (he gains 20 grams in 3 days).
   Another one is not gaining but not losing weight either. This one is rather quiet.. I wonder if there's something wrong with him. He just sits. Sometimes he suckles, sometimes he doesn't...
   And then there's this girl. She loses weight (30 grams in 3 days), but she is the playful one. Most vocal, and likes to walk around. Still, the weight loss worries me. She suckles well, though. But I'm afraid to give her too much milk, she has a mild diarrhea, so it's just around 20ml of milk, 4 times a day. A little bit on the underfeeding side (according to the site), but is it enough to cause the weight loss?
   Any help about these matters will me much appreciated...
   Thank you :)

   Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

7. 

   DionneWB, the kittens should be gaining weight every week. I think it might be time for a vet visit for the two who are not gaining but especially for the little one who is losing weight. Hopefully the vet will be able to put you on the right track. Best of luck! Other TDKers might have helpful suggestions, so check back later -- it's a holiday in the US so slow at the moment.

   Posted 2 years ago by jcat #

8. 

   The weight loss is probably due to the runny tummy. I agree with Jcat - trip to the vet would be in order, sounds like she could benefit from some antibiotics. What kind of bottle do you use? I've found that a lot of bottles available on the market make it really har for the kittens to get milk out. I like to use the open-topped bottles that come with the royal canin milk replacement - you can regulate the amount of milk they drink with the amount of pressure you put on the nipple. If they're not getting enough milk, you might also consider asking your vet to show you how to tube-feed them.

   Posted 2 years ago by Skyron #

9. 

   I'm so sorry about your loss of the mama cat. I know you must miss her and obviously want to do the very best you can for her babies.

   You might check to see how big the hole is in the nipple. It could be too small and therefore hard for the weaker kits to get the milk out.

   You do know that you shouldn't put them on their backs for feeding,as the milk could get in their lungs. Even though the babies are young, try putting some kitten milk in a flat saucer for them to drink from. They are just about old enough to figure that out.

   Good luck with your babies, it's a real challenge to hand raise kittens, but it's very rewarding.

   Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

10. 

    Thank you for all the helps... I really appreciate them...
    The little girl is doing a lot better now. She drinks more, and hopefully has gained weight. Will weigh the babies later today.
    However, now the small little boy is having troubles. He doesn't want to suckle at all, and starts shaking after each feeding. I'm really worried about him, but most vets in indonesia don't open on weekends (and it's been a long holiday weekend). But I am planning to visit the vet monday.
    Does anyone know what cause him to do this? And just this afternoon, I noticed his poo is clear, with a small amount of pastey-clearbrown inside it.

    About the bottle, the other two are suckling fine.., only this little runt is having trouble. But he used to suckle too...
    I tried mixing the milk with solids, but none of them seemed interested. Well, the runt did at first.., he licked it a little,the day before he got sick.
    The food was royal canin babycat. I had to settle on dry food, because there isn't many choices of canned in indonesia. I hope this food is good...
    The only canned kitten foods available are friskies and whiskas, and I read bad stuff about them. Any opinions on this?

    I also would like to know is hill's i/d or a/d is suitable for 4-week-old kittens.
    Or maybe royal canin's recovery? I heard they're good, and they're available here, but I need to know if they're safe for young kittens.

    Thank you for reading, and I'm looking forward for all the helps I can get..

    Thank you

    Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

11. 

    Dionnewb it sounds like you're doing a fantastic job of caring for mama cat's little ones. So much is trial & error, touch and go. One day loose bowel movements, another day constipation. One can expect just about anything at this young age. You're doing so well with them. Friskies canned is not our first choice but we have used it for our older cats from time to time and I believe they do ok on a temporary basis. If need be it would be better to supplement some of it with your kittens for now as the meat proteins are so vital to their growth. *in my opinion* Keep up the good work and keep us posted on how your little ones are doing. =D

    Posted 2 years ago by Karenopa #

12. 

    You've taken on quite a challenge with three week old kittens. I currently have 4 3-week old's myself and it is also my first time raising such small kittens. A trip to the vet is probably the best. I'm currently feeding them royal canin KMR and add just a drop of olive oil when they have constipation and it seems to help. Keep posting about their progress!

    Posted 2 years ago by Kanna #

13. 

    It does sound like you're doing an amazing job, Dionnewb. The little one's poop sounds like he is producing a lot of mucus, which is a cause for worry, it could indicate his bowel is irritated. That would be cause for a vet visit, as soon as you can get them there. In the meantime, a drop or two of vegetable oil, as Kanna suggested, may help. I would stay away from dry food if you can, as dehydration is a big worry in kittens and dry food sucks the moisture out of them. We have canned Whiskas in NZ, we feed it at the shelter I work at, it is probably the best of the canned foods we have available here but I don't know how our Whiskas (made in NZ and Australia) differs from your Whiskas.

    By the way, if we don't have kitten food at the shelter, we feed kittens adult food. Kitten formulations only came in here a few years ago, before that all kittens got adult food. If you can find a good quality food, I wouldn't worry too much whether it's adult or kitten, I think the main differences are blandness of taste and more calories (in kitten food).

    You may have to forcefeed your little one, with formula and a syringe (with no needle in). As I said, I would be worried about dehydration so try to keep getting formula down him -- or at least water --until you can get to the vet.
    Best of luck! You are doing an amazing job!

    Posted 2 years ago by jcat #

14. 

    Thank you JCAT, karenopa and kanna...
    I weighed the kittens again today. The little girl gained 20 ounces in 2 days, the big boy gained 10, and the little runt is staying at 280 grams. The same weight he has been in 4 days.. :(
    I can't wait to get to the vet tomorrow..

    Oh, and one more thing, they turned 4 weeks today! Yay... Somehow, the survived 9 days without their mom... This makes me miss their mom... Everything was much easier with her around. She was a wonderful mom...

    And yes, I've been syringe-feeding the little runt all this time. Not much though, because he sometimes struggles and spills the milk all over the place. But I always manage to get 12ml each feeding. Sometimes with a bit of honey.

    I read somewhere in the internet to feed him a bit of original yogurt, so I tried it this morning. Is this ok?

    About vegetable oil, too bad that I don't have it in my house. Should I go and try to get it, or is there an alternate? Like corn oil, maybe?

    Whiskas in indonesia is produced in thailand. I don't know if this makes a big difference. I have one right now, and also I have a can hill's i/d right now. Which one should I try to give them?

    Once again, thanks a lot for all the help! Me, macan (big boy), michi (little girl) and bara (adorable runt) really appreciate it!

    Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

15. 

    DionneWB, by vegetable oil, I meant any oil made from a vegie eg soya bean oil, rapeseed oil, canola, olive oil and yes, corn oil (but probably not corn syrup, which is sweet) should be fine. So should yoghurt :)

    I would imagine either can is okay until you can talk to your vet about good foods for kitty.

    Yay, four weeks! I'm so sorry about your mum cat but you are doing amazingly!

    Posted 2 years ago by jcat #

16. 

    The four week mark is passed :D!! good for you. It's sad about mummy cat but i'm sure she'd be happy you are taking care of the little one's.

    Posted 2 years ago by Kanna #

17. 

    Thanks JCAT and kanna...
    I went to the vet today. The runt boy and small girl has to stay 3-4 days at the vet's for close observation. Apparently the girl's kidney is swolen, although I noticed that her poo looks better this morning.
    The runt's a bit dehydrated, and his poo is still very bad.
    Hope they'll get better soon.
    Their other littermate, my big boy is okay, and he's staying at home. I just feel sorry because he's gonna be alone for days :(

    Thanks everyone for the supports, I will post updates on the kittens. :)

    Posted 2 years ago by dionnewb #

18. 

    hi dionne. just stumbled on this thread. how is the girl and her runt brother? all's good, i hope.

    Posted 2 years ago by Khom #

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