ADVICE URGENTLY NEEDED, sick kitten?

Question

My friends cat had three kittens today.One of them isnt eating and cant even seem to open his mouth, so she cant even bottle feed him.Does anyone have any help or advice! He is a newborn kitten so it is quite urgent

Answer 1

CALL A VET IMMEDIATELY. A phone call doesn't cost anything, and they are the best source of information for something like this. If he CAN'T eat, he will need tube feeding, regardless, and that will require the vet anyway. He's not trying to nurse? He's not moving toward the nipple? Is he moving at all? Crying? Trying to cry?

Answer 2

I'd give the vet a call, they all have emergency numbers. Perhaps you could get some milk or at least water into a dropper, hold the Kitten and ever so gently put your index finger and thumb either side of the kitten's mouth and genty prise it open and put a couple of drops on its tongue. cats dehydrate really quickly and this can kill them. I really would call a vet first, but if you really cannot reach one, try this method, it may be enough to get the kitten suckling, but it may be too much intervention for the mother to handle and she may kill the kitten. Bear in mind that mummy cats know what is best for their babies. If she is interested in her kitten, try and let her deal with it, but be there to help out, if not, your only option is to try the above, without help, it will die quickly. It may be that mummy cat knows the kitten isn't going to make it and is therefore ignoring it, promoting a more rapid death. Call the vet, its the kitten's best chance.

Answer 3

This kitten should be feeding from his mother, not bottle feeding. Try cleaning his mouth gently with cotton wool dipped in clean warm water (no soap or detergent) It may be that his mouth is stuck up with mucus, and if this is the case, this should be very gently removed with the cottonwool, and then the kitten put to one of his mothers nipples to feed. If this has no effect, take him to a vet, wrapped very warmly and preferably on a warm hot-water bottle to maintain his body heat, which is crucial for newborns. Put a thick cloth over the bottle and do not let the kitten come into contact with it. Do not give the kitten cows milk. Very good luck to you with this little person- I am surprised his mother hasnt attempted to make him feed; they do, normally.

Answer 4

Thew mother should be taking care of the kitten. But if she isn't you can bottle feed it. I would contact an animal clinic. They can give you the info on how often to feed it. And being new born it may not open its mouth on its own. So you may have to place the nipple into its mouth., Once the kitten taste the milk it should start to suckle the nipple to get milk. AND a nipple may be too big. In which case an eyedropper may be better suited. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Why you spending time messing about on the net asking. If you had a newborn baby that couldn't feed or open their mouth, would you not do the first thing that comes naturally...take the kittens to the vet, ask them to help rehome them.Your friend is obviously incapable!

Answer 6

It would have been better to see the vet straight after the kitten was born rather than wait till 11pm. The kitten may be deformed, so check it over. It may have a cleft palate, use your little finger to check there is a roof to its mouth. Or it may simply be too weak to feed.
Phone the vet and get them to check the kitten.

Answer 7

try gently opening the mouth with your pinky and put the bottle in the mouth and squeeze out a couple of drips at a time, give her like a forth of the bottle then do it again in a couple of hours,(every 2 hrs) at least then it is getting some nourishment and it could help. Some of the milk may leak out of the corner of her mouth that is ok she will get some of it, and keep her cuddled and warm, by mommy if possible.

Answer 8

The kitten probably has an infection. Your friend should keep on hand feeding him and also give the kitten a little bit of Doxy two times a day and the infection should clear up!

Answer 9

Your friend is very aneamic from the sounds of it as her diet does not have any iron it it. She needs to go to a health food shop and find out what type of food that she can eat with her vegan diet contain all the nutrients she needs to be healthy. You can be vegan and eat healthy but not sure what type of pulses ect there are. They will also tell her what type of vitamins she needs to put back what is obviously missing. Pop in for her and see if they have any good leaflets she can read as it sounds to me as if she has not looked into the vegan diet properly my friend is vegan and eats lots of healthy food and looks well but she researched it first. Go to library or book store and get her a good book on it she should not be fainting if she is doing it properly. If she still faints there could be an underline medical reason and doctor trip will have to be made but get her to look at vegan eating properly first to see where she is going wrong.

Answer 10

Some cats just fail to thrive. Mom will take care of it, if it's sick or something is wrong with it she won't feed it. Sometimes it's better to let it go then to try and pull it through and have it die in a couple weeks.