3-week kitten found... what am I doing?

Question

This little kitten was on the street, just the saddest, flea-ridden excuse for an animal. His eyes were all gooed over, skin & bones, thin, filthy fur. I took him in that night, made him drink some water, and took him to the vet the next morning. They treated the fleas and gave him antibiotics for the eye-goo and head cold (?!), and he eats & uses the litterbox just fine (not so good at not stepping in it yet... eww).
I'm not a cat person. My mother was allergic to cats, so we always had dogs in our family. I've kept rodents since I was eight, and I've even got a family of baby scorpions, now. Animals I'm fine with, just I've never had a cat.
Do the bowels need to be stimulated, as with young rodents, or because he uses the litterbox, he'll be fine?
How much kitten food should he eat? He's getting round in the belly. The vet said to feed him canned kitten food, but someone suggested that I should mix in formula.

I've been reading up on kitten care, but I don't know what I'm doing.

Answer 1

I know what kind of situation you are going through. In my house we never had cats either, but found the most adorable, skinniest thing you've ever seen!! I was the one that took care of it and i learned alot from doing that. If he gets too round in the belly, maybe it is time to deworm him. For that there is a formula you put in the food. I never had to stimulate the bowels of my kitty, I think he will be fine with the litter box. Give him about 2 tablespoons of kitten food, about 4-5 times a day. What kind of formula did your friend suggest to mix? Maybe you could give him a formula you put in the food to strengthen his bones and help him get bigger. NOT steroids...Please, let me know how everything goes and if you need further help, I'll be here to do so.

Answer 2

Three week old kittens still need a mothers formula, and you can find it in pet stores, powder or liquid form, and bottles, water is fine, but they need the nutrition from the formula.Never give a kitten Milk that humans drink, it dehydrates them, and causes diarrhea, no need to introduce hard food,Taking him to the vet is good, and the kitten will eat as much as he needs, a round belly could be from worms, and I am surprised that the vet did not treat him for this. Keep an eye on him, and look for signs of dehydration, his bowels may not need to be stimulated, his digestive system is just getting used to food, that is why the formula is necessary. Good Luck.

Answer 3

As young as he is, he may still need to be stimulated to use the box sometimes, that may be why he's getting round in the middle.

Call your vet up and ask about the feeding.

As for the sleeping, here's a hint. Get a clock that ticks or something that ticks and wrap it in a thin towel and put it where he sleeps. It helps simulate the mothers heartbeat and it should help with the sleeping problem.

Also, good for you for taking the poor thing in. If you hang in there and get him through the hard times (and be prepaired for when he's an adolecent cat, he'll really try your nerves then!) owning a cat can be a very rewarding experience.

Also, you may want to speak with your vet about worming the kitten.

Answer 4

I recently took in 3 kittens whose mother was killed by a car, so I think I can help. First, get some kitten baby bottles and formula from a pet supply store (or Meijer's- they carry it). You can feed Kitten Chow softened with a little warm water and canned food as well. If it's using a litter box, you probably don't have to stimulate for a bowel movement. I recommend the scoopable clumping kind of litter. You may want more than 1 litter box in different rooms to prevent accidents. And do not use cow's milk.
that can give it the runs.

Answer 5

Believe me you will find that cats can be the best pets. Expsially in your situation. Most people who have never had a cat think they are aloof. This may be true in a few cats, more often the cast is that the cat saves his/her love for one person, or close members of a family. Kittens are often times big in the belly, but if it seems to be getting out of hand, it could be ring worm. If you look on the package it will tell you excatly how much to feed a cat of that size. Usually once a cat is weined from milk, they become intolerant to milk. So if your vet said he dosent need it, I wouldn't give it to him...

Answer 6

Give your kitten the amount of food as recommended on the packaging. Bowels do not need stimulation, just make sure you keep the litter box clean, if you notice him not using the litter box, take him to the vet, he is ill, and will associate his illness with the litter box, therefore won't use it.
If his tummy is getting round, and it's not squishy (fat) again, take him to the vet, could be something else wrong with him.
Give your kitten lots of love and attention and toys to play with, his own furniture to scratch, so he won't scratch yours. Also, no tuna for kittens, it is bad for them! Make sure your kitten has plenty of fresh water as well.
You might need to "kitten proof" your house, meaning block off areas you don't want him going into, or they might be dangerous, i.e. behind appliances like refrigerator or stove if reachable.
If you have any other questions, I'd ask your vet, or even go to a website like: www.purina.com. Almost every cat food brand has a website with a wealth of cat care information. Check it out. It'll be of help. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 7

I suggest that you follow the vet's advise. He knows best. Feed him/her every few hours. If he is using the litter pan, I wouldn't worry about his bowel movements. That round belly means that he is getting fed. He is growing and he needs to eat often. When he mews alot he is probably hungry try feeding him a little.
Perhaps a warm water bottle in his bed might incourage him to sleep there. Be careful that it isn't too hot. Also talk to him and hold him once in awhile during the day, so he gets use to you and loses any fear of you. In time you could become great friends.

Answer 8

i think of a three week old kitten can pee and poop on his own. yet you do could desire to bottle feed him. Get a milk replacer and use a infant bottle or doll bottle. place the kitten on that's tummy, no longer back, and feed him in an upright postion like he may well be in along with his mom. you are able to start to feed him moistened kitten meals. keep him heat. he would be advantageous around the child. do in simple terms no longer enable him to bounce into the child's mattress.

Answer 9

If he's up and eating regular food's fine. Don't worry about stimulating him, that's when they're newborn. Set out dry food all day even though he might not eat it yet. Chances are he's older but small due to malnutrition. The round belly is normal for kittens even when they look huge. Good luck

Answer 10

If he is using a litter box he should be fine, stepping in it is just a fact of life he'll learn not to. As far as round belly goes if its hard he might have worms. Its really easy to fix the vet can give him some drops. mixing in formula is your decision, its probably better as far as nutrients and such but I think hes fine with just wet food for now. In about 4 weeks though i would try mixing in dry food for him. Its good for their teeth, but as long as hes alert and playful and gets all his shots and reg check ups he should be fine.