Kitten problem...?

Question

We have 3 kittens, one is substantially smaller than the other 2. The little one is feeding quite a bit but it is not growing as fast as the other two kittens. Is there a solution to this problem because I am very concerned. I have already lost 2 kittens and I am not planning on losing another.Should I supplement the weak one or leave her to the mother. In case I need to use a milk substitute what should I use, we don't have PMK here just FYI. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

my kittens are only 1 week old

Answer 1

You should probably leave her to her mom for a while, but keep an eye one them when they are nursing. Make sure she's not getting pushed out of the way. You also want to make sure that the mom is getting enough vitamins. You can give her kitten chow while she is nursing. If you decide to bottle feed, you can get several different kinds at the pet store.

Answer 2

Newborn kittens should be weighed at birth and they should weigh around 3.5oz give or take 0.35 oz (90-110gms) and during the first 24 hours, they may lose 10% of their body weight. Kittens under 90gm (3.2oz) have a poor survival rate. They should gain approx 7-10gm (0.35oz) a day. They should be taken in for immediate examination if they are not putting on any weight or consistently under the daily weight gain.

There are a lot of reasons this can happen, one of which is blood group incompatibility. Cats have one of two blood types, if a B group queen has an A group kitten and the kitten drinks the milk from the mother, the mothers milk contains antibodies to to the A blood group and it kills the kitten. The blood group status of the mother and father is important and where this can occur, we test both parents, if the father is also B, no problem, it's only if the father is A can he throw A kittens. In this case, the kitten has to be fed by a surrogate or by bottle.

It's best to leave the kitten with it's Mom, but you can give it a tiny drop of normal dairy cream, this will help put weight on as long as there's no medical issue. A tiny bit of cream won't hurt, it's dairy but in a tiny kitten it won't cause diarrhea. If you can get your hands on some nutridrops (not nutrical etc) just one drop in the kittens mouth should help it pick up and give it the energy it needs to suckle well (you don't want to give a lot as it needs the milk and the nutridrops will fill it up).

When this kitten is feeding, make sure it has the nipple at the very back of the Mom, these ones have more milk and are faster flowing than the others.

Mom should be eating a good quality kitten or queen formula and as much as she will eat, this will help build quality milk for the kittens and keep Mom in good shape.

Start weighing the kittens now and keep it consistent, always immediately before a feed. Write it down, if you don't notice an improvement, then you should take it to the vet straight away. Some kittens do grow more slowly than other and can make it through.

If you start supplement feeding, then you may end up doing it all the time and you will have to feed around the clock every two hours and her Mom's milk is better for her. There are some good formula around, just bear in mind that it can cause constipation in kittens so make it up as per the packet and then just add a drop more water, not too much though.

Answer 3

Open the kitten's mouth and look for a cleft palate. If this is the case, the kitten will appear to be nursing, but because of the cleft palate it doesn't work. In rare instances you can supplement a kitten like this, but it will usually fade away.

Put the other kittens aside and give this kitten a different nipple. Most of the time a kitten will go back to the same nipple, sort of like it's their place at the table. Give her about 10 minutes and then let the others back. If you pull the little one off, you can usually see milk in its mouth if it has been nursing effectively.

Some kittens are just littler. If the kitten appears active and is not being pushed away by her momma this might be the case.

Sometimes kittens just fail to thrive and fade away for no apparent reason, so if they were mine I'd take momma and all the kittens to the vet. They can also supply you with kitten milk replacer and show you how to do it.

Answer 4

As long as the kitten continues to feed and go to the litter box, you can assume that it is doing OK. If the mother won't let it feed, you will have to supplement it's feeding. You can do that with a small water bottle filled with milk until the kitten is able to feed on its own.

If the kitten stops eating or going to the litter box, get to the vet.

Good luck!

Answer 5

if the 'runt' is eating as much as the others, it could just be genetics, and that one's going to be a smaller cat. if you're concerned, you could take the kitten to the vet for a check-up, they might want to do some blood tests, to check the thyroid etc. The vet would also be able to recommend a food supplement if s/he thinks that's a good idea. or talk to breeders about the supplement!

Answer 6

I think that you should keep your kittens with their mother so that they will be taken care of properly. Also, if the mother doesn't provide enough milk, you have to feed them warm crea out of a bottle. You can't start feeding them cat food until they are 18 weeks old.

Answer 7

the little one is the runt. keep an eye on her to make sure that she is getting enough to eat, because sometimes the runt needs a little extra attention. she will most likely always be a little smaller than the others. the last litter of puppies my dog had I was afraid the runt was going to die and I started giving her extra and ended up keeping her. She is One of the best dogs that I had ever had and her and my horses are best friends all my horses love her.

Answer 8

Most grocery stores have the Heartz brand and that is good too. Also there are recipes on line for formula like with goats milk etc. (what ever you do don't use cow milk it will cause diarrhea) Be care full about taking the little one away from mom she may not accept her back, also watch to see what nipple it gets and maybe just move it to a different nipple.

Answer 9

don't worry...I had the problem...thats just a way a little kitten grows.
Leave it to its mother. Feed her milk. That might make her grow more.

Answer 10

You can't know for sure until you visit your vet. There could be something wrong with the kitten, some problem that only a vet can diagnose. I suggest you visit him/her in the near future.