Newborn kitten??

Question

Okay well my cat had her kittens Augest 10, around 11 pm. She had 3 orange tabbys. They are 2 days old, as of today. But the problem is, there is a runt. The two bigger ones are pushing it out of the way, and the runt just ends up laying in the corner by itself. Today I noticed it was breathing hard. It looked as if it had a stuffy nose. So I read some articles and it said that newborn kittens, can only feed by smell. And obviously this little kitten couldnt smell cuz it's nose was stuffed. So I wiped his nose, and turned on the shower in the bathroom really hot. Then I sat in there with the kitten in the steam, so it would clear his nose up. I also fed him KMR ( kitten milk replacment) And at first he didnt drink it, but within 5 minutes, he was latched on to it. Should I continue these feedings? If so, how much, how often, and how much should he weigh, at 2 days? The kitten seems to be a little under weight, and is weak. The mother cleans it but the kitten just isnt nursing from her.

Also, the other 2 kittens are doing great, so no worries about them.

Also, I forgot to mention this, but the runt kitten is breathing normal now.

Dea B, I live in MA. But I am keeping all the kittens, sorry.

Answer 1

First, the bad news - there are some kittens that are born and have a 'failure to thrive' problem. the mother will often know it instinctively and just ignore the baby as she is aware that it will not survive.

Now with that said, I've never given up on a one of these little guys and have always attempted to help them make it thru. This may NOT be the problem with yours - as you said - it had the stuffy nose thing - BUT that young of a kitten should NOT have any medical issues IF it was able to nurse immediately after birth and get the colostrum it needed which has the mother's antibodies in it. If it did not, it will be susceptable to every little germ around, like the sniffles it got. Getting it to nurse from mom must be of the highest priority - the colostrum is only available for the first few days - usually only for the first 48 hours but she may still have some. If not, talk to your vet and see if he has a source available that you can give the kitten. Sometimes they have it frozen or there are powdered sources you can buy that you can give it. KMR is okay but not one of the best ones to give tiny kittens. Feeding every 2 hours is good but it must be done thru the night too - it's very trying and you're not going to get much sleep for a while!! Been there, done that! Plus, if the mom won't take care of the bowel/urinary issues by licking and cleaning the little guy, you must do so by taking a warm damp cloth and stimulating the anus area after feeding until the kitten urinates and/or passes bowel matter or the kitten will be unable to do so and will die. Plus, you need to clean and pet the kitten (very gently) if mom won't - gentle stimulation and warmth is important for the baby. Basically you have just become a parent of your own 'baby' complete with all the problems except diapers!!

I hope the kitten makes it - taking care of very young kittens is a hard job but you've made an excellent start. Please do consult your vet - we all here have a lot of experience but nothing stands in place of good vet advice! Also, may I recommend a recipe called kitty glop for the kittens later on - especially the little guy once he's past 2 weeks old? It's excellent homemade recipe for raising kittens on or feeding up a sick cat or kitten. There are a number of sources on the web but the one I like the best is found here - http://www.kittykouch.com/articles/kittyglop.html
The first one is the one that is closest to what I feed and I use goats milk as it is the easiest for the cat to digest rather than cows milk. You can usually find it in cans near the canned evaporated milk and pasteurized in some markets. My own vet had me add a teaspoon of the stuff they give a calf with the colostrum in it to the glop - don't know if it helped or hurt, but the kittens did okay. I also tried to make my glop with organic/natural ingredients and yes, I did use the egg yolks but had a source for eggs that were from a friend so salmonella wasn't an issue.

I hope this helps - I've sure rambled on!! Good luck - raising little ones is a tiring, often thankless job in some ways until you see them become healthy little guys, running around, jumping and playing - then all those sleepless nights and worry is worth every single second of it!!

Answer 2

Hey, the baby has got to eat! I would say yes, continue with the feedings. I think it is every two hours. Just feed him as much as he's willing to eat at this point. He obviously needs his strength.

Sounds to me like you are following your instincts and doing a great job with the little guy. I have a feeling you're going to end up keeping the runt. It's going to be hard to let him go after all the work you put into him. Have fun getting attached!!! lol!

Answer 3

Good for you for catchhing the problem. I would give your vet a call and talk with the vet or one of the vet techs. They will be able to give you the stats on how much your kitten should be feeding and how much of a weight gain you should be working towards. They will also be able to give you an idea of things to watch for and when it might be time for the little guy to give it a try on his own. For now I think it's great that you are helping out and once he has gained a little weight and strength he may be able to fight his own battles for the teat!!

If they are unwilling or don't know, then I would give the Humane Society a call as they deal with handfeeding kittens all the time and have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Good luck with your kitten!

Answer 4

The experts say to feed every two hours but I dont find that very practical. I do every four hours and let him eat as much as he wants. I find a syringe or eye dropper works best for feeding. Is he cold to the touch? If so warm him up by keeping him next to you or by placing him on top of a towel that is resting on a hot water bag. It might be his mom shoving him away rather than his brothers because she knows he is sick and doesnt want the others to catch what he has.

Good luck.

Answer 5

i'm glad to hear that the runt is breathing normally now.. i would just continue with the hand feedings cause he will keep getting pushed out of way until he gets big enough to push his way in there to feed. Its also good that the mother isn't ignoring him that means that he has a chance..
both of my cats were the runt of the litter and they are doing fine now, just take extra care of him...

where are u located cause if any of them are females then i mihgt want one.

Answer 6

ok i went through this 2 weeks ago myself with a friend of mines cat here is what u do put the kitten by mom and help her try to nurse if she wont then use the bottle method but you want to try to get them to eat from mom if they will at all there is a natural antibiotic with the mothers milk that is not in the replacement milk

Answer 7

I'm sorry I don't know more about this, poor little kitten.

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/a_final_word.html


I hope that'll help.

Answer 8

continue doing what your doing and feeding him as much