I asked earlier noone answered! someone please!!!?

Question

Ok... its a long story, but i have a 6 day old kitten... he has started to refuse to eat. The first few days he was eating every 3 to 4.5 hours and he would take a steady 8cc of KMR... now i am struggling to get him to take 3cc of KMR. anyone know why? I have asked the shelter and the only thing they could tell me is that he is too young and needs a momma cat. WELL DUH... Maybe if someone had one i would use that... but since no one seems to have one, I cant! So... I am feeding him on my own and taking care to make sure he is taken care of. i am still trying to stick to the same schedule, but he is not eating as he should, so i eed him every 1.5 to 2 hours. i only give about 3cc.... Im worried he is going to starve! Is he just being cranky and needs to be fed less often? Maybe he was growing and now he is going to eat less? I am worried! The vets office near me wont even look at him since he is with out mommy. they dont want to risk infection by me bringing him inside the office and they wont come out to meet with me. The shelter said that they dont treat young kittens like him. they only euthenize them if they dont have a mother! and right now they dont have a lactating female! I asked!

What can i do to intice him to eat? I have him on a heating pad covered with multipul layers... I have heard about the hot water bottles and tried it. He seems to work better with the heating pad. I check the temp in the bed all the time. not to worry he is not being too warm and is not burning him. I potty him each time i feed him... And sometimes in betweeen. he is doing both! and he is warm. he is just not eating and i dont know why.

** Please dont answer for the points with something stupid! I need someone who might know something!**

Answer 1

It happens.  Had a similar experience with rescued kittens that were 11 days old when when got them.  Very lucky to find them...their Mom (stray) was run over when they were 9 days old.  Yes, approx 2 days without nourishment!

There was a few days when the litter really didn't want to eat.  Had to basically force them to eat.  Even if I only got a few drops down with each feeding, at least they were getting some nourishment.  That is the important thing to remember.

Just keep doing what you are doing.  My only suggestion would be to put a ticking clock nearby to simulate the sound of the mother's heartbeat.  

Answer 2

Please call another veterinarian.   I have never heard of a vet who refused to see a baby animal because it might have an infection!!  

Any good vet has isolated examination rooms just for animals brought in with infections.  This kitty needs to be seen by a vet.  Sometimes little ones have a failure to thrive, and you need to give him every chance.  Another vet will give him that chance.

Most kittens that age don't eat much at first.  Try feeding him more often, kittens have very little stomachs that don't hold much food.

Meantime, dilute his KMR with 20% more water than usual.  Try it for a couple of feedings, he may like it better.  Then get him back on the standard KMR soon as he will tolerate it.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I volunteered at an animal shelter for a while.  I am not an expert, but I did see a lot of sick newborns.  From what I could learn, as long as you get something down every couple of hours, even if it isn't as much as you think it should take, it will probably recover unless it is a serious virus.  In that case, you need antibiotics. If he doesn't seem to be in pain or discomfort, then I would think you are doing all that you can.  I have never heard of a vet refusing to examine a sick animal, so I think you should find another one who will see it.  Surely the shelter knows of a vet who will!  

Answer 4

Ok i agree with P.P. You must still feed him slowly and if still refuses you have to force it down his throat. He may not like it but it will get the food into him. It is good that he is using the bathroom, that means something is getting in him. Just to tell you i have heard that if they have a huge and swollen belly that the may have worms. but i don't think that at that young of a age it is good to give him wormer. Good luck with him.  

Answer 5

Kittens this young are very fragile  What happened to his mom?  

The best thing I can tell you is see a vet and have them show you how to use a feeding tube.   Take him to another vet if the one near you won't see him.  Kittens this young need food every 2 hours until they are 4 weeks old.  If you can't get him to nurse from a bottle, then get a feeding syringe to get it in him.  Also, kittens this young can't pee on their own.  Take a q-tip and apply warm water to it and make him pee.  Make sure he is staying warm and has a stuffed animal to cuddle next to.  .  

Answer 6

Here is link for some "mother's milk replacement".  I don't know much about it, but it sounds like the kitten's doing well (GREAT idea to use the heating pad!) and if he's going potty (1 & 2), then it sounds like his body is "working right".

Sometimes it's easier for them (especially as they get used to existing and get new teeth) to have more liquid than solids.  You could mix a little bit of canned food with the milk if you feel that he would be better off - but milk might really be all he needs right now.

Congratulations on your new baby!!  ;)

Answer 7

Get a kitchen scale that weighs in grams. You can then tell if he is gaining weight. A newborn kitten weighs about 100 gms. Small ones 60 to 80 grams. Big ones 140 to 160 grams. 6 days later they should be close to double that.

Weigh the kitten, feed him, weigh him again. Everyday his weight should be going up in grams. At age 7 days he will be able to retain body heat, so put the heating pad on low. Make sure there is somewhere he can crawl off the heating pad.

Feeding every 3 to 4 hours is better than constantly at every 1 to 2. When he is sleeping. Don't wake him up. Kittens grow when they sleep. When you wake them up, your are inturupting their growth.

Answer 8

This should help you.

http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pa...

Answer 9

http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.h...

http://www.hdw-inc.com/tinykitten.htm#si...

Also, a handy feeding guide I got from the shelter where I adopted my cat:

FEEDING GUIDE

Age in Weeks     AVG. Weight    Amount Formula/day  # feedings/day    

1                                4oz                      32cc                   6

2                                7oz                   56cc                       4

3                              10oz                    80cc                      3

4                               13oz                   104cc                      3

5                             1lb                          128cc                     3

I've never cared for a kit that young, so I can't really help aside from that. Good luck!!

Answer 10

Wow, I can't believe that vet's office.  The nerve of them refusing to see this kitty because he might have an infection -- treating illnesses is what vets are for, after all!  Are there any other veterinary offices near you?  If so, I think you should try another vet.  One of my neighbors found a sick kitten (only about a week old) abandoned in a trash dumpster recently.  She took the kitten to the vet who examined the kitten and told her just what to do to take care of it.  So I KNOW that there are vets who won't refuse to see a very young kitten just because it might be sick and is without its mommy.

Anyway, I wish I had answers to your questions.  But I did a search on the internet for "feeding of newborn kittens" and a whole bunch of web sites came up.  So maybe you should do a search, too.  A few of the web sites that looked like they had lots of information are:

onlinecatcare.com

cats.about.com

peteduction.com

Hopefully, you'll find all of the information you need.

Answer 11

this is also probably a better place for advice than here.

http://www.catchat.org/forum.html

Answer 12

First of all, the baby is so young, the chances of it surviving without its mother is slim, but possible. You need to keep feeding it. whether it seems to want it or not... slowly dont force it. Hold it and give it as much love as possible. And make sure the heating pad is warm but not too hot. Maybe put a stuffed animal next to it. Good Luck! Also, one thing, if you know of anyone who has a pregnant or nursing cat see (very carefully) if it will let baby nurse. Alot of times, cats and dogs can be surrogates to babies not their own.

Answer 13

I work at a animal hospital and we have never refused to see a kitten because it did not have its mom, and they did not want to spread infection. You should try another vet, I'm sure anyone else will help you. I'm don't know why its not eating, but in the mean time you can buy something called nutrical at a pet store.

It is a high calorie supplement for animals that are not eating. It comes in a toothpaste tube, and it is the same consistency. With animals that are eating on their own, you just scrape some on the roof of their mouth, and they will eat it. But with your kitty, maybe I would try diluting it with some warm water, because its so thick. I would not want it to choke.  Good luck.

Answer 14

I'd call another vet.  Your kitten may need to be tube fed.  

In the meantime, here's another site with some basic information on raising kittens

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content...