New born kitten not eating!?

Question

she is 3 days old and when she was first born she seemed to be eating fine but I went to check on her today and she was cold and skinny! She is 1 of 2 kittens, the other guy is about 3 times the size of her! (WAY bigger than a usual kitten) She couldn't even close her mouth she was so weak so I did the first thing I could think and I took some of my breast milk and fed her by syringe. I am going to go buy some mammalac tomorrow, but this is all I have for the night! She is now to the point that she is suckling the milk out of the syringe, and is meowing and moving again! (She was next to dead when I found her a couple of hours ago) Is my milk going to hurt her if its just for one night?? Is there something else I can be using? She doesn't have a clef palette I checked, she ate awesome from the syringe once she got started. HELP!

Answer 1

Kittens need their mom. I've had this experience with newborn kittens and they don't survive no matter what I did, kept them warm, fed them milk with a syringe...lots. Sorry dear.

Answer 2

Try putting her right next to the mothers nipple and moving the boy out of the way for a little while just to see if she'll eat. But i think you did the right thing for her by giving her your milk, it has to be the closest thing to her mothers. so good job ! keep trying !

Answer 3

the pet stores sell baby formula for orphaned animals:kittens and baby raccoons!just go tomorrow and get that.Until then, keep the little runt warm(hot water bottle works) feed every 3-4hours,like newborn human.

make sure:does the momma cat clean/l**k the kittens privates:that's the only way the newborn cat able to pee and poo!if the momma dont do it:you can use a warm wash cloth:keep washing the bum and wait till the kitten eliminates!

Until tomorrow, your milk is OK i guess:make sure its warm(not from the fridge)

Answer 4

1 egg, tsp karo syrup, and 3-4 tbsp of milk, cream, or evaporated milk is what my vet reccomends.  

Also putting some honey or karo syrup in the kittens mounth will help to vive it up and get it to eat more.

Answer 5

KMR (kitten milk replacement) or whatever your pet store has.  If it says it has colostrum in it, even better.  Warm it up and feed to the baby every 2 hours or so (this is a lot, but trust me, they need that much).  Keep her warm and try and get her to drink from her mother if you can.  You'll also need to help her use the litterbox because she doesn't have that ability to do it yet on her own.  

Something you should also keep in mind.  I recently received a litter of 3 that were dumped at a pet store (covered in fleas and severely malnourished).  Only one survived.  The other two "failed to thrive".  Sometimes kittens just die and there was really nothing you could have done.  Just do the best you can and take heart that you gave her the best chance possible, if the worst happens.

Answer 6

Until you can get to a store, the third answer is good to try and make sure the kitten stays warm.

Answer 7

the first user is partly right they usually die if they don't get milk from their mother but it may survive if it eats/drinks milk, but not cows milk!...keep feeding it your milk and get it some regular formula tomorrow...it is likely she will die but if you're lucky feeding her will give her her energy back and she will start nursing from her mother (maybe this is a lesson not to breed your cat) good luck keep her very warm and feed her a lot, as much as she'll take  

Answer 8

I agree with what the other posters have advised but I would like to mention something else. Kittens will designate one of their mother's nipples as their own and that is the one they keep returning to when they nurse. The unused nipples dry up. If you can, keep the bigger kitten out of the way and let the little one find her own nipple she can nurse off of. Since she is three days old, it might not be too late. You might have better luck with her that way. I hope all turns out well for you and the kittens.