New kitten, should i be concerned?

We had just gotten a brand new kitten, less then 48 hours ago. She appears to be around 4-5 weeks old (kind of young i thought) Anyways, she seems to be ok, and generally happy, we've gotten her to eat a little bit of solid canned food (lamb and rice) but she doesnt seem to ever want to drink any water.

The things that really concern me are.

1. She seems to have the odd balance problem when walking, but she likes to climb and run with no problems.

2. She drinks very little water, if any its from our finger tips and only maybe 3-4 dabs a few times a day aside from the water we mix with the canned food as well.

3. She doesnt really chase things, put will the odd time and likes to play/bite/climb all over things.

Im not sure if im just being very paranoid or if these are normal occurances for kittens in this age range, any information and suggestions are welcome.

4 - 5 weeks old is pretty young! It might be a good idea to make or buy a kitten milk replacer. Does she "get" drinking? Kittens this age are usually still nursing some from their momma and may not have the dexterity to lap up water.

I seem to remember from the litter of stray kittens we had a couple of years ago that the kittens are pretty uncoordinated at that age. I even had one that I thought was deaf because it didn't always respond to me.

Its hard for us to go get kitten formula, we live in a pretty small town that doesnt have anything of the sort, and closest Vet or big chain store is about 1 1/2 hours away (we do not have a vehicle) I was however thinking of trying one of the "home made" kitten forumlaes with a bottle.

This is our first kitten and we just want things to go smoothly and really dont know what to expect, ive done lots of reading on the internet so far, but everything has really got me scared that there maybe something wrong. Any idea how much she should be eating? And since we are mixing her food with water, will that help keep her hydrated?

Aside from that, she has used the little box to pee once so far (she went in and pee'd and covered it herself) but has not had a bowel movement yet.

I'm not much of an expert, just here to listen mostly, but I would guess that the soft food has most of the moisture the kitten would need. Do you know how to check for dehydration? Have you called a vet?

This link
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/
is really good for week-to-week kitten development. I don't think the kitten would need a bottle - does she seem to lap at the water or food?

well she does lap at the food a little bit now if we hold the dish close to her, as well my gf just brought home some Whiskas Catsmilk, she really likes it, she laps it up, i figure maybe give her 1-2tsp's a day of that since is has lots of nutrients she needs and should keep her hydrated as well.

That's good - my nursing mother cat really liked Whiskas catmilk!

Keep an eye on the kitties stool..that catsmilk might give it the runs..it is a little different from KMR..if you are feeding the kitten canned food and mixing it with alot of water..the water issue should be ok for now..it will start lapping water in a few weeks. Also get kitten chow and add water to it ..let it sit for a while, smash it when it gets soft and give that to kitty to. Always keep hard kitten chow available.it will start to eat that to. Check weight about every 3 days to make sure she is gaining. You should get it vet checked in about a week or two for dewormimg. I would let the kitty just adjust to your house for right now. Do you have a crate or cage for the night time..little kitties squeeze in the most peculiar places and if they are scared they won't come out. Cuddle and talk to kitty as much as possible..ur voice is a big comfort right now. if you have a small stuffed animal, that might help also. Keep an eye out for sneezing, gooey eyes ,and a fever. if any of these occur, get kittie to vet A.S.A.P. I am not an expert but I am taking care of my 3rd set of foster kitties, so I learned alot. Any other questions please feel free to ask! This site has been so much help for me.

Well the kitty finally went for its poop, its stool was yellowish brown with a toothpaste like consistency, we also started mixing a little bit of the milk with some water, she seems to be taking to the water pretty good now, tomorrow maybe we will try without any milk, aside from that, after having a little milk she seems alot more energetic and playful.

She seems to be very good at grooming herself as well.

I will be going out tonight to buy some kitten chow and try moistening/crushing it up for her.

As for her sleeping, we have a big box in our bedroom with a nice big wool blanket stuffed into it for her as well as alittle stuffed bunny to sleep beside. Shuld we attend to her any time she cries or just let her get used to having to sleep alone?