I need help with my kitten!

emy4cats

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Hi! I just got this kitten yesterday and he is REALLY small I don't think he is older then 5 weeks. He has fleas (I gave him a bath with lemon juce and a mild cat shampoo and then combed him with a flea comb). Is there anything else i can do for him? And it looks like he has blood in his poo!! Is there a chance that this is due to the change of food? I am VERY worried about him because he is so small. I plan to take him to the vet asap but is there anything i can do in the mean time to help this litte guy out? thank you
 

mews2much

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You need to make sure he isnt getting Anemic from the fleas. My Meeko almost died from Anemia at 3 months and weighed 1 pound. He is to young to be without his mom. Try to keep him warm. Sometimes when kittens have blood its because they have worms. I would watch for that. Can you bottle feed him?
 

aswient

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You could start him on KMR (if you haven't already) kitten milk that you can get from PetSmart, Petco, some PathMark Supetmarkets have it. Good luck.
 

mrblanche

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I understand from another post that you have another cat, too. You should probably keep the two cats separate until you have the new one completely vetted and checked out, dewormed, etc. You wouldn't want to spread some disease or parasite you your present cat.

If this little kitten has been outside, or possibly malnourished, his digestion is likely to be a little touchy for a few days.
 

captiva

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I know that my ferals had a some sort of intestinal bug and I can't remember what it was called. The vet prescribed an antibotic for them and it cleared it up. It was quite common he said.
 

siobhan

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You already have good advice but keep the cats separate and do not give him the over the counter flea stuff- wait till you (and the kitten of course) see your vet.It is usually unsafe to use anything on a kitten under 8 wks of age! You did the right thing in giving him a bath - Dawn is also good for bathing a cat. But keep him warm and if you bottle fed him, make sure you help him eliminate as his feline mama would do. At 5 wks, he may already be doing it tho - you did not mention that. If he is not, use a soft cotton ball or paper to rub him in the place he eliminates from. (Mama cats usually lick their babies but you can find an alternative
)

He could be very anemic since fleas can kill a kitten - they suck so much blood! In picking off the fleas, some people will place some Vaseline on the base of the comb's teeth to stop the fleas from escaping the comb. (Fleas alas are not stupid and head for the dry areas)

I hope he'll be OK. The anemia can be very dangerous- did you notice any reddish color in the water?

Your vet will likely do a HEMATOCRITor PACKED CELL VOLUME (PCV) test to determine degree of anemia. The hematocrit or PCV reflects the percentage of red blood cells that should be present in a sample of blood. In cats the normal range is 24 to 45. Blood transfusion is often used at values of 20 or less. Some vets use Capstar, a relatively new fast-acting flea-killing tablet with no known side effects for mammals. It is labeled for use in animals weighing 2 lbs or more and is excellent in serious situations. Vets tend to call the serious situations Flea Anemia.

I hope your kitten will be fine! Please let us know what happens and best of luck to you and him!
 
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emy4cats

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I looked at him today and havent seen any more fleas on him, yet. I have been keeping him away from Flower she is afraid of him anyway hehe! He seams to be doing alot better today I have been keeping him in are master bathroom with the heat lamp on and i made a little bed out of him with card bord and some old towls. I changed the towl he was laying on after his bath yesterday and I think I am going to change it again befor I go to bed tonight just to make sure if there are any fleas or eggs that feel into it. He went poo today and it was alittle runny but I didn't see anything it it this time he has his own litte box. He seams to be doing fine eating the normal Kitten food that Flower eats but I just add some water too it so its eaiser for him. Should I bottle feed him? He pees and poos fine on his own and he uses the litter box too! He dosent quite get the idea of digging yet but he is getting there! He seams to pee and then dig a hole and then just walks arround it and then fills in his hole and gets out! My boy friend said after he poo'ed (the kitty not my bf lol) he helped him cover it up! haha and he likes to pretend he dosent like cats! How do I tell if he is anemic? When I gave him a bath TONS of dirt came off him. I am thinking about giveing him another bath in a few days just to make sure all the fleas are gone. If any one knows a good way to get rid of them with out usuing chemicals that would be great! Thanks for all the advice!
 

mrblanche

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If you got a lot of dirt off him, there's a good chance that was actually flea droppings, which look like dirt but turn red in water.

I know adult cats who don't quite have the "dig a hole, do it, then fill in the hole" routine down pat.

We kept a stray in our spare bathroom overnight this week, and my wife put down an old sheet, just to keep the fleas from getting in the carpet. However, I didn't find any signs of fleas on him.

Take a look at his gums. If they're white, that can be a sign of anemia.
 
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emy4cats

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I just looked at there gums and there a nice shade of pink! Is there any other things I can look for? Another thing I am worried about is how skinny he is, but it seams like he is doing better today then when i first found him. He was alot more active today and very playfull.
 

fifi1puss

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The kitten food may not be enough which may be why he is so skinny? At 5 weeks of age the are still needing Mommas milk. They are a good 5-7 weeks away from being able to be away from momma....guess who gets to be momma??
 

skimble

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Glad to know the little baby is getting better. You are doing a great job being momma.

It may help to give him some kitten replacement milk to lap up. This will give extra help in getting him stronger. The "Just Born" brand seemed to be easier on all my orphaned kittens stomach. I got it at Walmart.

Not sure on this, but I think it is not good to wet the dry food with water. Others may remember better, something about bacteria growing quickly.

I mixed the kitten milk in some canned kitten food and mine ate that well. That may be easier to digest.

You are smart trying to keep ahead of the fleas. I combed mine every day with a flea comb to find those fleas that appear after the flea eggs. I had a cup of water with dawn dish soap near so when I comb a flea out I dunk the comb in the water and it stays there to drown.

Hang in there. This site has lots of great kitten information from birth on.
http://www.kitten-rescue.com/
 
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emy4cats

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Oh! I never even thought of that, but when I don't give him tons of food at once not sure how long it would take something to grow on it the food, but he usually finishes all the food I give him in a few hours. He somehow manged to sneak out of the bathroom and jump up on my bed
not too sure how he did this are bed is really tall! I pulled out Flower's lazer pointer last night and he played with it for about 30sec and got bored because he couldnt ceatch it. He really is not into toys either but I gave him a empty toilet paper roll and an old sock and he went to town on those! I comed him again today and did not pull any fleas off him. He is still sracthing more then usual, but it might just be an old bite that is bothering him. He is talking alot more too! I think he is finally feeling comfortable. He tried to shower with me this morning hehe. It is starting to get cold here and i feel bad for him in the bathroom all alone at night (letting him explor the bedroom because he was fle free today). He has lots of towls and a little bed I made him in there so I am sure he is fine just can't help to feel a little guilty leaving him in there. His poo has been solid and blood free!! I think it was just the change of dite that made the runny one. I have not seen any signs of worms, but I'm not going to rule it out that he might have them.
 

gothicangel69

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When I rescued my first kitty, he was 2 1/2 weeks old, extremely anemic and covered from head to toes in fleas, mites and ticks. I took him right into the emergency vet, and they gave him a Capstar to get rid of the fleas. Within minutes the fleas were just dropping off of him. By the next day, he didn't have a flea left on him. They say your not supposed to give the pill to kittens under 2 lbs, but my little guy was only 0.3 pounds and it didn't hurt him one bit (then again, they didn't have much choice)
 
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emy4cats

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Even with his first bath and combing I only pulled like 10 fleas off of him and then maybe 2 yesterday and none today. I don't think thats covered but he is small! I want to keep up on the combing for a few more days just because there was none today does not mean there wont be any tomorrow, but he is doing better! He is much happier today and too cute! Thanks for all the help with him guy's! I posted a pic of him today!
 

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Originally Posted by Emy4cats

Oh! I never even thought of that, but when I don't give him tons of food at once not sure how long it would take something to grow on it the food, but he usually finishes all the food I give him in a few hours. He somehow manged to sneak out of the bathroom and jump up on my bed
not too sure how he did this are bed is really tall! I pulled out Flower's lazer pointer last night and he played with it for about 30sec and got bored because he couldnt ceatch it. He really is not into toys either but I gave him a empty toilet paper roll and an old sock and he went to town on those! I comed him again today and did not pull any fleas off him. He is still sracthing more then usual, but it might just be an old bite that is bothering him. He is talking alot more too! I think he is finally feeling comfortable. He tried to shower with me this morning hehe. It is starting to get cold here and i feel bad for him in the bathroom all alone at night (letting him explor the bedroom because he was fle free today). He has lots of towls and a little bed I made him in there so I am sure he is fine just can't help to feel a little guilty leaving him in there. His poo has been solid and blood free!! I think it was just the change of dite that made the runny one. I have not seen any signs of worms, but I'm not going to rule it out that he might have them.
You are doing a great job with this new kitty.

Please keep us updated on him.
 
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emy4cats

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ug! Just went in there to play with him and I found more fleas! Oh joy and he has been on my bed all day *sigh* well looks like i get to vacuume and do sheets before I go to bed tonight! Only pulled 2 off him though. Where did they come from?? They were not on him this morning when i combed him! Oh well he is still too cute =^.^=
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Emy4cats

ug! Just went in there to play with him and I found more fleas! Oh joy and he has been on my bed all day *sigh* well looks like i get to vacuume and do sheets before I go to bed tonight! Only pulled 2 off him though. Where did they come from?? They were not on him this morning when i combed him! Oh well he is still too cute =^.^=
they're only on him when they're biting - then they jump off & hide in the carpeting, bedding, etc.
buy an OTC flea collar, cut it up & put it in the vacuum cleaner bag & vacuum. that'll kill any you vacuum up.
 
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emy4cats

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Oh thats a great idea! Thank you! I have a great vacuume thanks to Eric best gift he has gotten me (next to my baby girl Flower that is). I have been trying to keep up on vacuuming and I change the towl that he is sleeping on often. Comet had fleas a few weeks ago so I am sure there is still some arround that I have not been able to get rid of just yet.
 
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emy4cats

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Just an update on my Little Man! No fleas again this morrning! I will comb him again before I go to bed tonight. I vaccumed the entire apt last night and plan on doing it again today just to keep up with making sure they are all dead and gone! He is playing and becoming braver more and more! I want to give him another bath in a few days too. Right now he is romaing arround under the bed and playing with an old sock
He is so cute to watch because he does not quite have the claws worked out so every few steps he takes he gets stuck in the carpet it is too cute!
 
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