new kitten need help

Hi everyone, I was given a 5 week old kitten (and I am afraid the age may not be 100% accurate, it may be 4 weeks old but the people wanted to get rid of it so much that they told me it was just old enough to survive on its own)...Well at first I had no doubt that they were telling me the truth, that it was old enough, but now I am kind of scared because my kitty is not grooming itself at all and it hasn't eaten yet. It has been 4 hours since I've had him. It made an attempt to suckle at my thumb earlier too. I am just sort of paranoid. I mean, it runs around and plays with moving objects, it has teeth and tried to bite me, it purrs...it can't be that bad right??? Well I am just looking for suggestions, what can I do to make sure he is all taken care of even if he is a little under 5 weeks old...i put both milk and canned cat food in bowls just in case...oh jeez I'm really worried...I think even 5 weeks old is bad am I right??? I just went online to read about it and most kitties are like 10 weeks old when they are given away...I hope everthing turns out right!! Thanks everyone for helping...

Another thing: he cries but only when hes alone. When a person is there he settles down on the persons lap or leans on the persons side and sleeps or purrs ...Also plays but only when someone is there..if we leave him alone he cries a lot...I find it kind of cute, right now I'm sitting and my feet are together and he settled down on top of my two feet together....but I still hope this behavior isn't weird...

Sounds like he is still a bottle baby www.kitten-rescue.com will help guide you- he needs to eat and he has to have kitten formula, not milk. YOu can make your own, the recipe is on my website. Is he using the litter pan at all? Drinking water? Buy some canned kitten food, warm it up in the microwave just for a few seconds, place the food in a small jar lid. lay down on the floor with the kitten in front of you, dip your finger in the food and offer your finger to the kitten. (be careful not to get bitten). If he eats it, offer him a bit more, then put your finger into the jar lid of food and stir it- place the kitten's head just above the food (gently) then offer him your finger again. He should begin to eat. Also be sure his nose isn't full of discharge. If he can't smell, he won't eat

well it has only been four hours; the first hour he layed down without doing anything, next he cried a lot so i pet him, he liked it, stopped crying and has been in my lap until I posted the previous thread, when I put him on the floor, he played a lot and then settled down on top of my feet....This has been all we've done, he hasn't used potty yet however I have a litter box ready and water ..so should i feed the kitten formula in a pan or baby bottle? He doesn't seem to get the idea of the bottle: even tho he attemps at suckling he only does it when he is burying his head into my clothes...knowing that could cause indigestion i'm happy he didn't get the idea to use the bottle w/ millk in it....Thanks for the advice!

You might have more success using a feeding syringe or using the jar lid process I described. You can get a feeding syringe from your vet or often find them at specialty pet stores.

Ok, I'm going to buy the formula from the pet store as soon as it opens this morning. I am a little concerned because he hasn't pottied the entire time, it has been since 8 pm last night until now (6 am) ...He has slept through most of that time...He isn't crying either so i'm confused...hasn't had food or water either..usually he cries and cries until I get close then he stops and falls asleep...
The fact that he's at least 4 weeks old should mean he doesn't need stimulation to pee/poop right??????? I might try to do the rubbing of abdomen just in case...

Ok, this is kind of crazy...he will not try the bottle no matter what..but he ate some canned cat food- which I am very happy about!! I mixed the cat food with the baby formula and he stepped inside his bowl, it was so gross...but now he is grooming- I was afraid he wouldn't know how lol...The only thing that still bothers me is the fact that he hasn't peed or pooped...unless he has when he was under the bed- I doubt it tho...
I tried the stimulation of the abdomen but it felt like torture- he kept crying and not letting me touch him.....

If he still hasn't eliminated you probably DO need to stimulate him. Take a warm wet washcloth and gently rub his parts. Rubbing his tummy won't do it since mother cats actually lick their kittens genitals to get them to eliminate. I'm glad to hear he eaten but definately keep mixing some formula in with the canned he's eating just to be sure he's getting the proper nutrients. Yes, it's gross and he's a kitten so he messy but if he's not cleaning up adequately you can use a warm washcloth to wipe him off.

Also, he's probably crying when he's alone because he's too young to be alone. Try putting some uncooked rice in a sock and slowely heating it in the microwave then give it to him to snuggle with at bed time and when your going away. It should help him with any seperation anxiety.

From the sound of things he's in good hands and is probably lucky to have found you. Who knows what these people would have done had you not adopted him.

Thanks!! Another small success- right after feeding today I tried and tried to stimulate him with absolutely no success..Then I was afraid that I had spread some germs on his testicles and anus and I decided to use some antibacterial soap and wash it- I hope that wasn't a terrible, terrible idea...Now I feel kind of guilty for doing that without checking first if it's okay...
But then I put him in the litter and first thing he did was start digging!! I was thrilled..
he peed tho now I just have to wait for him to poop..Sheesh this is worse than caring for a baby!! Not that I would know what that's like

Originally Posted by ut0pia

Thanks!! Another small success- right after feeding today I tried and tried to stimulate him with absolutely no success..Then I was afraid that I had spread some germs on his testicles and anus and I decided to use some antibacterial soap and wash it- I hope that wasn't a terrible, terrible idea...Now I feel kind of guilty for doing that without checking first if it's okay...
But then I put him in the litter and first thing he did was start digging!! I was thrilled..
he peed tho now I just have to wait for him to poop..Sheesh this is worse than caring for a baby!! Not that I would know what that's like

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Yea for small victories! And he even did his business in the box... even better! The soap was probably ok... and yes, it's a lot like caring for an infant... but that's basically what he is. We'd love to see pictures of the little guy if you can.

I named him Jake!! I'm so so happy to have him....He just scared the crap out of me again- he didn't realize that he was stepping from a rug onto a laminate floor so he started slipping on the floor with his hind legs it looked like he was wobbling a little...and then he got back onto the rug and everything was fine. I get extremely paranoid I think lol I'm too impatient to see and too afraid that if something is wrong I will not notice on time to run to a vet...
Here is a really bad pic taken with my phone, I need to charge my camera and then I will start documenting his growth lol...

I believe his color is silver tabby with white?? It's hard to see the white but his entire belly and chest are white..well it's hard to see his color in general..I will post a better pic soon!

yea it's really hard to determine whether it's silver or not because on his sides, feet and face it sort of looks silver but then on his back it looks wayy too dark to be silver- almost black......maybe it's still baby hair and it will change a little...
Now i'm worried about him being dehydrated because i don't think he has drank water...I guess I just have to wait until he gets really thirsty and show him how to drink by first dipping my finger in water, and leading him to the water pan..Any better suggestions?? He is really happy and playful and hasn't cried in a long time, but I feel like maybe he is sleeping too much...Most of the time he just sleeps, wakes up for a little play time, goes to sleep again, I put his nose into cat food, he eats a little, etc...He groomed himself so well from the previous little incident of dipping paws into mix of food I'm proud of him for growing up lol!!

oh my heart!!! What an adorable fluff-bundle!!!

You're doing a good job. Wet foot and kitten formula will help with the liquid volume he's supposed to take in. In fact the "milk" is a good choice because he likely would still be drinking from mom.

Yea, except for he doesn't like the "milk" and the mixture of both- he hasn't had any...He only seems attracted to the canned food...
He just peed again lol but this time volume was much much less than before...I will just keep watching him closely!! I guess I should just have more faith in his instincts...

I'm not a kitty expert, but I think somebody needs to tell you that your kitty sounds very happy, snuggling with you and playing. That's all very normal, contented kitty stuff.

I think you are getting too much advice for syringe feeding this, stimulating that. Just relax. in all likelihood, the little guy will eat when he's hungry, sleep when he's tired, and poop when he's ready. There's no reason to make this all harder than it needs to be!

It takes a few days of adjustment to new surroundings.

Thanks, to everyone for encouraging me!! Yea, I think I was definitely worrying way too much. He pooped this morning, found the litter box all on his own!! Also ate some kitten formula from a jar lid and canned food...I gave him some water through a syringe last night and he must have been thirsty because he stayed still and drank... then I showed him the bowl and he sniffed, hopefully he got the idea that there's water there....I just really needed to know whether he could handle this stuff on his own because I thought he may be still too young so I payed all extra close attention to everything, but I think now I know he will be okay without the mommy...