Tiny kitten please help

From the first post to the picture post.. sounds and looks like such an improvement!

Keep up the good work, I'm glad there are more of us that want to take care than not. Being family will be difficult so good luck, but sounds like everyone is on your side.

He is so adorable, and it is great your other kitty has taken to him too!

I'm just now seeing this thread. You've gotten some good advice and it sounds like things are going well. I have one question, though. If the kitten is really 7 weeks old, why are you feeding kitten milk? Most kittens are completely weaned, or very nearly, by 7 weeks. He should be able to eat solid food. You might try him with some wet kitten food, possibly mixed with the kitten milk. Baby also works for some kittens that won't eat. Just make sure it's meat with no spices or garlic in it.

Awww, what sweeties you have! And, you're right, he is tiny for his age. I'm glad the goat milk is working for you. I didn't know anything should be added to it, but I'll keep that in mind if I ever have to bottle feed more kittens (god help me! )

Of COURSE you are more than welcome to just jump in here! The cat lounge is where everyone just hangs out and gets to know each other, but feel free to explore and see where you're comfortable.

I've just now read this thread. Your little guy is so cute!! You've done a great job with him. When kitties start acting "normal", you know they're feeling better. So glad you're taking him to the vet and will get him on a good program. I'm sure with lots of TLC and a safe, loving home, he's going to flourish!

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

I have one question, though. If the kitten is really 7 weeks old, why are you feeding kitten milk? Most kittens are completely weaned, or very nearly, by 7 weeks. He should be able to eat solid food.

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Yes, with healthy, normally developed kittens it is entirely thrue what you say (although they may suck on the mother a couple of weeks extra, if they do have mother). Substitue milk is there not necessary, and even cat milk (=essentially low-lactose milk) they can do without.

But here we had a kitten very undernourished, little for his age, bad appetite, weakened by fleas...
It was necessary to get him every extra chance possible.

Of course, now when he is better and everything is more stabile, soon he can make on normal kitten food.



Excellent work, Porce!

Yes this is correct StefanZ, he was unwilling to eat anything else so I was happier handfeeding him replacement milk every few hours instead - at least this way I can track how much he is taking in and I know he is not going without from lack of ability/strength to manage himself.

However - it went really well at the vet today, he was SO nice and reassured me I was doing well (my boyfriend too! He has been helping a lot).

He thought the kitten looked around 4/5 weeks so he is definitely runty and he told me Dollarhyde is still slightly anaemic although he is a decent weight proportionally for his size (i.e. he isn't all bones anymore!).

He told me to go back to feeding him the Lactol if he will take it but if not goats milk with vitamins will do.

He told me to not worry about solid food for about another week but make it available - he says the kitten SHOULD be able to eat solid food but I have tried everythng and he just ignores it. I do not want to stress him with force feeding if I don't have to so I will just let him see it and let him see Bateman eating maybe that will peak his interest.

We have signed up for the kitten first year plan I mentioned before and the vet is kindly allowing us to pay monthly instead of all at once - I guess cos we cannot be sure what is going to happen at this stage but also it helps us a lot financially. It is only going to be about ten pounds a month for a year so NO excuses for people who do not treat their pets properly.

We have another appointment in two weeks to start the worming/de-flea/vaccination program and for a checkup.

I really liked the vet - he gave me a teeny tiny bottle and spare teats to feed the kitten with as I am getting fed up of the syringe and so is Dollarhyde, it goes everywhere and I worry it is going to hurt his mouth as he wriggles about so much sometimes. I also got the vets out of hours number and he also said they have a free advice line at the reception so if I have any questions about what to do with the kitten someone will be happy to help.

It's great the you liked the vet and he's easy to work with! You will probably find the bottle a lot easier than the syringe. We actually bottle fed Harley and Monster a lot longer than we had to (up to 4 months) just because they enjoyed it so much. They were eating solid kitten food, but a little bottle at night made them to right to sleep hence WE got a decent nights sleep too! It was so cute though...Harley would lay on his back in my arm and reach for and hold the bottle with his little paws just like a baby would do, watching me the entire time. It was enough to make you melt!

Keep us up to date on how he's doing!

It sounds like you had quite a scare and really put out a Herculean effort to pull this little guy through. Hand raising kittens is a heart-breaking task so often; they can go bad so quickly.

But just you being there to love him and care about him is very important.

Did the vet weigh the kitten? I'd be interested to compare it to the weight chart I have from Ginger's litter.

Leslie

I have been following this thread, and am very glad your little one is improving. You have done a great job!

Hi, Yes he was weighed.

He weighed in at only 434g (not quite 1 pound) which I was told is the expected weight for an average 4 week old. I would be interested to know if this is true but am trying not to worry too much as long as he keeps eating and getting more playful!

"Average weight" can vary a lot, and a cat's actual weight can be affected a lot by the kitten's health.

For example, "Homer" in the new book "Homer's Odyssey" weighs only 3 pounds as a fully grown adult.

one interesting point is, he is thus probably not severly undernourished 7 weeks, but rather a somewhat undernourished and neglected 4-5 weeks...

Which is very good in a way.

Did they told you a lie - if so, why?

Or were they simply bad at counting. Lost track of time, and instead of admiting it, said 7. Sounds better then several...

StephanZ - that is an interesting point but I know how old he is, this is becasue as I mentioned the owner was my boyf's sister who only lives a few minutes walk away from my house so we see each other often out and about. She told me about the kittens on July 31st and told me they were ten days old at that point.

I have no doubt she might have forgotten how old they are now but I have been keeping track! But you might be right that she said ten days when it was actually only a few days or something - maybe he is a bit younger than we thought.

Either way he is doing much better and, asides from another quick call to the vet to ask about supplements we are very pleased with how he is doing so far, he is getting very inquisitive and we are having some success with drinking from a bowl and mushed up wet food now. Can't wait til he is feeding himself properly though as I am KNACKERED from getting up and down during the night to offer him food as he still won't eat unprompted, he will look for food but will literally walk right through a bowl of milk and keep looking unless I am holding it up to him. I am still giving him nightly baths which has just as much to do with getting the milk from his impromptu swimming sessions off of him as it does to do with how much he likes it!

Thank you all very much for your help and advice, I really couldn't have managed without it.

Only just seen this topic big well done to you and your boyfriend for helping this guy pull through he looks like a handsome lil man

Just remember those flea eggs are going to hatch so keep up the swims & combs

So glad to hear he is doing so well!!!

I am glad things are going well with him, and it might be worth trying him on supermeat type kitten food rather than pouches - Whiskas do a kitten supermeat, and HiLife's kitten food is more pate style, as is Pets at Home's purely. They can also be mixed with kitten milk to make a slop. Good luck.

Hi again, thanks for all the tips! So yesterday marked one week from Dollarhyde coming to us and there is SUCH a difference - he is now eating and drinking by himself - we are feeding him natures:menu wet kitten food (it is a smooth style - no chunks) and James Wellbeloved dry food. Turns out the pet shop near my work is sponsered/owned (not sure but all the staff have the logo on their shirts) by Royal Canin but unfortunately they didn't have the dry kitten food in stock and the lady instore recommended the natures:menu brand for wet food. On the advice of the vet we are still giving him goats milk for his main drink with liquid vitamins plus another supplement in tablet form crumbled onto his food to make sure he is taking the maximum amount of nutrients.

He's still a bit fussy with dry food but we are definitely getting there and there is a real difference in his weight/size and energy levels which have shot through the roof!

He's an absolute sweetheart and I know I wouldn't have coped without the advice and support I got here, the kitten might have made it but my nerves DEFINITELY wouldn't have survived!

I can't wait to post new pics soon but I am shattered from playing "eat everything in sight" for three hours and his nose is all dirty from him dunking it in his food...maybe tomorrow!

Originally Posted by porce

He's still a bit fussy with dry food but we are definitely getting there and there is a real difference in his weight/size and energy levels which have shot through the roof!

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Dollarhyde may not ever get to a point where he likes dry food. Every cat is different, some like both wet and dry, some will only eat wet & won't think about touching dry, and vice versa.


I just read thru this thread and I think you did a great job seeing that this kitten got good care! I think you are great for caring so much about the health and care of you BF's sister's animals. She sounds a lot like my BF's sister. I wouldn't be surprised if she made a mistake in the age of the kittens or even lied about their age, to justify their size. I've also heard that fleas carry tapeworms and that could be part of the reason he was so small. Anyway, it's awesome that he is on the road to getting healthier!

Yay!! So glad Dollarhyde is doing well and flourishing under your care and love.