caring for orphaned kittens [first timer]

Poor dad, the babies always pick the most inopportune time to go!

Glad to hear things are back on track. You are doing a great job for this baby and Mama Casey would be very proud of you.

Hey, what about a name? Can't call her/him "baby" forever!

She didn't eat much at her 3 oclock feeding and then woke up at 5-5:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep so I gave her more and she ate most of what I had in the bottle. Then she was out like a light til 9 for her next feeding. She hasn't pooped since her 11 oclock feeding last night but she pooped a lot yesterday.

My mom got up at 6:30 to reheat the rice bags so I could sleep a little bit :]

Well she pooped two times today. Once was a lot and I had to clean her up and change the bedding already again, the other time it was a bit thicker and darker. Is this normal? She's acting fine and everything I just wanted to check.

Well I have read and been told that their poop should be the consistency of toothpaste at this point. And then a little harder every week or so. My babies stools were very loose, but once we got that dewormer into them, they have been perfect ever since...so if there is a variation it may be due to worms or some sort of parasit. It would be a good idea to take a stool sample into the vet with you so they can immediately treat what they see under the microscope.

I just caught this thread. I have no advice, you are already getting very good guidance, and obviously tasking the advice. I am glad to know that his baby is doing better. Sorry about mommy and the other baby. You are truly a kind soul for raising this little one.

Thanks Finsterhead :] Next time she poops I will get a sample to take. What do you suggest taking it on/in?

What I'm stressing about now is that I have to work 3 days and so I won't be here full time to watch over her. I have to go in to work an hour late on Monday and Thursday so my mom can get home from her job in time to take care of her [make sure the cats dont get to the box and make sure the rice bags are reheated etc]. My mom is capable of feeding her/cleaning up after her/stimulating her but my father and younger brother aren't. Wednesday I have to depend on my dad to reheat the rice bags and then I have to come home from work for a half hour or so to feed her etc and then go back. It's really stressing me out because I don't want to be worried constantly while I'm at work. My boss is really understand about it [she's also a cat mommy/love]. I am a worrier by nature.

Also I've been meaning to ask. Will she spend the majority of the time between feedings sleeping and is it normal for her to get up and move around a lot from time to time in between?

Thanks so much for all your help and kind words!

Only a suggestion (not knowing where you work), could you maybe take her with you? I know my mom took the puppies she was hand raising to work a few days.

Unfortunately it wouldn't be a good place to take her. I am just going to go into work late and then my mom will be here to take care of her on Mon & Thurs. Wednesday is the day I'm worried about so if I don't work something out, I might just take the day off.

Planning on calling tomorrow to make a vet appointment for Tuesday [since our vet is in then and I am off]. What all will they do for a kitten her age [2 weeks 2 days] at this appointment?

Also, we decided to name her... Sugar :] Because she's white and sweet :]

Well, finally a name! A great one at that!

I would guess, from what Finsterhead had done, is the vet will worm her and generally see how she is, wt, no goopy eyes as kittens get. Check for fleas or ear mites.

I would transport a stool sample in a plastic zip lock bag or a small bottle with tight top washed out good. I know you have to refrigerate urine samples so I would guess the same for stool. Sorry.

Finsterhead will be on soon. Yep, perfectly normal for her to get those little legs going and start to build up some tiny muscles.

If its quiet she may sleep. When my semi feral Slick had hers last year, they would get up and crawl around. And they didn't eat each time.

It is so good you have good backup. So many times on here, there is no help and often objections to helping with a baby. You have a good family.

Finsterhead took the babies everywhere with her, taking the kids to school, shopping, just everywhere so she would be there to feed when very little. I told her she needed a kitten diaper bag for all the formula she was carrying around with her. Now that they are a bit older, they go longer between feedings, so they get to stay home in a large cage till she comes back.

Keep up the good, devoted work.

I got a stool sample in a small baggie + put it in the fridge. I also made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow morning - that was the soonest she could get us in. The vet assistant [who's worked there for years and knows the family well] seemed impressed with her progress. She drinks about .5 ounce [give or take a bit] each feeding, which I've been doing 4 hrs unless she gets whiny. I've been reheating her rice bags every 2 hours or when they start to get too cool.

I am hoping that she will continue to get better and stronger and the vet will be able to guide me as well as you guys. You've been such an amazing support system and help. A lot of times when I come to the site with issues, ppl just end up getting me scared and panicked and make me feel like a bad kitty mommy, but you guys have really helped me and Sugar a lot. <3

Now, you can pass on what you have learned too. It makes you feel good.

Bet you can't wait to go to work to get a bit of a break! Im sure your mom will have it all under control!

My boss actually gave me the day off that way when my mom gets home I can catch up on some much needed sleep :] Then off to the vet with Sugar tomorrow and then work Wednesday [providing my dad will be able to clean her up + reheat the bags without forgetting!] and work Thursday with any luck. I would be able to sleep better at night in between feedings but I have to get up to reheat those rice bags in between feedings so it breaks the sleep up a lot more.

I know it is hard missing out on sleep. But soon that will get better. You will be up less and less as time goes on. Longer time between feedings and she won't need that rice bag forever. It's harder on you than it was on me because I didn't have to reheat so often because they had each other to keep the heat in. But you are doing right by Sugar (cute name by the way) by reheating every two hours. Until the babies were four weeks old I took them everywhere with me. Luckily it wasn't hot out so I could leave them in the truck and it would be just nice and toasty warm for them if I needed to go to the store or to a sporting event for my kids. I would put really hot water in a bottle and then by the time it was time to feed I would put the powder in, shake it up, pour into bottle and feed. It was perfect. Now they are older and would be EVERYWHERE!! So they stay home in a large crate...but I still don't go anywhere if I will be gone longer than 4 hours. Your baby will start getting up and walking around and learning how to play and wash herself. She won't necessarily want to eat every time. In fact, it seems that my babies are up more than they are asleep now. If we need to go somewhere I will make sure the kids play with them for a few hours beforehand, that way I know they are good and tired when we leave. You seem to be doing such a great job...washing her up all the time, and keeping her warm and fed. Like FarleyV said, the vet will do just a general checkup....weight...deworm, check for fleas...look in her ears, listen to her breathing...just to make sure all is well. Too early for any vaccinations. Don't stress too much about working on Wednesday. As long as your dad can heat up the bags and clean up if she poops, she will be okay without all the hugging and loving for just a short amount of time. So enjoy being away and just think that it's better to have him checking on things then to just leave her at home all alone, which like FarleyV said, happens alot. Please let us know how she does at the vet tomorrow.

We have the vet appt. soon. 11 am. I am glad because I will better once everything gets checked out. She has been acting normal and eating regularly but she hasn't pooped since yesterday morning but there was a bit of dark brownish around her anus this morning which I am hoping was just poop and not blood or something. I cleaned it up- it was just the smallest amount but there was no poop on her anywhere else or in the box. She has been burping more when she feeds and she farted a couple of times last night. It just is bothering me so I am glad to be going to the vet soon.

Oh, please let us know how she makes out today at the vet. I hope that going will help you worry less. Remember that if she doesn't poop everyday its okay at this age. Pretty soon, she will be going every day at certain times. At five weeks now, mine run out of their crate in the morning and even though they have a liter box in their crate, they run into the kitchen and use the one I put in there for them. Mine did not poop every day at that young age. Good luck to you and let us know how Sugar makes out!

Well I just got back from the vet and the doctor and tech were impressed with Sugar. They said she looked really good and healthy. They gave me some dewormer for her and said that it was normal for her to not poop a lot and for it to be getting thicker. They also said that I could start feeding her every 6 hours at night or even 8 if she'll sleep that long instead of 4 and that I don't need to be reheating the ricebags that long that they're not going to pull heat away from her when they cool down so she'll be okay if they're not freshly heated all the time. She said the amount she eats is good for her weight [.66 lbs] and that over the next week she'll start eating a lot more even.

They said as soon as next week I can start trying to get her to eat some mushy food [gruel] since her teeth are almost through and she's trying to eat/suckle/bite everything around her. They also said that next week some time I can start putting the litterbox in there to see if she'll start using it.

Overall they seemed really impressed with her progress and said I don't really have anything to worry about. Said to bring her back in a couple weeks for a checkup and to get tested for leukemia etc.

My friend was also up there this morning [before me] and bought more formula for me. I'll have to yell at her for that one haha!

Anything else I should know or be worried about haha?

You are too funny....you are looking for more things to be worried about. I am so happy that Sugars appointment went well. I was thinking of you this morning. Looks like you are going to finally start getting some sleep. Mine are five weeks now and I feed at 10pm and then 6 am. So I am able to get a full night of sleep now too! I started mine in the liter box at about 3-4 weeks and now they use it without fail. I didn't even have to show them anything...they just did it. So now I haven't given a bath or had to clean them up in about two weeks now. They wash and clean themselves. It all happens so fast. Are they 3 weeks old now? Mine weight .6 lbs at a little over two weeks, so they seem pretty comparable.
So sit back, relax...remember pooping every day isn't mandatory; reheating every two hours isn't necessary, waking them up to feed in the middle of the night isn't required any long....so take a deep breath, and look at what a good job you have done and feel fulfilled that you are now over the bump in the road and it's all down hill from here. So just enjoy your baby!!

Thanks so much for all the help. You guys are really the reason I've not lost my mind haha! I think I'll start the feeding her at 6 hrs during the night instead of every 4 hrs. I was feeding her at 9 am, 1 pm, 5 pm, 9 pm, 1 am, 5 am. So I'll have to get a new feeding schedule that'll work around my work/parents work etc. Also she didn't really say how often I should reheat the rice bags, but she said every 2 hrs isn't really necessary. So not sure how often I should do it still cause I don't want her to get too cold. We have the heat on since it's been crappy here in Ohio lately, but still it can get a chill every now and again.

Oh and Sugar is 2 weeks and 3 days today, and she weight .66 lbs. So that's good right? The doc seemed to think so. :] I hope it'll all be uphill since then. Gonna feed her in a bit and then take a nap haha.

Okay here we go with another worry/question. The doctor didn't seem to think there was a problem with her poop and earlier she pooped and it was mushy, a littler darker but still mushy. Well then when I went to feed her and got her out of the box a bit ago, there was a little dark brown around her anus and no poop anywhere else. She pooped a couple little drops after I fed her which looked okay but on her anus there was a bit of red/blood. Just a small amount and it wasn't actually in the poop. Is this because her poop is getting more solid or should I be concerned?

Edit: She didn't poop anymore but there was bright red blood [still not a lot, but any is a lot to me] on her butt again. I'm starting to get worried. Is this normal? I read it could be from worms [gave her dewormer earlier], or from her poop changing consistency but I don't know. She's acting normal and eating fine.

Please reply. I won't be able to sleep tonight.