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Baby Kitten

post #1 of 26
7/9/11 at 4:54am
Thread Starter 
I need help i was given a baby kitten about 2 weeks old it walks(barely) and drinks out of a bottle.He eats but he is very aggresive he keeps his hands constantly trying to claw the bottle.After he eats he wont sleep and i dont know what else to do.I fix him a bed with clothes and everything but he climbs out and falls on the way out.He keeps crying he's not hungry and i dont know if it will survive.HELP PLEASE
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post #2 of 26
7/9/11 at 5:11am
Someone more knowledgeable will surely be along soon but meanwhile - Are you helping him potty? Very young kittens only pee and poop when their momma cat licks their parts. No momma cat, you need to stimulate the pee / poop reflex with a damp paper towel or cloth.

Feed, clean face, stimulate reflexes, kitten sleeps until time to start all over again a few hours later.

Good luck with this little baby.
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post #3 of 26
7/9/11 at 5:26am
Hi, good luck with this little one. It is very difficult to hand rear a very young kitten, and not all of them survive, however experienced you are. That being said, there are things you need to know to help it. If a young kitten is getting enough to eat and is being helped to eliminate itself, it should go to sleep content after each feed. What are you giving it in the way of milk? Most cats, and young kittens especially, should not have cows milk as it upsets their stomachs and they cannot digest it. You absolutely must give it kitten formula which you can buy from a pharmacy,vet or good petstore - NOT the Whiskas cat milk or similar which is only a treat. If you can get it, goat milk, fresh or tinned is also good. It should be fed every two hours, morning and night. A young kitten also needs the constant warmth of its mother, or a substitute, and if you can't carry it round with you in a fleece pouch or something like that, then give it a hot water bottle , wrapped up well, in its bed, and a ticking alarm clock to simulate a heart beat.

It is not easy and it is hard work. If you have no experience, then it may be best to try and find someone who has, through a vet or local shelter. It is heartbreaking when you lose a little one that you are trying to help, and I hope you can avoid that.
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post #4 of 26
7/9/11 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 
thanks alot,I am feeding him something called KMR kitten milk replacer.Also i forgot i have a grown male cat in the house and it does not bother with the kitten except it hissed at it once when it was near however i find this normal being that he did the same thing to a previous cat we had.The cat finally fell asleep on my bed a few minutes ago.It uses the bathroom on its on and the bottom is already wet im assuming because it pee'd on itself before.No problem using the bathroom though.
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post #5 of 26
7/9/11 at 9:44am
So it's using a litter box? It sounds like it's probably closer to 3 or 4 weeks then. You should still clean his face then bum after each feeding. Kittens this young do not know how to clean themselves. Keep a roll of paper towel handy and dip a sheet in tepid water, wach face/eyes and then gently pat his bum to keep it clean.
KMR is exactly what you should be using. How much are you giving at each feeding?
I would suggest you invest in a kitchen scale and weigh the kitten. This will let you know how much you should be feeding him. Also, a weight daily ensures he is growing and getting enough nutrition.
Kittens go down hill fast. I just had a litter of five that I raised. I lost one at 5 weeks old. I had noticed his weight staying the same and he just faded.
His aggression with the bottle is more of frustration. It sounds like you could possibly try him with KMR in a very low bowl or lid. Set him in front of it and gently dip his head down til his mouth touches the liquid. Most kittens catch on fairly quickly. Perhaps he is ready for soft food?
Could you post a photo? Might give us an idea on his age.
Good Luck!
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post #6 of 26
7/9/11 at 10:15am
Does he have any little teeth poking through yet? If so, it's time to start him on solids (and introduce the litterbox). Just get some canned kitten food and mix it with the KMR until it's slushy. It might take a while for him to catch on, but he'll be glad when he does. The "aggression" is because he isn't getting enough from the bottle and he gets frustrated. Also the crying. . .a well-fed kitten will be quiet and contented. Did you cut the hole in the bottle larger (cutting a small x over the hole is best)? It's made for newborns and the hole size won't let enough through for older kittens. Be sure to get him to the vet for de-worming when he's about 5-6 weeks old. He can get his first shots at 6 weeks, too.
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post #7 of 26
7/9/11 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
he is cutting teeth and he pee's all over the place.He has this thing where he kneads on my hand and bites my fingers which i suspect is some kind of act of trying to get milk from the mother.He drinks from the bottle but he hates his claws being covered and he always moves when im trying to feed him.Its not as bad anymore he is just a lil more unwilling to drink from the bottle and only fall asleep if im holding him.If i put him in a box with cushion or something he justg cries and does not go to sleep until i take him out and let him get comfortable on the bed.

http://tinypic.com/r/2qrzqcj/7
http://tinypic.com/r/25tka6b/7
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post #8 of 26
7/9/11 at 6:11pm
Hes a cutie! Very young, but I would suspect between 3 and 4 weeks. His ears are pretty perky to be younger. Also, hes able to pee without stimulation.
Do not allow him to bite you. Its cute now..but will not be cute later.
Singleton kittens have a harder time as they dont have siblings and mother to teach about biting and rough housing. Siblings bite back and we dont! Often, they will be rougher in general, so set some ground rules now. Get a small stuffed toy his size that you can use to play with him. Let him bite and wrestle that and not your hand...
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post #9 of 26
7/10/11 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
its refusing to drink out of it bottle it keeps turning its head.Should i now try a lid? or try to mix kmr and soft cat food?
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post #10 of 26
7/10/11 at 4:58am
You can sure try a lid full of KMR or cat food soaked/softened with KMR but I don't know if he's old enough to know what to do. Typically kittens feed every 3-4 hours at that age (if I recall correctly) so he/she should be hungry. If he is refusing to eat and has taken to the bottle before, I'd be concerned if he was refusing it. It's very nice that you are trying to take care of this little kitten.
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post #11 of 26
7/10/11 at 1:17pm
watch closely if he stops eating/taking a bottle and also refusing to eat by lapping up food. I had a little bottle fed kitten that from 2-3 weeks was eating fine, stopped eating and I took him to the vet. Vet dewormed him and gave constipation meds. He was fine for 2 weeks, and around 4.5 weeks they started eating wet food in addition to bottles. At 5 weeks however one of the 3 kittens stopped eating anything at all, and ended up dying that day. It was heartbreaking. My kittens were eating every 3 hours, and If your kitten misses 2 feedings you should chceck w/ a vet.
Is he stiill using the litterbox regularly? If they are having trouble pooping sometimes they won't wanna eat?
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post #12 of 26
7/10/11 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
well he wont open his mouth but when he cries i force the nipple in his mouth and he drinks from it so he's kinda being against it but once its in he eats.Also he has user the bathroom plenty of times without problem he slept for about 5 hours at one point which i thought was great(I didnt have to wake up in the middle of the night)
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post #13 of 26
7/10/11 at 8:45pm
I really think he's wanting some solid food. Try it soon. . .poor little guy is hungry and formula isn't cutting it anymore!
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post #14 of 26
7/11/11 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Collin1152 View Post
well he wont open his mouth but when he cries i force the nipple in his mouth and he drinks from it so he's kinda being against it but once its in he eats.Also he has user the bathroom plenty of times without problem he slept for about 5 hours at one point which i thought was great(I didnt have to wake up in the middle of the night)
Oh good! I would definitely try some solid food. I started giving my little kittens some canned cat food and they love it, and eat way more then I ever thought they would! It definitely lets you sleep more too, I feed them before bed and they wake me up only once at night for food. We have been doing wet food almost 2 weeks they still aren't a fan of dry at all but are doing really well on the wet, and we are off kitten formula completely! (although they still want the bottle a couple times a day, I just put water in it)
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post #15 of 26
7/11/11 at 8:48am
Thread Starter 
yeah but how do i feed it solid food if it wont open its mouth for anything
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post #16 of 26
7/11/11 at 10:27am
I had trouble getting mine to start solids BUT they never ever refused a bottle, except the one who was sick and ended up passing.
Are you still able to force the bottle in and get the kitten to drink?
I started putting some kitten formula onto a shallow dish, putting my finger in it, putting my finger at kittens mouth so they know what it is...once they started licking it from my finger, I pushed (gently) their face towards the bowl until they realized what it was. Once they were licking at that, I added in a small bit of wet food. They hated pate wet food (which i mixxed w/ the kitten milk at first) so I went right onto a shredded kind. They love it. I stopped mixing kitten milk in within 2 days. I still gave a bottle for the first week, but cut down the amount they were eating of formula by a lot. I stopped giving formula at all once they were eating good amounts of the wet food and not crying for a bottle. They still don't lap up water too much so I have been giving a bottle 3 times a day with just water in it to make sure they are hydrated, but they are starting to show an interest in the water dish.
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post #17 of 26
7/11/11 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Collin1152 View Post
yeah but how do i feed it solid food if it wont open its mouth for anything
Offer him a dish! I mix canned food with kitten milk until it's mushy, then I put it in a shallow dish (like a saucer). Then I put a dab on the kitten's nose so he licks it off, then sort of guide the kitten's mouth to the dish. Usually they figure it out pretty quickly. They do stand in the food so he'll probably need a bath afterward, LOL. I continue offering canned food with kitten milk up until the kittens are about 8-10 weeks old. I figure orphans need extra nutrition.
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post #18 of 26
7/12/11 at 9:02am
Thread Starter 
i tried i forced his head into the dish but he doesnt lick it or anything.Yes i can still force feed him his milk he fights it but he eventually drink it.Also i saw this 1 small red bug on his head today.What could this be?
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post #19 of 26
7/12/11 at 11:36am
Don't force his head into the food - it will frighten him and he will associate the plate and the food smell with bad things. As suggested, put some on your finger and rub it gently on his nose or mouth - he will get the idea gradually that this is GOOD. I don't know what the bug could be but he is probably due a vet visit anyway by now. Good luck, you are doing great.
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post #20 of 26
7/12/11 at 11:43am
Young ticks can be red in color and they can make kittens ill. Sounds like you should take the little one to the vet to be checked out!
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post #21 of 26
7/26/11 at 7:54pm
Thread Starter 
everythings looking good with the kitten he's put on weight except he wont eat any soft cat foods that we give him he ate cooked salmon once and he loved it but he wont eat cat food.
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post #22 of 26
7/27/11 at 8:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Collin1152 View Post
everythings looking good with the kitten he's put on weight except he wont eat any soft cat foods that we give him he ate cooked salmon once and he loved it but he wont eat cat food.
Hi, coming into this late but I do have experience as I work with a rescue for bottle feeders. When I have wee ones resistant to even try cat food, I get a small baby spoon and put a little in their mouths, your fingers will work as well but since I am a smoker I am not comfortable sticking my fingers in someone else's mouth (human or animal). It sometimes takes a bit but they do finally get it. Moms leave the nest for longer peroids of time to teach the babies to be on their own, after watching mom they know that its food but if mom isn't there or hasn't been there to teach than its kinda like speaking only german to an only english speaking person.....I find i have much better luck if I don't let them get a little hungry, they are less likely to experiment if their tummies are empty, on a full tummy they will play with it, walk through it than clean themselves up.

Singletons are harder to raise just b/c they do not have anyone to show them what a cat does, its up to us humans and I am not about to eat cat food or use a box to show them. It takes a little longer but they will catch on. Could also try putting kmr into a shallow dish and letting him lap it up, when he is proficient at that add a bit of canned food, just a small bit at a time. He may readily accept more if the smell is more familiar.
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post #23 of 26
9/18/11 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
Update,,,,,,,,,,,,,The kitten eats food but there is a pest problem little bugs under her fur that scatter quickly when i tried to take them off.They dont jump or anything they just move.When i gave her a bath i saw like 3 of them moving.Not sure what it is but its bad.BTW i believe the cats an rare egyptian mau.Its about 3 months old now.But this pest problem is getting to me.I doint know what to do because i've never had a cat with this problem.Veterinary is very expensive and i only want that as a absolute last resort so help please
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post #24 of 26
9/18/11 at 12:06pm
Just fleas, no big deal. Get a flea comb and comb those suckers out (put them in a cup of soapy water to drown them). Are spot-on products like Frontline, Advantage, or Stronghold available in your area? If so, those are very effective and reasonably safe. A vet might sell them to you without seeing the kitty, or maybe you can find them in a pet store. If you can order online you can find better prices.
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post #25 of 26
9/19/11 at 7:53am
Do a search in the Care& Grooming section for Diatomaceous earth. It's the safest thing you can use without going to a vet. I've never used it, so can't give instructions, but many of our members have.
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post #26 of 26
10/12/11 at 10:26am
I just read thru the thread and am anxious to hear an update!
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