my first kitten

Took my new kitten to the vet on Friday.  I received her a week ago from a former student (I'm a high school teacher.)  She supposedly was 7 weeks on friday the 24th but I'm not sure now.....see below.

Mesha is 1.5 pounds...underweight for a "7 week old" kitten I feel.  What do you all think?

She has blue eyes--someone said that she is still very young if they have blue eyes.  Will they change?  And is this true?

The vet said she is probably less than 7 weeks.  He also said she probably didn't get weaned from her mother enough before given to me and it was possible that she didn't get the neutrients she should have gotten.   

Some friends suggested supplement milk product--I found a can at walmart.  And will give her some. 

I'm given her Meow Mix Kitten and Fancy Feast Kitten wet food. Former owners were given her Meow Mix Seafood (which is for adults).....no wonder she was getting what she needed.   I know there are others but this seems to be the only she will eat.  And we have had such difficultly with her I hate changing something she is eating.

Still having diffiulty litter training her. 

-We have a litter box in the laundry (where I want her to go) and one in her food/play area/living room and kitchen.  We do take her and lead her to her box.  And sometimes she goes on her own if we are "in the area".  I just continue to worry that she will have another accient. 

-I do put her in the laundry room at night.  I put food, water, toys, a light and a click that ticks in there with her.  The washer and dryer are not running.  Some suggested to do this at night and when I'm not home.

Many suggestioned I should have isolated her when we got her but I didn't.  Former owners had her, her siblings, momma in a large dog cage in the basement. 

QUESTION.....I'm using OUT on areas where she had accidents.  Any other suggestions?

She didn't show signs of worms but the vet dewormed her just in case. 

She got her first set of vaccinations and will go back in a month for the 2nd one and hopefully tested for feline luekemia--not heavy enough to test her for that.

She is washing a little.....but agaiin the vet said we may have to do some of the things the mother did.  ugh.....what goes he mean by that?

I'd like to clean her up some.  Is just warm water ok?  I don't want to actually bathe her but I'd like to wipe her but tail and back paws off.

I was trying to find another home for her--I thought I could handle a new kitten but this past week has been difficult.  But I love cats--had them when I was little but I see now that my Mom and Dad took care of them.  NOW, with this one I have to.

Anyway, I don't have the heart or conscious to "pass her own" like her previous owners.  So we have decided to keep her until her next vaccinations and decide them..  I just can't "pawn" her off to someone else at this point. 

Sorry about such a long post but I need advice from experts......you all. 

If she's truly as young as you think, she may still be too young to use a litter box consistently.  I would quarantine her to a small area where accidents are much less likely to happen, and where she can develop good habits.  Especially keep her off carpet, if you can.

You may need to bathe her.  If so, use "blood-warm" water, which will cause the least panic in the kitten.  That would be about 100 degrees, more or less.  Don't expect the kitten to like it, although she might.  Use a pet shampoo or just a few drops of Dawn dish soap.  You can immerse the rest of her body, but not her head.  After a good rinsing, dry her thoroughly.  Probably not with a hair dryer; most cats panic at that.

Having a kitten is much like having an infant around the house, with many of the same concerns.  "Baby-proof" all that you can.  No wires easily accessible.

Hi!!

Just to start with -- you say she has blue eyes? Can you tell us her coat color? All cats are born with blue eyes; most change to green or yellow once they hit around 6 weeks of age, but some stay blue for the rest of their lives. There are some coat colors more likely to have blue eyes after kittenhood.

Boots was 1.9lbs when I got him at approximately 7-8 weeks of age, and he was a skinny little fella. So I'd say Miesha needs to gain some weight too (Yes, ounces in a kitten that small make a huge difference!).

Is she drinking the KMR on her own out of a saucer? If not, you can syringe feed it to her; I'll snoop around for some threads that talk about the technique. Same with the wet food if she can't eat it on her own well enough yet.

She will probably need several feedings a day. Kittens can only hold a little bit at a time in their baby tummies, but they still need a ton of food.

I would keep her in the laundry room all the time until she learns to use the litter box consistently. (Does it have carpet? If not, keep her somewhere tiled like the bathroom) Cats are actually much more comfortable in smaller spaces than in larger ones, especially new cats to your home. If you want, you can keep another blanket in there folded up with a heating pad underneath turned on the lowest setting. Try to keep a blanket inside a cardboard box in there; it can serve as a kind of den for her, which will make her feel safer. Cats love cardboard boxes at any rate, so even if she doesn't sleep in there she'll have fun playing with it.

You say she's going on her own some in the litterbox? If she is, that's good. You may need to stimulate her to poop after she eats to prevent her from getting constipated. Try taking a warm, wet washcloth and rubbing underneath her tail (either on top of or underneath the anus). You can do this while she's standing in the litterbox; it will encourage her to associate going to the bathroom with the litterbox. When she goes, take her little paw and gently cover the mess with litter.

Cats are much easier to potty train than dogs. You just have to unlock their natural instincts to go in a dirt area and then cover it up. Takes just a little practice.

Btw, that's what the vet meant when he said "doing some of the things the mother does."

Another thing he meant was washing her off after bathroom trips. She'll start doing this on her own soon, but in the meantime you can do like mrblanche said above.

As for cleaning the accidents she had previously, use an enzyme cleaner. You can get these for cheap at Petsmart (I use Bissell's). Make sure it says something about enzymes on the bottle when you buy it. Enzymes destroy the bacteria in cat pee that make it smell so strongly. This way the spots where she's already gone won't smell like her pee, even to her sensitive nose. Cats tend to "go" where they've gone before, so this is crucial. You can do the cleaning while she's still baby-quarantined to the laundry room. If you need to, you can buy a blacklight to find the pee spots. You don't have to be so zealous about cleaning up poop messes, if I remember correctly.

Don't give up!! It'll be a chore for the next couple of weeks, but it'll be very rewarding in the end. Please come back if you have more questions!!

I wouldn't bath her, just use a damp flannel at about body temperature to clean her coat a bit.  Use a cloth once and either wash it, or bin it.

Mother cats clean their kitten's genital regions and until about 3 weeks old they can't pass urine or stool without that happening, but she is older than that.  They also generally keep their kittens clean which what I think the vet is refering to.

It's impossible to determine if she's underweight without handling her - kittens vary quite a bit in how big they are, what matters is that they are growing.  If you can keep track of how much she weights each week it will show how well she is progressing.

And I have a sneaky feeling that you will never be able to 'pass her on'.  I hope so - she clearly has a caring home.

When my Charlie was about 5-6 weeks old, he didn't know how to groom himself. I used a damp paper towel to clean him, trying to mimic the way his mother would have licked him clean.  He actually loved it and would purr up a storm and cuddle closer to me. You might find the same thing with your little girl. I wouldn't do an actual bath unless she's too dirty for the paper towel/cloth to work.

Thank you everyone.

Thank you for taking her in. It will get easier, try not to be frustrated with her as she is just an itty bitty baby. Everyone has made good suggestions. Just wanted to say thanks for rescuing her.