4 1/2 week old kitten not doing well!!

I posted before,  about the pregnant stray I am caring for, she had 6 babies and all were doing great until this week. Mom kitty got terrible diarhea and just stopped nursing the babies. All the kittens are now on kitten chow and canned cat food. They are all a little loosy poopy but gettig better except one. The runt. This kitten has been vocal from day one..always meowing.  He looks skinny, weak the last two days. I started him on pedialyte every two hours and a little KMR, he is refusing the cat food all together. I seperated him from the rest, they just pile on top of him and he just lays there. He seems cold to the touch. I have him on a warm heating pad in a lil towel. In a shoe box. He is sleeping alot and I have to wake him for his eyedropper feedings. What else can I do. I am not taking him to the vet cuz I know the outcome. There are so many kittens and cats, the vet will not hesitate to put him down. I will let nature take its course. Hes not in pain. What else can I do for him, any ideas!! Also should I give mama cat and kittens canned pumpkin for  the diarhea???  Please help!!

Thankyou!!

Your kitten will need fed often, like every 1-2 hours.  There are many on here with kitten advice.  I hope they chime in soon!
 

i am wondering cuz he is so weak  should i just do pedialyte or mix that with KMR

Pumpkin will make them go.  I was advised to give that to my cat when I thought she had eaten some string.  I'd double check on that before you do anything like that.

Can you call your vets office for some advice over the phone?  When my cat was sick a few weeks ago I wasn't sure if it warranted a trip to the ER vet and they were happy to advise me over the phone.

Pumpkin contains fiber and also helps to firm up loose stool.  Not sure how it works both ways, but that is what my vet have me give my cat for loose stools.

There are many threads on here regarding caring for very young kittens, especially about feeding them.

Until someone posts directly to you, please search through the Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care forum and maybe someone else will have already offered similar advice to someone else.L

Little kitten Delilah's owner has been through a lot with her and feeding her from a young age was discussed.  I'll see if I can find any of those threads.
 

Here's a link to one thread, although these kittens had more to deal with than just not eating, so were also on meds.  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/243831/kittens-not-growing 

Search the forum for KMR maybe?

Do not let nature takes its course, that is extremely cruel whether he shows pain to you or not you've no way of knowing and letting him starve to death isn't nice at all

Sounds like mum needs a vet, rejecting her babies and diarrhea isn't normal. Have any of them been health checked and wormed?

He probably needs antibiotics, if he won't take being fed you'll need to learn how to tube feed him
I'd have him on Nutri drops as well as hills AD which is made for weak cats and designed for syringe feeding

I am not sure what happened, but lil boy kitty just died. He was walking around this morning. Mama kitty would not feed him. But, now as I sat and rocked and petted
Him until his last breath, she laid down and started feeding the others. I feel so bad I could not save him.. He was so little compared to the others. I feel so bad!!!

You misunderstood me, I was feeding him with a syringe every two hours. I in no way would let a baby starve. He went down hill so fast. Yesterday he was eating !! Idk what happened

You said he was weak for 2 days and refusing food

2 days is plenty long enough for a kitten to go downhill without medical care

Sorry for your loss, hope you get mum properly checked out 

I said he was skinny and weak for 2 days,  I have been making sure he ate and was hydrated, He was smaller and just cried alot. Something was not right.  I am very upset and i do not appreciate you acting like I did not take care of him. The vet would have put him down  if I took him in, there are so many cats and kittens where I live because people do not spay/neuter them. I tried everything in my power. You should read slower so you don't mix up what is said....or maybe be a little more understanding and keep you negative comments to yourself!!

I am so sorry -sometimes we cannot save one. And it sounds as if Momma knew there was something wrong with him and rejected him, not really being able to settle down with the others until he had gone. Without being there it is impossible to know if anything else could have been done, but it certainly seems as if you did all in your power to save him. It is true that vets will often not go all out to save a runt - I have had that happen to me. My sympathies to you - it is always a shock and a disappointment when things do not go according to plan, but I hope you are able to get past this and concentrate on the others. I do agree that the mom should be checked by a vet - it may be something simple like worms, but you never know.

Laurie314 said:

I said he was skinny and weak for 2 days,  I have been making sure he ate and was hydrated, He was smaller and just cried alot. Something was not right.  I am very upset and i do not appreciate you acting like I did not take care of him. The vet would have put him down  if I took him in, there are so many cats and kittens where I live because people do not spay/neuter them. I tried everything in my power. You should read slower so you don't mix up what is said....or maybe be a little more understanding and keep you negative comments to yourself!!

Click to expand...

Formula isn't enough for an almost 5 week old, why I said to force feed AD and a vet for antibiotics. It's also far kinder to have them humanely put to sleep rather than let nature take it's course and let the little one suffer until the end - that was my point that you missed completely.  As I said I am sorry you lost him, and I hope you take mum and the others in for a checkup as she sounds ill. You also didn't say if any of them had been health checked or wormed. 

Before anyone gets more upset I am locking this thread. Laurie314, I hope you will post another thread in due course, letting us know how the mother and other kittens are doing.