Kitten Emergency Please Help

TI took in an abandoned kitten four weeks ago. A neighbor found it alone under their car, and waited several hours for the mom to come back before bringing it in. I estimate the kitten to be 5-6 weeks old. It has upper and lower canines, plus lower molars. I have been feeding the kitten a milk replacer formula through a dropper. I have tried mixes of wet food/formula/baby food (chicken only), I have also tried soaking kitten dry food in formula. He will not even TRY to eat out of a dish. He has taken some wet food/ formula mix through the dropper but started to seem skinnier so I switched back to formula only. Now he is fighting the dropper when I feed him, I presume because he is teething. He is skinny and seems less energetic the last few days, although not necessarily ill, more like he is not getting enough nutrients to support a growing body. He also does not seem to be growing appropriately. He has gotten a bit longer, but does not look like pictures of other kittens his age. He has had some fleas. I have bathed him, flea combed him repeatedly but it is a battle, and he is too small for any chemical treatment. He is urinating/deficating regularly when I stimulate him. My male cat grooms and cleans him. I keep the kitten warm w/ a heating pad and hit water bottle. The kitten is very alert, he loves to snuggle and he watches tv with a lot of interest! I really don't want to lose the little guy. Any advice? Please don't suggest the vet, I cannot afford it, if I feel that he becomes dehydrated I will try to get him iv fluids though. So far we are not there. Local shelters are all overloaded kill shelters, and the local cat rescue just shut down. Please help! Thank you.

I have better pictures, but I wanted you to see how little he is.

Help?

I'd start force feeding him a combination of wet food and formula in a syringe.  You should be feeding him very frequently- every 3-4 hours if he is possibly losing weight, more if you can.  Keep encouraging him to take food.  Have you tried introducing him to the concept of eating out of a dish by putting plain formula in there first? That way he would at least be able to recognize the formula as something to eat for sure and might start to associate food with the dish and be more willing to try.  When you mix food with formula, be sure to only put in a VERY little bit of food at first.

Also, I really do think you should surrender to a shelter if you can't afford a vet. Kittens who are his age are unlikely to be killed, actually- they are considered very adoptable. It is older cats and days old kittens that most often become the victims.  I will say you'd up his chances slightly if you could get him weaned before surrender, but I think surrendering is the most responsible thing to do because...  

I know you said don't even mention the vet to you, but he really needs to see a vet, and not just because he is not eating, but for a lot of other reasons, including but not limited to:

-routine shots (he is due for his first ones soon)

-fecal sample

-probable deworming (should possibly have already happened)

-general well kitten exam including weighing, taking temp, making sure seems outwardly healthy

If you plan to keep him for real, you can add neutering to that list.  If you do not have enough money for all of that, you do not have the money to be a responsible pet owner.  If it is your plan to find him a forever home once he is strong enough, it is still not acceptable not to get him his first shots and deworming before that.  This probably sounds overly harsh, but my main concern is the kitten.

If you forcefeed, better small portions often, then big seldom.  This advice is most important for infants, but probably here too.  To diminish the risk of reflux and getting food in lungs...

If salomonella in eggs is not a big problem at your place, raw egg youlk = the yellow of the egg, is very nourishing.  Have it with this kmr or wet food.

If you can get goat milk, it is nourishing too, esp combined with said egg yolk....

A couple of forumits mentioned these two adresses to find cheap or even free vets for spaying.

Such a vet will probably make a cheap check up, and advice on best deworming and such.

Observe vets seldom do the selve fostering of kittens, so for this a dedicated rescuer is still the best!

Maewkaew wrote: "
If you are in the U.S. ,  the ASPCA has an online database.  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/spayneuter

 Or here is a hotline number that will find you a low cost clinic in your area  1-800-248-7729    ( Franksmom just posted this for someone on another thread,  and that poster called it and they were able to help him find some options at good prices.)    "

Good luck!

I guess I should have mentioned- I do have two other pets who are spayed/neutered with all shots up to date. I am a responsible pet owner. I will be able to have him fixed when he is big enough, shots as well. I have a low cost vet that we use for those things. Unfortunately they do not handle more complex cases, they stick to the basics. I have spoken to them and they advised me not to take him to the city shelter due to the large percentage of kittens that are put down. I could have him dewormed at the lost cost vet. Is it advisable to do when he is in a fragile state? I just worry about medicine overwhelming his little system, but I know that parasites could be draining him as well. Are these the type of worms that would be visible to the naked eye in his stool, or not? Symptoms? Thanks for the advice, and please don't think I am irresponsible. I am just trying to make the best out of a bad situation. BTW, he ate a little wet food from my fingers for the first time tonight, and a little of the nutrical type supplement we bought. I have been forcing the milk replacer on him, and have been pretty successful today. Someone also lent me a little food scale, so I will be watching to see that he gains steadily from this point forward.

   There's different types of parasites he could have and some ( like roundworms)  might be visible  ( but not  if they don't let go until he is dewormed)  . other are so tiny they would not be visible  except under the microscope  ( like coccidia)  

   Common symptoms include very stinky poop,   diarrhea ,  bloated belly but skinny otherwise with lack of muscle,   fur not in good condition. 

 If possible you could get a stool sample tested   

  Re his condition and de-worming:  It is a dilemma when you have a rescue kitten that is not thriving.    but if he is full of parasites he is not going to be able to get proper nutrition through the digestive tract.  So it pretty much comes down to there's not much choice  to wait very long.   but definitely only use a dewormer approved by the vet for young kittens.   

 You could first try for a couple days to build him up  with small feedings every 3-4 hours as suggested in  the good comments above.  

For deciding how much to feed,  the kitten-rescue.com site has a feeding schedule that tells how much they should get a day based on age.   ( it is actually better to base it on weight.    but whatI would do is feed more feedings per day than it says for  a 6 week old kitten. 

Since you do have a good relationship with that low cost vet,  I would discuss with them about if you should de-worm right away and what kind of parasites to treat for.  For starters Roundworms  since just about any stray kitten will have them.    

 If the vet is warning not to take him to the city pound because of all the kittens being put down,  I would believe him!    at some pounds kittens under 7 weeks or so and without a mother are taken straight to the kill room.  Even if they do not automatically do that just based on age and being motherless,   a kitten who won't eat on his own and has to be bottle or syringe fed does not stand much chance at a lot of pounds since he takes extra work.    

  Basically even if you cannot offer him much in the way of vet care,  he probably stands a better chance with you than at the pound.   where he is also more at risk of disease. 

    But one other idea is,  if  you're in the U.S.  you could search on Petfinder.com for animal welfare groups in your area.  and if you find some other  rescue around besides the one that has shut down,   you could at least ask them if there is any way they could help with vet bills or something even if you keep the kitten .  There may not be a big chance  but it can't hurt to ask. 

tulosai said:

I know you said don't even mention the vet to you, but he really needs to see a vet, and not just because he is not eating, but for a lot of other reasons, including but not limited to:

-routine shots (he is due for his first ones soon)

-fecal sample

-probable deworming (should possibly have already happened)

-general well kitten exam including weighing, taking temp, making sure seems outwardly healthy

Click to expand...

I agree that he needs to be vet checked for all these reasons and more. The big concern I see that was mentioned by others is the possibility of worms. And, if he has them (or even if he has anything else) there is a huge risk of him passing them on to your other two felines. It sounds like they have been in close proximity so separation at this point probably won't do much good, but you do want to find out if there are any illnesses playing a role in his failure to thrive so that you can not only treat him but your others as well before they too become sick. 

I know it's frustrating- you try to do a good thing by rescuing the little guy and it comes with a whole lot of financial baggage. At least it sounds like you do have good connections with the low cost vet clinic and thankfully, things like stool analysis and de-worming are very routine. I agree with MaewKaew too that it's a delicate balance on whether to deworm or not when his health is already iffy. I'd say if his stool culture comes back positive you do it. Otherwise his chances are not good as there is no way his body can get the nutrients he needs to grow. 

I would have him seen sooner rather than later to give him the best chance possible. Other than that just keep weaning him using the very good advice already given. It takes time but he will catch on!

Vibes that he starts to improve! 

maewkaew said:

 
Since you do have a good relationship with that low cost vet,  I would discuss with them about if you should de-worm right away and what kind of parasites to treat for.  For starters Roundworms  since just about any stray kitten will have them.    

 If the vet is warning not to take him to the city pound because of all the kittens being put down,  I would believe him!    at some pounds kittens under 7 weeks or so and without a mother are taken straight to the kill room.  Even if they do not automatically do that just based on age and being motherless,   a kitten who won't eat on his own and has to be bottle or syringe fed does not stand much chance at a lot of pounds since he takes extra work.    

  Basically even if you cannot offer him much in the way of vet care,  he probably stands a better chance with you than at the pound.   where he is also more at risk of disease. 

Click to expand...

 I agree with the advices above.   If you by any reason cant consult your vet, preparates whose active part is Pyrantel  should be OK.   the swedish most renown brand Banminth is wellknown as being mild to kittens, they can get it already at 2+ weeks.

Probably no name brands are similiar, as soon they dont contain other unnecessary extras as active part (they do sometimes)

I agree also on this beware of pounds.  Although there is a nice variation Re surrending them there. It is, you surrend them as the legal owner, but are still the fosterer of said kitten, ie you are becoming a fostering home for them.  and they help with vet cost and later on, advertising for adoption home..

Such can work out, as their thight point is always place, but not always the money as such...

But if you cant make such an agreement, do NOT submit the kitten to any pound, even a decent pound - it has better practical chance with you.

Good luck!

maewkaew said:

   There's different types of parasites he could have and some ( like roundworms)  might be visible  ( but not  if they don't let go until he is dewormed)  . other are so tiny they would not be visible  except under the microscope  ( like coccidia)  

   Common symptoms include very stinky poop,   diarrhea ,  bloated belly but skinny otherwise with lack of muscle,   fur not in good condition. 

 If possible you could get a stool sample tested   

Click to expand...

I am only quoting a small part of the post, but basically I agree with the whole thing. If he has worms it is very possible that is a big part of the reason he is not thriving so the advantages of treating for them t this point probably outweigh disadvantages.  I hope I didn't sound too harsh about the vet. I am glad to hear you do have a relationship with one.

Hi, everyone. My little kitten is doing better today! I have increased the frequency of his feedings to every 2 hours or so, and added 3 pea sized servings of the high calorie supplement to his diet. While he isn't up and running yet (I expect he will need extra rest to recuperate), I see a huge difference in him today. He has been playful and alert and seems content. His stools have always looked perfectly normal, but he is now defecating more frequently. He is also peeing like crazy, which I take as a sign of good hydration. Is there a limit to how much of the high cal stuff (like nutrical) he can have? He loves it, but he is still really iffy about the wet food. Today he is weighing in at 232 grams, yesterday he was 222 grams. He is still so tiny. I hope to fatten him up for a few days before deworming, as a few if you suggested. BTW, his name is Nermal, after the gray kitten in the Garfield cartoons. And yes, I have a big orange cat named Garfield! Thank you all for your help thus far.

 OMG Nermal! That is the best cat name ever!

I so glad to hear he is doing better! Also glad to hear it sounds like you are still going to de worm him, which I do think is part of the problem. 

As for the Nutri-Cal: follow the instructions on the package carefully. Too much and he could get really bad diarrhea. That stuff is rich! 

Vibes he continues to get better!

He is perched on my shoulder as we speak. (Yesterday he was too weak to climb up.) He actually ate one piece of dry kitten food today, which is a first and very impressive for him.

. Nerm today.

I am SO glad to hear he is doing better 

Nerm is adorable !  and I hope he's continuing to do better and  can soon go ahead and get de-wormed. because that probably is affecting him.