2 week old abandoned kitten HELP

She is fine, I have found all bottle kittens do this. I think it looks kinda like when they fight their siblings for a nipple. You are not really going to be able to stop this behavior and I know it can be frustrating, especially with your hand getting torn up every few hours. My suggestion to save your hand would be to wear a glove, just one of the cheap cotton ones you wear in winter would work fine. That way you are not battling her making her frustrated too, and your hand will be safe from tiny sharp claws.

She is however grabbing my hand and scratching very intensely.

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You have to buy a small spray bottle and fill it with water. When she does something very naughty, just spray a tiny bit of water in her face. The naughty activity will immediately stop. You will need the spray bottle eventually anyway. We find it to be very effective to keep our cats off the kitchen table, counters, etc. We don't even have to spray the water now; just seeing the bottle is a sufficient deterrent.

Someone will come on her and say it is cruel to spritz with water, but I completely disagree. It does them no harm and I know of no other way to curb unwelcome behavior.

Primula, while your intentions are good, I have to completely disagree with using a squirt bottle on a two week old kitten! She is not doing anything behaviorally wrong, it is instinctual and would be exhibiting the same behavior nursing from mom. The only thing I see from squirting this kitten when she is doing this is causing issues with her and the bottle, and that is the last thing anyone wants to happen. I am not even sure if she would comprehend what she is even being squirted for at this young age. She is still equivalent to a human infant, and I doubt you would punish an infant for something.

^If you read my post properly. I was not referring to the time when the kitten is feeding from the bottle (although she scratches then also). I was referring to the time when the kitten spontaneously scratches the poster's hands.

Comparing a newborn kitten to a newborn infant is absurd. We diaper infants; we don't diaper kittens.

Another good thing the poster could do when the kitten scratches her hand (but not when she is feeding) is to immediately give her a toy to play with. When my youngest cat was 8 weeks old, she was very alarming with her biting of my hands. Once I started giving her a play toy at that time, she eventually lost interest in my hands.

The spray bottle has worked perfectly with my cats and they were not scarred by it. I stick with my advice.

I don't believe the op was referring to times outside the bottle. She is more than welcome to correct me if I am wrong.

Kittens this young are survival driven, they eat, sleep and poop. Very much like a human baby. They are not exhibiting behavior that is anything more than instinct and survival, which is why I don't agree with punishing. You mention curbing unwanted behavior from your 8 week old. Perfect after the kitten is about 4 weeks old they start to explore and play, this is an important time for learning. Giving the kitten a toy is not a bad idea, once the kitten is a little older. On another note, with my single orphans I have given them a stuffed toy for comfort in their bed. As they get older and are exploring what their mouths and limbs can do they bite and bat at it like they would with their mom and siblings. At this age I just have to disagree that the kitten is doing anything intentionally where it could be taught not to do it. Hopefully looking at the way a kitten grows and develops at this age will give you some insight into where I am coming from.

^As I said earlier, I stick with my advice. She can take it or she can leave it. We're here to offer options.

You can have the last word if you want it.

Primula,      there is a major difference between the behavior of a 2 week old kitten and an 8 week old kitten.  Distracting with a toy would be great advice  for dealing with an 8 week old kitten who is playing too rough and scratching your hand.    A 2 to 3 week old kitten does not  even play with toys yet ,  so you can't distract her that way.   

  and I do not think this 2 week old  kitten should  be sprayed in the face.   It would not accomplish much but making the kitten frightened and probably she would scratch harder in panic. 

lokisnewmom,    I would just do the gloves,  and  keep trying holding her still by the scruff.  

  You could maybe try to spend more time every day holding her - wrapped in a towel!   just in case some of her reaction is fear .   But if you're already doing that a lot and she normally is relaxed with you  , it is probably just being a very enthusiastic eater.    You should see them punching out their littermates with both little paws while they are fighting for a nipple . 

 You might want to try to wean her as early as you can.     Some kittens are able to start lapping  the formula or formula mixed with wet kitten food,  even as young as 3 weeks .   ( Did the vet agree on your estimate of the age?   If so , she must be almost 3 weeks now.  )

He said like 11 days to 2 weeks... Give or take a few fays on the +/- of 2 wks. I am concerned a little concerned now about he weight. She weighed 187 grams on 7/28 and today after 5 days she is only 226 grams. A gain of only about 40 grams. She eats all the time at least every 2 hours sometimes a little more or less. For 5 days is that ok?? I stress easily over things! She seems to be doing well but I know that there could still be something wrong.

Don't know about the weight gain but a suggestion about scratching - after feeding and pooping when kitten is asleep and practically comatose could you clip the tips of her claws - perhaps with a human baby nail scissor.

I also would not be spraying water in her face.
 

I would never spray her. That is absurd and she doesn't know any better. She isn't even 3 wks old. I have however taken a few precautions in regards to her weight. We live in a furnished basement and it stays kind of cold down here so I have shut the vents and started covering her box with a towel. Heating pad is on low but unfortunately it has an automatic shut off after 1 hour. She does have 2 rice buddies and a small teddy bear that I hope help her stay warm when it cuts off. The longest it stays off is 1-2 hours at any given time. I turn it back in immediately when I see it off. Maybe she is using to much energy due to it being a little cooler than normal?! She is eating very well but only gaining 4-6 grams a day. As far as her nails, they will be clipped when the hubby is home to help hold her. She is so strong and I don't want to hurt her if she waked up. Thanks everyone for all of the great advice so far.

 Well,  that weight gain is not awful,   but  you're right it is less than normal by at least 20%.  

 The positive thing is that at least she is gaining .     and this was right in the few days after her vet visit for her first shots and deworming.   It's possible that might have had some effect. 

 How much KMR is she getting per day now?    If she and you want to keep feeding every 2 hours that is fine,  but she also may be fine to go to every 4 hours now at least during the night.   But if you need to feed her more often to get enough KMR into her,  that's what you need to do.  

and  with her age and   weight ,  normally she should be fed about  2 to 2.25 ounces a day total .   If she IS getting at least that much,  and is still not gaining at least 10 grams per day,  I would be at least wonder why. 

  Check and make sure you are mixing it correctly. 

Speaking of de-worming, she just got her 2nd dewormer at that vet visit,  and it takes at least 2 treatments to get the worms at different stages of development  and worms could have been affecting her weight gain..   It is also possible that she might have picked up some other kind of intestinal parasite that needs a different medication.  You could have them check a stool sample.    It would be more likely if she had very stinky poop and/or diarrhea. . 

I would check for dehydration too since so much of their weight is water.  To check that,  take a pinch of skin on her back and pull up, and let go . It should snap back into place immediately, in a split second.  If it takes longer than a second she is at least somewhat dehydrated for some reason.    and the longer it takes, the more dehydrated. 

You might  be right about  the temperature possibly playing a role.    if she is shivering that would use up energy that should go to growth.

Basically the temperature in the nest  for kittens between 2 and 3 weeks old should be at least 27  C.  / 80 F.   but with her being a singleton ,  I would think it should be 29.5 C (85 F. )   This doesn't mean the whole room needs to be that temperature.   just that the kitten needs a part of her box  to be around 85 F.  

 Hopefully with the heating pad and the rice buddies  and blocking out drafts ,  you are probably succeeding at keeping the nest temp where it should be. 

In another week, if all goes well,   you won't need to keep the nest as warm as now.  She will just need to have a place she can get to that is like 79 -80 F.  

***    I should mention that if her temp drops below 34C. ( 93.2 F)  she can't digest her formula  and kittens should never be fed until warmed up above that temperature.  .  HOPEFULLY her temp is not dropping that low!    I doubt it is,    But if you are concerned,  check her temp.  At this age her normal rectal temp would be between 37 - 37.5 C.  (98.6 - 99.5 F.) .  Kittens have a lower body temperature than adult cats.  it gradually increases as they get older.  

Some kittens just are smaller and  gain less,  and turn out to be  healthy  .    Also they can go through stages where they dont grow as much and then grow more.    But I would definitely keep monitoring,   make sure she is getting enough calories,    is not having vomiting or diarrhea,  is not dehydrated,   is warm enough,  doesn't have fleas,  and  you could ask the vet about checking for other parasites.    Beyond  that,  there are health problems that make a cat have trouble absorbing their food.   but hopefully it is nothing like that and I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.  

Thanks you for that. I do want to make a correction tho. She hasn't had any shots yet only a first dewormer. I weighed her this morning and she was 240 grams!! She is starting to get around a lot better as well!

 Oh,  my fault .    I misread what you wrote.  I was thinking that was sure the earliest I had ever heard of shots being done!      It's  just as well she hasn't had them yet..  

Glad to hear she is 240 grams today.      She is going to get more and more mobile now!  

She is starting to walk around so I'm gonna upgrade her to a little bit bigger box!!

Loki loves her new box!! It's a clear tote that gives her plenty of room to explore. She isn't as whiny which is a good thing!! She is eating more at a time but now close to every 4 hours! I was shocked to get sleep last night lol she was 240 grams yesterday and when she wakes up I will weigh her again and hopefully she has gained.

She is up to 257 grams!! Yay she is doing so well

Glad to hear she is doing well!! Keep up the good work!

Her ears are up and teeth are coming in!! When I am feeding her she bites the nipple now more than she sucks. Should I try kitten food yet or is it to soon? She isn't pooping by herself yet but that will come soon. Thanks for any input!!

When they start to chew on the bottle, I start offering wet food. She may not know what to do with it yet, so you can put a small amount in her mouth to give her a taste. You can mix wet food with the formula to make a slurry to start. She will probably wear more food than she eats in the beginning. It can't hurt to offer her food if she is willing to try it.

I put some in her mouth and she could have cared less lol I will give it a few days and try again!