Concerned about 5 week old kitten

zombeh

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I actually just joined, so bare with me if I do or say anything wrong.

Anyways, my cat has her three kittens last month and all went well (despite her ruining my bed sheets). They did fine at first but I noticed the one being lethargic and before I could get them to the vet she passed away. The vet said they were anemic because they had fleas and to bath the kittens with dish soap to clear them. (We tried giving flea treatments and even bombed out house before they were born to prevent this.) Sadly the little male kitten died (a week and a half ago), and I now have one. After the bath and constantly running a flea comb through over a week her she's doing alot better, but I suppose I'm still worried for her.. or maybe I'm just paranoid because her siblings did so bad.

Adabelle, the female kitten, will turn 5 weeks old tomorrow and I know it's almost that time to start to introduce her to wet cat food and wean her. However I've noticed her avoiding her mother, alot. The mom cat seems interested in Adabelle and grooms her, but when she settles down the kitten just wanders off far from her and lays down and sleeps. I think it may have to do with the location she's at now maybe- it's not a very great spot. Originally I had her in a next cozy box lined with towels and a heating pad in my closet but mom has since moved her to under and the side of my bed. It's a little awkward I suppose and chaotic when Adabelle wanders off and hides. (makes me constantly looking for her.) I haven't seen her be eating from her mom as well as she used to since she's avoiding her. The mother is abit rough with the kitten more then I've ever seen a cat. She constantly picks her up when she wanders off, but the kitten squirms and cries to the point she whelps and the mom drops her. I'm so used to kittens going calm and just hanging there as mom carries them.. I've never seen this before. She picks her up awkward by the head or her throat (not the scruff) and it's really really worrisome. I know I should just let mom do her job, but I can't stand hearing the kitten cry out when she carries her. (Usually I'll stop her and try to carry her for her now.) It's like mom wants to take care of the kitten but the kitten just outright refuses.

I haven't any wet cat food til I get my paycheck in a week. I tried giving her some shredded pieced of canned chicken which she didn't it. But I had some left over canned kitten formula from when her sibling was being lethargic and I tried to save him. She refuses to use the bottle and wont lap it from a bowl, so I tried using a small syringe I got from her de-worming medicine. After she tasted it she chews on the syringe and licks at it like she's hungry so I've been feeding her with that, but she still refuses to use a bowl or the bottle. She also drank a bit from the water dish before she decided to nap in the empty food bowl beside it once again away from her mother.

I'm not really sure what to do or if I'm being paranoid. Is this normal behavior for a kitten and the mother? I've never seen this happen before and even searching it up got me no where. I also want to try and litter train her- but she tries to eat the litter when I put her in there and I don't want it clumping in her tummy so I take her out. I'm abit inexperienced when it comes to kittens this age and caring for them. I'm jsut not sure how to go about this so my Adabelle grows up into nice and healthy cat.
 
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zombeh

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StefanZ

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Yes, I see there are problems, l agree.  You got to give her almost anything, just to get her perked up so she has forces to eat more and grow.  Use the dropper if nothing else works, yes.  Kitten formula is excellent (but do avoid Hartz).  Youghurt may be OK (plain unsweetened full fat), goat milk just fine,  Gerber baby food stage one, turkey or chicken - excellent....

Have some drop of honey on her gum, it should perk up extra energy, giving her force to eat more.

Or into this youghurt.  You can also melt in some butter into youghurt, making the yoghurt more fatty and nourishing...

Turkish youghurt is more fat than the usual youghurt, so it is also good.

Yes, they often try to eat cat litter. So its important to use a non clumping litter.

Here we see again how useful it is to weigh them every day as small kittens, and often as a little bigger kittens - you see if they do gain or not...  Ie if they do get enough with food or not...

Be so mommy to her you can, as the cooperation with the biological mom is so so,

make sure it is warm enough for her, but not too warm either.

ps.  Also, do massage her over the body, like a mom licking.  Or if you want, moms licking and washing IS in much a sort of massage...So you do it, if it doesnt work with mom.

  Stimulate some too if necessary.

Good luck!

Welcome to our Forums!
 
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catwoman707

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StefanZ's advice is good.

Your mom and babies sound just like what I went through recently.

I had a mom I pulled from the shelter who was about to be euthanized, she was due any minute.

Brought her home, set her up in a large cozy cage, and the next day, there were 3 kittens.

I've never had a mom act so rough and odd with her kids, but she would maul them and want to play around rather than lay there still and allow them to nurse.

Despite my intervening, we still lost 2, out of nowhere.

The last baby I named Binky, what a stinking doll, little tuxedo girl. I will show a pic if I can figure out this new way of adding photos!

Anyway, Binky became distant from mom, which she was all good with, she wasn't feeling the whole mom thing I guess. (??) Strange.

She turned out fine despite moms rough mauling, I mean I would watch on a monitor, her grabbing Binky by the entire head and whip her over, kick her with her back feet, but then start playing with her. Binky would sort of play dead. I would stare in shock.

Your kitten is going to go downhill, too young for this. She needs KMR. Chewing on the syringe is because it feels un natural, that's like when you first try to bottle feed a kitten they want it but it feels wrong, so it takes at least 3 attempts before they 'get it'.

Or goats milk, or baby food chicken only. At 5 weeks you can teach her to eat by putting some on your finger and sticking it in her mouth. If she is hungry she will check it out. She is old enough to do this.

Didn't she watch when mom eats? This usually start at 4 weeks, then they want what she has,.

When/if you syringe her, be sure to put it in her cheek rather than down her throat.

If you can go get a can of pate fancy feast kitten, that will be good. She won't starve herself unless she is already going downhill, then they sort of give up.

Don't let her do that.

Fleas will kill a young kitten fast too. Be sure her gums are nice and pink, not white.

If you have advantage (not frontline) put a couple drops on your fingertip and rub on her neck. It won't hurt her.

She is too small for frontline.
 
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zombeh

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I'm sorry to hear about your lost kittens catwoman707, I felt horrible when my two, Adabelle's siblings, went. It hit the most when the little male died /after/ we took them to a vet and got the ok. Your mom sounds much more rough with your kitten then mine. She nips at her sometimes but aside from her trying to carry her around really rough and wrong she's ok.

Glad I asked and I'm not being paranoid then. Is there something wrong with Hartz forumla? That's what I have so I'm abit worried now. She seems to enjoy it though,usually voluntarily licking and chewing on the syringe without me having to force her mouth open with it. I read that honey trick online today so I tried that. It was difficult getting it on her gums let alone in her mouth. She didn't like it much. I've been really watchful of her the rest of today and mom hasn't been as rough with her so I'm not sure. When I pick the kitten up and put her by her mom she's been staying near her lately and letting mom groom her. She's actually doing that right now. Adabelle sleeps alot, but when I talk to her or pick her up she's attentive and alert. Just really mellow; she doesn't walk around too often before she just lays down and relaxes. She doesn't even sleep sometimes she just likes laying there and looking about. I'm not sure if it's normal for her to sleep so much or if she should be trying to play and explore.

She watches mom eat and drink, so I'm not sure why she hasn't caught on. I opened the canned chicken up and shredded some for her and she didn't want anything to do with it. I even tried putting it up to her mouth with my finger. The mom ended up scarfing it down though after the kitten wandered off. When you say baby food do you mean like Gerber baby food or something else? Do you think packages tuna would be ok? I'll see about getting some Fancy Feast and wet cat food as soon as I can. I'll also look into getting the non clumping litter any recomended brands? I haven't actually seen her poop yet, or found anything. So I'm not sure if she's going someplace I can't find or if mom is eating it. She does pee alot though, had to clean up a few messes today which is why I'd like to get her litter trained as soon as she can.

I only have a can and a half of the kitten formula left (that stuff is way exspensive), when I can get the canned food do you think it'd be ok for her to eat just solely that instead of the formula? If she'll eat it that is. I looked at her gums and they're a paleish pink. I've been checking and combing her with the flea comb and not finding anything so I'm not sure why her gums are so pale. I had a heating pad under a towel for her to lay on near my bed to stay warm, but she refuses to lay on or near it. Any time I try putting her in a nice box lined with towels and the heating pad on one side moms moves her out of it and back under my bed. So I'm stumped on how to handle that. Is there anything else I can do for her to get her gums a healthier color? I'll also get some Advantage and put some on her neck, are you sure it wont hurt or make her sick though with her being so young?

Thankyou for the replies and help by the way, I really appreciate it.
 

catwoman707

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I'm not really sure why StefanZ said preferably not the hartz formula. I have always used KMR.

The honey or clear karo syrup is mainly to give them a small sugar rush and pep them up for a short period when they seem lethargic. It's useful if needed when baby is lacking interest in eating too.

At 5 weeks old, mentally she should be able to be teased with a small toy, very small otherwise it's more scary :) A little twisted up piece of paper, etc. and watch that she gets curious, eventually pawing/reaching to grab it. Sometimes when only one survives they lack the sibling play they grow into so not sure how to play but nature provides the natural curiosity all kittens get/have.

You will also notice her ears pull forward into curious/spunky/playmode. I love seeing that :)

If you tease her, she should become alert and curious.

Poop-wise, if she is eating less she is likely constipated now. Most times by 5 weeks they will recover on their own fine, as soon as she does eat enough to make a bowel movement, her first one might be rough but will work itself out :))

As long as she is getting nutrition through formula/canned, eventually her system will recover from the flea infestation that causes the low blood and you will see her gums get pinker.

Once she is eating on her own again, do her and yourself a big favor, pick up a small bag of Royal Canin's Babycat. Pink and white bag, not cheap but WELL worth it!! I have turned around literally countless nutrition deficient kittens, it's just the best, nothing else comes even close. Plus it is teeny tiny little bites, easy for babes to chew and eat.

Seriously, my kittens leave here thick and strong, with amazingly shiny/soft full fur and bright eyes.

Many times I have had litters of feral born kittens come here, spiny, thin/sparse rough fur, pot bellies and skinny limbs (clearly malnourished) dull eyes, and so on.

So bad that I'd lose a sibling or 2 within a day or 2 after they came to me because I didn't get them quite soon enough to save them, the siblings were touch and go, but end up pulling through, and in a month's time, look like a completely different kitten.

My volunteers who work at adoptions always tell me when I bring my latest litter to adoptions that they know mine will go right away, they always do! they tell me. "they just are so healthy looking and beautiful, it never fails!"

That is Babycat, I swear by it. So well worth it :)

For now, gerber or beechnut chicken baby food is good, in the beginning though. It's not good for more than a few days to get her eating again.

She would do good with fancy feast canned, either the classics type, or the kitten ones. (pink and blue label on small can)

Kitten ones are not sold everywhere so get some of the classics type.

Classic chicken, turkey, like that.

Until you (hopefully) pick up a small bag of Babycat she does not need any dry.

Tuna, well I would steer clear there. First of all, the mercury content in the fish is alot, and the fish flavor gets them hooked on eating that and only that, which is addicting for them and impossible to break later on. Trust that one!

At 5 weeks she holds her own body temp fine now. The heating pad, unless it's cold in the house, is probably not needed now.

You also should not have to potty her, she can easily go into a litterbox. Very shallow, low sides for easy access, cheap, non clumping clay litter.

She should NOT have full run of where she goes, she should be contained to a small area only, like half of a bedroom AT THE MOST.

Large areas are much too overwhelming for them, so much to see and investigate, and she will likely not be loyal to the litterbox. Small space, the box is right there very nearby, you will have perfect success!
 

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I'm not really sure why StefanZ said preferably not the hartz formula.
Some forumites had unpleasant experiences from some of the Hartz milk formulass. While to be fair, some others others found them sufficiently ok.

Im saying no more. While others are more clearly outspoken.  But those curious can use our search function.

In the meantime, I do recommend KMR or some other nice brand of kmr.  Or even goat milk if you do have access to it.

Good luck!
 

catwoman707

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StefanZ, I thought you gave very good advice!

I just have no experience with Hartz brand so I wasn't sure why you mentioned it, but thought you would likely elaborate :)

Your advice is always great!
 

StefanZ

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StefanZ, I thought you gave very good advice!

I just have no experience with Hartz brand so I wasn't sure why you mentioned it, but thought you would likely elaborate :)

Your advice is always great!
Im do not elaborate here purposefully.   I dont want to risk any law suits on me or on TCS, me being one of the teams Advisors. While being outspoken is riskfree for "common" forumists.

This is btw  one of the reasons more than one of our knowleable forumists has rejected to be an Advisor.  Being a "common" forumist, they can say anything they want, as long as they say it politely.  

  Or they can abstain from saying anything if they dont feel for it.   - ( I do also abstain from it sometimes, but Im paying for it with bad conscience, if there are nobody else who gives adequate answers.)

Tx Catwoman707 for the appreciating words. They are warming especielly as they come from such a greatly knowleable person in this field.  Tx.
 
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zombeh

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Ok so update~ And again thankyou for all the advice and help. She went from being a somewhat lethargic kitten to being really active and playful. She keeps trying to attack my laundry and exploring around more. I got her drinking the formula from a dish now and she drinks water some too. I also got her to eat the canned chicken shredded up last night which she seemed to like. I'm going later today to buy proper wet food and non clumping litter for her. On the other hand she keeps itching her one eye and it looks a little bit swollen. So I think she may be getting an eye infection. I'll be keeping an eye on it though and if it gets any worse or doesn't clear up I'll end up taking her to the vet.



These were taken last night and today :3 So thanks so much for helping me out with her she's doing alot better now.
 
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