I started fostering a kitten whose mama abandoned him and when i took him to the vet she said hed weighed about 2 weeks old but i know hes 4 weeks. Im nervous that he wont make it now. She recommened feeding him 40mls a day of kmr. Has anyone else had thid happen to them? Will he still survive and maybe just be smaller? He plays a lot and i have him on amoxicillin and i am deworming him too. Do you guys have any advive?
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My 4 week old weighs about a 2 week old kitten...what do i do?
- Thread starter superkitten
- Start Date
Weight itself is not necessarily that important. The main thing you should try to do is make sure that he is gaining weight, every day. This is extremely important, in a way that his actual weight (whatever it may be) is not. It is normal and okay to go a day here and there with either no change in weight or a loss in weight, but by and large, the kitten should be gaining some weight daily. You will need an accurate scale to measure this. Weight gain of about .3-.6 ounces daily is normal and healthy. Less than .3 is cause for concern. If you are measuring in grammes anywhere from 10 to 20 grammes per day (ish) is healthy.
You should be feeding the kitten as often as possible, ideally every 4 hours. If after a few days he is doing ok, it is ok to take 8 hours at night to rest if you can maintain the 4 hour schedule at other times.
Other things to watch out for is that the kitten is kept warm. Its eyes should be open well before now . This is also around the time when the kitten should begin to get quite active. It should be old enough to play with toys. it may also be old enough to try some solid food in addition to the KMR, but since it is still so small, frequent KMR feedings are essential. It should be urinating and deficating on its own.
Good luck with your kitten! There is no reason that he can't survive based on what you've told us assuming it is meeting the 'milestones' I briefly mention above. The fact that he is playing a lot is an excellent sign!!
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- #3
Oh thank you for the reply. So i should be feeding him at night time too? He doesnt poop on his own but that can be because he was having bad diarrhea he got 2 injections at the vets for severe dehydration. He seems very active and is always playing with me. He even lunges at me. Im glad that the weight isnt that big od a deal. I try to feed him a lot. His mom does still clean him but she isnt lactating anymore. He tried eating her pate the other day. Can he eat solid foods like that or is it to early?
If he's going for her food, he's ready 
. I usually start bottle babies on solid food when their little teeth first pop out (3-ish weeks usually), but kittens who are nursing from their mother usually wait longer. You can give him pate wet food mixed with kitten formula so it's mushy. Maybe add some probiotics because he's not getting beneficial bacteria from his mom's milk. I would still give him a bottle to prevent sucking fixation but he should be able to get much of his nutrition from the kitty food mush.
. I usually start bottle babies on solid food when their little teeth first pop out (3-ish weeks usually), but kittens who are nursing from their mother usually wait longer. You can give him pate wet food mixed with kitten formula so it's mushy. Maybe add some probiotics because he's not getting beneficial bacteria from his mom's milk. I would still give him a bottle to prevent sucking fixation but he should be able to get much of his nutrition from the kitty food mush.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Oh okay thats good to hear then! I will start giving him the pate then. Ill get him a nice natural organic brand with dha for his brain. =) mixing it with formula sounds like a great idea too!
