Abandoned kitten... help needed

hi,

I am new here and I am way over my head.

I found a kitten on my way to school today (in the middle of the road no less, lucky he was small enough and in the middle of the road enough that no car had hit him) and brought it to the vet immediately.

His eyes are open and able to move but legs not fully extended when walking (crawling very fast). His ears are still folded in and seem very healthy overall. The vet agree and determined his age to be about 1 month old. And still nursing.

since this is the first time ever I am hand raising a kitten, I have multiple questions:

1. how do you know when the kitten is hungry (ie: feeding time)

2. Is it normal for him to only drink few drops (2 ml tops) per session

3.how do you know if it poop or pee already (the vet showed me how to help it defecate, by bring soft wet cotton bud back and forth)

Thank you for saving that baby. Did the vet tell you how old they thought it was? Generally you feed a tiny one every two hours, but they'll make sure to tell you when they're hungry. Depending on the size of the kitten, it may not drink a lot at first. Hold the bottle at an angle and make sure the hole in the nipple produces a good sized drop when squeezed, but not an uncontrollable drip. Don't want to drown the poor thing. If the kitten seems to feed for a long time but still doesn't get much, the hole may be too small. When you're wiping it's bottom to make it potty you'll know when it does. With mine I did it with every feeding, it may not poo every time but it should pee. It should poo a few times a day, at least. Use a warm, damp cloth and blot the area gently. My last little boy could pee an arch clear across the sink. It doesn't take much for pee, sometimes you have to rub a bit to get poo. The poo should be like paste, if it's runny the formula is probably too diluted, if it's hard it's too concentrated. If it's a powder fomula that you're useing. I prefer to use canned formula or making my own over the powdered stuff. If the baby doesn't poo for more than a day take it to the vet. Bowel obstruction is dangerous in a tiny baby. If you have any questions don't be afraid to call your vet, day or night. 

Here's my last baby at 10 days old. It's just like having a newborn, but they grow up much faster so enjoy it while it lasts.

Oh bless your heart!  Mama may have been moving the kitten and dropped it.

Every two hours is a good schedule, although like carebearbaby says, the kitten will let you know.  You will need lots of old towels as the kitty will pee and poop in the nest until he or she learns to use the box.  You can use a tote and line it with the towel.  Towels are a bit better than blankets, as they are thicker, a little more absorbent and easy to toss in the washer.  You might line the tote first with a pee pad to help keep pee from leaking into the tote (and having to wash it out with every towel change).

Thank you for helping this baby!

She said its about 1 month old...but i think probably less since he cant walk properly and his ears are still folded in.

I've been helping it pee and poo. It pee this morning but hadn't poo yet. Do I stimulate the poo reflex by massaging the anus or is itvthe same technique as the peeing motion?

Also, how much milk should he be drinking in ml or cc? He's drinking about 2 ml persession and very fussy eater. He doesnt like the bottle nipple since the drip really slow. Syringe is better but i dont think he likes it to since its quite hard. So i want to attach the nipple to the syringe and hope for the best.

He's fat baby

Hi. 

Thank you for rescuing this little fellow.

An easy way to get them to poop is to hold them with one hand under their belly, stand by the sink with the warm water running, wet the fingers of your other hand and gently tap their butt with your damp fingers. Tapping is better than rubbing as they won't get sore and if you hold them over the sink with the water running it's easier to clean them up afterwards.

Have you weighed him? You can use kitchen scales to check his weight. As long as he is gaining a little weight every day and not losing 2 ml is probably enough every couple of hours.

It's good that he's fat. 

Any pictures?

He hasn't poop yet, but pee like a pro

You know you shall feed in lying on the tummy, head up, like it would do from his mom.  2ml is little, but better too litle than too much - if they drink too quickly of too much, they may get some into wrong throat = into lungs.  NOT good...

A dropper is even easier, even as the portions are small...

You do have a good kmr or goat milk?

Re the tip about washing out the eliminations.  Make sure there is no draugh, and its warm in the room.  And you dry off afterwards...  Otherwise, its an excellent little trick.   Not risking eeither their skin gets sore with the stimulating efforts.

The site www.kitten-rescue.com should give you some ideas.   In 10 hours I shall try to give you some other links, when Im back with my normal computer.

Tx for helping this lillte guy!

Good luck!

Thank you guys.... you have been very helpful.

I even made potato pouch out of old log sleeved shirt and he seemed to love it from all the kneading he's doing to my bruised chest!

He's on lactol (its the only milk replacement in my country....suitable for kitten)

he's drinking at least 6 ml (but usually 9 and up) persession.

but he hasn't pooped yet? I keep waiting for that poop to come  but he just peed instead. he doesn't seemed to be in distress and his belly is round but doesn't seem to differ much from picture of carebearbaby1's little kitten.

Oh my heart, what a doll baby!

If he doesn't poop soon, call the vet.  His system may be getting used to the new mile and he may need a gentle laxative.  The vet will know.

he pooped three times today...on his own.

but unfortunately I was not there to witness the first two times. but he pooped the last time I stimulate him. it was yellow and loose which made me very worried.

he is about 270 gram ( 9.5 ounce)

he is on lactol (1 par milk powder 4 parts water as instructed).

Am I overfeeding him?

what can I do other than using pedialyte? should I watered down the formula?

Yellow and loose is about right, actually.  On the kitten milk, their stool will look like that.  I wouldn't water it down.

No clue about the pedialyte, - sorry!

so he's not having diarrhea then?

its just I had a bit of panic attack when he suddenly pooped this yellow loose liquidy poop when I tried to make him pee after not pooping for three days . and pooped 3 times in a span of a day.

this morning poop is a bit more solid, though I can't be sure since he pooped on his own and it was dry by the time I was there.

I don't want to start overfeeding him though, but I can't seem to tell if his hungry or just want to suckle my finger. he cried loudly when he sees me and suckle my fingers and face regardless if i just fed him or not.

how much milk should i give him? per day/

as said before he is about 260-270 gram (he can't sit still when I measure his weight)

I don't exactly know his age but he seemed to be about two weeks (he is still shaky when he tried to walk).

Most babies that young have loose stool.  I would not worry about it unless it gets absolutely watery.  I've sometimes said I wish I could invent a pacifier for kittens.

He is used to being next to a warm body (mom and/or siblings).  One thing you can do is give him a stuffed animal or something similar.  Don't use anything very soft, like a pillow).

Amazon has a product that has a heart beat:     They may have it or something similar at PetSmart

Its a little pricey but I got one when I was fostering babies.  You could put a ticking clock near him but give him something cuddly and warm to snuggle when you can't.  It will help calm him down, as he is anxious tat being alone.

Thanks for all your help....I don't think I would survive with out your very useful tips and links.

Here are the links I was thinking on.

http://www.kittenrescue.org/index.php/cat-care/kitten-care-handbook/

http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm  about  kitten-glop (goatmilk instead of evaporated milk is good) .this  site is about kitten-care, by a Bengalbreeder, so look up the other links there too....

The poo is prob somewhat rare, but as mentioned, better this than too hard.

The perfect consistency is somewhat alike toothpaste, so it is quite more rare than the adult poo they get when they begin to eat solid foods...

Good luck!

Fat baby had diarrhea the whole day yesterday and had lose his appetite and diaper rash. We went to the doctor today and said he probably couldn't drink the lactol milk and suggest to switch to wet food. He's been dewormed, on antibiotic and anti-diarrhea medicine(/my poor baby).

I couldn't find KMR anywhere to replace the lactol, only something called 2nd step KMR(for weaning kitten from milk to solid food).

I've been googling about making a kmr sub instead but most recipes have gelatin in them...which is very hard to find in my country (agar powder is more available). and no karo syrup or pedialyte.

I am very worried. does anyone have any suggestion?

should I just give him the 2nd step KMR or mix both as suggested on the back?

he still cant drink milk out of a bowl (he keeps sucking instead of licking).

I made formula for my last baby. I used 1 can goat's milk, 1 cup regular yogurt (no nonfat), 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon Karo syrup. Stir it all together really well and keep refrigerated. I got the recipe from my coworker who breeds show dogs. Only get out as much as you need for a feeding and warm the bottle in hot water. It worked great for Monster and he's happy and healthy at 10 months old. 

I've only used KMR and if I recall correctly, the Stage 2 is a little thicker.  I see nothing wrong with mixing it, as long as it comes out of the bottle easily.  He is a little young to try to lap up milk yet, although he may try (and make a mess, guaranteed!)

Hang in there, keep an eye on his poo and make sure it isn't too watery.  Changes in his diet will change his poo.

Thanks for the reply.

I've been mixing the 2nd step with water instead with lactol milk since the vet said Fat baby was probably sensitive to it and I don't want to aggravate his tummy further. He seemed to like his 2nd step and I've been mixing 1 part 2nd step with 3 parts water and 2 teaspoon powder, three times a day from a syringe nipple hybrid.. no diarrhea since yesterday (he hadn't pooped yet), so he's okay with 2nd step, but that could just be the diarrhea medicine working

I am just worried that he is too young for 2nd step. since the tin recommend 4-6 weeks that could already drink from a bowl. he can't drink from a bowl but the vet did recommend to change him to wet kitten food as soon as possible since he is probably sensitive to lactol, he has his teeth already, and can now walk instead of crawl though sometimes still a bit shaky.

should I water down the 2nd step more? since the instruction said to have bowl of water available for him (but he can't drink out of a bowl yet). I really don;t know what to do.

I want to make him the homemade kmr milk but there is no gelatine, goats milk(very expensive: 20-50 dollars for a box of tiny satchet or powdered goat's milk, and hard to find). or karo syrup.

could I keep him on 2nd step?

If you can't find anything else and the lactol is bothering his tummy, use the 2nd step for now.  It has the nutrients he needs, so he should be fine.  I wouldn't water it down anymore.