Newborn Kittens

A feral cat we rescued awhile ago (and still can not get near, that's why she isn't spayed yet) had three kittens today. She abandoned one of them, and squirreled away the other two to a hidey-hole that we can't find. We noticed the one all alone in the box they were in before, but no sign of mama anywhere. We have him clean and dry, and are doing everything we're supposed to. We purchased kitten formula, burp him, and stimulated him into going to the bathroom. This is our first time dealing with newborn kittens; does anyone have any advice, suggestions, or any information that could be useful?

Thank-you! 

The most important thing is to keep the kitten warm. Don't try to feed him when he is cold because he won't be able to digest properly. A covered hot water bottle or a heating pad work well, or you can just hold him close to your skin so he shares your body warmth.

When you feed him keep him lying on his belly, not belly up as you would feed a human baby, so that he doesn't inhale any of the formula.

I'm sure some of our experts will be along soon with some more advice for you.

Good luck to you and the little one.

Thank-you!

We have a rice bag wrapped in a towel to keep him warm, and we feed him belly down. Glad to know we're on the right track!

wow, how exciting!   I really hope it will go well.  If he is healthy, it should go well.   as a big bonus you will have him fully socialized to humans...   

One problem is, why did the mom abandoned it?  Didnt she had time to fetch all three, or  did she though it was some fault with it?  They often abandon sick kittens.  Although, such a kitten can often be saved by good human care, so proceed!

Weighting him every day will make it easier for you to follow his progress - positive or negative.

Two good links is http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens

www.kitten-rescue.com has a wealth of practical knowledge.

If you google, the typical words are hand-rearing kitten or handraising kitten...

Re. the mom and her spaying: dont wait till she comes to your hands and carrier, so you can take her to the vet for spaying.  Take her in a trap, or similiar, and off to the vet you go!

She will surely return, you are after all her main food source.  

With a little luck, she may even allow you to come and fetch her kittens.  In such a case, she will follow you and her kittens into your house and their prepared room.

Exactly such a thing did happened with one of our forumites the other day...   My scenario was filled up into every dot and cross.

Good luck!

Solid advice all around so far. The most important thing (after keeping him warm) really is weighing him. He should be gaining weight every day (about 1/3 of an ounce or 10 grams, and more is better!). 

Good luck PLEASE let us know if you have any questions or if anything comes up!

Thanks, everyone!

Mama cat IS in our house, and so are the kittens (wherever she's hidden them). I'm just hoping she didn't give up on the other two. She's too smart for traps, I always give in because I can't stand to see her starving.

I will have to buy a scale!

My only other concern is he hasn't had a bowel movement yet. We've been stimulating him, and he urinates just fine, but he is barely 24 hours old, so I'm not sure how long is TOO long.

What a cutie!

In general, kittens should poop after about every 2 or 3 feedings.

Constipation in bottle fed kittens is very common; usually because the formula is too concentrated. For the next few feedings, increase the amount of water in the mixture to 50:50. Gently massage the belly and then try to stimulate him. If this doesn't work, and provide the kitten is suckling from the bottle well, you can add a drop or two of vegetable oil into the formula.
 

I hope this is helpful!

Thank-you for the advice! Diluting it is, and will try the vegetable oil if that doesn't work.

And if THAT doesn't work, phoning the vet.

Also, you can go to www.alleycat.org    which is Alley Cat Allies.  On the home page, up top, click on GET HELP  and there is a lot of info on newborn and growing kittens......they also have a terrific 90 minute recorded FREE webinar that you can click on and watch/listen to at your convenience, which is excellent.   If you send me a private message with your e-mail I will send you my link for the webinar.  Not sure how to do it on this posting.  

Like the other person said, keeping them WARM is critical.

First & foremost congratulations to you for becoming a new fur-mom to that precious kitten. That little one is truly blessed to have you overlooking her care.
As for her constipation problem - when you massage her belly always massge from lower right side of abdomen up towards her face, & across her upper abdomen right to left & then from the upper left side of her abdomen downward towards her tail. This process follows her/his digestive tract If you massage in the opposite direction (l-r) you can make the kitten more constipated. BUT if the kitten gets diarrhea then massage left to right. This will help move fluid back into their digestive tract keeping the kitten from becoming dehydrated. Good luck with the kitten, her/his momma & siblings.
MsCharley - Lic. Massage Therapist

Thank-you, thank-you, thank you!!

He had a bowel movement this morning.
Getting formula-drunk.

The sad news is, we STILL can't find the other two kittens. We can't hear them, either. I read that juvenile mothers will sometimes kill their kittens if they become too overwhelmed. We had never planned on separating any of the babies from her, but now I wish I would have scooped them all up, and not waited for her to abandon one before taking over. Our house is really not that big, nor complicated, but evidently there are places we don't know about.

Oh my! He's growing up so fast! He looks nice and healthy. What are you going to name him?

We're not sure yet...My boyfriend wants to name him "Chaplin" because of the milk mustache he gets when feeding, but it's not a for sure thing yet. I honestly wasn't sure if he'd even make it this long, but he's doing really well, thanks to everyone in this thread's help!

Chaplin sounds like a nice name.

He is so cute! 

Just remember that kittens this young, doesn't really poop that much. In the beginning, I didn't even understand what it was, but maybe that's just me   

I figured as much, but it still worries me. Can't just go along and lax or supp a cat like I'm at work! (Well, I can't, anyways; although I think the oil did work).

I was looking for information about how much poop there should be per potty session, but I couldn't really find anything; he has a mouse turd-size bowel movement every time he goes. Is this healthy? Too little?

You should check with a vet about this.

For the Alley Cat Allies Kitten Care Webinar.....go to.......www.alleycat.org       

Then put    kitten   in the search box.  

Scroll down about 12 segments, then click on  NEONATAL KITTEN CARE WEBINARS ......then, when you get on that page, scroll about half way down page to   MISSED THE WEBINAR?    

You just register for free and you can view a video of the past webinar.  Its excellent and is about 90 minutes, but very tight, fast moving, take notes though, its a lot to take in. But at least you can go back and re-look because its recorded.   I don't recall that they said anything about 'mouse turd type stool,' but I could be wrong. 

They have a webinar in April too, but at this point, you can access the one from March by following the above directions.

I do agree with the others....you really need to take this kitten to the vet.   Its not normal I don't think, to have small mouse turd stool when a kitten is this young.  And if there is anything wrong, the one thing I  have learned from fostering kittens myself, when something is amiss, you have HOURS, not days, to get to the vet.   They go down very very fast if there is an issue.

I DO remember that kittens can get very dehydrated though and that can be dangerous.  I think a vet is in order, honey.  

Okay so I have a few comments and advice.

One is, to find the other kittens, here is how that works. (I would bet momma IS infact caring for them, and if you could close her in one space or room, she will take over caring for this one too.)

The fact that they are not crying is a good indicator that she is taking care of them.

If she is not, then stop any talking or human sounds completely, not even a whisper.

After 15 minutes, start searching, still no sounds at all. The only sounds should be your footsteps, and perhaps shuffling around, but no human sounds at all. No cough, sigh, nothing. (seriously)

When you are close to finding them, they will feel the vibrations from your movement, and begin to cry, as they believe momma is near and on her way to them.

For some reason,unknown to me but true, even though they can't hear yet, somehow they know a voice, don't ask, I know it sounds crazy. Voices are NOT momma, so they will be totally silent if they hear (well okay feel) any type of voice sounds, which is by instinct to prevent predators from finding them. Interesting yes?!

Body temp should never go lower than 98 degrees. Good temp is 98-100.

Heating pads are best so the temp stays regulated, set on low with a thin towel or covering for warmth, but too thick will not allow the heat to penetrate well enough.

When you potty, rather than rub, as you will see soon gets red and sore, tap with your finger. Works perfectly.

Feeding with a temp lower will kill the baby, as the food is not processed and becomes their worst enemy. 

Yes, momma needs to be spayed asap. If she is trap smart, borrow a drop trap, or even create one. 

Also, don't worry about the amt of poop, as long as he goes at least every other day, usually daily but if he skips a day it's not a tragedy.

Shlargh said:

 
I figured as much, but it still worries me. Can't just go along and lax or supp a cat like I'm at work! (Well, I can't, anyways; although I think the oil did work).

I was looking for information about how much poop there should be per potty session, but I couldn't really find anything; he has a mouse turd-size bowel movement every time he goes. Is this healthy? Too little?

Click to expand...

Mouse turd is perfect! But please, I'm no professional so don't believe anything I say. But I was told from someone who worked with cats, who assisted me one time with mine, that it was supposed to be like that, and it was pretty standard here