Newborn kitten: not feeding

My name is Paul and I have just joined this forum as I am a cat lover. We have 2 Tabby cats called Bailey who is a male and Crunchie who is female.

Yesterday Crunchie gave birth to 4 kittens and everything was fine until this afternoon. Crunchie keeps sitting on 1 of the kittens and looks like she moves the kitten away too. The kitten is cold and will not feed but does meow a lot. I have been in touch with our local vet and adviced me to buy powdered milk which I did and even made a bottle of milk but the kitten would not take it and also is not feeding from Crunchie. Its breaking my heart as im scared the kitten will die. Has anyone got any advice please.

Hi and welcome.

First, you absolutely have to get the kitten warm.  This is BEFORE you try to feed it.  Feeding a kitten that is too cold will kill it.

You have a few options for how to warm up the kitten.

1. Heating pad or something else that gives off heat.

2. Your own body.  Carry it around with you tucked in your shirt or similar. 

Once the kitty is warm, then you can try to feed it. 

Since the kitten is less than 48 hours old and at this point weak, it is not in a position to be able to use a bottle.  You are going to want to find a dropper and put the formula into that.  Then drop a few drops at a time into the kitten's cheek, wait for the kitten to take it in, and then drop ina  few more drops.  This is a bit time consuming but it is the safest, easiest, and best way to feed a kitten that is this young.  Make sure you are dropping the liquid into the cheek, not down the throat or directly into the mouth. 

Another good site for ideas is www.kitten-rescue.com

Good luck to you and the kitten.  Please let us know if you have any questions. 

I'm sorry to have to welcome you to the site under these circumstances, but I hope you find help! Good luck with your little one, sending healing vibes your way!

Thankyou  to Di and Bob and to Tulosai for your warm welcome.

Sadly the kitten the children named Fudge has died and she was a little girl, even though she was 48hrs old my heart is in pieces as she was the noisy one in the litter. Yesterday and this morning Fudge was well and feeding and I cannot understand what happened.

On a happier note the remaining 3 kittens are all well and feeding.

Thankyou again for your welcome and im sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I will put photos of the remaining kittens on here soon.

I am very sorry to hear this.  

Please get your cats spayed and neutered as soon as you can and do not allow the male to be with the female going forward until he has been neutered for some weeks. He may remain fertile for up to 6 weeks after neutering. It is possible for the female to get pregnant again immediately and is common that she might go into heat in the next day or two. It would not be healthy at all for her or the remaining kittens for her to be pregnant again now.

Even though it seems cruel beyond measure, sometimes mama and nature know best. There might have been something genetically wrong with poor Fudge, and mama knew it. But no matter what, you tried to save the little mite and surely you will be blessed for your efforts. Even though she was on this earth for only 48 hours she had your love and knew someone cared, thank you. Please know, little Fudge, that you were known and that you will be missed, I hope the angels will carry a kiss to you from me, RIP little one!

As another note, going forward, please weigh the other kittens daily to make sure they are not showing any potential signs of trouble.  They should be gaining at least 10 grams daily (about 1/3 of an ounce).

Thankyou all for your kind words and good advice regarding weighing the kittens.

I have been told by the vet to keep our male cat (Bailey) away from Crunchie and the 3 kittens till at least the kittens are a bit bigger, im worried Bailey will be a bit hissy towards the kittens when we introduce him to the kittens.

I will post some photos of the kittens in a few days time