Is My Kitten's Behavior a Sign That He's Unhealthy?

Hello. My grandfather's cat had a litter about three or four days ago, but for whatever reason, she is not producing milk. For the past three days we have been bottle-feeding the surviving kitten milk-replacement formula, feeding him as much as he was willing to eat at a time.

Today, however, he hasn't been eating much. It's been nearly five hours since he last ate; he simply refuses to drink. He passed a firm stool about an hour or two ago, but that hasn't increased his appetite a bit. He is also mewing and moving less. When I place him next to his mother, he seemingly falls asleep right away, but he churns the air and silently opens and shuts his mouth, as if he's dreaming of nursing. His belly is nice and round, but, like I said, he hasn't eaten in a long time. Is this lack of appetite a cause for alarm?

For such a young kitten to go so long without eating is a bad sign. How have you been feeding him? He needs to be held belly down as he would be when nursing from his mother or the milk could get into his lungs. Have you been stimulating him to pee? Maybe his mother is doing that for him?

I'm concerned that his mother hasn't produced any milk either. I think the best thing you could do is take the baby and the mother to a vet as soon as possible.

You must stimulate the kittens to pee. This is an emergency. Take a paper towel, wet it with warm water and rub the kittens urethra and anus until nothing more comes out. Do this immediately.

Yes, its alarming - even emergency now.

also, kittens dont have solid poo, the normal consistency is toothpaste or even somewhat rarer.  I guess he is dehydrated!  Have with a dropper some water into him!  In the corner of the mouth at cheek, tummy down, like if he were nursing from mom.  A few drops at a time.   do it quite much now as he is dehydrated.   Later on, have a few drops water between feedings, if he survives this crisis.

Make sure he is warm - even warming up actively. when he isnt with mom, you can perhaps carry him at your chest?

You can perk some energy in him by smearing a little glucose on his gum.  Brand name may be dextrose.  If you dont have it at hand, use honey or white caro syrup.

Do it immediately, time is running now.

some vets are good with weak kittens, some arent so good. But even a not so good vet can inject some fluids into him, which is another trick to rehydrate him.

And the vet can hopefully help mom get milk, perhaps by an oxytoxin(?)  injection  Oxytoxcin is a hormone which causes the milk running on.   Make sure she gets enough with calcium too... give her perhaps plain full fat yoghurt, or some mild cheese.  goat milk is good if you can get it, goat milk is OK also for the baby.

Contiunue to report.

Good luck!

@Norachan  I just saw your message.....shoot!

This kitten is going to die, if it is not already too late, he needs immediate care now.

His breathing and your description of him 'dreaming of nursing' is not a dream, that is what babies do when they are literally dying. It's a death gasp. Sorry to be so blunt here, I don't know of any other way of saying what that is.

Poor little baby.

Taking care of a newborn kitten is basic, however there are some critical mistakes commonly made as well, which will cause the baby not to survive.

They must be warm constantly, not with a blanket, as this is for insulating something warm, but they have no way of warming, so there must be a heating pad/device for him all the time unless warmed by momma.

He needs feeding every 2 hours, syringed gently and slowly into the cheek area until he is stable and can begin using a bottle.

You must get a specific amt into him each feeding, and weighed daily to be sure he is gaining approx 10 grams every day, if not, then increase the amt of formula given.

He must be stimulated to potty, after every feeding, and pooping at least every other day.

When feeding, baby MUST be on tummy only, with head slightly tilted up to prevent inhalation of milk. Even the tiniest drop if inhaled, which happens SO easily at this age, will cause pneumonia and death within 24 hours.

How is the kitten today? If you haven't done so already, please call your vet asap and get the kitten medical care.