urgent mother cat accepting another

Hi molly lost both her kittens and accepted a kitten that was one day old from the shelter he is doing great and is a week and 5 days old eyes are opened a person has asked us if we can accept a week old kitten whose mom got killed will it work even though only one kitten is nursing at the moment would there be enough milk thanks

The kittens are close enough in age that the milk concentration should be about the same (it changes with kittens age) so IF she will accept a strange kitten and if he will nurse from her, it should be fine.  It is often good to wash and dry the new baby so it will have a neutral smell or she may hiss at it and reject it.  It all depends on the mother. 

Here are some tips:

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Cat-to-Nurse-a-Strange-Kitten

Yes, there is no reason not to try.  Cats can't count how many kittens they have, and there is no reason to think there would not be enough milk. There is a chance that mama cat will reject the kitten but this is no reason not to try, and more likely than not she will accept the kitten without much fanfare.  

Thank you I am going to pick up the kitten in an hour she accepted the first one with no problem I just wasn't sure because the kitten only nurses from one nip and I didn't know if the others could produce milk if haven't even been used ?

It should be okay. If you can bring a towel or blanket with you that has mama cat and kittens scent on it and wrap the new kitten in it on the way back to your place.. This will help kitten smell more appealing to mom. 

She will produce more milk as the second kitten nurses.  There's a thread going on here where a cat who had been spayed 10 days earlier  while very pregnant decided to co-mother another cat's newly born kittens, and within a few days, she had produced a full load of milk!  The two mamas are sharing the load now and it's working.

I'm actually picking up the kitten tomorrow just in case she doesn't take we will bring it back to the women trying to bottle feed is 4 oz very small for an 8 day old kitten my little kitten right now is about 12

Hi again  Just checking if you are prepared to supplement the new kitten with formula for a few days at first until you make sure she is gaining weight as she is so small. 4 ounces at 8 days is incredibly little.

Yes that's what I'm worrying about I'm picking the kitten up today around 130 she is sending me home with km r and instructions I also picked some up myself she told me the kitten just isn't accepting the bottle after losing its mother

Also could the kitten have something wrong like a disease the kitten mom was a stray who got killed and people took the kitten to a foster

I mean, that's a possibility for any kitten, but from what you've said it's pretty obvious that the most likely reason she is such a low weight is because she has not taken to the bottle after losing her mother.  Not eating enough will make any creature of any species underweight. 

One thing you can try (or if it doesn't work out the other foster can try) is feeding with a dropper not a bottle.  While it's more time consuming it's also more effective, especially when they are so young.

Babies who have started out nursing on a mother cat will often refuse a bottle and you do have to feed them with a dropper or syringe until they make the connection and start sucking on the syringe, then you can switch to a bottle.  I prefer the tiny 1 cc. syringes because you can control the amount and be very careful not to get too much in at once and choke a tiny kitten.  You can usually get one or two 1 cc. syringes free at any pharmacy by just asking for one (no needle) and tell them you are using it for medication dosing. 

Be sure to keep the kitten in an upright and leaning forward position, as it would be if it were nursing on a mama cat, because that will stop the liquid from going down the windpipe.  Don't ever feed tiny kittens on their backs like you would a human baby.  And don't forget to burp them too.  I'm sure the person bringing the kitten will remind you that you have to stimulate them to pee and poo.  You can do this with a cotton ball dipped in warm water, and then dry them with another cotton ball.  As long as the mama cat is taking care of this function, you don't have to worry about it, but if she isn't, make sure you do it.

When introducing an orphaned baby to a new mama and wanting the baby to nurse, I usually put some drops of formula on the nipple (and do it at his regular feeding time, so if you have been feeding him every 2-3 hours, introduce him when he is hungry.  In this case, I would try keeping the other baby away from the nipple for a good while so it will be full and easy for the little one to nurse from.  As for the mama cat, some of them will nurse any kitten (or even puppies!) but others may growl and move away if a new kitten doesn't smell right, which is why I generally bathe them first, but then I'm experienced in bathing and drying tiny kittens.  I wouldn't advise you to bathe the kitten if you aren't experienced.  To mask the scent of the new kitten if the mother growls or shows resistance, I usually put just the tiniest drop of something with a strong scent on her nose - like mint or catnip oil.  Once the new kitten has ingested the mother's milk and it has passed through his system, he will smell right and taste right to the mama and there will be no further problem.

Let us know how it's going -- and ask any other questions you may have.  Good luck!

I brought the kitten home molly accepted him I pretty sure he nursed from her to But I have some concerns he is much smaller and skinner than the kitten we have fur is not in great condition but this kitten acts older. He sticks his head up as if he is looking around crawls around climbs put of the box and I saw him licking his leg.

Are his eyes open? Is he walking for real or sort of dragging himself on his belly?

He is dragging himself around but much more than the kitten we have and his eyes are open

He might be older than was estimated then for sure, and just be really small.

I truly hope you will supplement him with a dropper for a few days.  It sounds like he desperately needs to be getting more food.

I'm so glad Molly accepted the new baby!  The difference between a hand-raised kitten and a mama-raised kitten is usually quite amazing.  Nothing can clean a kitten's coat like a mama cat's tongue, and nothing can nurture them like her milk.  Make sure the small one is getting lots of HER milk.  You can keep the bigger one away longer and even give it some of the formula o the little one will get more of mamas milk.  If all goes well, within a few days they will not be looking so different.  Kittens do usually choose a favorite nipple, so if you put the little guy on the currently active nipple first and the bigger one gets it second, the bigger one may start moving around looking for another nipple, and pretty soon she will have two active ones.

Yeah I'm really worried I'm not sure what could be wrong he doesn't look like a healthy chubby kitten

The little guy had a very rough beginning.  The fact that he has the strength to crawl around is a good sign, and if his eyes are open, he's more than one week old.  He's just been starving.  I've had them in this condition and they usually blossom when they get on a mom for a few days.  Make sure he stays close to her because he needs the warmth -- obviously has no stored body fat and can't generate his own body heat yet.  It sounds like he's a strong little guy and will make it as long as he eats and eats and eats.  His little tummy should feel round and full every time he has just eaten.  If she's washing him, his coat should look better by tomorrow.

Really and honestly, the most likely thing is quite simply that he has not been eating enough.  Between using the tips that @Red Top Rescue  mentions and supplementing him a bit with a  dropper, there is absolutely no reason he can't get turned around! My only tips that hasn't been mentioned recently is to weigh the little guy every day to monitor his weight.  He is clearly a fighter and I don't doubt you can save him.