One day old premature kitten.... HELP!

Hi,
We found a newborn kitten with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached. we took it to the vet and he cut the umbilical cord. he is now a day older and has dropped from 68 grams to 63 grams. We were following the vets instructions of feeding every 3 hours but are thinking to increase it to every hour to an hour and a half. Is there anything we can do to try and increase his weight? how much and often should he need feeding? and how many times a day should he poo? His pee is clear now and he seems like a fighter... he can crawl and keep his head up. We are wanting to care for him till he is an old cat. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Rastaliam

How old is the kitten? I am really confused that you say the cord was still attached but that he is crawling.  

Aim to feed every 2 hours for now.  Make sure you are always feeding as much as he will take.  As for pooping, he should be pooping about once every 3 feedings, but some constipation immediately after beginning bottle feeding is common and not something to be alarmed about yet.  You can dilute the KMR some to try to help with this and can also try adding a few drops of oil.

How are you feeding him? Are you using a dropper or a bottle? How much is he taking in one sitting?

Also, something else very important is to be sure to keep him warm.  This actually should be the number one priority. Also make sure you weigh him at the same time each day to get an accurate reading.

Let us know if there are any other questions we can answer. Thank you so much for helping this kitten.

Here are an article you may also find helpful: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens

Hi and welcome to the cat site.

The first thing you must remember here is, the kitten is far too small, and it's chances of surviving are small, quite small.

It's not impossible, but despite your efforts, and even the fact that he lost weight, well it's not looking good.

He must be fed every 2 hours, round the clock, and based on this tiny kittens weight, should be fed about 20 mls per day, so about 2 mls each feeding.

If you weigh the kitten before the first morning feeding, it should gain a minimum of 6 grams daily.

On all four paws, head tilted up a bit, just a drop at a time into cheek area.

Never feed a cold baby. Organs are dormant and it will kill baby fast.

Potty after feedings, don't panick if there's no poop for a couple days at a time, but at least every other day, we like once a day but doesn't always happen.

About diluting formula to avoid or treat diahrea or constipation... be VERY careful doing that with such a small baby. They can get hypoglycemic very quickly, like in a matter of hours, and at that size they will fade quickly. Instead of diluting every bottle I try to alternate by using full strength formula, then for the next feeding dilute it. I prefer the powdered formula. I almost always have issues with the liquid.

I also would not use oil to combat constipation in such a tiny baby because it can go from slightly backed up to explosive diahrea very quickly (and that will cause dehydration). I would instead use a drop of laxitone or nutrical or clear karo syrup. By drop, I mean smaller than the head of a match before each feeding until you produce a bowel movement.

I agree about not panicking if you don't see poop for a day or two. I'd rather face that problem than bounce back and forth between constipation and diahrrea from messing with them.

And I also agree on survival rates. Singleton neonate orphans under a week old don't have a great survival rate anyhow, then you factor in a lack of colostrum, plus being premature, and the odds are stacked against him. However, the babies I have now were early (my smallest was 77 at birth and dropped to I think 73 - I'd have to go back and re read my thread or look through my chart) and she is over 500 grams now, so it can be done, though yours is significantly smaller. I would feed more often than every 3 hours, though. More like 1.5 to start. Maybe 2 to 2.5 at night.

Well he pooped early this morning... the first part was normal brown and pellet like and the rest was orange mushy liquid. Is this bad? Do I go to the vet? He has been less active and had less appetite since then but still having a little bit... Would it be overfeeding? @tulosai  by crawling I mean that he can move himself a small distance to warmth or to show he is hungry. We are using a bottle with a nipple but we are trying to get a little dropper but this long weekend has been a holiday here and not everything has been open. We just weighed him and he is 69 grams. We know the chances are slim but here is to hoping.
Thank you all for your help and support.

The weight gain is good news, congrats.

If he is less active one thing you can try to perk him up and get him to eat more is to put some caro syrup or glucose on his gum. If you absolutely can't get either, white sugar can work too but works much slower so is REALLY not ideal especially when he is so young.

The poop being orange is definitely not good.  This can indicate bile and if possible medical advice should be sought, yes.

I am sending major  to you and to kitten.

tulosai said:

 
The weight gain is good news, congrats.

If he is less active one thing you can try to perk him up and get him to eat more is to put some caro syrup or glucose on his gum. If you absolutely can't get either, white sugar can work too but works much slower so is REALLY not ideal especially when he is so young.

The poop being orange is definitely not good.  This can indicate bile and if possible medical advice should be sought, yes.

I am sending major 

to you and to kitten.

Click to expand...

rastaliam said:

 
Well he pooped early this morning... the first part was normal brown and pellet like and the rest was orange mushy liquid. Is this bad? Do I go to the vet? He has been less active and had less appetite since then but still having a little bit... Would it be overfeeding? @tulosai  by crawling I mean that he can move himself a small distance to warmth or to show he is hungry. We are using a bottle with a nipple but we are trying to get a little dropper but this long weekend has been a holiday here and not everything has been open. We just weighed him and he is 69 grams. We know the chances are slim but here is to hoping.
Thank you all for your help and support.

Click to expand...

The first part of the poo was really too hard, (brownish toothpaste is ideal) so this witness he was somewhat constipated.  Thus not peculiar he didnt made poo earlier...

The second isnt so good.  Better than constipation, not catastrophic but not good.   So if your vet is any good with kittens, yes it is wise to consult himher.

Less active and less appetite?   I would say, now when he has relieveded himself, he should perk up...  Im not believing in overfeeding unless you grossly overdo.   So potentially alarming, and another reason to contact your vet...

You sure he has enough with fluids?

If you dont have gears home, like dropper, glucose sugar / honey / white caro syrup, try and lend from your neigbours.  Tell them why, you need them to help this poor fella... The sociale norm is they do help you, even if they usually dont talk much with you.

Good luck!   *vibes!*

Over feeding poop is usually green and frothy (runny). Bright orange/yellow has always indicated parasites in the babies I've had, but a light yellow/tan is pretty normal in formula fed babies.

My vet will always assumes babies have parasites so we usually start deworming before doing a fecal, but if the poop is yellow they'll look for something like coccidia.

Do you have anyone you can take a stool sample too?

The huge majority of vets unfortunately do not have experience in newborn kittens. I used to waste my time years ago....

Poop in babies on kmr is going to be mushy, it's just the way it is.

Color should be yellow/tan/mustardy looking, if it is a bit watery it can be due to feeding too fast.

Don't worry about worms/parasites now, baby is too young to do anything about it, and impossible to determine parasitic involvement at this age.

You will definitely deworm but not yet either.

Focus on warmth and weight gain. 

Droppers aren't good in this size baby, it is too difficult to control the amt of milk you put in his cheek.

A 1 ml syringe (no needle) can be found at any vet or I believe supply places for pets too.

The weight gain is excellent! Feed every 2-2 1/2 hours, not longer. Vet said 3 hours, he is incorrect unfortunately. That is too long for a tiny newborn baby.