6 day old kitten very huge! HELP!

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alexander3110

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Well my cat recently gave birth to 4 kittens 3 of them are normal but one of them cant stop breastfeeding, he is very huge and I am worried he will explode, I will upload a photo if someone would like to see this kitten. I have been keeping him away from his mother because he doesn't stop breastfeeding I am really worried something may be wrong with him and I am not sure on what to do. Please any advice is greatly appreciated. I have contacted a vet asking him if it may be a worm or something similar he told me even if it was there is nothing he can do, any medicine applied on him may kill him he has instructed me to keep him on diet hours (several hours without breastfeeding then limited time on breastfeeding for 30 min) Please I am extremely worried about this cute kitten I would love the help! The kitten is only 6 days old my cat gave birth before and this is the first time one of the kittens became this huge so early!
 

nora1

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Are you able to weigh the kitten? Do you have a food scale? A food scale will be able to give you a weight in grams.
 

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I agree about the scale and weighing the kittens daily.

Was the mom an outdoor cat or stray that you found? When was she last dewormed? Were the kittens born outside?
You can administer deworming medication to the mom and the kittens will get some benefit from it if they do have parasites.

I honestly don't like the idea of this kitten being kept apart from the mom. If you do choose to, however, the kitten needs to eat every 3 hrs around the clock. And, make sure you weigh him on a daily basis. Since he is nursing, you will not be able to tell how much milk he is getting.
 
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alexander3110

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Also I am not sure he is sleeping or resting, after not being touched for 40 mins he becomes silent but the moment anything touches him he starts searching for his mother breast and starts meowing, this is really unusual for me I have nursed he mother previous births but non of the kittens before were like this I am worried he may starve on his diet but I am also worried keeping him with his mom will kill him. I really need help if anyone is familiar with this situation or has gone through something similar please help me.
 
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alexander3110

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The cat gave birth inside although the father is a stray, unlike her other births where the fathers were house cats this pregnancy was a mistake with a stray, the mother is very healthy and has no parasites.
 

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Is his stomach just pushed out to one side? It appears to have a huge belly for any kitten I have seen bottle or breast fed.  I would try to have just a physical exam of him performed with no meds at all just to see if vet feels something.

How does he act otherwise when with Mom?  She look unsettled with him around?
 
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alexander3110

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The mother treats this kitten the same way as all the other, his belly is very big for a 6 day old I am really worried!
 

catsallaround

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Does the belly get smaller and are you SURE this kitten is able to and passes poop?  In rare cases they sometimes fail to have an anus.  I would think it would  be in pain though but worth mentioning.  
 
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alexander3110

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The kitten is larger on his right side than his left one
 
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alexander3110

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The kitten does poop, I have seen the remains on the cotton he is placed on
 

catsallaround

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The larger on one side strikes me as odd and that is why I would get a exam just to see if the vet could feel or explain that.  I have seen VERY round kittens but never just to one side. 
 
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alexander3110

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The kitten does not sleep or rest he is always awake, also I think its in pain (after being silent or sleeping the moment anything touches him he wakes up looking for him mother. Tomorrow I will start giving him milk through a bottle, I think staying with his mother will kill him since he does not stop breastfeeding. I am worried about him and about what to do. If there are any professional vets please help inform me on what to do, I would greatly appreciate it!
 

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I REALLY think he needs to have an exam*by me that is 40-60 depending on the vet.  Many will drop it as at week old not much to examine).  If that is not a possibility I would consider surrendering him knowing most likely nothing would be done and hime put to sleep if you THINK he is in pain.  You say it is not her first litter so I take it you have some kitten experience of what is normal and what is not.

As a side note-If you have other cats in the house I would look into programs now to get the spayed or neutered.  Sometimes they have free clinics around this time of the year but LONG wait lists.
 

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After seeing these pics, you need to get the kitten to the vet ASAP!

This could be a blockage, a hernia or a tumor. This is VERY abnormal (as you are aware.). His condition is not related to "overeating."
 
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alexander3110

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The cat does poop, but its really large comparing to the other kittens, so I am not sure it is a blockage.
 

sapphira80

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I'm not a vet, but since his right side is swollen, I would be worried that he has abnormally large organs (liver or intestine) or possibly FIP, aka peritonitis, or an infection of the abdominal cavity. Even though mama cat isn't sick, the kitten has a weak immune system and cant fight stuff off the same as an adult.

I would definitely take him to the vet, and if that's not financially feasible, I would take him to animal shelter or vet to surrender him for care. They can figure out his issue and then find him a good home once he is bigger. Good luck!
 
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alexander3110

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after contacting a vet he advised me to "massage" the cat. Him swelling up was his lack of digesting his food the way most kittens have help digesting is when the mother cat licks her babies to massage them and ease their digestion process, sadly unlike his brothers this kitten does not stop feeding from his mom and well his stomach isn't getting enough digestion thus causing the kitten to swell up. I am still open to suggestions. The reason the fed didn't give any medicine for the kitten is because the medicine for digestion would kill the kitten this early in life, and the mom cant pass the medicine through milk because the medicine would cause the mother to not lactate more than needed. Once again I am still open to any suggestions to help with this problem.
 

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This is very interesting. Maybe to prevent him from constantly eating, remove the mother for periods of time during the day? I would suggest moving him but being so young that doesn't seem appropriate. If you remove the mom for periods of time throughout the day, she can rest and her kittens have time to rest and digest. When you put her back in with them she will begin grooming and nursing them almost immediately. 
 
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