Some advice with an abandoned kitten

(I just posted this under the stray cat section and I couldn't figure out how to delete it)
Hi we found a kitten on Sunday morning that someone left in front of a donut shop in a crate with a piece of bread. (It's so sad someone could be so cold hearted) she is about 1 week old. We are guessing it's a female but can't tell even with YouTube and Internet searches. Her eyes are just starting to open and she weighs 5.8 oz. we got her kitten replacement formula and are feeding her with a syringe. She eats about 4-6ccs each feeding. I am not able to keep her permanently but I don't want her to go to a shelter and the cat rescue place is full so we offered to take care of her for a few weeks until we can find a home. We are keeping her in a box in our laundry room so it's quiet. We do have two dogs and a 10 month old and 8 year old. Keeping them away from her.
I have a list of questions I would like advice on that I didn't ask the rescue( they are closed for tonight) :
1. Eyes barely open and weighing 5.7 oz, am I correct she is about a week old?
2. How much should I be holding her and how much should I be letting her alone in her box?
3. She hasn't pooped since I got her. The rescue I talked to said its ok to wait 2 more days. But that would make it about 4 days has anyone else had this problem? I'm use in a warm cottenball and rubbing her stomach and private area.
4. When should I let my daughter 8yo hold her? I know she needs to be calm and gentle but not sure when she should touch her.
5. if there is anymore advice please let me know!

Thanks!

momma6714 said:

(I just posted this under the stray cat section and I couldn't figure out how to delete it)
Hi we found a kitten on Sunday morning that someone left in front of a donut shop in a crate with a piece of bread. (It's so sad someone could be so cold hearted) she is about 1 week old. We are guessing it's a female but can't tell even with YouTube and Internet searches. Her eyes are just starting to open and she weighs 5.8 oz. we got her kitten replacement formula and are feeding her with a syringe. She eats about 4-6ccs each feeding. I am not able to keep her permanently but I don't want her to go to a shelter and the cat rescue place is full so we offered to take care of her for a few weeks until we can find a home. We are keeping her in a box in our laundry room so it's quiet. We do have two dogs and a 10 month old and 8 year old. Keeping them away from her.
I have a list of questions I would like advice on that I didn't ask the rescue( they are closed for tonight) :
1. Eyes barely open and weighing 5.7 oz, am I correct she is about a week old?
2. How much should I be holding her and how much should I be letting her alone in her box?
3. She hasn't pooped since I got her. The rescue I talked to said its ok to wait 2 more days. But that would make it about 4 days has anyone else had this problem? I'm use in a warm cottenball and rubbing her stomach and private area.
4. When should I let my daughter 8yo hold her? I know she needs to be calm and gentle but not sure when she should touch her.
5. if there is anymore advice please let me know!

Thanks!

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Seems dirty deed done by somebody to abandon such a kitten. There must have been a mom who took care. But she was dumped somewhere where she would be found.  I know of horror examples where they were dumped in a crate, in the middle of woods, or in a dumpster room...   That piece of bread is interesting.  I suspect the dumper did found her, hadnt a clue, didnt know what to do, so he send the problem further on to someone else.   Not good, but not at all the dire inhuman work it seems.  Quite the opposite, very clumsy but well meaning.

Ok, to your questions.

1.   I think your access of the age is  OK to presume so.  The weight sounds good by the way, being both a decent birthing weigh, and adding steadily.  Perhaps the kitten is some day older than one week to give this nice development, still, this shouldnt be no premature on very fragile one. 

2.  As she is alone, you could and even should, touch her more than an average kitte belonging to a mom and littermates.

Get her a stuffed animal as companion too.  there are tricks ot better up on such dummy.  But if you have time and possibilites, why, perhaps even carry her at your chest.

You know the experiments on monkey babies?  A dummy mom with milk but no fur, and a dummy mom without milk but with fur.  They sat and cuddled to the fur mom.

3.  Its of course unclear.  But I suspect it may be 1. some dehydration - so give more water.  and what follows of it, some constipation.

We do have at this moment at least two threads with constipation issues, where both I and Catwoman are writing much.  One is up simultaneously, the Ts is M...MauricioMiau.

I shall try to seek them out for you a little later on, it takes shorter time than to rewrite everyting.

4, normally, the childrens big moments begin when the kittens are say, 3weeks, it helps very much to socialize them kittens, both found and home cats.  Here it may help the kitten to be touched perhaps already NOW , as said, they need human warmth. - if you deem that child mature.  Take it perhaps as her quest

5.  I suspect you have done excellently so far.   A good site is www.kitten-rescue.com for taking care of orphans.  Its one of our old timers veterans who made it.

Tx a lot for caring and helping out!

Good luck!

Ok,  instructional tread is this by MauricioMiau, where both our expert Catwoman and me participates.

Here is my answer on another thread.  I do also describe an alternative technique of helping with elimantion.  (your eliminaiton is OK and its the standard technique, works usually nicely).

Btw, you do burp her after feedings, like you would with an infant baby?

kenderken97 said:

I have no I sea how to work this site but here's my problem I have a 1 week old kitten. The mommy set it aside from her other kittens and will not take car of it. I have had it for 5 days.. Bottle feeding it replacement milk and stimulating the kitten to use the bathroom. It would pee so I used a warm wet rag and it actually used the bathroom for around 2 days by it's self. Now it won't pee or poop and I have feed it and try stimulating over and over again. I don't know what's wrong but honestly I cannot afford a vet visit! Please help!!

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Ok, so you did step in when the mom abandoned it - correct!    And in the beginning everything went well.   But now its not eliminating at all, even after you stimulate...

The most probable - and which I hope, is it happened to get too little water.  Ie its dehydrated.   Its dangerous if not helped, but its easy to help.

It may also be some internal problem, and its why mom rejecteed it.  If so, she is probably a goner.  Even a vet will almost surely not be able to help it.

Unless this vet is very experienced with helping small kittens. Very few vets are.

Brw,  what  replacement milk you do use?  EXACTLY?

How long it wasnt  eliminating "use the bathroom"?

Is she still eating the replacement milk?

You do have some nice heat source for it?  Like a heat pad, or carrying it at your chest?  Such small kittens must not get chilled out, they cant keep their own body temp either, so its not enough with a bedding in a nice blanket.   TOO warm isnt good either, but the most common problem is too cold.

OK, how to give more water.   The easiest to begin with, is to dilute the milk with water somewhat.   That is almost standard.  It helps also it you happened to have the formula a little too concentrated.

Another tip may be, to give a few drops with a dropper, between the feedings.   Kitten tummy down, head up, a little diagonally raised up.  Dropper in the corner of the mouth, and put is slowly drop by drop into the cheek.  slowly and controlled, so you are sure no water (or replacement) goes into lungs.

So that is the basics against deydration, which also helps against many of constipation.   Essentially, more water.

A pedialyte, homemade or bought, can be used instead of part of the water.

It this doesnt helps, you can add a couple of drops of  some cold pressed food oil,  like  olive oil or canold (=rapeseed) oil, with her replacement milk.

Minerale oil is even more potent, but you must get some sort which is ok to take by mouth.   Most minerale oils are supposed to use outside.

There are more tricks for constipation, but its enough for now.  She isnt just constipated, I think she is deydrated, as she isnt peeing either.

Re stimulation for eliminating.

There is one nice trick, where Catwoman here had proposed a nice reinforcement:

Using running warm water!

You take the kitten in your left hand, holding her backside in your hand, the kitten steady and well.   If she is wriggling much, you can surely wrap her up in something.

You let warm water run.  A shade more than lukewarm, but nowhere hot.  

You put in the kittens rear end under the water - the kitten feels this as warm and cozy, and relaxes.   You tap with your right forefinger on her private parts and there about...

alike mom washing with her tongue....  (the tapping the this brilliant reinforcement!)

Works splendid, and they dont get sore from excessive stimulating which otherwise easily happens.

Just be sure she doesnt get chilled out.  No draught,  dry off her as well you can, be sure she is warm and on a warm heat pad afterwards.

I think this is it, for now.

Please come back with rreports,  answers to my questions,  and any further question you may have.

Good luck!