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- May 1, 2015
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Two days ago I rescued a very young (3-week-old) kitten from someone off craigslist who was selling her because the mother went missing. She is a very sweet and adorable tabby girl, although she has a few problems it seems.
For one, she hates to eat. I am feeding her kitten milk replacement. She wouldn’t use the little kitten bottle I got her so I am using a syringe. She won’t actively feed so I am putting a small amount of milk into her cheek and letting her reflexively swallow. I read kittens her age should eat around 10cc per feeding; she only will tolerate 3cc before shaking her head to spit the milk out. I am currently feeding her every 3 hours but am thinking of feeding her every 2 hours due to the fact she eats so little per feeding. Does this sound like a good idea? Although I did weigh her yesterday and then today (24 hours later) and her weight has stayed the same at 9.8oz. She is also urinating when I stimulate her and has defecated twice so far. I’ve also been assessing for dehydration using skin turgor and she seems relatively well hydrated. I also tried feeding her a bit of canned kitten food but she seems uninterested and perhaps too young for it.
Another problem is that she has a bit of eye discharge. I have been cleaning her eyes with a damp cloth during every feeding but her eyes seem to continue to have discharge and sometimes they will crust together and get a bit stuck until I gently wipe them clear. I got her some eye flush specifically made for cats and have used it a few times on her to help get rid of the discharge and keep her eyes open. I’m not sure if this is possible conjunctivitis/infection or just a normal kitten thing.
For one, she hates to eat. I am feeding her kitten milk replacement. She wouldn’t use the little kitten bottle I got her so I am using a syringe. She won’t actively feed so I am putting a small amount of milk into her cheek and letting her reflexively swallow. I read kittens her age should eat around 10cc per feeding; she only will tolerate 3cc before shaking her head to spit the milk out. I am currently feeding her every 3 hours but am thinking of feeding her every 2 hours due to the fact she eats so little per feeding. Does this sound like a good idea? Although I did weigh her yesterday and then today (24 hours later) and her weight has stayed the same at 9.8oz. She is also urinating when I stimulate her and has defecated twice so far. I’ve also been assessing for dehydration using skin turgor and she seems relatively well hydrated. I also tried feeding her a bit of canned kitten food but she seems uninterested and perhaps too young for it.
Another problem is that she has a bit of eye discharge. I have been cleaning her eyes with a damp cloth during every feeding but her eyes seem to continue to have discharge and sometimes they will crust together and get a bit stuck until I gently wipe them clear. I got her some eye flush specifically made for cats and have used it a few times on her to help get rid of the discharge and keep her eyes open. I’m not sure if this is possible conjunctivitis/infection or just a normal kitten thing.
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