4 week old kitten not gaining weight

Hi, I'm new to the forum  I have raised puppies for years, and 4 weeks ago we took on our first kitten rescue.  Stray mama kitty delivered him on the front porch and took off (placenta still attached).  He weighed an ounce and a half at birth and I had little hope for him, however we thought we could give him the best shot at life with all of the equipment we have here and knowledge raising puppies.  We have had him in the incubator at the appropriate temps, and have been tube feeding KMR from day one.  He also receives nutrical and has been vetted.  

He has always been STRONG, and remains that way.  We have weighed him daily from day one, and he is now 4 weeks old and weighs just 3 ounces. Bowel movements remain very normal.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with him, other than I can't get him to gain any weight.  He is currently being tubed every 4 hours, and a few days ago I mixed some KMR 2nd step with his formula and allowed him to lick it off of my fingers, in hopes that maybe we could get some more weight on him.   

Any thoughts or advice is welcome!  The Worlds Smallest Cat, perhaps?!  

I should also add that due to his size he is behind physically.  He walks very quickly in a crouched position like a newborn would due to his bobble head.  However he meows, purrs, kneads, and potties on his own.  

millasmommy said:

 
Hi, I'm new to the forum  I have raised puppies for years, and 4 weeks ago we took on our first kitten rescue.  Stray mama kitty delivered him on the front porch and took off (placenta still attached).  He weighed an ounce and a half at birth and I had little hope for him, however we thought we could give him the best shot at life with all of the equipment we have here and knowledge raising puppies.  We have had him in the incubator at the appropriate temps, and have been tube feeding KMR from day one.  He also receives nutrical and has been vetted.  

He has always been STRONG, and remains that way.  We have weighed him daily from day one, and he is now 4 weeks old and weighs just 3 ounces. Bowel movements remain very normal.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with him, other than I can't get him to gain any weight.  He is currently being tubed every 4 hours, and a few days ago I mixed some KMR 2nd step with his formula and allowed him to lick it off of my fingers, in hopes that maybe we could get some more weight on him.   

Any thoughts or advice is welcome!  The Worlds Smallest Cat, perhaps?!  

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Yeah, with about 45 grammes he must be something of a record. Its your expertise of tube feeding, having the KMR, and incubator, which gave him this chance.

Im not very experienced with the tube feeding, its so few who really can.  I myself has not done it.  And these who can, usually knows what and when...

Anyway, the overall rule is the raising of the daily dosage, the usual 8ml/OZ a day- so it becomes more and more with time,  but I suppose you know it...

The stage 2 isnt no real improvement.  As his bowel movements are still OK, it seems harmless, but proceeding with stage 1 is OK for me.

Can you get RAW goat milk?  This is always useful, and may be the extra addition here.

Perhaps continue to tubefeed the KMR stage one, as his main food source, and try to give him some Raw goat milk in between.

Bottle, or syringe - I suppose you are experienced and skilled with both...

I suppose he would manage now a deworming, as Pyrantel preparates are supposed to be mild.  Being born from an free living mom he as surely round worms.

That is what I think for this moment.

Please continue to report and ask further questions.

I am wondering, why was he feeding-tube fed? Would he not take to a bottle? Sounds as if he was possibly a pre-mature kitten.  Is there any way you can post a picture of him here? Usually kittens are fed every two or three hours, in his case 2 hours would be better. Has been handled a little since being cared for? Being loved and cuddled is vital for them.

nansiludie said:

 
I am wondering, why was he feeding-tube fed? Would he not take to a bottle? Sounds as if he was possibly a pre-mature kitten.  Is there any way you can post a picture of him here? Usually kittens are fed every two or three hours, in his case 2 hours would be better. Has been handled a little since being cared for? Being loved and cuddled is vital for them.

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In case of such prematures / min cats, its effective to tube feed, if you know EXACTLY how to do it, and have suitable gears.  But very few can, even many vets cant, that is why we usually dont mention it. 

But I agree with your other suggestions, Nansiludie.

Milasmommy never said if he was either born small or just premature, which is why I'm wondering about the tube feeding @StefanZ  .

nansiludie said:

 
Milasmommy never said if he was either born small or just premature, which is why I'm wondering about the tube feeding @StefanZ  .

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Thrue, but with being THAT small, its automatic red alert flag...       And thus, tube feeding recommended if you know all the ropes.

Although the chances are better for someone "just" small but ready done, than for a small AND premature...  Which is as very best a fight uphill.

Thank you all or the replies and advice. It's so nice to talk someone about him!!   He had no suck reflex, so we opted for tube feeding.  We later tried a nipple made for kittens from Lifeline Pet, but he just mouthed it. Even the tiny little nipple seemed too big for him.  I've since tried multiple times with the bottle, with no luck.  With the tube feeding, I just have to be careful with the amount and increase slowly so that it does not come back up.  To date, it has all stayed down brilliantly  We have based his feedings on his weight.  So 2 ounces would equal 3 cc's, 3 ounces would equal 3cc's, etc. I have increased that to 4 cc's every 4 hours gradually to ensure he could tolerate it and that is where we are at now.  His belly is nice and distended when we finish a feeding.  Does this sound accurate?  Anything I should change here?

The first few weeks we feed every 2 hours around the clock.  We went to every 3 hours at 3 weeks old, and now every 4 hours at 4 weeks old. Should I go back to feeding every 2-3 hours?

My guess is that he was a preemie with the low birth weight, however his legs did have fur down them.   But I am no cat expert!  The picture on my avatar was at 3 days old.  He doesn't look much different now with the exception of more erect ears and more fur.

We administered pyrantal yesterday, but with his low weight I had to be very, very careful in how much I gave him.  It was a teeny, tiny amount. After speaking with my vet and Revival,  I basically dabbed the tip of my finger on the bottle and then shook it off.  

He has been so loved and cuddled from day one.  Lots of snuggles, and a surrogate bear that he lays on.  The incubator is disinfected twice a day, as is the bedding.  We've also been "grooming" him with a warm damp cloth like his mama would.  

I will try and upload a current pic of him.  He fits in the palm of my hand.  

Very much appreciate your advice and expertise!

Oops...that was meant to say "2 ounces equals 2 cc's, 3 ounces equals 3 cc's, etc.".

Okay, sounds like you've done great by him. He's very little. I hope he does well. That seems reasonable the cc's and everything. Being that little, its a bit of a miracle you've had him this long. I hope he starts gaining weight soon. I think feeding 2 to 3 hours should help if he can keep it down.

Here's a few my daughter took yesterday.  As you can see he's a feisty little chap!

Aww wow, he's really small, he looks to be about 2 weeks old, maybe. He's a cutie. He must have been premature. Maybe he just needs more time to grow.

StefanZ said:

 
Yeah, with about 45 grammes he must be something of a record. Its your expertise of tube feeding, having the KMR, and incubator, which gave him this chance.

Im not very experienced with the tube feeding, its so few who really can.  I myself has not done it.  And these who can, usually knows what and when...

Anyway, the overall rule is the raising of the daily dosage, the usual 8ml/OZ a day- so it becomes more and more with time,  but I suppose you know it...

The stage 2 isnt no real improvement.  As his bowel movements are still OK, it seems harmless, but proceeding with stage 1 is OK for me.

Can you get RAW goat milk?  This is always useful, and may be the extra addition here.

Perhaps continue to tubefeed the KMR stage one, as his main food source, and try to give him some Raw goat milk in between.

Bottle, or syringe - I suppose you are experienced and skilled with both...

I suppose he would manage now a deworming, as Pyrantel preparates are supposed to be mild.  Being born from an free living mom he as surely round worms.

That is what I think for this moment.

Please continue to report and ask further questions.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I will get some raw goats milk!

Re no suck reflex.   Kittens with no or weak sucking reflex, the way to go is with a needleless syringe.  Its easier than bottle in all such cases, and usually sufficient.

  Of course, being able and nicely knowleable in tube-feeding, this is often a first rate alternative.  A real savior of lifes.   But its nothing for a totally inexperienced newbe unless really desperate.

millasmommy said:

 
Oops...that was meant to say "2 ounces equals 2 cc's, 3 ounces equals 3 cc's, etc.".

Click to expand...

Yes, this mantra works nicely, if also given accordingly often, ie in average 8 times every 3 hours.   every day.

He is adorable! Looks like a character! But he does need to gain weight! Perhaps feed him every 2 hours instead of four, since he is so small, until he grows. I am surprised he makes it 4 hours between feedings at his size. Also, try seeing if he will lick Gerber turkey baby food from your finger. You can also try mixing a bit of Gerber rice cereal into his formula for something extra. You are to be commended for raising this little one so far! Best of luck and continue with updates!

I thought I would update this post, and see if anyone has any ideas as to why my little kitty is not gaining weight.  He is now 6 weeks old and weighs 3 1/2 ounces.  He still cannot regulate his own body temperature.  We started him on solid food mixed with KMR about a week and a half ago.  First we tried chicken baby food, but I was worried there was not enough nutrition and I ordered some dry Orijen cat food that we tried soaking and mashing up into a paste.  He didn't want anything to do with that.  So we tried grain free Nulo wet food mixed with the KMR, and Missing Link sprinkled on top.  He loves it, but here's the problem: he will not lick or chew.  He only sucks it.  It takes a good 15 minutes to get it in him, but he does consume it via sucking.  If he's not full enough, I top him off with KMR via tube.  We are doing this every 4 hours during the day.  Stools are normal.

His case is simply bizarre.  Just this week he started to groom himself, and sit up (rather than always crouch like a newborn).  He has been dewormed and we will see the vet again tomorrow, but even he is baffled.  My next thought is perhaps he has some type of infection that is not allowing the weight gain.  Considering abx to see if that helps....thoughts?

I'll keep pushing forward and hope he eventually catches up, but I am baffled

Wow, he is so very little. I am wondering if you could have him see a  cat specialist? Possibly they might be able to do something for him? I would stick with the KMR for now. I am thinking that he either has some sort of digestive issue that prevents him from processing the food/milk properly and he's not gettting nutrients or he's a really, really little premature kitty? I see that you've weighed him since he was born, how heavy was he when he was born?

He was just an ounce and a half at birth

Wow, that is tiny. Its a miracle you've had him this long really. At least he is double his birth weight.