orphan kitten help

A friend of mine found a kitten on the side of the highway. Observed for two days no mother put her in a box with water and gave her ham. I knew that wasn't right so I took her in and bought her some kmr I have been feeding her 7ml-10ml every 3 hours. I am having a few problems number 1. I do not know how old she is can someone tell me if my estimate of 3-4 weeks is right?. She has all her front teeth and four big ones one on each side of her small ones. She can walk/pounce/climb. Her eyes started blue and changed to green a little bit I've had her for one week exactly. She still can't eliminate so I have to stimulate her. Ears eyes open and can see and hear well. Number 2. She will not poop, pee everytime but no poop it was 6 days so I gave her a tiny bit of pumpkin and she went potty. That was 2 days ago so I think she's constipated. First poop was brown and normal not to soft not to hard. Number 3. I need to know if I'm feeding her enough because she acts like she's starving. Is weaning a possibility? She can lap from a bowl but likes the syringe due to milk sometimes getting in her nose. Number 4. Should I be supplying heat with a heating pad she's confined in a small room 40% of the day the other 60% she's with me. She's going to the vet friday but it's not friday and I need help sooner than that. Thanks in advance

The important thing is to get a scale that weighs in ounces or grams and find out how much your kitty weighs. You will feed in amounts based on your kitty's weight. I'm going to hop over to another thread to find it for you. In the meantime, do you have a "nest" set up for her? She will probably need a hot water bottle or a heating pad covered in a towel to keep warm, but be able to move away from if she gets too warm. I will be right back.

ellieandwinnie said:

The important thing is to get a scale that weighs in ounces or grams and find out how much your kitty weighs. You will feed in amounts based on your kitty's weight. I'm going to hop over to another thread to find it for you. In the meantime, do you have a "nest" set up for her? She will probably need a hot water bottle or a heating pad covered in a towel to keep warm, but be able to move away from if she gets too warm. I will be right back.

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she's 9 ounces

Here is the formula from @sarthur2

The rule of thumb is 8 mL per ounce of body weight during each 24-hour period divided by the number of feedings. So if a baby weighs 12 ounces for instance, the total amount would be 96mL. If fed every 3 hours the kitten should get 12 mL each feeding

If you need help with the math I can help you.

herekittykitty4 said:

she's 9 ounces

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And yes my closet is her nest I have a stuffed animal a bed light and toys in there thanks for the warm water bottle idea That is helpful

That would come out to 9mL if you feed every three hours.

She is quite small. I would not consider weaning yet. Kittens should gain a quarter to half an ounce per day in weight so I would say she is not even 3-4 weeks yet. If she is meeting milestones for an older kitten she is underweight, so she will depend on you to help her thrive. Thank you very much for taking this kitten in!

Do you have experience hand feeding? If she is lapping from a bowl you can try mixing wet food with KMR and make sure it's not too thick. You can dry food as well as long as you let it soak long enough to get nice and soggy. That may get her pooing as well. Please continue her normal KMR feelings as well.

How are you doing? I can't imagine you've gotten much sleep. Do you have help?

May we see pictures

sorry i was going off of the last time i weighed her which i just realized was 9 days ago. little to no sleep so 9 days ago she weighed 9 oz. i will have to weigh her again today to see her weight difference. I have no help and little to no sleep i am not that experienced but i know some and i have researched but i would rather hear from people with pets. i will try pictures maybe that will help more.

What a beautiful girl! And a black cat too! Yay! If she was 9oz 9 days ago we would hope to see at least 11.3-13.5oz today. Let me know when you've got it. And of course this will mean she could be older. Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for her does she have a name?

ellieandwinnie said:

What a beautiful girl! And a black cat too! Yay! If she was 9oz 9 days ago we would hope to see at least 11.3-13.5oz today. Let me know when you've got it. And of course this will mean she could be older. Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for her does she have a name?

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Kitty is her name and its very much worth it.

herekittykitty4 said:

Kitty is her name and its very much worth it.

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ellieandwinnie said:

What a beautiful girl! And a black cat too! Yay! If she was 9oz 9 days ago we would hope to see at least 11.3-13.5oz today. Let me know when you've got it. And of course this will mean she could be older. Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for her does she have a name?

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ellieandwinnie said:

What a beautiful girl! And a black cat too! Yay! If she was 9oz 9 days ago we would hope to see at least 11.3-13.5oz today. Let me know when you've got it. And of course this will mean she could be older. Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for her does she have a name?

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she weights 12.5 oz today.

Happy dance! You've been doing great! Do you plan to feed at 3 or 4 hour intervals?

As for age, a typical 4 week old kitten is approx 1lb or 16 oz

You should try feeding her with a bottle.  It will be easier for you and since she isn't nursing she should take it.  Some people have put the nipple on the syringe it the bottle is rejected at first.  You can also add a drop or two of olive or vegetable oil to her KMR to help with the constipation.   If she  is crying after feeding her, you can give her more.

Teeth come in between 3 and 4 weeks.

Honestly I am fairly certain she is able to eat on her own as long as it is canned pate food like fancy feast kitten with kmr smashed in to it.

Kittens eat often, so to make it easier you can make up her daily food first thing, just dump a can of the ff kitten food in to a ziploc baggie and add some kmr formula in to it, zip it up and squish it well until blended.

Store in fridge and each time you want to feed her, scoop a small amt in to a shallow small dish a zap it for a few secs to warm it a bit.

Kittens her age will surely let you know when they want to eat, and it's often! The more the better at this point because she is pretty underweight.

Be sure she does not have fleas as this can harm a young kitten.

No need to keep her bed heated, nor potty her.

She's old enough to be weaned now so can anyone tell me how long she's supposed to go inbetween feedings now? I have her eating kitten chicken patė mixed with kmr. How much should she be eating?

herekittykitty4 said:

She's old enough to be weaned now so can anyone tell me how long she's supposed to go inbetween feedings now? I have her eating kitten chicken patė mixed with kmr. How much should she be eating?

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So much she wants and manages!  So there is really no upper limit.  What is, is the minimum limit.

Now reading through this tread, I think she got in the lowest segments.

The helpings were adequate for "9 days ago" with the weight she had "9 days ago".   After it  her weigh increeased, and thus, the food intake should increase too...

Btw, if you can get goat milk, you can always use it too.  Raw goat milk or bottled.   Plain full fat youghurt is OK too...

Does she do her nr 2 now?  Or do you need more advices?   This of crushed plain pumpkin  you know about, and it works nicely, I saw.