Goat Milk for tiny 4 week old kitten

Hello! I was here last fall looking for any helpful advice on my sister's and her boyfriend's cat and kittens. Although I lost Hiccup, the one surviving kitten and mom were both kept, spayed and neutered and was a happy ending. 

We took in a stray a few months ago (my neighbors had moved and left her) who ended up giving birth on July 14th to 2 kittens. They were 94g and 83g. The kittens are now exactly a month old and one kitten weighs nearly 450g and seems healthy and happy, we call her Siren because she's rather vocal when she notices someone walk by their nestbox. The other kitten, named Stubz because of her shorter tail, weighs barely 250g and is extremely small. She doesn't nurse on Mom. She walks around the nest box, cries, shows interest in diluted and warmed up wet kitten food but not enough to eat just that. My KMR was outdated so I had to throw it out and I live in a small town that only sells Hartz at the local grocery store and it'd be Monday before I can get 28 miles out of town to buy PetAg.

I've heard awesome things about goats milk but I can't find anything on whether or not a specific brand is better than others or if it pasteurization makes a difference or how much to feed?

This little girl has so much spunk in her. She walks, meows, I believe once we get her eating some warm food regularly so she doesn't have to fight her larger sibling for it, she'll do much better. 

Any and all help is much appreciated. I've already got money set aside to spay mom (and the 2 kittens once they're older) and I think just so we don't have to worry about risking another pregnancy, I'll take her in within the next 2 weeks. The kittens would be 6 weeks by then so I'm hoping they'll be eating or at least a lot more interested in wet or dry kitten food and not relying solely on mom's milk so I can avoid them irritating the incision site.

Any thoughts? It's currently 12:40am, I have until 7am before my local store opens and I can go looking for goats milk. I can't sleep until I have a game plan set in stone to help ease my mind on this.

JayAngeles said:

 
Hello! I was here last fall looking for any helpful advice on my sister's and her boyfriend's cat and kittens. Although I lost Hiccup, the one surviving kitten and mom were both kept, spayed and neutered and was a happy ending. 

We took in a stray a few months ago (my neighbors had moved and left her) who ended up giving birth on July 14th to 2 kittens. They were 94g and 83g. The kittens are now exactly a month old and one kitten weighs nearly 450g and seems healthy and happy, we call her Siren because she's rather vocal when she notices someone walk by their nestbox. The other kitten, named Stubz because of her shorter tail, weighs barely 250g and is extremely small. She doesn't nurse on Mom. She walks around the nest box, cries, shows interest in diluted and warmed up wet kitten food but not enough to eat just that. My KMR was outdated so I had to throw it out and I live in a small town that only sells Hartz at the local grocery store and it'd be Monday before I can get 28 miles out of town to buy PetAg.

I've heard awesome things about goats milk but I can't find anything on whether or not a specific brand is better than others or if it pasteurization makes a difference or how much to feed?

This little girl has so much spunk in her. She walks, meows, I believe once we get her eating some warm food regularly so she doesn't have to fight her larger sibling for it, she'll do much better. 

Any and all help is much appreciated. I've already got money set aside to spay mom (and the 2 kittens once they're older) and I think just so we don't have to worry about risking another pregnancy, I'll take her in within the next 2 weeks. The kittens would be 6 weeks by then so I'm hoping they'll be eating or at least a lot more interested in wet or dry kitten food and not relying solely on mom's milk so I can avoid them irritating the incision site.

Any thoughts? It's currently 12:40am, I have until 7am before my local store opens and I can go looking for goats milk. I can't sleep until I have a game plan set in stone to help ease my mind on this.

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Raw goat milk (fresh or frozen) is best, if you can get it withouth it costing you a minor fortune.  Unlucky enough, bough in the fashionable shops for the rich and health minded "Natural Food shops" it can be pricey, and may be difficult to find in other places...

Re the other types.  It depends on what you got to choose among.  Usually there is not so much choice.  But most who tried, are contend almost independently of type.

Take some full fat variation, no low fat diet variation, I think its the only.  so it should be about 3% fat, not 1,8%.

I once read on a polish breeder forum, as some did tried goat milk.  Some were happy with goat milk, some not so much.  After a while the smoke cleared up:   it was a named brand which wasnt so good, and all these unhappy had used this especial brand.

Apparently, its fully possible to destroy even an otherwise excellent product...

ps.  With raw I mean unpasteurized.

The goat's milk will probably be better than the Hartz KMR.  People have reported problems with that brand.

I didn't find anything in the dairy department of the store but I think on the shelves they might have powdered goat milk. Is that okay to use? 

yes.  It will work for now.

Get some unflavored pedialyte too.  It's by the baby food aisle I think.

JayAngeles said:

 
I didn't find anything in the dairy department of the store but I think on the shelves they might have powdered goat milk. Is that okay to use? 

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I found canned goats milk on the shelf with the canned evaporated milk, in the baking section of the grocery store. That is what I got for Zander when I found him because they didn't have any KMR. I wouldn't use Hartz, too many negative issues with their brand.

Zander eat really well but I have also used a syringe when she didn't eat for a day or two. In the corner of the mouth with her head up. She has done really well on that so I have kept it for her. I also had a spell with constipation but put a little vegetable oil in it a couple times and it worked great.

Good luck with your babies.

Let us know how the supplemental feeding is going with the goat's milk.

Alright guys, sorry for not replying sooner. I got desperate on Friday when I couldn't find anything as far as goat milk goes on the shelves or in the dairy department of my local grocery store and even got the courage to knock on the door of a local family who raises goats who weren't home either of the two times I tried knocking on their door that day.

So I found a recipe  for "Kitten Glop" and mixed all the ingredients together and it's been pretty successful. She seems to eat it but she's finicky about how much. She averages 8cc every 4-5 hours. The most I've gotten her to eat was 13.5cc two nights ago and she hasn't done that since. 

She's up to 283g. She has good energy but I just feel like she's not gaining enough. Alot of things I've read online say feeding 5-7 times a day and roughly 100cc per day of formula for a 4 week old kitten. She's only getting 40-50cc. I don't want to overwhelm her tummy so should I try smaller but more frequent feedings?

She weighs almost 10 ounces, and should weigh about 16 ounces, or one pound, at four weeks, so she's behind.

She needs a minimum of 80 mL per 24-hour period at the moment, so she's only getting half of what she needs to thrive. This is why she is not gaining weight.

You really need to get the KMR. It is packed with vitamins, minerals, and taurine that kittens need for healthy growth and development.

The kitten glop is not meant for long-term use. It's a stop-gap measure to keep a kitten going until you can get proper kitten formula. I realize that you must travel a ways to get the KMR but this baby needs it desperately.

Once you have the KMR she will likely begin drinking the appropriate amount every four hours and begin to gain weight.

Right now the glop is filling her up but she is not getting enough of it or the nutrients she needs to grow. Please get the KMR asap.

You can order KMR on-line.