1 day old kitten rejected by mother

gemmacat · Aug 23, 2015

A family member has a cat who was pregnant and it gave birth for the first time. There were 2 kittens, one was still in the sac and the other was not, so only 1 survived. As soon as she gave birth she didn't feed them, she just ran off went to eat and didn't come back to feed her kittens. We waited and waited but she didn't go back to feed him. After some quick googling, we decided to go out and buy some kitty milk replacer and a bottle, as we didn't want to the little one to starve. So we have taken him, put some rice in a sock and put it in the microwave to make sure it's a heat source for the kitten, put him in a box with a blanket. We've then been attempting to feed him every 2-3 hours with the kitten milk replacer (beaphar brand). We've also bought 1ml syringes that should be arriving shortly.

How much milk should we be feeding him? (in millimetres). I read it was 8ml of KMR per ounce.

How do we feed him correctly? We have been attempting to bottle feed him by tilting him slightly upright so he doesn't inhale them milk but swallows it. We saw a milk bubble come out of his nose, so we leaned him over and stroked him to get the milk to drain. We ordered the 1ml syringes, as we thought it might be easier to measure his intake.

gemmacat · Aug 23, 2015

I forgot to say, we are also making sure that he urinates and defecates by using a slightly wet cotton pad and rubbing it on his abdomen and rectum area.

handsome kitty · Aug 23, 2015

While feeding him he should be tummy down head up like he is laying by mom and nursing. The milk should not run out the nipple but a drop should appear when the bottle is tilted so the milk comes out when the kitten suckles. The milk should be room temp or slightly warmer, not hot.definitely not cold.

Don't forget to burp him. Place him on your shoulder, forearm or hold him in your palm and gently pat his back.

biancavd · Aug 23, 2015

Have you checked its palate? Make sure it's closed properly, as milk coming out of the nose can indicate a cleft palate. It doesn't have to be, but as mom abandoned the kitten there might be something wrong.

Anyway, most KMR packages come with information on how much to feed to which kitten. So follow the description on the package. If it doesn't have it, these guidelines would be good to follow:

One to three days: 2.5ml of KMR every two hours
Four to seven days: 5ml of KMR 10 to 12 feeds a day
Six to 10 days: 5 to 7.5ml KMR 10 feeds a day
11 to 14 days: 10 to 12.5ml KMR every three hours
15 to 21 days: 10 ml eight times daily
21 days and beyond: 7.5 to 25 ml, three to four times daily, in addition to introducing solid food

StefanZ · Aug 23, 2015

gemmacat said:
A family member has a cat who was pregnant and it gave birth for the first time. There were 2 kittens, one was still in the sac and the other was not, so only 1 survived. As soon as she gave birth she didn't feed them, she just ran off went to eat and didn't come back to feed her kittens. We waited and waited but she didn't go back to feed him. After some quick googling, we decided to go out and buy some kitty milk replacer and a bottle, as we didn't want to the little one to starve. So we have taken him, put some rice in a sock and put it in the microwave to make sure it's a heat source for the kitten, put him in a box with a blanket. We've then been attempting to feed him every 2-3 hours with the kitten milk replacer (beaphar brand). We've also bought 1ml syringes that should be arriving shortly.

How much milk should we be feeding him? (in millimetres). I read it was 8ml of KMR per ounce.

How do we feed him correctly? We have been attempting to bottle feed him by tilting him slightly upright so he doesn't inhale them milk but swallows it. We saw a milk bubble come out of his nose, so we leaned him over and stroked him to get the milk to drain. We ordered the 1ml syringes, as we thought it might be easier to measure his intake.

Yes, that is a good size of syringe. Weak kittens are often easier with a syringe, as long as you do it the correct way, as Handsome wrote.

Also, even if he has a cleft in palate, its often possible to save them - with this syringe... With syrninge, they didnt need to suck actively, its enough they can swallow actively...

Beaphar kmr is OK, perhaps not as good as the best, but its surely OK. If you can get home RAW goat milk - fresh, or frozen, it will be even better.

You seem to do it right.

Good luck!

gemmacat · Aug 23, 2015

StefanZ said:
Yes, that is a good size of syringe. Weak kittens are often easier with a syringe, as long as you do it the correct way, as Handsome wrote.

Also, even if he has a cleft in palate, its often possible to save them - with this syringe... With syrninge, they didnt need to suck actively, its enough they can swallow actively...

Beaphar kmr is OK, perhaps not as good as the best, but its surely OK. If you can get home RAW goat milk - fresh, or frozen, it will be even better.

You seem to do it right.

Good luck!

Thank-you everyone for the responses, they are extremely helpful!! I did some research yesterday and I was worried that it was a cleft palate. Are there any other telltale signs of a cleft palate? I'm hoping the syringes arrive as soon as possible, so I can start feeding him with them.

hteft · Aug 23, 2015

The signs of a cleft palate in kittens are milk coming out of their noses when they feed, coughing from inhaling milk, difficulty nursing, not growing. It is very easy for a vet to diagnose. They check the inside of the kittens mouth to see if there is a slit on the roof of the kittens mouth. I know that often it can be corrected with surgery.

Is it every time you feed that the milk comes out of his nose? Sometimes that happens when kittens feed too fast on a bottle or the holes in the nipple are too big. The syringes really are easier to use when they are that young because you have better control over how much goes into his mouth at one time.

biancavd · Aug 23, 2015

gemmacat said:
Thank-you everyone for the responses, they are extremely helpful!! I did some research yesterday and I was worried that it was a cleft palate. Are there any other telltale signs of a cleft palate? I'm hoping the syringes arrive as soon as possible, so I can start feeding him with them.

It was also my first thought, that's why I mentioned it

The thing you can do to be sure is look inside its mouth. The palate won't be one piece, but in the middle will be a small or larger open section (The left and right side won't be attacked to one another). if you search 'cleft palate' on google, you can see many pictures and examples. I saw it once before, and that kitten too had milk coming from the nose and didn't grow at all (lost weight the day after born). I would suggest looking in it's mouth when you can, just to be sure it's not the case. If so, inform your vet to see what is the next thing that can be done.

I think you got the feeding thing well under control. I will hope for the best for your kitten. Also, if mom is still around you can try latching the kitten on, but make sure to keep a good eye on the mother. If the kitten does drink from mom, the mother-feelings might take control of the cat and she can take care of the kitten again. It CAN help, but you need to be sure she doesn't try to kill the kitten. You will notice when she's comfortable with the kitten by her side (eg. she'll clean it and allow it to feed).

catwoman707 · Aug 23, 2015

I highly suspect the bottle has too large of a hole in the nipple so it's more or less drowning the kitten with milk.

Newborns can only take a tiny bit at a time, so if you can turn the bottle upside down and milk runs out, you are asking for trouble, as the baby can easily inhales and get pneumonia, and will die.

Even inhaling a tiny drop.

So be sure to check this right away.

Formula should not be room temperature, that is much too cold, it should be body temp, or slightly higher, around 100 degrees, it should not feel cool to you at all.

Be sure the sock is heated all the time, they need consistent temperature.

Feeding a cool baby is big trouble too, when their temp drops below 95 their organs go dormant and do not process the milk, causing it to grow bacteria which can kill them too.

They are very fragile newborn.

Baby needs 8mls per ounce of weight per day. Fed every 2 hours round the clock. It takes them 2 hours to completely digest their tummy contents, after that they are empty as there are absolutely no reserves stored. This is why it's so important to feed every 2 hours around the clock.

handsome kitty · Aug 25, 2015

@gemmacat How are things going?

1 day old kitten rejected by mother

gemmacat

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