Wish me luck!

hey guys, 


so my foster vanilla decided she couldn't wait for me to get her spayed (i've been catching up on it for fosters lately) and had one cute lil kitten last night. well unfortunately, vanilla isn't a very good mother, she had two kittens over the summer and both starved to death because i guess her milk didn't come in or they just didn't latch on. she also seems to be totally uninterested in this kitten, and doesn't mind if i take her and put her in a carrier by herself. so i'm going to have to bottle feed her now, which might be a bit of a challenge seeing as i work now and will probably have to feed her in the middle of my shift. i don't know if i should take her with me or ask my mom to bring her to work every two hours or what. but i'm going to make it work. i'm not letting this one starve to death.



she's also the daughter of my male cat, fuzzybutt, who i also very badly need to get fixed. she looks like him and everything:













^ fuzzybutt!



i know this is going to be a big commitment so i could use some good luck, haha. i'm honestly really excited to have her (even if she was a surprise) and i think i'll wind up keeping her just cause she looks so much like my baby boy. 



so i make this thread just in case i have questions or concerns. this is my second round of bottle feeding so i might still need help, we'll see haha. wish me luck!



also, what should i name her?? i've been torn between Chanel, Diana, and Venus.

She needs to be fed around the clock and she needs to have a heat source for her first three weeks at least. A sock with microwaved rice in it works nicely. A scale will also help you to see how the kitten is doing and how much food it needs.

So yes, you will need to feed her while you're at work. Can you teach your mom to feed her? I worry about traveling with the kitten that much while it's so little, especially if it's cold where you are.

Do you need recommendations on which kmr to get and how to potty and burp her?

Please get the rest of your kitties spayed when you can. The son can get its mother pregnant again almost immediately.

i've been feeding her every two hours, and i've got her snuggled up in a pile of blankets atm with the heat turned up in my room. i'm going to have to wait til friday to get a heating pad.

i think i'm good on formula suggestions. i don't think i can teach my mom to feed her, i'd be too worried about her getting a bunch of milk in her lungs or not properly stimulating her afterwards. 

oh fuzzybutt isn't vanilla's son lol. but i know he can get her pregnant. i will get them both fixed asap.

@talkingpeanut  is correct. this kitten needs to be fed every 3 hours around the clock. Do you have KMR and a syringe to feed her? You can also put a heating pad on low under a blanket to keep her warm. Very young kittens cannot regulate their own body temperatures so you will need to help her. PetAg makes a very good KMR as does GNC. The PetAg is more readily available at big box stores. Goat's milk is also good if you cannot find KMR and you can buy this in grocery stores near the soy milk and almond milk. NO COW'S MILK!! Kittens cannot handle the lactose.  If you are at work, someone will need to step in and help with feedings. It is very important that you feed her with her belly down and her head up- like she was nursing on her mama. She cannot be fed the way you'd feed a human infant. You will also need to help her go potty as this is something the mama cat does when the kittens are very small. http://www.kitten-rescue.com/pooping_and_peeing.html

Here are some articles from this site that are very helpful. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-essentials-of-kitten-nutrition

This site is helpful as well. 

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/

I do wish you luck. 

@hmckinney You can put some raw rice in a sock and microwave it for 5 minutes.  It should hold the heat for 3 or 4 hours.

Please read my post before commenting you guys, lol. This is the second time I've bottlefed a kitten so I know it needs to eliminate afterwards and I know it can't have cows milk.

Thanks @handsome kitty, that glove works pretty well.

It would be great if you worked at a place where they wouldn't mind if you took the baby there to feed it. I'm not sure where you are but here in the states, we normally get a break every couple hours and a lunch so you could feed it then.  It's not like it will be more than a few weeks. I wish you lots of luck and best wishes with your baby.

Sending many vibes your way

Ah, sounds like you are getting lots of good advice .

thank you guys!

good news, i found a foster mom for her! i couldn't work anything out with my job to be able to feed her so my foster friends volunteered to take her in. i'm extremely relieved.

What a sweet picture

I love this picture.  Greats news.  Glad you found her a foster mom.

So sweet! What a happy family.

Hey guys,
I've been feeding a kitten for a while now and using a syringe. Tonight both of my syringes pooped out on me and I had to resort to an actual bottle since it was too late to go buy syringes. I had to hold lil guy's head back a few times to get the milk to come out, and he sucked on it pretty well a few times. But during the last feeding he was sniffing/ huffing/ kinda wheezing. I'm worried I might have gotten milk in his lungs. Is there anything I can do for him? To protect him from pneumonia pr get the milk out?

How old is he? It does sound like some milk was aspirated. You should never push the head back. You can lift his whole body on an incline so the head is at the right angle instead.

I think the best you can do is watch for any signs of illness and get him to the vet asap. Not sure there is a preventative measure.

Hey there!

How is he doing now? How old is he?

In the future, make the hole in the nipple bigger instead of tipping the head back.

How are your other kitties doing?

I just went and bought another syringe. Are there any symptoms I should keep an eye out for?

Hey! He's three weeks and one day. He's the lil black and white one I posted about three weeks ago lol. Turns out she is a he!

He's been to the vet for some scratches from his foster littermates. He's now on antibiotics for them too.

The others are great! honey and Harley got spayed. They were not happy with me lol.

Aww, Honey and Harley will be much better off for it [emoji]128149[/emoji].

Look for labored breathing, or a possible clicking sound when breathing. Also lethargy and no interest in eating.

Let's hope he is okay, and the antibiotics will help also. The fact he's a full three weeks is a positive.

Is he exhibiting any of these signs at all?

I hate this feeling lol. I just want him to be happy and healthy.

Try not to beat yourself up. If he aspirated milk he will fade quickly and you'll know. Fading usually begins within 24 hours. How's he acting right now?

No, not yet. He downed about 12ml when I got the syringe, gagged a lil, then after eliminating wanted to play lol

I just woke him up, he started crawling around and mewing. I hope that's a good sign