I don't know what's wrong with my kitten, is she dying??

Hello, so basically my cat gave birth a week and two days ago to what seemed to be five very healthy kittens.. All was good and all the kittens were feeding fine growing at the same rate etc. Two nights ago I noticed a change with one of the kittens and she was lying by herself not moving, making no attempt to feed, couldn't even lift her own head hardly so I was extremely worried and called an out of hours vet. We took her to the vet and the vet took her blood pressure and temperature and told me that my kitten was really poorly and she gave me the option to put her down or take her home and feed her every hour throughout the night, applying honey to her gums and keeping her warm but she told me the chances of her making it trough the night were extremely slim and if she somehow did to take her to the vets in the morning. I did everything the vet said and in the morning I took her to the vets, she seemed to be moving moving more and trying to crawl and the vet said she seemed healthier and that she'd either make it or she wouldn't. It seemed a rather vague answer to me, I asked if she could have fading kitten syndrome but she told me that they don't usually get better from that but my kitten who is called lucky ( I know the names ironic given the circumstances ) had. Now two days later, she's still here thank god, she's drinking her formula I'm feeding her every two hours as that's what's recommended on the tub, I'm still applying honey to her gums and keeping her warm. The only thing is the contrast between her bothers and sisters in size is crazy, they're massive in comparison to her. She's still moving about more than she was, not much but it's progress, she's taking her milk from her syringe better. I'm extremely worried about her and would be completely heart broken if she was to pass away. The vet told me she wouldn't make it until morning and three days on she's still here which makes me think it isn't fading kitten syndrome too? If anyone has any advice, or has experienced anything similar can you please help me. Thank-you so much. 

If she was the weakest, she probably didnt get one of the four prime nipples and didnt get enough milk, so she quickly became hypoglycemic.  They cannot regulate their own body temperature either so if she were too weak to get in the warm pile next to mama, she got hypothermic as well.  Keeping her warm and applying honey to her gums and feeding her with a syringe every hour seems to be making the difference.  Be sure to feed her in the same position she would be in if nursing so that the milk doesn't go into her lungs.  Feed just a drop at a time until she swallows it.  You may be able to pull her through just like we pull through our little orphans.  keeping the blood sugar up and the body temperature warm are the two most important things.  She can catch up with the others later if you get her through this crisis.

She may also be a little premature.  Cats can breed for a week to 10 days and the first kitten can be a week or so older than the last kitten conceived.  While they all looked the same when born, she didn't get on a nipple as fast as the others.  Just keep up the good work.  Without you, she would not have made it this far.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/premature-kittens

Vets are pretty much useless when it comes to baby kittens. Every now and then someone will find one with actual experience, but for the most part, it's true about either making it or not.

You see what happens is, when there are more than 4 babies, the strongest get the lower 4 nipples which are the best milk producers.

The less feisty/weaker one(s) are constantly bumped off of the best nipples, so over days and days of this happening, it catches up to them and they start heading downhill.

There is no way to know how fast this was caught, often times the damage has already been done, and the kitten will not make it.

However, your best chance is to stay vigilant and on top of this baby, feeding it 8 mls of KMR per ounce of body weight, so for a 4 oz baby it needs 32 mls of formula per day.

If you are getting plenty of formula in to him, stop with the honey now. I would be feeding every 2 hours ON THE HOUR, for instance feed at 1, then 3, then 5, etc. and NOT 2 hours after the last feeding, that's not often enough.

So get the baby weighed so you know the right amt to feed each time, feed on tummy and slowly put drops in to the cheek area never down the throat.

Slow and carefully, you don't want this tiny punkin to inhale as it will cause pneumonia right away and baby can't survive that.

Good luck, I hope you are able to turn this one around.

Boy I've learned something I didn't know.  I mean I realized that a mama cat could have more than one baby daddy, but 1 week apart?  Ya learn something new every day.  It makes sense what Red Top Rescue said about her not getting to one of the 4 prime nipples (another thing I didn't know!) and being younger than the others.  Bless the little kitten!  Did they all start out the same size and this little one just got behind for the above reasons?  You said they were all growing at the same rate.  Please post pictures!  You are doing the right thing to care so much for this little one!  

Red Top Rescue said:

If she was the weakest, she probably didnt get one of the four prime nipples and didnt get enough milk, so she quickly became hypoglycemic.  They cannot regulate their own body temperature either so if she were too weak to get in the warm pile next to mama, she got hypothermic as well.  Keeping her warm and applying honey to her gums and feeding her with a syringe every hour seems to be making the difference.  Be sure to feed her in the same position she would be in if nursing so that the milk doesn't go into her lungs.  Feed just a drop at a time until she swallows it.  You may be able to pull her through just like we pull through our little orphans.  keeping the blood sugar up and the body temperature warm are the two most important things.  She can catch up with the others later if you get her through this crisis.

She may also be a little premature.  Cats can breed for a week to 10 days and the first kitten can be a week or so older than the last kitten conceived.  While they all looked the same when born, she didn't get on a nipple as fast as the others.  Just keep up the good work.  Without you, she would not have made it this far.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/premature-kittens

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Thank you so much for your advice! I was wondering if you know if I should put her back with her mum and the other kittens? At the minute I've just been keeping her in blankets and having her sleep on me and when I go to bed I'll have her sleep on my chest under the duvet in bed wrapped in blankets then wake up every couple of hours for feeds. I didn't know whether to try and put her back with mum or just keep her with myself for now? Thank you once again!

Ginny said:

Boy I've learned something I didn't know.  I mean I realized that a mama cat could have more than one baby daddy, but 1 week apart?  Ya learn something new every day.  It makes sense what Red Top Rescue said about her not getting to one of the 4 prime nipples (another thing I didn't know!) and being younger than the others.  Bless the little kitten!  Did they all start out the same size and this little one just got behind for the above reasons?  You said they were all growing at the same rate.  Please post pictures!  You are doing the right thing to care so much for this little one!  

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The others are all growing at the same rate it's just lucky who's falling behind. My cat had two tabby kittens which lucky is one of and the other three are black but the other tabby kitten is the biggest of the bunch. The four primary nipples makes sense as they'd all always be fighting and moving each other out of the way but I never realised that this was why! I've attached a picture it's a bit blurry though

catwoman707 said:

Vets are pretty much useless when it comes to baby kittens. Every now and then someone will find one with actual experience, but for the most part, it's true about either making it or not.
You see what happens is, when there are more than 4 babies, the strongest get the lower 4 nipples which are the best milk producers.
The less feisty/weaker one(s) are constantly bumped off of the best nipples, so over days and days of this happening, it catches up to them and they start heading downhill.

There is no way to know how fast this was caught, often times the damage has already been done, and the kitten will not make it.
However, your best chance is to stay vigilant and on top of this baby, feeding it 8 mls of KMR per ounce of body weight, so for a 4 oz baby it needs 32 mls of formula per day.

If you are getting plenty of formula in to him, stop with the honey now. I would be feeding every 2 hours ON THE HOUR, for instance feed at 1, then 3, then 5, etc. and NOT 2 hours after the last feeding, that's not often enough.

So get the baby weighed so you know the right amt to feed each time, feed on tummy and slowly put drops in to the cheek area never down the throat.
Slow and carefully, you don't want this tiny punkin to inhale as it will cause pneumonia right away and baby can't survive that.

Good luck, I hope you are able to turn this one around.

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Hello, thank you so much for your help and advice, I'm quite worried now because I've been feeding her but not into her cheek. I've been putting small amounts of formula into her mouth at a time and waiting for her to swallow it. I've been putting the syringe in from the side of the cheek never the front of the mouth though. I've been doing it this way for three days now? Is that bad? She seemed to be fine with it but with you saying she won't survive I'm extremely worried! Thank you

catwoman707 said:

Vets are pretty much useless when it comes to baby kittens. Every now and then someone will find one with actual experience, but for the most part, it's true about either making it or not.
You see what happens is, when there are more than 4 babies, the strongest get the lower 4 nipples which are the best milk producers.
The less feisty/weaker one(s) are constantly bumped off of the best nipples, so over days and days of this happening, it catches up to them and they start heading downhill.

There is no way to know how fast this was caught, often times the damage has already been done, and the kitten will not make it.
However, your best chance is to stay vigilant and on top of this baby, feeding it 8 mls of KMR per ounce of body weight, so for a 4 oz baby it needs 32 mls of formula per day.

If you are getting plenty of formula in to him, stop with the honey now. I would be feeding every 2 hours ON THE HOUR, for instance feed at 1, then 3, then 5, etc. and NOT 2 hours after the last feeding, that's not often enough.

So get the baby weighed so you know the right amt to feed each time, feed on tummy and slowly put drops in to the cheek area never down the throat.
Slow and carefully, you don't want this tiny punkin to inhale as it will cause pneumonia right away and baby can't survive that.

Good luck, I hope you are able to turn this one around.

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Also what do you mean by every two hours on the hour and not every two hours after each feed? Thank you

It means not to wait two hours after the first feeding is finished. Good luck!

beccalouiseeee said:

Hello, thank you so much for your help and advice, I'm quite worried now because I've been feeding her but not into her cheek. I've been putting small amounts of formula into her mouth at a time and waiting for her to swallow it. I've been putting the syringe in from the side of the cheek never the front of the mouth though. I've been doing it this way for three days now? Is that bad? She seemed to be fine with it but with you saying she won't survive I'm extremely worried! Thank you

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The risk is that she could aspirate the milk. If a kitten this weak gets fluid in its lungs it will almost definitely get pneumonia and not make it. Feeding her into the cheek gives her more time to swallow.

I would not recommend letting her sleep with you. She is not large or strong enough to move if you were to roll over or if blankets were to cover her face. It's really very dangerous.

It is being recommended that you feed her every two hours, not two hours after you have last finished a feeding. So, if you feed her at 1:00pm and don't finish until 1:30pm, feed her again at 3:00pm anyway, not 3:30pm. This way you are starting each feeding every two hours and it's 12 feedings per day.

talkingpeanut said:

The risk is that she could aspirate the milk. If a kitten this weak gets fluid in its lungs it will almost definitely get pneumonia and not make it. Feeding her into the cheek gives her more time to swallow.

I would not recommend letting her sleep with you. She is not large or strong enough to move if you were to roll over or if blankets were to cover her face. It's really very dangerous.

It is being recommended that you feed her every two hours, not two hours after you have last finished a feeding. So, if you feed her at 1:00pm and don't finish until 1:30pm, feed her again at 3:00pm anyway, not 3:30pm. This way you are starting each feeding every two hours and it's 12 feedings per day.

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ahhh right I understand now, yes I have been feeding her every two hours. If I don't put her on my chest though and I try to put her in blankets by herself she crawls out which I worry about because I want to keep her at a good temperature and as comfortable as I can. I've never had to do this before as I'm only 18 and this is the first time my cat has had kittens since moving into my new home with me so I don't have much experience but I'm trying my best to do what I can, I just really want her to make it as I actually do love her so I'm worried. I've fed her last at 2am from the side of her mouth into her cheek and she's been swallowing her milk well she's sleeping now! Thank you for your advice I appreciate it a lot

You should put her in a box with a heating source. It's really, really not safe to sleep with her. I don't want to scare you but she could easily suffocate. You can put a sock with raw rice in the microwave for 5 minutes. It will stay warm for 3-4 hours and the kitten can snuggle it.

Are you stimulating the kitten to potty?

If mom will cuddle with her she can stay with the other kittens and just take her to feed her.  You can also put her to mom's nipples when the others are asleep.  If she gets big enough she can go back with the rest of the litter.

what a sweet little thing, I am really hoping you can save the her. 

talkingpeanut said:

You should put her in a box with a heating source. It's really, really not safe to sleep with her. I don't want to scare you but she could easily suffocate. You can put a sock with raw rice in the microwave for 5 minutes. It will stay warm for 3-4 hours and the kitten can snuggle it.

Are you stimulating the kitten to potty?

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It's okay you're not scaring me I understand completely, I only want to do the best for her and give her the best chance so I really appreciate the advice! I will try putting her with mum and will do the sock thing now! Thank you!

Zed Xyzed said:

what a sweet little thing, I am really hoping you can save the her. 

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Thank you so much for the support, I really hope so too! Will definitely try my best she's beautiful!

beccalouiseeee said:

It's okay you're not scaring me I understand completely, I only want to do the best for her and give her the best chance so I really appreciate the advice! I will try putting her with mum and will do the sock thing now! Thank you!

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You're doing a great job and the very best you can. Are you helping the kitten to go to the bathroom?

talkingpeanut said:

You're doing a great job and the very best you can. Are you helping the kitten to go to the bathroom?

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thank you that means a lot to me, I haven't been helping her to go to the bathroom I don't know how or didn't realise I had to.. What is it I should do? Thank you so much once again

Hi I saw your last question. Here's a video to help pee and poo - MUST be done after each feeding!


Hope this helps!

I just saw that video - I think it shows the kitten lying on its back only so you can see what's happening. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the kitten should be held upright.