Never owned a cat before, I need (a LOT of) help with 5 orphaned kittens.

You are doing an amazing job! Please keep us posted! Hang in there! Kudos to you! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

How are the babies doing? Still gaining weight? Pooping a bit better? I'm not surprised that they aren't pooping on their own; normally their mama would have to stimulate them in order for them to go potty. A lot of times orphaned babies will suckle on each other in their sleep, so you may find poop/pee in their bin because of that. I use a warm wet paper towel to stimulate my babies, and keep at it until they go! They'll squirm and cry like it's the worst thing in the world, but it cuts down on the bowel movements in-between feedings.

Lots of hugs and snuggles and warm wishes to you! You're doing awesome!

I know you are so exhausted, but you are so devoted to these tiny ones it warms the heart. Just try to remember that this 2-3 hour feeding will end soon when they can go longer, so it won't last forever! You are doing such a wonderful job, you will surely be blessed for your efforts. I'll pray for all 6 of you, we are all thinking and praying for your success at this Site! All the luck and keep us posted!

SUCH cute kittens!

You're an awesome person for taking care of them. 

I honestly believe that the universe awards such kindness and selflessness.

Hey everyone, thanks for all the kind words and support.

The kittens are still alive and well. It has also become quite easier for myself since I now feed them every 3-3.5 hours instead of 2,

plus they are much easier to feed, they latch on to the bottle quickly and eat without a lot of protesting.

They gain weight nicely, some days 7 grams, others 12.

About pooping: Usually it's a really good one every 3 days and an occasional tiny poop between those.

I think the "they should poop every single day" thing is very ideal, especially when they are that small and they only eat formula.

Some of them are really straining when pooping and I'm helping them for 20 and 25 minutes straight.

At other times, even the same kitten, takes a huge, easy poop and all is done is 3 minutes.

I've also found 3 times now a huge poop mess in their nest. Again, I'm not sure if this is good, because they managed to go by themselves, or not.

Another thing that I find weird is that they CONSTANTLY lick each other and I mean A LOT. I find them wet and messy and they smell too.

I'll add a couple photos which aren't even that bad honestly, they usually look like I took them and put them under the faucet.

I now take a small towel and a small bowl of warm water and try cleaning them a bit (and the towel gets yellowish dirty immediately which makes me think they may be peeing on each other too). Should I wash them?? Is it safe?

Tomorrow they become 3 weeks old.

Do you guys think that the hard part is behind us? Are they still in danger of dying out of nowhere from one day to the next even if they look healthy right now?

 

They definitely need to be cleaned more often. It does sound like they are peeling. They are too young for baths but a warm damp cloth and then toweling dry should help.

It's possible that they need to be stimulated to go a bit more often. Also possible that the kittens are sucking on each other and getting the stimulation reflex.

If you dip the corner of a blanket in some kmr they might suckle that instead.

You need to clean them daily.  Use a clean, warm damp cloth and small wiping stokes to imitate mom cleaning with her tongue.  It will teach them how to clean themselves.

They need to be wiped down as Handsome Kitty described several times daily. If they had a mom she would be constantly licking and stimulating and cleaning them, after meals especially. You are very close to being out of the woods with them, and you've done a marvelous job! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

It could be like the other poster said, that they are suckling on each other thus stimulating themselves to urinate. I would watch them very carefully and make sure they are not suckling on each other, because if it's a male, the repeated irritation can damage the urethra and that would be very very dangerous.Not to mention digesting the urine/poop might make them sick especially since they are so young. You might try feeding them a little bit more and see if it helps. Also, taking a stuffed animal and inserting a clock helped my fosters alot. Love the pictures they are adorable

Agreed. They are probably suckling out of a need for comfort, but really need to suck on a blanket corner soaked in kitten milk, and or snuggle a stuffed animal. [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Wow, you are doing such a good job!

I recently had one orphaned kitten that my parents and I bottle-fed from about a week old. Between the three of us, it was a lot of work and very stressful; you doing five kittens by yourself? You are amazing.

I just wanted to add a link to this. I bought one similar for my fosters and it worked great. Just thought it might be something you'd be interested in.

parisinthe30sx said:

I just wanted to add a link to this. I bought one similar for my fosters and it worked great. Just thought it might be something you'd be interested in.

Click to expand...

The shelter my cat came from uses these. They have a lot of success with them.

NewYork1303 said:

The shelter my cat came from uses these. They have a lot of success with them.

Click to expand...

Yeah I've had alot of success using them. They calmed my fosters alot. I got them when they were about 3 weeks.it helped tremendously, made them feel alot more secure it seemed. My older cats will snuggle up to it as well.I noticed that one of my boys who is, well, a handful (lol) , acts a lot less stressed and doesn't terrorize his sister as much after snuggling up to it

Hey guys, I've got a problem and I was wondering if any of you could offer any advice. All 5 of my kittens are doing well, they've grown a lot and I've started giving them

canned food mixed with formula. All of them poop regularly and 3 of them have learned to use the litter box I got them too (they don't know to go there by themselves yet,

but if I put them in there after they eat, they poop all by themselves).

I am happy with their weight, they gain daily, I'm happy with their eating and pooping.

But in the last few days, one of them started shedding fur and it looks like he sheds some skin (??) too.

The problem is mostly on his rear legs and behind his ears and it is very noticeable. Also, his tail looks like he's been

in a fight with a huge cat and lost.

I was worried so I took him to the vet who said that it was probably some dried poop that caused this or one of the others

peed on him or something. I really doubt that's what's causing this (they all pee on each other constantly, none of the other have that symptom though) so I took him to a second vet who said

he didn't know what could cause this and we should just wait a week to see if it goes away or not.

I've searched online for people having a similar problem and I've found a few but the vets either don't know what's causing this or at best, they think it might be a food allergy.

Other than that, he's the same as the others. Eats, poops, sleeps normally, doesn't cry or complain, is energetic, etc.

For now, I just make sure he's clean and I put some baby oil on his rear legs (I don't think it made a difference).

Has any of you seen something like that before and do you know what it might be?

I am attaching a few pictures of the kitten:

I am wondering if this could be urine burn. Why are they constantly covered in pee?

That looks awful! I am hoping @catwoman707 can help us out here. It's not normal for a kitten to lose fur and look like this.

Looks like urine scalding to me. I've seen similar in a litter of newborn puppies a friend was fostering. Her vet told her to apply a small amount of Vaseline which helps keep it moist and helps prevent future episodes. Antibiotic ointment can help with secondary infections. But I'd ask a vet which kind is best. Also ask them about an ointment called panalog or animax. I'm not sure if it's suitable for kittens but someone on here suggested it. I'll search around for remedies. Good luck

talkingpeanut said:

I am wondering if this could be urine burn. Why are they constantly covered in pee?

Click to expand...

Because the 5 of them constantly lick each other between the feedings and all that licking in their bellies makes them pee. Since they are all on top of each other when they do that,

pee gets on their fur. I clean them every few hours with a towel and some warm water but then it's the same thing all over again.

I just don't understand why only 1 of them would have this symptom, especially when I take care of him the most now, cleaning him, wiping him, putting a bit of baby oil on his legs, etc.

I thought of the Vaseline solution parisinthe30sx mentioned but I am worried about them eating it, since like I said, they lick each other clean constantly.

Also, if it was urine burn, wouldn't the 2 vets I took him to recognize this immediately?

That's why I have asked @catwoman707 for her input. She's worked in cat rescue for 20 years and has lots of experience. You would think urine burn would affect more than just this one. Vaseline is preferred over baby oil. The kitten may have a dermatological skin condition and need antibiotics. Can the vet give you a prescription to see if it will help clear it?

PS: Many vets are inexperienced with tiny kittens.