Kitten only gaining 3 grams help

Hello
So my Maya gave birth 6 days ago to 5 kittens and most of them are around 160g with the exception of 1 which was the runt at the beginning however he managed to get to 130 now. ( they were all born around 80 g ) however 1 of them is only 112 g and has been gaining 3/4 g a day. Should I start to worry or is it alright as long as it is suckling regularly and not losing weight ? The other one which I thought was going to be the runt of the litter also started off gaining around 3 g a day until 2 days ago where it went up by 15 a day. I do have supplementary powder milk however the vet said that once I start feeding with it the kitten will no longer want to feed off Maya.what should I do ?

You should begin supplementing immediately. You do not want to see a gain of less than 6g per day.

The kitten will not stop feeding from mom, though it may not want to feed from a bottle if it has mom to nurse from. You will need to use a needleless syringe or dropper. Feed every 2 hours around the clock for now, and I would aim for 3-4 ml at a time. Warm kitten gets warm formula, fed tummy down and head slightly up. One drop at a time into the cheek.

Don't delay.

You can also rotate the kittens so that three at a time get nursing time with mom. Three smallest and then three largest.

Can you keep mom inside and away from intact males until the kittens are weaned? She can already get pregnant again.

I agree with Talking Peanut. Begin supplementing immediately.

Do I need to burp it until it actually burps ?

pau1 said:

Do I need to burp it until it actually burps ?

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Yes, do some burping.  Its not always so loud and clear, but give them the chance.  They can sometimes manage to swallow properly without taking in any extra air.

pau1 said:

Hello
So my Maya gave birth 6 days ago to 5 kittens and most of them are around 160g with the exception of 1 which was the runt at the beginning however he managed to get to 130 now. ( they were all born around 80 g ) however 1 of them is only 112 g and has been gaining 3/4 g a day. Should I start to worry or is it alright as long as it is suckling regularly and not losing weight ? The other one which I thought was going to be the runt of the litter also started off gaining around 3 g a day until 2 days ago where it went up by 15 a day. I do have supplementary powder milk however the vet said that once I start feeding with it the kitten will no longer want to feed off Maya.what should I do ?

Click to expand...

That is a myth.  I myself did once believed in this.  When I began to advise and be a host on a Swedish Forum over 10 years ago, that is what we thought.  It gave us great anxiousness to find the balance, the exact moment  how long to hope it will resolve naturally, and when to begin with supplement feeding...

But the practice shows this is essentially a myth.  They always prefer momma if they can choose.  Its more nice, as simply as that, however nice and swee YOU are.  So you will have the opposite problem:  as she has mamma, she probably wont want to take bottle.  You will almost surely need to use a needleless syringe or a dropper.

Although you can try with a sponge - almost any sponge will do, as long its clean, and dont falls apart.  But the tip we got is to use such a little  make-up sponge.

Kitten suckles from it, almost as from  momma, and you have the syringe nearby, and drop on the sponge...

How much to supplement feed?   You weigh every day, and see if she gains at least 6+ g a day.  Preferably 10+.

Also, lay her to momma when the biggest are asleep, so the two smallest have good acess to the nipples and mommas care.