Malnourished abandoned kittens

Hi! So I already have three kittens that I rescued and took in at 6 weeks old. There has basically been a developing feral cat colony developing near my grandmothers house.(We are now in the process of trying to get them all spayed/neutered) I have been caring for them and they are doing great! I did a ton of research on how to care for feral kittens and general kitten care. I did not take it lightly! But just today my family discovered another litter. We noticed their mom was pregnant about a month ago but she suddenly disappeared so we did not have a chance to take her in, watch the kittens etc. Well she showed back up with a litter of four kittens who we are assuming are about three weeks old. They are all very skinny and underweight. None of them look very healthy. We realized that because the mother cat was very young and this being her first litter she had stopped nursing them. The kittens would come to her and she would lay on her belly so they could not get to her nipples. She was also not protective of them at all. So once we accessed the situation we brought in all four kittens and began to bottle feed them kitten formula. They all ate a good helping and then peed and pooped so that is at least positive. They seem to be sickly thought because both their eyes and noses have discharge.  One of the kittens is very obviously the runt. He looks like he hasnt eaten in a week. We then discovered they would eat wet kitten food mixed with formula from a saucer so thats how we fed them for dinner. They are going to be kept at my grandparents house so they can be watched all day and fed enough. They will also be taken to the vet asap and mom will be spayed. 

I was just wondering if anyone had advice on how to make sure they are getting enough food/if I am feeding them correctly? I want to make sure they are healthy before I even think about finding them a home. Sorry this was so long I just wanted to include all the details

Kittens need to eat kitten chow and wet food. The wet food meals should be offered 4-6 times a day. The kitten chow should be available 24/7.

Once they have a steady supply of food, they will begin to fatten up.

They do need to see the vet ASAP for worm medicine and eye medicine. Make sure to gently wipe the eyes with a warm, damp cloth to remove the mucus and keep the eyes from sticking shut.

They are very lucky that you found them and are caring for them!

Is the colony being fed? They should be. That way you can see just how many there are, and begin trapping them for spaying and neutering.

There will likely be more kitten litters this summer, as summer is mating season.

Feeding them will also keep them healthier while you work to trap, spay/neuter, and release them.

Use this thread if you have more questions!

romanandlilith said:

 
Hi! So I already have three kittens that I rescued and took in at 6 weeks old. There has basically been a developing feral cat colony developing near my grandmothers house.(We are now in the process of trying to get them all spayed/neutered) I have been caring for them and they are doing great! I did a ton of research on how to care for feral kittens and general kitten care. I did not take it lightly! But just today my family discovered another litter. We noticed their mom was pregnant about a month ago but she suddenly disappeared so we did not have a chance to take her in, watch the kittens etc. Well she showed back up with a litter of four kittens who we are assuming are about three weeks old. They are all very skinny and underweight. None of them look very healthy. We realized that because the mother cat was very young and this being her first litter she had stopped nursing them. The kittens would come to her and she would lay on her belly so they could not get to her nipples. She was also not protective of them at all. So once we accessed the situation we brought in all four kittens and began to bottle feed them kitten formula. They all ate a good helping and then peed and pooped so that is at least positive. They seem to be sickly thought because both their eyes and noses have discharge.  One of the kittens is very obviously the runt. He looks like he hasnt eaten in a week. We then discovered they would eat wet kitten food mixed with formula from a saucer so thats how we fed them for dinner. They are going to be kept at my grandparents house so they can be watched all day and fed enough. They will also be taken to the vet asap and mom will be spayed. 

I was just wondering if anyone had advice on how to make sure they are getting enough food/if I am feeding them correctly? I want to make sure they are healthy before I even think about finding them a home. Sorry this was so long I just wanted to include all the details

Click to expand...

They are apparently healthy in their basic composture.  As they do eat on their own, although a shade young to know how to eat by themselves, so they manage...  Which is excellent.  Its much more difficult to care for weak, sickly kittens...

Now, if you give them good access to food, and they ARE willing and able to eat, they should manage to themselves get enough.

- the only problem, with emaciated I would normally begin with small portions but often...  But now its done.  They seem to have maaged anyway.

OK, how to KNOW they get enough?  The easiest is to weight them every day.  If they add every day minimum 6+grammes, its good. If not, its not good.

Two tips not mentioned yet:  classic food for beginners is minced meat.  But NOT raw pork.

Goat milk is too a good supplement, if you can get it.   An alternative to kitten formula useful in all situations and all ages.

Thanks for the advice guys! We have been feeding the kittens small meals of wet kitten food mixed in with kmr. We are giving that to them pretty often. They seem to be really liking it! They all eat great. I also suspected they may be a little dehydrated so I looked it up and saw that a little bit of sugar water may help so I made some of that. Not too much sugar though. I also have them all a bath with warm water a touch of dawn to kill any fleas. I had some pet wipes so I cleaned out their ears and made sure to get their nose and eyes clean with a wash cloth.
They are doing so good. They love to play and be handled. They even did good with bath time. I made sure to keep them warm.
There's currently two adult female cats, these four kittens and two older kittens about three months old. We are getting the two adults fixed this week and yes we do feed them and provide them with shelter.

R romanandlilith

It sounds like you are providing them with excellent care! Thank you so much! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Here are some pictures! Not pictured is a big yellow boy and a white and yellow tipped boy.

I just thought I would update you guys. All kittens are still eating good, drinking good and using the potty(litterbox!). Looks like we have three boys and one girl. They already look healthier and the little runt is visibly gaining weight. They are very very vocal and getting around well.

That is good to hear! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Kitten highest up seems to be a point bi-color.      compare with coloring of an Snowshoe.