2 week old owner surrendered kittens

laurenlavigne16 said:

Yes, I have cotton balls that I use, with warm water. I've done all of this before, with a set of kittens that I still have. I was bottle feeding them from birth, so they took to the bottle well. I've done it with so many orphaned squirrels after hurricanes I can't even count. These three are just giving me a run for my money. But everything seems to be falling into place now. Now that they're finally taking to the nipple, suckling, and having full meals..shoukd I just wait and see if they poop after stimulation after each feeding? Or should I just go ahead and add a drop of mineral oil, or olive oil?

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I too think you can add a drop of coldpressed oil - preferably olive or canola, because they are healthsome as such too. But almost any oil will work for the purposes of poo.

Minerale oil is even more potent than these plant oils mentioned - difficulty is to find one of food grade.  Which one do you use, as you are ready to go on a minerale oil??

Btw, nice tip on these prolonged nipples on the syringes...    Not all need to be forcefeed. Some may just need an alternative to bottle...

Where did you get them?

I had mineral oil from when I bottle fed my other two cats. I got it from some vitamin store but it's been almost two years now and I didn't see an expiration date or anything, so I don't want to risk it. I just used the olive oil. I went to three different t feed stores looking for that specific nipple. I watched a few videos online and I just had to try it. I ended up finding it at a petsmart. It was in a packing with a bottle and other nipples.

You dont remember the brand name, what was on the label?

Minerale oil should be OK to use many years, but I imagine once opened it will tend to oxidate and detoriate, so it was surely wise of you to try something else as you do have this something else.

So these nice nipples they do have at Petsmart.  Tx for the tip!

Yes, Pet Smart in my area carries many nipple choices as well. Let us know if the oil helps with the pooping. Give it 24 hours.

Omg they are soooooooo cute!!! You are wonderful for doing this Thank You! I wish i didnt have to work and had the space to foster. Something i would just love to do. My cat Hazel cannot be with other animals tho. The pics are wonderful oohh i just want to hold them! [emoji]128513[/emoji][emoji]128513[/emoji][emoji]128513[/emoji]

Alright! Got the scale today. We have one 7.5 ounce and two 8 ounce. Almost 9! I've had one poop, don't know from who because I found it in the box. They are now waking up getting ready to eat. And my sweet black cat Apollo is starting to warm up to them!

Awesome! The weights are very good! Keep up the nice job. Glad your cat is liking them more too!

And remember to increase the amount of formula based on their weight. They need 8 mLs for every ounce they weigh.

So, for example, 7 ounces x 8 = 56 mLs in 24 hours divided by number of feeds. 8 feeds at 3-hour intervals means 7 mLs per feed, or more if they want it. And so forth. And you can round up.

Keep us posted! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thanks so much for all of yalls help! I wil keep on updating for everyone. I was out today with them to go get more supplies and I have a potential adopter for the smallest one. The lady already named her Callie. So when it's time well work it out through the shelter. Since these guys are doing well, I have a few questions about another kitten that my brothers mom has. She has a lot going on. Should I start another post, or could i do it on this one!

You can ask about the other kitten on this thread. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Great! Well this little kitten is about five weeks old. She's one of the two that survived birth. They other four were stillborn. The momma cat is suuuppeerr small. The kitten that they kept isn't growing at all. She's about the size of my two week olds, her back left foot seem to not be positioned correctly. Like she walks on the side of it instead of on upright. They also think that she has a condition called flat chest syndrome? Which you can deff tell something is a bit different. I went over there today to see if she would nurse on the nipples that I bought because mom isn't letting her nurse anymore. She has super sharo teeth. She didn't really want anything to do with the syringe set up. So I picked up some wet kitten food and mixed it with a little water and some KMR. She ate as much as her little belly could hold. The owners are in a low financial state, so vet visits aren't possible right now for them. It's very sad. Would yall happen to know ANYTHING about any of these conditions? She seems so happy and healthy. Just very small what seems like deformities. And is it okay to mix the KMR with the wet food, will it give her the extra umf to start growing a little more?

This poor kitten. 

The foot can be 'fixed' by warming it between your fingers and gently massageing it into the correct position.Try to do this 4 or 5 times a day.  Be gentle and slowly work the foot int the correct position a little at a time.

There is a brace you can make if the kitten is flat chested.  I will look for one of them there are a few.  @catwoman707 has talked many people through this.  I'll be back

Here is one of the threads. It has pictures too.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/290989/flat-chested-kitten-syndrome

Yes, it's actually advisable to mix the wet food with KMR. The kitten needs to be fed this mixture 6-8 times a day when small. It's so sweet of you to help out.

Handsome Kitty has provided you with a great link for flat chested kitten syndrome. The sooner the kitten begins to wear the vest, the more quickly its rib cage will hopefully begin to grow properly.

The foot too can be straightened. Some people use a splint and tape in addition to massage.

Let us know how this goes. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Okay thanks for that! I sent her the link and I think she's planning on joining this site as well. By the way, all the kittens are pooping now [emoji]128516[/emoji][emoji]128079[/emoji][emoji]127881[/emoji]

Good on all counts. I hope she is able to help the kitten.

Please let me know if/when she joins so I can help walk her through this, ASAP is best.

Just use the @ symbol then type my name and a drop down will pop up, find me and click it so my name is in blue, which will send me an email alert.

Had to do a little home renovating for the kittens. They were escaping from the old box! They are growing super fast!

They will need to come out and explore for real in another week. At that point you can cut a door in the box for them. They'll need to be in a room that is kitten-proofed that they can move around in. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

They deff love to explore already lol. I've been keeping an eye on them after feeding. They love love to play and follow the other animals around.

Sorry, I'm still stuck on the OP.  The original "owner" was tired of hearing the kittens meow?  And then the Shelter came and took the kittens off the mama?  This is unbelievably cruel both to the kittens and to the mama kitty.  Why didn't the shelter ask to take the mama too?  Or INSIST upon it?  This makes me angry!

An owner who doesn't like the sound of kittens meowing probably also don't like the sound of a cat meowing either.  I'm sure that owner isn't going to spay mama kitty and this same scenario will repeat itself over and over again.  Only next time the kittens may end up in a box thrown on a busy highway.  

I'm glad you are fostering them.  You did the right thing helping them.  The shelter just enabled that owner to continue this cruelty.