Kitten Questions

I have two kittens about 4-5 weeks old that I rescued 2 weeks ago. I found the female drowning in a grease pit at a shop yard, and her brother not far away trapped under a bunch of propane tanks. I looked for the Queen, and I found what was left of her. The workers at the shop said they'd had trouble with a pack of coyotes on the back of the property. I've taken both to the Vet, and he prescribed antibiotics and eye gel for them since the male had an upper respiratory infection. A few days later I took the female back to the Vet because she was having uncontrollable diarrhea and dehydrated. The Vet dewormed her, gave me a dose of dewormer to give to the male back at home, then told me to give them Aldon (for worms) 0.6 ml every day for 9 days, and bring them back for another checkup afterwards. They weighed 11 oz and 13 oz when I first found them. At first both were on KMR and bottle fed, since neither had been weaned, but now they're eating canned kitten pâté(No Grains/Gluten/Corn/Meat-By-Products). The diarrhea they had at first while bottle fed has stopped, they've both been playing and energetic. However, today they've continuously cried for food, though they split a 3oz can of food between themselves this morning(which is double what I had been giving them. 3 oz can pâté cut into 4 sections, 1 section per meal, meals 4 times a day). Yet an hour after eating they run crying for food, and I made them wait until 3-4 hours had passed before giving them 1/4 of a can each, but an hour later they were crying for more food. I'm not sure what's going on with them. They didn't anywhere near this much on the formula or even after they first started eating solid food. They're hydrated, drinking water from a fountain I purchased. It's just there always hungry! It's making me crazy to be honest. I don't want to feed them too much, but the cries for food tear at my heartstrings. I expect them to eat more than my 5 year old cat, Sheldon, since they're more active and they're growing now that the worms are gone. Is it normal for them to be so hungry?

Try keeping a bowl of dry kitten food out at all times. They may not be ready to eat it yet but maybe knowing it's there will help.

Kittens eat A LOT. They may need a 5.5-oz can each per day. You could also try adding some KMR to their food for extra calories and nutrition. You should feed them as much as they want at this age. . .sometimes it feels like you can't keep up!

Agreed. Kittens grow quickly, and need as much dry kitten chow and wet food as they want the first year of life. They clearly need more food. They are crying because they are hungry. And a dish of KMR is still good for them for several more weeks. They are still babies.

Well, I haven't fed them dry food, and after doing research on what's actually in dry food, I doubt I ever will. They're eating Fancy Feast Tender Ocean Whitefish, in Kitten Milk. As of right now they're eating about three 3oz cans a day between them. I'm glad that it's okay to feed them so often, as I was worried that they'd need to be placed on a diet. My 5 year old, Sheldon, was weaned when I took him in. He didn't get as hungry as these two, and he wasn't a stray/rescue kitty.

Oh! I wasn't sure about continuing the KMR since it's rather hot right now. My a/c is broken at the moment. Outside its been 90°-105°F, and inside around 87°F or so. I know kittens like warmth but I was worried they'd get too hot and the milk would spoil in their tummies. I'm not really sure if that's an old wives tale or not, it's just what my Mother always told me growing up.

Right now Pinky has diarrhea, but he's not dehydrated. The Vet said it could be because I have overfed him, or because I changed their food. I only changed the main meat, not the brand or the fact that it's made with kitten milk. I'm not really sure. They're crying for food every 3-4 hours after eating 1/2 a can each.

No, formula will not spoil in their tummies.

Have you tried feeding the Fancy Feast Chicken pate? Chicken is actually much better for cats than fish.

They really need kitten dry food in between. I encourage you to put it down between feedings. There are many excellent brands.

Have you had them wormed yet?

Yes, I have. They both had worms when I first brought them home. The Vet didn't find any after they were on Aldon for 9 days. He said deworm again in two weeks then two weeks after that until 3 months old.
As for the dry food, it doesn't seem right considering cats don't chase bacon fried biscuits, that are covered in bacteria and mold, in the wild. I won't feed them something so over-processed. I would rather supplement with broths or KMR. One is already on broth, since he refuses water from the fountain. I didn't think I could give them food for adult cats. I bought the kitten food since they had milk with taurine in them.

Fancy Feast makes a turkey flavor wet kitten food. You may want to add this to their diet.

Bone broth and KMR are both excellent additions to their diets. They can also have scrambled or hard boiled eggs, plain yogurt, cheese, and plain, boiled chicken.

You can add a spoonful of plain, canned pumpkin to the wet food to help with diarrhea.

Hi and congratulations on rescuing the poor kitties. They are so lucky to have some one take them in and care for them like you do.

I understand your hesitation to feed the kittens kibble. I also refuse to give my cats anything that processed and fed them only canned and then went over to barf (biologically appropriate raw food) after the vet recommended it because my first kitten was too small for her age and not properly weaned.

I found this on the website of fancy feast tender ocean whitefish: SUGGESTED DAILY FEEDING

Feed 1 can per 3 to 3 ½ pounds of body weight daily. Adjust as needed to maintain your kitten in ideal body condition.

But this is just a recommendation and I agree with sarthur2 thar kittens need to have unlimited access to food until they're neutered or spayed when they need to switch over to less calorie rich food. Also I've read that kittens who only eat wet food should be fed four times daily. I also agree with sarthur2 that switching to turkey would be better for the kittens and might even help with the diarrhea.

To be honest all the rescue kittens I fostered had diarrhea from eating anything canned by purina. Even though kibble is processed to death the ingredients that go into some canned cat food makes it just as bad. You can find tons of information from the FDA about the junk they out into pet food.

The best solution I have found for diarrhea is clay. I buy clay for internal conumption at a bio store and then mix it with water and leave it overnight so that the clay sinks to the bottom. I then give the water to the kittens and their stool hardens overnight. If you do this be sure to only use clay for INTERNAL CONSUMPTION and not clay packs etc for those can be harmful.

Good luck and enjoy the little ones.