She's trying to play with the kitten when she kicks with her back legs, but the kitten is too young for that right now. It will help the kitten learn manners though, once she's weaned to solids. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
She's generally doing well, she's eating totally fine and peeing every time we feed her (with occasional skips). She sleeps a lot but also climbs all over us, so I think she's reasonably strong. Her ears are starting to unfold!
Penelope sometimes snuggles and sometimes gets bored and leaves, so I filled a sock with uncooked rice, warm it up, and the kitten snuggles with it.
My only concern is that she hasn't pooped yet. We've had her almost 24 hours now, and who knows, she might have pooped right before she was abandoned, but I'm still nervous. Any strategies to get her to poop? I've read that kittens generally poop once every 24 hours, but most vets in the area are closed tomorrow so I don't know what to do if she doesn't poop soon...
She'll be okay. You can add a drop of olive oil to her formula each feeding. This should soften things up.
Sometimes the initial switch from mom's milk to formula will slow things down a little, and she may have missed some feedings before she was found, so she may need more food in her before pooping.
Is her pee clear, or yellow? If her pee is clear then she's fully hydrated.
thays good to hear! So let's say she doesn't poop today or Sunday - is it ok if I wait until Monday to take her in? When does it become critically backed up?
She gets about half a tablespoon of KMR every three hours. Just fed and weighed her - yesterday she was about 5 ounces, and today she's 5.8![emoji]9786[/emoji]️
Her pee is usually very pale yellow, but when she peed just a moment ago it was clear. It also smelled fishy. Anything up with that?
I'm happy to hear that she's already gained so much!
If she does not poop by tomorrow, you can buy infant glycerin suppositories. Shave off a tiny piece, and insert it in her bottom. She should then poop within a few minutes.
I'm not sure why her pee smells fishy. Let me know if it continues. It sounds to me like she's finally getting hydrated properly, so the smell should dissipate and she should poop in the next 24 hours.
We think she might have pooped...but aren't quite sure. It was either pee that was dark yellow with a tinge of orange, or pee mixed with liquidy diarrhea that was orangey in color, and that immediately got mixed in with her pee as we stimulated her. Didn't smell fishy like before.
Thoughts on this? Her pee was clear with the previous feeding, so it doesn't make sense that she would be suddenly dehydrated. Our current plan is to see what happens with the next feeding, but I know diarrhea is a big deal in kittens and depending on the consistency and color can be an emergency situation..but I don't have the expertise
The color was from poop. Yellow/Orange diarrhea is not healthy. She needs to be treated by a vet with meds for parasites or infection, whichever it is.
She pooped more this morning, this time it was more diarrhea but also mixed with solid. It was still yellow-y, but I also noticed a bit of brown mixed in. Took her to the vet this afternoon and the vet said it, along with her weird smelling urine, was likely due to the change from mom's milk to KMR and not to worry. Also gave her some de-wormer.
Continuing to gain weight (about 6.2 ounces now) and eat! Eyes aren't open yet but ears are beginning to unfold [emoji]128077[/emoji]
I've never heard of odd-smelling urine due to KMR. I guess we'll see whether the poop firms up and turns the appropriate color. If not, there is infection.
De-wormer is great, and the weight gain is fantastic! So cute too! Eyes will open soon!
She weighs 6.7 ounces now. [emoji]128522[/emoji] Hasn't pooped since my last post (continues peeing fine though). Where can I buy those baby glycerin suppository things? Is it ok if she goes a little past 48 hours without pooping? I don't think I'll be able to buy anything to make her poop until after work tomorrow.
Sorry if I sound like a broken record - when I was a kid we took in some kittens but by the time we found them they were critically backed up, and we didn't know how to stimulate them properly...so I'm very nervous about this type of thing.[emoji]128556[/emoji]
Still no poop, so I stopped by the drug store. Couldn't find infant glycerin suppository but I bought one for children. Not sure if this is the same thing?
Should I wait until after a feeding? Will I need to stimulate her, or will the glycerin do the job by itself?
We struggled with the glycerin suppositories and ended up taking her to the vet. She pooped after that. She was so backed up! They're having us feed her smaller amounts more often, and mix in a bit of liquid formula with the dry.
Anyway, new question: I'm worried I may have caused her to aspirate. It happened once the other day and possibly again early this morning - she was sucking away when I noticed liquid coming out of her nose, and then the other time she had to stop to sneeze up a storm and squawk. Both times I've stopped immediately, burped her, and wiped her face and nose, and I THINK she's fine.
She's still eating, and I don't think she's breathing quickly or heavily (but I have no other kittens to compare her to), is still very pink. I don't really know how to say whether or not she's lethargic...sleeping is kind of her thing. She crawls around when she's not napping.
However, every now and then I notice a slight clicking sound when she breathes. It's not all the time. She sneezes once in a blue moon (with the exception of what I described above). Could she be developing pneumonia?
Sorry for all the questions!
Edit: forgot to mention that her eyes have opened and she weighs 8 ounces as of yesterday evening. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
Uh oh. Clicking sound when she breathes is a sign of pneumonia. You need to get her on a strong antibiotic from the vet ASAP. She will go downhill quickly if you do not.
The way to avoid aspiration of formula is to feed her in the correct position, and slow her down when she's drinking. Cut a smaller hole in a new nipple and pull the bottle away periodically to control flow.
Her weight is good, and glad she's no longer constipated.
Please update after she sees the vet again. Do not wait!