I'm exhausted...How long?

I was really worried ove rmy kitten last night, as around 1 am I tried to feed it (it had been 5 hours since it last ate) and it didn't want anything. I was worried it was sick, and when I did go to bed I didn't get to sleep until probably close to 3. I had my alarm set for 4:30 am to get up and see if it wanted anything, then when it rang I set it for 5:30. I got up and gave it some formula and it ate (proving I had nothing to really worry about...but aren't worries like that?) then I put it back and went to bed again. I fed it this morning at 10:30 some canned food and formula and it ate pretty well, but it keeps wanting to come over to me and cry. When it seems done if I offer it more on my finger it will eat it. How much longer will it take kitty to realize she can do it by herself? This is the 3rd day it will have been eating on it's own out of a little lid. And as for me...I am taking a nap this afternoon...all this kitty raising has made me very sleepy. One more quick question...what do you do when your kitten has been fed, washed, played with, and cuddled and you put it in it's box and it still cries? I have been just ignoring it and it usually will lay down and clean it's self or go to sleep, am I doing the right thing? Thanks so much to all of you who have so patiently helped me...we used to have a lot of outdoor cats and kittens, but I was too small to take care of them (this was probably 15-20 years ago, I am 23 now).

If you can't get one of those articial heartbeat things, try an old clock, one that ticks. Wrap it in something warm and woolly and place it in the box. Sometimes that works as a soothing substitute for a mother.

I have found with my 4 kittens I am raising that if they cry, there is a reason.
I learned if I had fed, washed, toiletted, cuddled and put to bed and they still cried, sometimes it meant the water bottle wasn't warm enough, or one needed to just a little bit more wee..
Sorry I am new to this too, can't help too much

The ticking clock I know works with kittens and puppies at work

My baby is 9 weeks old now and started eating at about 7 weeks, it took her about a week to eat out of her dish and even now she'll eat more if she has an observer.

When you take your naps, can you let the baby be on or near you while you sleep without posing risk to her? It sounds to me as though she may want to sleep and snuggle with you.

Originally Posted by gayef

When you take your naps, can you let the baby be on or near you while you sleep without posing risk to her? It sounds to me as though she may want to sleep and snuggle with you.

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Well, kitty is doing pretty good now, she is drinking real well on her own, though sometimes she must want to be babied and will still eat more from the syringe. I can usually tell when she wants to sleep as if I am laying on the floor playing with her she will come up and lay down beside my arm or something. She loves to be held close to my face under my chin when she is getting sleepy. She just snuggles right up and puts her motor on high. She hasn't had diarrhea today, so it must have been the canned cat food that was doing it to her. I got a different high quality kind and some dry kitten food tonight. I am going to try giving her a little of the canned meat tomorrow. I was just a little bogged down with kitty when I wrote that, but I am feeling a lot more calm and confident about her now, thanks in large part to this wonderful forum. I knew she wasn't feeling too well yesterday and it really clinched it when Dad told me her eyes looked a little sick. They looked a little squinty or watery or something yesterday when she had diarrhea, I don't know quite how to explain it. But today she was bright eyed and really active and is getting a lot stronger. She even tried rearing up on her hind legs to pounce on something and she isn't quite ready for that so she just tumbled over backwards...lol