Snowball question!

Hiya ... I was the person that found the cat in the parking lot of a grocery store... Today is day 6 that I have had her... I got the feeding thing down now.

But I have a question

1. She is over her diarrhea that she got from getting the enema at the vet ... She is having HUGE poos ... I mean HUGE! I can't believe turds this big are coming out of this little kitten. Is this normal?

2. How do I keep her clean? She is white .. all white... And I have done the cotton ball thing, the gauze thing, the paper towel thing, AND the wash cloth thing... I got so frustrated today because when she had a poo and it got ALL over her hind end and on her tail and me cleaning with all of the above ways seemed to make it worse, so I just got a bowl of warm water and stuck her bum in it. I KNOW that is prob the wrong way (and I will prob get lectured) but it got the crap off. YES I DRIED HER GOOD! and she is currently warm as possible. My problem is nothing but that up to this point is keeping her clean and some of her fur looks like i put gel in it! HELP.

3. When she walks she takes about 3 or 4 steps and then just falls to the side. I am trying to let her out on the floor more to get used to walking but she doesn't seem to get it. Is this normal?

4. She fights the bottle ... I mean she attacks it! She claws it, swats it, bites the nipple and the plastic around the nipple HARD before she will even start to eat... she does this for like 2 minutes. It drives me crazy! The whole time she is growling (or what sounds like a growl). What is going on with this?

and FINALLY

5. When can she start to eat some normal food? She is almost 4 weeks old. When I put formula on a plate she will lick it like 3 times and then walk thru it and roll in it (refer back to question 2).

Thanks

carla

As for keeping her clean, you are pretty safe with simply bathing her bottom as long as you make sure she is dry and out of drafts.
Had to do it a lot with my bottle baby (Ivory in my sig) as she was white and med. haired.

Kittens stumble a lot she'll get the hang of it with practice.

You can start introducing her to kitten food now, but you should continue to bottle feed her.
Start her on high quality dry kitten food that has been moistened, less messy
Kittens are pretty darned good at refusing the bottle when they are ready and willing to be weaned.

Carla--- it has been years since I have had kittens that size. But the falling is normal. she is still learning to walk so think of it like a baby taking their first steps. pretty soon she will be running all over.

And on the beating up the bottle. They knead the moms belly to get the milk to start coming down and swat while doing it also so bet that is why she is doing it.



And think Arlyn answered all the other que's. sounds like you are doing a GREAT job.

I'm so happy to hear the vet visit went well and that she's eating...and pooing too!!!! Yes, it's fine to give her bum a dip, particularly after big messes. Just dry her well with a towel, and keep her warm, as others have mentioned. The nipple aggression thing sounds to me like some kind of a wierd play sequence...as long as she's taking the bottle and nursing, it's probably fine. Trust me, that will be one odd thing she'll do in a loooonnnnggggggggg list of oddities she will have as a kitten (yes, I'm referring to YOU, Steuben of 9 weeks )...but many of these don't start to come out until the 7-8 week mark. That's when she'll probably start getting really silly in her behavior. Fortunately, most do outgrow the "kitten crazies" sooner or later. I'll be very fortunate to survive Steuben's crazy phase, and my adult pair will most definitely be relieved.

Oh, as for the walking, it's very normal for her to be clumsy at this point. Now if at 5 1/2 to 6 weeks you're still having this issue, then I'd worry. If by chance she holds her head down while walking (at the 5.5-6 week mark), or to one side, or seems off-balance, it could indicate an ear infection, or hearing problem...often this is caused by a severe case of ear mites or a yeast infection. But of course, what you're describing is very normal in a kitten this young...she'll be clutsy for another week or two. I wouldn't worry at all yet.

As for introducing wet kitten food, there are some excellent tips and tricks on www.kitten-rescue.org ...she may or may not be ready to try. At her age, it would probably be best to getting her slowly introduced to the concept. When she plays in the food, remove it, and try again a couple of hours later...the playing in wet food thing is also normal, and indicative that she might be a stinker. You should feel good that she's comfortable enough with you as a surrogate mommy to start acting on her predatory/play instincts.