5 Weeks Orphaned Kitten Care

[Beebun]

Hi, I'm new!

A little kitten was dumped out of our house two days ago. Looks 5 weeks-ish, running and jumping and playing, but very bony. I tried giving it wet food (the one I had in hand bc it was late at night) and the kitten had diarrhea that looks like the wet food, but blended to a... Ketchup consistency? Not sure what to do..

I thought it could be premature weaning? So I switched to formula and he now has yellow diarrhea with white specks in it. I read it's overfeeding/formula that's too rich? I'm diluting the powder even more now. The recommended dilution is 20mg per 40ml of water. How long do I wait until I can rule this out?

It drinks milk from a bowl and I supplement the rest with a syringe and a nipple. It doesn't like the nipple and doesn't want to latch.

Little Peaches weighs about 302g, which is too tiny for its age (I don't know how to sex it) . Should I keep going with formula, or should I try solid food? Peaches has teeth and it's not shy to use it.
When we cook some food for other strays that we care for, peaches goes frantic and it looks a bit disappointed that it's getting milk instead of solid food.

Your input is so, so appreciated. Kisses from peaches and me x

 

[Sarthur2]

Peaches is ready for food. I suggest that you try Gerber chicken or turkey baby food first to get his/her tummy settled.

Then move on to Fancy Feast wet kitten food. It's very soft pate in either fish or turkey flavor that's full of nutrition.

You can continue to offer formula in a dish as well - never cow's milk as cats are lactose intolerant.

Yellow diarrhea needs meds from a vet. It is indicative of coccidia, which is a parasite. Diarrhea in a kitten is not normal period. Can you get Peaches to a vet?

Feed Peaches often so that he gets up to 500+ grams as quickly as possible.

Mix the powder with clear pedialyte to restore fluids lost from the diarrhea.

 

[kashmir64]

I would soak a quality kitten food in formula. Not a long soak, basically pour the formula in the saucer with the food and serve. The white specks sound like it could be an intestinal parasite of some sort. It could also be from too rich food. I would take him to the vet to rule out the parasites.

 

[Beebun]

Thank you so much for the replies! I'm planning to get Peaches to the vet tomorrow morning. Unfortunately most vets here won't medicate very young kittens, so I'll need to make calls in the am.

We might be able to find gerber food, but it's really rare in Indonesia. Fancy Feast can be more reliably found and I'll try that mixed with the formula. Would that upset her tummy? I'm really worried.

 

[kashmir64]

I should have been more clear, sorry about that. I meant mix dry food with formula. Kittens like to crunch. If you use wet food, then you won't need to mix it. But, keep an eye on her hydration. This is critical no matter which you decide to use. Since she has diarrhea, I would suggest 2cc's (ml) of unflavored pedialyte every 3 hours or so.

 

[Sarthur2]

Ah, Indonesia. Go ahead with the Fancy Feast. Even the adult pates are fine.

Peaches needs Panacur for the parasites. Even an antibiotic would help. Neither is harmful to kittens. In fact, the diarrhea is more harmful.

 

[Beebun]

Thank you, Kashmir! I'll note that.

I might have found the gerber baby food in chicken and gravy - is it this one Jual Gerber 2nd Food Chicken Gravy - Babyshop Lulukids | Tokopedia If it is, I'll pick it up tomorrow, looks like they're close by.

Thank you so, so much, everyone. It's 12.47 at night here and I can't sleep thinking of the little one.

 

[kashmir64]

If you are going to use Gerber, make sure it's the meat with no onion or garlic. Check the ingredients carefully.

I want to see pictures.

 

[Sarthur2]

I cannot read the link, but it must be just meat and water and possibly cornstarch (which holds it together) - no onion or garlic or anything else.

 

[Beebun]

Just checked on Amazon - the one sold on the link matches the one you described. Thank you, thank you so much, everyone. I'll pick it up tomorrow and hopefully peaches will hang on with all of us. I'll update.

 

[kashmir64]

If she hangs on, and completes the panacur treatment, I would also give her probiotics for at least 4 days. Assuming you can get some. For a kitten that age, it's 1/2 cc (ml) twice a day with meals.

 

[Beebun]

I have benebac on hand! I'll give that along with the meds. Thank you so much, all the replies are helping with my anxiety ;_;

 

[kashmir64]

If you give with the meds, space it out. I am not sure how long (maybe 2 hours ) after meds. Sarthur2 will probably have that info. I usually wait until meds are done.

 

[Beebun]

Okay, so the diarrhea stopped when I diluted the milk 3:1.

The nearby baby stores don't have the gerber food so I'm going with the fancy feast pate. Sarthur2 , when you said 'feed often', how often did you mean? Is it okay to alternate between formula and ff slurry and formula soaked kibble?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, that is fine. I hope the kitten continues to do well. Is Peaches eating the FF slurry?

I would offer food every 2-3 hours for now.

 

[Beebun]

I hope so too! I wrote the reply on the way to the pet store and I'm home now. Mixed a small amount of food with 5mls of milk. Peaches ate like never before. Wow.

I'll continue this and report back on poop situations. Thank you so much for helping me save this little fruit ;_;

 

[kashmir64]

Just for own peace of mind, please tell me it wasn't cow's milk.

 

[Beebun]

Of course not! it's kmr <3 don't worry hehe

 

[kashmir64]

Keep up the good work. I hope she continues to improve.

 

[Beebun]

I hope so too! I'll update when I see poop. Here's the little one when I first brought it in.



I don't know what's the brown stuff near her mouth. I tried cleaning it but peaches wants to run around instead.

I think kittens this age are better in regulating body temperatures, but just in case, does it still need help with warmth like water bottles etc? It's summer here now, 31C. I keep peaches in the cooler area in the house away from draft.