Help! Caring for single newborn kitten...

[mindyl3igh]

Almost 72 hours ago, I found a baby kitten in the middle of the road. Her eyes aren't even open yet and she was infested with fleas. I got nearly every single flea off of her the first day and she didn't eat too well with me the first day

well my concern is...she was weighing in at 4.4oz the first dayand I may have gotten her to eat 15cc the first day, but yesterday she ate right 31cc, but her weight is 4.35oz now. I am doing every single thing I can for this baby! It's my first time ever doing this. I am giving her KMR every 2 hours and have been mixing a little Pedialyte with it. She hs been peeing good, and has had 4 BMs since I had her, only one was runny, the others have been formed to a jelly-like consistency (which I read is not bad...it was not curd like, but just jelly-like, semi-formed) and one was really well formed.

Should I be worrying so much about her weight or is there anything I can do to add more calories that is safe or should I just keep doing everything I am doing? Could it be from her being as active as she is? The first day I had her, when I gave her a small warm bath with just water trying to get as many of the fleas off as I could, she was fighting me like I don't know what! lol

She tries to walk and root around nearly the whole time I am feeding her, lol...and when I put her back in her nest, she roots around quietly until she gets comfy...definitely doesn't come off as weak by any means. She fusses most when I am stimulating her...strong meows. Just conerned about the little weight loss, instead of any gain.

I just want her to live so bad. Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much! This is her...

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• mindyl3igh
• Jun 28, 2015

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• mindyl3igh
• Jun 28, 2015

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• mindyl3igh
• Jun 28, 2015

 

[Sarthur2]

She sounds feisty alright!

You are doing lots of things right by her, but she needs more formula.

Are you feeding her with a bottle or syringe?

I will write more shortly to tell you exactly how much she needs and how to hold her.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[mindyl3igh]

I am using a 1cc syringe, she doesn't want anything to do with the newborn nipple. I was just so relieved her intake doubled from the first day. I had read she needs at least 32cc and I was scared of over-feeding, but wanted to get more opinions and advice on that because I feel like she does need more, but was scared of overfeeding. I see a lot of people add different things to the KMR, but I am not nearly comfortable making that decision on my own, as I have also seen things saying not to add anything at all to it.

Thank you so much!

 

[handsome kitty]

So cute!  THank you for taking her in, she will need lots of care.

Here is a link of a currently 6 week old kitten found just after birth who is thriving.  You may pick up some trick or you can PM NikkyKay w/questions

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/297529/found-abandoned-kitten/150#post_3772073

 

[handsome kitty]

 
I am using a 1cc syringe, she doesn't want anything to do with the newborn nipple. I was just so relieved her intake doubled from the first day. I had read she needs at least 32cc and I was scared of over-feeding, but wanted to get more opinions and advice on that because I feel like she does need more, but was scared of overfeeding. I see a lot of people add different things to the KMR, but I am not nearly comfortable making that decision on my own, as I have also seen things saying not to add anything at all to it.

Thank you so much!

 The formula for how much to feed is 8ml per oz of Kittens weight. so she needs at least 32 mls spread out over 24 hours.  She will need to be fed every 1-2 hours around the clock for the first week.  Weigh the kitten at the same time every day to make sure she is gaining.  Don't forget to adjust how much you feed as she grows.  She should be gaining 6-10 grams a day. 

 

[Sarthur2]

Handsome Kitty is right. It is 8 mL per ounce. Rounding up, your kitten needs about 36 mL per 24-hour period.

She sounds healthy enough to eat every 2 hours to me, if you can get 3 mL in her every 2 hours. That's 12 feedings in 24 hours.

She needs to be tummy down, head up, and put drops in the side of her mouth. I'd keep trying the bottle. She needs to learn to suckle, but if not, the syringe is fine. Pick up a 1 or 2 mL syringe at a pharmacy.

Wrapping her in a towel with only her head sticking out - like a burrito - will help to keep her still during feeding. Putting her on a table can help too.

It's good though, that she has energy, but she needs this amount to gain weight. And it increases, of course, as she grows.

There is no need to put pedialyte in her bottle right now. Her poop should be toothpaste-like consistency. If it's hard, add a couple drops of olive or vegetable oil to the formula/bottle.

Keep up the good work!

 

[mindyl3igh]

Thank you guys so much! I went to peak on her, seems that's all I do in between feedings, lol, and when I lifted the blanket back that I have halfway on top of her nest, I noticed she closed her eyes shut tighter and they are starting to open! I am so excited! I will be keeping everyone updated on her. I love all of the advice, please keep it all coming! <3 

 

[Sarthur2]

Exciting to see eyes begin to open!

Do you have a heating pad set on low under her blanket for warmth? And space enough for her to move away if she feels too hot? She can't regulate her body temperature the first 3 weeks and needs an actual heat source besides blankets since she has no mom or litter mates.

 

[mindyl3igh]

Exciting to see eyes begin to open!

Do you have a heating pad set on low under her blanket for warmth? And space enough for her to move away if she feels too hot? She can't regulate her body temperature the first 3 weeks and needs an actual heat source besides blankets since she has no mom or litter mates.

Yes! Thank you so much for asking! I have a heating pad on low, only on half of the nest and she loves snuggling up or laying on top of a small warm water bottle with a sock around it and I have a little stuffed animal in there as well. She ate 3cc a few minutes ago and had a nice pee and toothpastey bowel movement.

 

[Sarthur2]

Ah, sounds like all is well in kitten-land at your house.

 

[handsome kitty]

Terrific!  You sound like you're enjoying taking care of her.  Your attitude will also aid the kitten, they pick up on our emotions.

 

[mindyl3igh]

Thank you guys! I will admit, this feeding I did get just a tad flustered, but I won't let it get to me like that anymore. It is not good for her or me.

I tried wrapping her in the burrito and she was so mad at me and I did not want to hold her in a tight, so she eventually wiggled out. lol...and I have been really good at keeping record of how many cc each feeding, but wasn't able to this time, but I know she had to have 3cc or a little more after it was all over with. I tried the newborn nipple and she did good for a few seconds, before she wanted to wiggle away some more and suckle on the towel instead of her bottle or dropper. I did not ever force her, but she will not stop moving...once she gets a good hold of it and starts suckling, she begins moving on like she is looking for something better. lol, I make sure it is warm, I burp her, stimulated her before just to make sure she wasn't being combative because of that, make sure she is warmed up good... she did pee, but afterwards, she just kept moving all around, suckling at anything but her milk and screamed at me for wrapping her like a burrito. Any advice on that? LOL, she would eat so good if she would stop waddling around the entire time and trying to pry herself out of her wrap.

 

[Sarthur2]

The poor dear is rooting for mama and a nipple. It sounds like you are getting the formula into her either way. Really, whatever works for you, as long as she doesn't aspirate formula. Sounds like she may be getting more interested in the bottle soon. She will hopefully settle into this routine soon and be still. I am out of suggestions. She sounds like a little spitfire!

 

[mindyl3igh]

She definitely is that, for sure! LOL, but a bundle of happiness for me! I went to Walgreens and asked if they had any syringes I could feed a kitten with and they gave me three 1mL syringes. I wanted to try it out instead of the dropper and I just did her last feeding with them and it went so much smoother! I slowly helped her by pushing it lightly and then pausing every 0.2mL...think I finally found her nitch for the meantime while I incorporate the bottle.

Thanks everyone! I will do updates once or twice a day on her progress!

 

[Sarthur2]

Heck, I didn't realize she was fighting the dropper! She'll like the syringe much better!

I will look forward to your updates!

 

[mindyl3igh]

She's definitely liking the syringe more, which I hope turns her weight around. I decided to weigh her again and she's lost another .05oz despite her eating good the past 36 hours. So now she is down to 4.25oz. When I got her, she was 4.35oz...which I am assuming what she is now is still a safe weight for her, but I'm still nervous about her` yoyo-ing between gaining .05 and losing .05 when she should be steadily gaining. I am hanging on to the hope of how strong-willed she is. 

 

[Sarthur2]

At that weight, she is not in danger. However, she MUST start gaining between 6 and 10 grams a day to thrive, so it is not a fun game of her toddling around while feeding. You must get serious about feeding her 3 mL every 2 hours and make it work! It has to happen or she will go downhill. I have stressed this with you and given you our best tips. It is up to you to be firm with her and make it happen. This is literally the bottom line. Her feeding is top of the line serious business for now. There is no other way - she has to gain weight and grow.

 

[mindyl3igh]

That is what I am having a hard time with. She ate 31cc without a problem on 6/27 and is doing great with working on 32cc by the time her 24 hours is up for 6/28. I am on a 8:30AM to 8:30AM schedule for her 24hr intake. The only time she did not eat good was her first day with me, which was at only right at 15cc, so she has doubled her intake well.

She is already at 22.3cc and has 4 more feedings left for today. My whole life is revolving around her, as it should be, and I love every second of it. I type this in tears, being scared because she is my first one and I guess that's why I keep coming back to this thread. And it is why I am upset at her not gaining the past almost 48 hours, because I have worked hard to get her to eat good and she has eaten good for going on 48 hours, but no weight gain. I can only hope for it to turn around at this point and continue to do everything I can for the sweetheart, because I am doing everything possible. <3 

I just held her and rubbed her for a good while after feeding...I snuggle with her often and when I laid her in her nest, she was out within seconds snuggled up to her water bottle while I was rubbing her.

Would it harm her to keep feeding as long as she is wanting? I read conflicting points on it being better to underfeed than overfeed...but if she does her 3cc and is still suckling for more, would there be harm in giving her more?  I guess, that is another one of my concerns at this point. 

 

[Sarthur2]

If she wants more, give her more. Is she peeing and pooping after feedings? She sounds healthy, not losing much, we just need her to start gaining. She may literally need more to grow on! Give her more. She also may just want to suckle. It's an instinct. But giving her an extra mL can't hurt. See how it goes!

 

[mindyl3igh]

Awesome, thanks, that is what I am going to do! It seems I almost have it down to being able to guess she will poop after every 4th or 5th feeding because she always has, and is usually jelly consistency or toothpaste-like consistency, she's only had two semi-runny ones and it was very small amounts. But she does pee every single time and it is a very pale yellow.