I’m In Over My Head!

[Emmandaline]

—Banana and Sandia, my neonatal ‘rescues’

I found a neonatal feral kitten alone in the rain, and brought it in because its mother was nowhere to be found, and I was worried it would die from exposure. I’ve never done anything like this, and I spent a lot of time on Google researching how to care for him. I’m in South America with limited resources, so no KMR available, but I have been feeding him goat’s milk.
He has been sick almost constantly, but has had a good appetite all but one day. At 2-3 weeks, he weighs 270 grams, so I’m worried that he is so underweight. I took him to the “vet” here who told me there’s no difference between cow’s milk and goat’s milk and gave me a packet of vitamins for small mammals.
I also recently found another (I’m assuming a litter mate) nearby, obviously displaced and meowing loudly. I left her for more than 24 hours, waiting for mama to return, but that never happened. So I took in the sister. She is much healthier from being with her mom, to the point that I am worried that I cannot care for them properly.

I’m trying to do the right thing. I have looked around for the mama cat and the nest without success, and my neighbors think that she just brought the kittens to my doorstep to abandon them. I keep telling myself that I just need to keep them alive a few more weeks until they’re weaned and then the hardest part will be over. I’m struggling with my conscience, and I would love some guidance.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Thank you so much for rescuing those precious kittens. At least they're not newborns, so that makes it seem they are survivors.

I'm going to flag this thread so it'll get moved to the Pregnant cats and kittens forum where more members with kitten experience will see it and reply.

Meanwhile, I can tell you that there is a difference between cow's milk and goat's milk, and that cow's milk should not be given to kittens. Goat's milk, as you've been giving them, is fine.

Here's some TCS articles with more info.
How Old Is My Kitten? | TheCatSite
Kitten Development Stages - Illustrated Guide | TheCatSite
Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life | TheCatSite
The Essentials Of Kitten Nutrition | TheCatSite
Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives) | TheCatSite
Weaning: How To Get Your Kittens To Eat On Their Own | TheCatSite
How To Train Kittens To Use The Litter Box | TheCatSite

 

[Emmandaline]

I suspected as much about the goat’s milk. I put that in there as a reference for how local veterinary care is non-existent. The vet store is basically a feed store where the owner has some experience with animals, but no specialized equipment, they didn’t weigh the kittens, etc. It’s very stressful realizing that these babies could die from something easily preventable and I may never know.

Thanks for posting the articles, I will check them out!

 

[di and bob]

You are doing the best you can, and much more than most. Just keep in mind like you said, it will only be for a few weeks and they will be eating on their own and need much less attention. I will pray for you all, you will be blessed for helping these tiny babies, thank you. come here any time you need support or advise, I'm sure there are many that will be happy to help!

 

[StefanZ]

New Theoretically, there isnt no big difference between cow and goats milk.
The lactose content is almost the same, for example.
So this animal doc wasnt comletely wrong, even if he isnt knowleable here.

But in practice we know its big difference. All practiioners whom used goats milk are happy with it. Goats is OK for cats and almost all other mammals, while cow some manage, many dont... Goats milk is somewhat of an universal infant food, with only mommas milk as better.

 

[StefanZ]

This vitamine paste you got from the animal doc, should be OK. dont overuse it, but a drop a day should be useful.

 

[StefanZ]

270 grammes isnt dramatically bad. It may be the sis is bigger by nature...
Size is in part individual.
Main thing you follow the weigh gain, and see he gains every day. Say 10+ grammes...
The rule of thumb for amounts is, 8 ml / 30 grammes a day, and round up upwards.

So, 270 grammes is 9 such 30´ (or ounces as the old schools says),
9x8 gives 72-75 ml goats milk a day for now. This will increase as he becomes bigger.
If he wants more, give more. Its difficult to overfeed a kitten, but very easy to underfeed...

You have got goats milk, excellent. If you hadnt got, raw milk from cows of old type could be OK Clearly better than processed and pasteurized cow milk from cows of the modernt high producing type...
The old types dont have a certain protein, which some dont manage.

 

[StefanZ]

The kittens have a look of 3 weeks sooner than 2 weeks. At first glance, in this photo, they seem OK, even healthy.

 

[abyeb]

They’re so cute! Thanks for caring for them!

270 g is about 9.5 oz, which, is on the smaller side for 2-3 week-olds on kitten growth chart that I found here: Kitten Weight Chart | Ask The Cat Doctor. I think that he should be good, as long as he continues to grow. Weigh the kittens daily (aiming for about 10 g of gain per day). This article has more info about weighing kittens: Weighing Newborn Kittens (and How This Could Save Their Lives)

 

[Willowy]

They look OK, though a bit undersized. The girl actually looks more malnourished than the boy, with the way her eyes look so big in her head. So you've been doing a good job with him .

Keep up with the goat milk and vitamins. Introducing solids too early isn't good for their digestive system, but once their teeth start poking through you can add a little chicken baby food (just pureed cooked chicken if they don't have baby food there) to their milk. If you use commercial baby food, make sure it doesn't have any spices or preservatives added (I don't know what brands are available there).

When they start eating aggressively and biting the bottle (probably around 5 weeks), you can offer food in a dish. Mix canned kitten food with the goat milk to make it soupy, and rub a little on their mouths to try to entice them to eat from the dish. It can take a while for them to get the hang of it, and it's very messy at that age, so be prepared for cleanup afterward. And once they're on solids they'll need a litterbox, just a very shallow little pan with a thin layer of non-clumping kitty litter to start. Scritch your fingers around in the clean litter until they start scratching too, and then instinct usually takes over.

Even after they're on solids, I still offer a bottle at least once a day to orphans so they don't develop compulsive suckling behaviors. I do that until they lose interest in the bottle, usually around 10 weeks or so.

Also talk to the vet about when they should be de-wormed, because nasty parasites can keep a kitten from growing properly so you don't want to wait too long.

You can do it! Keep up the good work!

 

[catsknowme]

Banana and Sandia are adorable!! They are looking very well for orphans so you are doing an excellent job. Homeless kittens are often born to ill mothers. In fact, I fear that the mother may have been sick herself and either was unable to come home or went off to die - very ill mother cats will do that in a sad attempt to keep from giving the disease to their babies. There are so many tragedies that befall mama kitties: hypocalcemia; post-partum difficulties including needing a C-section but no available veterinary intervention; disease; accident when searching for food, etc. So, considering the alternative - you are the miracle that those kittens need!! Without you, there was ZERO chance of survival.
The goat milk as a stand alone is good but you can make an awesome kitten formula using raw egg yolk and plain gelatin (raw egg white is terribly harsh on a cat's kidneys, especially babies', so you need to gently rinse off all traces of the white. I hold the egg yolk in my loosely spread fingers and rinse under a trickle of cold water. Also, make sure that the egg was not washed with anything other than plain water because eggs have a natural coating that prevents bacteria and viruses, such as salmonella, from entering the egg; a fertile egg that has the coating washed off will often rot inside rather than forming a baby chicken). I highly recommend the formula recipe and the tips at fellow member Hissy's website: www.kitten-rescue.com.
If your kittens show signs of illness, you can ask the vet for a round of amoxicillin or clindamycin. Antibiotics don't cure viral infections but do knock down secondary infection. Also, if you are supplementing with probiotics, be sure to administer antibiotics 4 hours away from the probiotics.
And there is a great, FREE webinar from Purdue University's Maddie's Shelter Care project that is about an hour long (you can pause and rewind and continue as your schedule allows). Although it is designed for veterinary professionals, the vet includes explanations and tips for the lay person as well. I cannot recommend this video highly enough!
https://www.maddiesfund.org/critical-care-of-the-sick-neonatal-kitten.htm

lastly, please know that we here at TCS are sending you and your tiny kittens our very best prayers and vibes!

 

[Jem]

I'm no expert but have read that momma, while grooming them around the genitals and anus, is what stimulates them to poop. So if there are any issues in that department, you can manually stimulate them to potty yourself. Hopefully someone who knows what they are talking about will explain what I just tried to, as I'm not sure if it's absolutely necessary to do no matter what, or if it's only something you do if there is a problem.

 

[di and bob]

They HAVE to be stimulated to go both urine and stool. The Kitten Lady has a great video to show you step by step how to do this, just Google how to stimulate kitten to pee and poop, many videos. This should be done after every time they eat.

 

[kittychick]

I'm a little late to this thread - - but wondering how those tiny adorable things are doing? (Lots of work aren't they? I think that's why they're extra cute - - -otherwise none of us would ever go through everything it takes to raise a teeny neonatal kitten!)