I'm new here, but the life of a newborn kitten is now in my hands.

[VoidCollector]

I posted on Reddit but haven't gotten any responses yet so I was looking for forums or anything I could ask for help on, and I found this place. Here's copy pasted context:

We recently acquired a 4 y/o female cat from a family friend who passed. We were going to get her spayed, but our vet informed us that she was pregnant and asked if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy or not. We decided not to because she had 5 kittens inside her and we figured we would be able to keep a few (2–3) and the others would go to interested family members. She went into labor on Wednesday but didn't give birth until Thursday, where she had a stillborn kitten and went back into labor the following morning. She then gave birth to a live kitten, and later the same day, another stillborn. The next day (Saturday) she went back into labor, but nothing came out, nor Sunday, so we took her to the vet yesterday morning. At this point, she had 3 kittens and only 1 survived. The vet said one was stuck inside of her and was beginning to cause an infection because it wasn't alive, and neither was the last one. She had to have emergency surgery to have her reproductive system removed and she came back home with us later that night (last night), but now, we have this 4-day-old kitten who is completely dependent on us for just about everything now because she's no longer producing milk.

I'm terrified because I truly don't want anything to happen to him (vet said she thinks it's a boy but it is pretty hard to tell when he's so little). The vet also said he's healthy. We've been bottle feeding him and keeping him warm, and helping stimulate so he can go to the bathroom. We were already having to do that because our cat wasn't paying him much attention while she was still in labor and beginning to get sick from the kitten inside her, but it's now dawning on me that his life is completely dependent on us. I want more than anything to care for him, I'm honestly just afraid and want to make sure I do everything right.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I also wanted to ask if it was normal that his urine smells fishy? It literally just started last night (the fishy smell) but he doesn't appear to be showing any poor signs. He's still eating and going to the bathroom. I'm also looking for recommendations for nipples (I think the ones we have are too big and the vet said theirs were pretty big too) if anyone has them. Thank you so much to whoever reads this.

 

[StefanZ]

many are happy with so called miracle nipples or even mini miracle nipples. What kmr do you use? How many grams a day does he adds?

 

[catapault]

Kudos for dealing with an unexpected, unfamiliar situation and doing your best to save this little life.

Here's a link to some articles here on TCS:

Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life - TheCatSite

Learn the essentials of hand rearing kittens, from creating a nurturing environment to proper feeding techniques.

thecatsite.com

And this member is very experienced. K kittenlady your help is needed right away!

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

www.kittenlady.org

Send updates when you have time / have something to share

 

[VoidCollector]

many are happy with so called miracle nipples or even mini miracle nipples. What kmr do you use? How many grams a day does he adds?

Hi sorry for the lateish reply I was feeding him. We're using the PetAg brand and the amount varies depending on what he takes, but the average is around 4 ml before he decides he's done. Been having issues getting him to take the syringe but once he starts he eats for a while and then stops, which I'll check to make sure he didn't just lose his grip. He usually lets me know he's not hungry anymore because he'll spit the nipple or the syringe tip right back out haha. He went up 11 grams today and is now 107g.

 

[StefanZ]

Ah, good. Raise 10+ grammes daily is good.
Pet Ag is good, especielly the powder version is trustworthy and has good reputation.. Another alternative / supplement may be goats milk, especielly if you can get the pricey but healthy raw goats milk. This comes too from an alive momma... Otherwise, a kmr based on goats milk... But as long you are happy with PetAg, proceed with this.

The rule of thumb of amounts is 8ml / ounce a day. So for him, at this moment, is almost 4 ounces, gives 32 ml during the 24 hours... If he wishes more, it can get more, no problem. But shouldnt be much less...
Getting daily count on weight and raise helps you to know what is going on.

Be sure he never gets cold! If momma is warming him up is usually enough, but still.

Get home glucose sugar. It may be difficult to get in USA, so most rescuers use white caro SYRUP or even honey...
This is useful in many emergencies, feks if the kitten suddenly seems lethargic.
Good also for making homemade pedialyte.

 

[Sarthur2]

Great advice from StefanZ ! Once the kitten’s mom feels better, she may decide to mother him a bit if you put him with her. Do keep us posted!

 

[catsknowme]

Sorry - I meant to send this earlier but in case it helps anyone else:
Mini miracle nipples work best for neonates. I get the best price from Chris''s Squirrels & More but Amazon has them too. Many pet stores sell the larger Miracle Nipples. Kitten Lady has videos if you have the resources available. University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine also has an excellent site which includes a Maddies Fund video. 100°F is the ideal formula temperature & I use a candy thermometer to measure. I never heat formula in the microwave - instead, I heat stovetop or heat a mug of water and put the bottle in that.
For the kitten nursery, I use a small box inside a cat carrier. Inside the small box, I use soft microfleece cloths and add a soft plush toy for companionship and an old-school travel clock that ticks(there are stuff kitten toys that have the heartbeat and purring sounds, if you can afford it). Alongside that, I use heated rice-or-cornmeal socks. I put the small box inside the carrier that I cover with a towel so that the ambient air temperature stays at least 85°F. If kitten gets sore gums (they start to suckle but quickly stop or they fuss/cry while eating, or gums are red), I apply a thin layer of coconut oil although my vet says plain Vaseline is okay,too. (The Miracle Nipples don't seem to cause mouth soreness).
I use only water or a weak baking soda water for cleaning bottoms. I use large cotton rounds with warm water. In winter, I put the wet rounds in a baggie and keep in my shirt or wrapped in a heated rice-or-cornmeal sock; I do the same for the bottle when not actively feeding but kitten still may want want more after burping and toileting. To burp them, I put on my shoulder and lightly pat the back and also stroke the tummy-chest in an upward motion (kittens self-burp by climbing on the mama kitty). If gas is an issue, I add 1 or 2 drops of infants simethicone gas drops in the bottle. I hope that this information is useful.
Link to UofW site:
Library
For nipples (your local pharmacy might give you a good price on syringes):
The Miracle Nipple® & Miracle Oring Syringe® Collection