Neighbor Gave Me Three 3 Week Old Kittens, Never Done This Before!?

[andrewsmith6251]

Pictures of the kittens above with supplies I ordered today. Going to get more blankets, anything else I need?

The nearest vet is an hour away, but not sure what I can do in the meantime? I got some regular kmr and a regular bottle from petco just now, but I figure I order some higher quality stuff later.

How often should I feed them, and how often should I stimulate to poop?

Also I have two small 5 month kittens, I assume I shouldn't allow them close to the babies?

 

[Furballsmom]

margecat are you a kitten expert?

 

[Furballsmom]

Before the other member comes on this thread, hi!
You're a brave person!! I'd keep them separate, you have the basics, I read elsewhere that you can also use a wedge shaped makeup sponge wrapped in cotton and let the kitten suckle, add a little honey if it's underweight. I don't know frequency but if you call the vet, their after hours voice message should provide an emergency number.

 

[Furballsmom]

W Willowy do you have advice for the OP?

 

[margecat]

margecat are you a kitten expert?

No, I've hardly ever had kittens in my life. However, I can give some limited advice, having raised two in the past couple of years:

I've only had kittens a week or two older than 3 weeks. You need to keep them warm. KMR is good, but be aware that it can cause constipation, if I remember correctly. Only feed them at the side of their mouths to prevent choking. This is important! Don't try to feed them too fast or force things. I'm not sure how often I fed mine; I think it was every two hours. And this means in the middle of the night, too, and while you are at work--you need to think how you are going to cover this in those situations. When was done feeding them, I immediately tried to make them pee and poop. Take a warm, somewhat textured piece of cloth, like a washcloth, wet it with warm water, and either rub the parts in a circular or side-to-side motion. You don't have to rub hard, you're just simulating the mother cat's tongue. If you have no washcloth, use a paper towel, like I did. Just wet it with warm water first. Hold it under the kitten to catch the mess, too.
Keep an eye on how often they go, even write it down for each kitten, in case you forget. If you see any blood, or they are not doing both peeing and pooping, get them to a vet ASAP.

I would not let any other animals near them, and quarantine these kittens. You don't know what they have, and you don't want to expose the other to disease.

What happened to the mother cat?

 

[margecat]

Pictures of the kittens above with supplies I ordered today. Going to get more blankets, anything else I need?

The nearest vet is an hour away, but not sure what I can do in the meantime? I got some regular kmr and a regular bottle from petco just now, but I figure I order some higher quality stuff later.

How often should I feed them, and how often should I stimulate to poop?

Also I have two small 5 month kittens, I assume I shouldn't allow them close to the babies?

You may want to post this in Pregnant Cats & Kitten care. You would get more advice there.

Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care

 

[Kieka]

Kitten Lady has a bunch of advice for neonatal care, Supplies

My personal experience is limited to 4-5 weeks and up. In my case, the kitten was already ready for a slurry and had started using the box.

 

[ArchyCat]

You might want to get a heating pad to put under the kitten's blanket to keep them warm. Plus make a 'nest' use a cardboard box. Keep the sides high to prevent the kittens getting out. Put the heating pad on one side under one side of the blanket, so the kittens can move off to a cooler part of the blanket if they get too warm..

Good luck &keep us posted!

 

[Sarthur2]

Why are the kittens separated from their mom so young?

Are they taking the bottle well?

You’ve got 2-3 weeks before they begin to eat on their own.

How much and how often are you feeding? Are you able to weigh the kittens?

 

[Furballsmom]

Here's another thread , the kitten is 2 weeks old but some things might help regarding info
Very Young Foster Kitten - Help!
I did see they mention feeding every 2.5-3 hours...

 

[Willowy]

Do they have any teeth coming in yet? If so, you can try them on solids (canned kitten food mixed with KMR until soupy). The last time I got 3-week-olds I started them on solids right away, and they ate enough and did well. . .although after a while I had to offer a bottle too because they were suckling on everything, so I also think the bottle is important for emotional reasons. Maybe 50/50 if they'll eat solids. If they don't have any teeth stick with formula. If they won't take a bottle try a feeding syringe or makeup sponge (you can find info on the sponge method on Youtube).

I didn't need to stimulate mine at that age (they may have been closer to 4 weeks), but if they need help, I've found that just running their little booties under a warm faucet will do the job. I've never had any success with the rubbing method :/.

A cardboard box is good until they're old enough to climb out, then I put them in a solid-bottomed rabbit cage, lol. At that age room temperature is usually fine, as long as they aren't in a draft, but if you have to use a heating pad be careful.

Keep a close eye on them for signs of illness, maybe even see if the vet will give you some unmixed Clavamox to prepare if you need it, so you can get it into them right away. The little guys go downhill so quickly, you have to start treatment fast.

It's much easier to raise 3-week-olds than newborns, so at least you have that benefit!

 

[ArchyCat]

Andrew/OP -- Please keep us posted pn progress! What happened to the mom cat?

 

[bklyn]

Basic advice:

I noticed you did not buy cat nursing bottles, or regular syringes. Do you have them? If not you will need them. Some take to the bottle right away, others need the syringe for a few days first. I also strongly recommend the blender bottle for mixing formula. It gets rid of all the clumps, otherwise you have to strain it so that clumps don't get stuck in the nipple and make feeding too difficult.

At 3-4 weeks, they should eat 14-18ml every 4-5 hours. You should feed them a bit more frequently for the first couple days in case they're playing catch-up. If they're dehydrated (pee is really dark), add pedialyte instead of water to the formula. Since you are using KMR, dilute the formula a bit from what it says on the instructions.

Stimulate them to pee/poop before and after every meal. They will ideally poop once a day, but sometimes once every other day. They will pee every time you stimulate them though. To stimulate, I find a light tapping motion with balled up tissues works better than rubbing.

Keep a heat source near them. A sock full of rice warmed in the microwave will work. I use the Snuggle Safe microwavable heat pads. Make sure there is enough room in their nest for them to move on and off the heat pad as they please.

At three weeks old, they can technically be weaned, although it's early. They are ready to wean once they are chewing on the bottle, and walking around steadily on their feet. Once you feel they are, let me know and we can go over the weaning process.

The good news is that at 3 weeks old they've been with mom a while, and are much less fragile than a 1-2 week old. I've gotten 3 week olds in really awful condition, but their resilience is much stronger and their feeding needs are less demanding.