Neonatal Orphaned Kitten Help

[CountryCat1990]

Hello, I'm here because recently I've come to be the caretaker of a very young kitten and I find myself at a loss as to how to provide 100% proper care. The kitten is a singlet that was separated from its mother during a recent string of very strong storms. My cousin found her and gave her to me. The kitten does have sore/gungky eyes.So far I've:
Set up a clean crate with blankets and towels to keep it warm.
Have been feeding it warmed formula
Have been stimulating it to pee and poop
Have washed its eyes with pet sterile eye wash and medication for sore/itchy eyes.
What I really need help with is how much I should feed it, how often, and how do I help it adjust to a new feeding schedule? It does seem to have diarrhea but I read that sometimes bottle babies wont have solid poo. It would also help if I could find out how old the kitten actually is. Its eyes are open, ears unfolded, wobbles around, and the teeth are starting to come in.
Please and thank you for any advice you can give me!

 

[CountryCat1990]

I forgot to add the kitten is currently 13.7 ounces.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Does the kitten have teeth?

It need antibiotic ointment for the eyes, and likely dewormer. You will need to see the vet for these things ASAP.

Do you have a scale to weigh the little one? This will also help you to get a sense of age.

Thank you for helping!!

 

[CountryCat1990]

Does the kitten have teeth?

It need antibiotic ointment for the eyes, and likely dewormer. You will need to see the vet for these things ASAP.

Do you have a scale to weigh the little one? This will also help you to get a sense of age.

Thank you for helping!!

The kitten does have teeth and currently weighs 13.7 ounces. I have already been applying antibiotic ointment to her (I think it's a her) eyes and cleaning them with a warm wet towel at every feeding.

 

[kittyluv387]

I'm thinking 2+ weeks. It's still very young so I would say every 3 hours they should be fed. Or whatever their play, sleep and poop cycle is. It seemed to be about every 3 hours for my stepmom kittens and they look similar in stage to yours. Her little one is eating 15ml every feeding but her bigger one is eating 20ml +.

 

[CountryCat1990]

I'm thinking 2+ weeks. It's still very young so I would say every 3 hours they should be fed. Or whatever their play, sleep and poop cycle is. It seemed to be about every 3 hours for my stepmom kittens and they look similar in stage to yours. Her little one is eating 15ml every feeding but her bigger one is eating 20ml +.

So I shouldn't be overly worried about the runny poo at the moment? She is currently eating around 10ml every feeding and has started taking a little more.

 

[kittyluv387]

So I shouldn't be overly worried about the runny poo at the moment? She is currently eating around 10ml every feeding and has started taking a little more.

No, diarrhea seems to be common for formula feeding. My stepmom's kittens have diarrhea too.

 

[abyeb]

Hi there! She is very cute! I think it sounds like you’re doing a great job! Regarding how much to feed, 13.7 oz is a little over 388 grams. So, according to the chart on this page: Bottle Feeding — Kitten Lady, she would be recommended to have 14-18 mL every 4-5 hours.

Thanks for caring!

 

[talkingpeanut]

Yes, I think she’s closer to three weeks because of the teeth. Are you able to weigh her every day to see how much she’s gaining? It’s the easiest way to track her progress.

Did you get the antibiotic ointment from the vet? Are the eyes improving? And diarrhea may be common, but it’s not normal. Have you asked the vet about dewormer?

 

[StefanZ]

I suspect she is sooner 4 weeks! The ears are well developed, and the teeth coming in...
Does she goes around? Perhaps even run some although wobbly?

What exactly kmr do you use? can you get goats milk? Raw is best, but others ok too.

How often? In a healthy kitten of that age, every 4 hour is OK, but you may give more often too. The schedule on the labels is often too seldom.

How much? The rule of thumb is 8 ml / Oz a day, gives here 80 + 32, about 110-120 ml a day. If she wants more give more. Its difficult to overfeed a kitten, but very easy to underfeed...

The ideal poo in kittens whom gets bottle is toothpaste, if its solid its really too solid and hints slight constipation. But better with runny than constipation...

Still, you may need to change the kmr, and or or deworm her.
Some mild Pyrantel Poaomate preparate may be used at her age.

 

[CountryCat1990]

Okay so trying to take everyone's advice into consideration I've set her up on a 4,8,12 o-clock feeding schedule. I've found she doesn't really want to eat more than 10 to 12ml at each so I've been going in every 2 hours to see if shes awake and wants a snack is this acceptable?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Yes, that sounds like a good feeding schedule. You are including night feeding, right?

You can make a slurry of wet kitten food and the kmr and put it on a dish to see if she’s interested, also. She might be into it!

Can you please answer the question about the vet? It’s really important that the ointment is intended for cats’ eyes, and a deworming would help with the diarrhea as well.

 

[CountryCat1990]

Yes, that sounds like a good feeding schedule. You are including night feeding, right?

You can make a slurry of wet kitten food and the kmr and put it on a dish to see if she’s interested, also. She might be into it!

Can you please answer the question about the vet? It’s really important that the ointment is intended for cats’ eyes, and a deworming would help with the diarrhea as well.

Yes it is including night feeding. The medicated ointment is intended for cats and kittens and her eyes are starting to clear up. I'm working on getting a dewormer and the earliest I can get into my vet is Tuesday.Im also going to be picking up some wet kitten food as soon as I can.