- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Messages
- 26
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4 days ago I brought home 5 orphaned kittens. First I made sure that the mom really wasn't around.
They were in miserable condition, cold and hungry. I believe they were 2 or 3 days old at that point.
I have zero experience with cats and I thought that if I just gave them a bowl of milk, they'd be fine.
Thankfully, I decided to check first if (cold) cow milk was fine for them and I discovered it's not.
I went and bought some kitten milk in powder form and read how to prepare it.
Made them a nest, put blankets inside and a heating pad next to them. Bought syringes and a couple
of feeding bottles but only 1, maybe 2 seem able to use the bottle, the rest of them use the syringe.
I try to feed them every 2 hours. I'm exhausted and what makes it harder is that they refuse to eat,
the whole procedure takes almost an hour and then an hour later I have to start all over again.
I try burping them, but I don't really ever hear a burp, a minor tiny sound every now and then perhaps,
but not something I'd describe as a burp. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong.
I feed 2.5-3ml's of formula to each one every 2-3 hours like I said. They are all still tiny.
Today it's the 4th day they are here. Until yesterday, they were all grouped up together, I'd say pretty happy
and healthy, sleeping quietly all day long. Today they all cry all the time, they are restless and they are not sleeping.
I noticed they try to nurse on each other, they make this sucking sound and then suck on each other. I think that annoys
them and they cry but I'm not sure.
My biggest problem is pooping. 1 of them pooped perfectly yesterday, 2-3 big, long poops, brown and toothpaste like.
A second one dropped 2-3 tiny brown poops but that was it. And from the other 3, nothing at all.
I stimulate them all the time, every time they pee normally and a lot but no poops. I thought that for the first 4-5 days it may be
normal, since they were starving anyway in the beginning and now they just eat a little formula.
But today I started worrying. I believe they are 6 days old now and 3 of them haven't pooped once. And now they cry.
I checked their bellies and I don't *think* that they are hard, but I wouldn't know anyway.
I tried the "3 finger method" or something (triangle method?) and that's when the other 2 pooped, but again, nothing
from the rest of them.
Please help, is it normal for them to not have pooped for so long? What do I do? Should I put some drops of olive oil
in their formula? I wish I could take them all to the vet but I'm completely broke, even the money I spent so far was really hard to find.
Thank you!
They were in miserable condition, cold and hungry. I believe they were 2 or 3 days old at that point.
I have zero experience with cats and I thought that if I just gave them a bowl of milk, they'd be fine.
Thankfully, I decided to check first if (cold) cow milk was fine for them and I discovered it's not.
I went and bought some kitten milk in powder form and read how to prepare it.
Made them a nest, put blankets inside and a heating pad next to them. Bought syringes and a couple
of feeding bottles but only 1, maybe 2 seem able to use the bottle, the rest of them use the syringe.
I try to feed them every 2 hours. I'm exhausted and what makes it harder is that they refuse to eat,
the whole procedure takes almost an hour and then an hour later I have to start all over again.
I try burping them, but I don't really ever hear a burp, a minor tiny sound every now and then perhaps,
but not something I'd describe as a burp. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong.
I feed 2.5-3ml's of formula to each one every 2-3 hours like I said. They are all still tiny.
Today it's the 4th day they are here. Until yesterday, they were all grouped up together, I'd say pretty happy
and healthy, sleeping quietly all day long. Today they all cry all the time, they are restless and they are not sleeping.
I noticed they try to nurse on each other, they make this sucking sound and then suck on each other. I think that annoys
them and they cry but I'm not sure.
My biggest problem is pooping. 1 of them pooped perfectly yesterday, 2-3 big, long poops, brown and toothpaste like.
A second one dropped 2-3 tiny brown poops but that was it. And from the other 3, nothing at all.
I stimulate them all the time, every time they pee normally and a lot but no poops. I thought that for the first 4-5 days it may be
normal, since they were starving anyway in the beginning and now they just eat a little formula.
But today I started worrying. I believe they are 6 days old now and 3 of them haven't pooped once. And now they cry.
I checked their bellies and I don't *think* that they are hard, but I wouldn't know anyway.
I tried the "3 finger method" or something (triangle method?) and that's when the other 2 pooped, but again, nothing
from the rest of them.
Please help, is it normal for them to not have pooped for so long? What do I do? Should I put some drops of olive oil
in their formula? I wish I could take them all to the vet but I'm completely broke, even the money I spent so far was really hard to find.
Thank you!