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- Sep 9, 2016
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So, it's kitten season. Drat! I volunteer at a local animal shelter, and our kitten nursery is large and growing-- 5 cats are back there, two of which have babies (the nursery holds 12 newborns overall) and 3 of which are heavily pregnant soon-to-be mamas ready to burst any day now.
My foster kitten, who I've named Minnie, is around 10-12 days old we think. The litter she came in were accepted by one mama cat, all except her. When she arrived at our shelter, she was stiff and cold and I guess mama thought she would die so held the healthier kittens as a priority over her.
Anyway, Minnie's first bottle feed was awesome! Enthusiastic (perhaps too enthusiastic, a small part of me fears she aspirated after I began hearing strange gurgling noises for a few minutes, haven't heard them since though), cooperative, and oh so much easier than a syringe (I had been using the syringe at the shelter, switched to bottle at home). Well, that was it, that first bottle feeding that I did about 8 hours ago. She won't take a bottle anymore-- I've been using a syringe again for every feeding after that.
She's very skinny. I can feel her little ribs and spine sticking out much too prominently. I'm force feeding her at this point, which I hate to do, but there's nothing else to do, is there?
This is my main concern (so I apologize for this kinda being all over-- I'm a VERY over protective and nervous kitty mama): How much does she need? As I said, she's estimated at 10-12 days. I weighed her twice today, both times she weighed 160 grams. She's also pooped twice today and peed quite a lot. Poop was very good first time, just short of diarrhea the second. But, the bulk of what I want: how much do I give her? I've been trying to get a minimum of 6ml in her, but that just isn't feasible with how she fights me. If it's life or death and she NEEDS 6 or more every feeding (I feed her every 2-3 hours, though with the syringe it takes me an hour+ to get through one feeding), I'll suck it up and do it. Because she's so small, does she need more than that? Or is under 6ml per feeding acceptable? I want nothing more for Minnie to kick through this and prove everyone wrong by growing into a big, strong kitty.
ULTIMATE TAKEAWAY (again, sorry this has been everywhere): ~10-12 day old kitten. 160 grams. Refuses to eat but force fed via syringe every 2- 3 hours. How much do I need to (practically; I'm very gentle) force into her?
My foster kitten, who I've named Minnie, is around 10-12 days old we think. The litter she came in were accepted by one mama cat, all except her. When she arrived at our shelter, she was stiff and cold and I guess mama thought she would die so held the healthier kittens as a priority over her.
Anyway, Minnie's first bottle feed was awesome! Enthusiastic (perhaps too enthusiastic, a small part of me fears she aspirated after I began hearing strange gurgling noises for a few minutes, haven't heard them since though), cooperative, and oh so much easier than a syringe (I had been using the syringe at the shelter, switched to bottle at home). Well, that was it, that first bottle feeding that I did about 8 hours ago. She won't take a bottle anymore-- I've been using a syringe again for every feeding after that.
She's very skinny. I can feel her little ribs and spine sticking out much too prominently. I'm force feeding her at this point, which I hate to do, but there's nothing else to do, is there?
This is my main concern (so I apologize for this kinda being all over-- I'm a VERY over protective and nervous kitty mama): How much does she need? As I said, she's estimated at 10-12 days. I weighed her twice today, both times she weighed 160 grams. She's also pooped twice today and peed quite a lot. Poop was very good first time, just short of diarrhea the second. But, the bulk of what I want: how much do I give her? I've been trying to get a minimum of 6ml in her, but that just isn't feasible with how she fights me. If it's life or death and she NEEDS 6 or more every feeding (I feed her every 2-3 hours, though with the syringe it takes me an hour+ to get through one feeding), I'll suck it up and do it. Because she's so small, does she need more than that? Or is under 6ml per feeding acceptable? I want nothing more for Minnie to kick through this and prove everyone wrong by growing into a big, strong kitty.
ULTIMATE TAKEAWAY (again, sorry this has been everywhere): ~10-12 day old kitten. 160 grams. Refuses to eat but force fed via syringe every 2- 3 hours. How much do I need to (practically; I'm very gentle) force into her?
