Please help me!!!!

[mommabear619]

I have seven kittens some of them are approximately 2 weeks old I have had them since birth no mother to be found the other two buried under a box and we did not think would make the night. We were feeding them all KRM and they all developed horrible diareah I brought them to the vet and he gave them albon which constipated 2 and gave 2 bloody stool and the other 3 just have yellow water coming out. I spoke to a friend of mine and she suggested giving them half KRM and half goats milk and a probiotic. Since this the 2 with bloody stool have slowed down with the blood but hey all have yellowish pasty watery poop. I'm trying to keep the 7 alive. Can anyone with experience please give me some guidance??? Thank you so much. Oh btw. They are all eating like champs and very slowly gaining weight

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Thank you so much for taking on the ominous task

I, unfortunately, have no experience with young kittens, but we have lots of folks who do.  I have asked the moderators to move your thread into the forum where those experts "reside".

 

[teddytimble]

I have seven kittens some of them are approximately 2 weeks old I have had them since birth no mother to be found the other two buried under a box and we did not think would make the night. We were feeding them all KRM and they all developed horrible diareah I brought them to the vet and he gave them albon which constipated 2 and gave 2 bloody stool and the other 3 just have yellow water coming out. I spoke to a friend of mine and she suggested giving them half KRM and half goats milk and a probiotic. Since this the 2 with bloody stool have slowed down with the blood but hey all have yellowish pasty watery poop. I'm trying to keep the 7 alive. Can anyone with experience please give me some guidance??? Thank you so much. Oh btw. They are all eating like champs and very slowly gaining weight

I rescued and fed three kittens sometime ago now.  I went to my vet and he gave me a powder form of a mothers milk substitute, I was told I had to feed kittens every two hours and how much to feed them.  I didn't have any of the problems you are describing so I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.   If you don't know what condition the mother cat was in, this could be reason kittens had some problems, the mother cat could have been in poor condition.  Hope they all survive, it is very hard work mothering kittens! 

 

[StefanZ]

@catwoman707 is the most experienced of us in helping weak orphans and sick kittens...   Im glad the combination of kmr with goat mil and probiotic helped.

A common trick is to vary the kmr - either a little thicker or a little thinner...   Often it is a little thinner.    Or change the kmr brand.

which kmr do yhou use?

Goat milk  works surprising often well.  You can possibly go for it alone.  Bottled is ok, fresh even better.

Some experienced rescuers use goat milk  only as a last resort, when they dont have any decent kmr or homemade glop.   But the fact is, I havent heard any of  our forumists  who used goat milk complain.  OK, one forumist here had constipation, but watering down the goat milk helped...

On a polish forum I saw some complain, while others were happy.   But after a while it the smoke cleared.  It was a named brand of bottled goat milk wich gave bad results.   Apparently its fully possible to ruin even an otherwise excellent product...

Probiotic is another common tip when they have diarrhea.

They have yellowish pasty water poop now?  So its no longer the same diarrhea as it was?   And no constipation either?  Surely a big improvement since earlier?

Actually yellowish pasty watery sounds not too bad, just a little too rare as I understand it.   

How is their  weigh developing?  Do they gain 10plus grammes everyday?  [ps  I see you write they are gaining but slowly.   Its good they ARE gaining, but what is slowly here?  Please give a couple of examples]

If they have more diarrheas, its good you give them some extra water with a dropper between the feedings.  (corner of the mouth, tummy down, head up).   It is good if it is a pedialyte of some sort!   Bought or homemade...

It gives water, electrolytes, and in some measure, stopps diarrhea...

Good luck!

 

[GemsGem]

StefanZ offers some great advise here. Two other advisors who are most experienced in this are catwoman707 and @tulosai hopefully they will be along soon to offer some more advise.

 

[catwoman707]

Okay so it helps if you ask specific questions you have other than with the diarrhea. 

I wasn't sure if you are experienced in bottle care of babies but re-read again and you have had them for 2 weeks since birth? You must be doing a great job if they are all still alive and eating well! It's alot of work but it does get alot easier as you go along and the kids grow.

Not to mention how rewarding it is!

Normal poop in baby kittens on kmr is yellowish soft/runny poop. It will always be that way until they are off of it completely once fully weaned.

I'm surprised the vet gave you albon to give, but know that albon is very, very mild medicine and won't hurt them, but a bit premature in my opinion.

I've yet to come across a vet who is actually experienced in neonatal/baby kitten care though.

I very much prefer the powdered kmr, mixing it 2 parts water and 1 part kmr.

When babys poop is too runny, you can make the formula a bit stronger, if they are constipated make it a bit watered down, until they are balanced out.

Blood in the stool is caused by irritated intestines/bowel, but also some seem to show a bit of blood from being pottyed, this is another reason why I never rub to potty, just stick their little butts under warm running water and tap with my finger. No more sore bottoms and they potty like the best! Just be sure to dry off well.

I think it's critically important that you weigh them daily.

You may be doing this already as you did mention a slow gain. They should gain not less than 6 grams a day, ideal is 10 or more. 

I do want to forewarn you of something. When babies are bottle fed, quite often when they reach right about 3 weeks of age, might suddenly not want the bottle, and it will surprise you as it is sudden and you don't understand what happened, and so on.

Personally I believe this has something to do with the kittens growth mentally, perhaps it's because it's not natural to be fed with a bottle rather than momma, I don't really know for sure, but just be aware that this may happen, it might start as soon as 2 1/2 weeks, but usually more like 3.

You must get them through this, don't leave it up to the baby to eat or not, they must continue to consume the same amt as they had been, or you might lose them. It's a failure to thrive type thing.

It will only last about 3-5 days, get them through it and they suddenly go right back to being just fine.

Just thought I'd mention this happens, so you it's not too unexpected. Not always, but often.

Any specific questions, feel free to ask!

 

[helen186]

Hi I'm not sure whereabouts you are based but I have a cat who has recently given birth and I would be happy to see if she would be willing to foster some of the kittens. Her current kittens are thriving and she is a wonderful mummy cat.  I couldn't take them all as I don't think she would be able to cope with too many but I would love to help with some if I can. Please let me know if you're interested xx

 

[teddytimble]

 
I rescued and fed three kittens sometime ago now.  I went to my vet and he gave me a powder form of a mothers milk substitute, I was told I had to feed kittens every two hours and how much to feed them.  I didn't have any of the problems you are describing so I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.   If you don't know what condition the mother cat was in, this could be reason kittens had some problems, the mother cat could have been in poor condition.  Hope they all survive, it is very hard work mothering kittens! 

P.S   I was also told to rub their tummies gently, like their mum would to make them go to the toilet.