Rain and Sleet are needing the bottle....advice needed!

[orientalslave]

Arghh!!!  But the week or two they have been nursed by their mothers will make a big difference compared to hand-rear from birth.

I can't remember exactly how old they are, but with their eyes open they will be getting mobile and if you give them the opportunity to explore shallow dishes of food (wet or dry!) they will hopefully start to wean themselves fairly soon and they should also start getting control of toileting themselves.   It will be a messy business but a bit relief when you are not bottle feeding them!

 

[savethemoms]

They are bearly a week old and still have no teeth lol so I don't think they can handle even wet food yet. Born...
night of the 23ed or 24th I'd have to look myself lol.

 

[Willowy]

Besides not having teeth, their little digestive systems aren't ready for solids. . .there's a reason doctors say not to give human babies solids for 6 months! They don't have the necessary gut flora yet. I usually start them on mushy canned food mixed with formula when their teeth start poking out of the gums, around 3 weeks for most kittens.

Yikes, 9 bottle babies! Sleep isn't going to be a Thing for you for a while, poor you :tongue2:. Well, hope they all grow up big and strong and don't give you any trouble about eating .

 

[eb24]

 

[savethemoms]

It dose feel as if even I have aged this week lol! And yes I know they are not ready for anything but milk. I didn't know I could start the weaning at 3 weeks! Thank you for the new info. Although with my premie Rain I thinking ill wait. But the others are doing well I'm so proud of them! Today all but one gained at least 20g. I did notice one kit had an eye starting to open but this morning it was sealed back up with icky yellow junk! I took a warm wash cloth to it and got the stuff out and the eye is open again, but is this a vet visit thing for sure or can I keep watching it and cleaning it so there is no build up? After I cleaned it the eye looks normal.

 

[abisiobhan]

Can you find KMR or pedialyte at say Walgreens or a CVS or if in Canada Shippers Drug Mart?

 

[eb24]

It dose feel as if even I have aged this week lol! And yes I know they are not ready for anything but milk. I didn't know I could start the weaning at 3 weeks! Thank you for the new info. Although with my premie Rain I thinking ill wait. But the others are doing well I'm so proud of them! Today all but one gained at least 20g. I did notice one kit had an eye starting to open but this morning it was sealed back up with icky yellow junk! I took a warm wash cloth to it and got the stuff out and the eye is open again, but is this a vet visit thing for sure or can I keep watching it and cleaning it so there is no build up? After I cleaned it the eye looks normal.

Most usually don't start till 4 weeks but there is no harm in starting to put it out and introduce them to it a little earlier than that. 

As for the eye- it does sound like it may be the beginning of an eye infection, but it could also just be gunk with them starting to open. Most don't start opening till the 10-14 day range so yours actually sound ahead of schedule (yet another testament to what a wonderful job you are doing)! Given how many times you have already taken them to the vet I may sit on it for a day or two and wait and see if it's just eye gunk or actual infection. Maybe you could call the vet and ask what they think? Regardless, the warm washcloth is good to do in the interim. If you can maybe keep the potentially contaminated baby away from the others until you know for sure. That way, if it is an infection you may be able to prevent them all from getting it. Of course, any changes in activity level or bowel habits and you would want to take them in ASAP. 

Can you find KMR or pedialyte at say Walgreens or a CVS or if in Canada Shippers Drug Mart?

KMR and Pedialyte are two very different things when it comes to kittens. I'm not sure about Shippers but you can usually find a variant of both at Walgreens or CVS. KMR is a milk replacer to be given to kittens who don't have a Mom to nurse from. And, even though you may find them at those stores it's usually a lower quality product. It's fine for use in a emergency but be sure to visit a petstore and get a higher quality brand if it's for long term use. And, I would stay away from the Hertz brand unless it is an absolute emergency. 

Pedialyte is an electrolyte substitute usually found with human baby products. It can be given to kittens (with vet instruction as to dosage) to help with illnesses. But, it is NOT a substitute for KMR! 

If you do need to bottle feed be sure to watch some videos first. Kittens must be fed on their bellies and must eat at least every 2 hours in the beginning. They also need to be stimulated to go to the bathroom after each feeding. you can find more information here: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens . 

If you have more questions it may be worthwhile to start a new thread- that way more people will see it and can comment. 

 

[savethemoms]

Thank you for clearing that up for me and I haven't noticed anymore eye gunk sense I cleaned it this morning! So I'm hoping it was nothing! I'm in the middle of packing and having the family over for Easter so I was not interested in another vet visit! I'll be praying everything still looks good in the morning! Rain will get to go to church in the morning sense he is still needing to be fed every hour. Lucky for me my church is use to there being something in my pocket being bottle fed in church lol. Happy Easter All!

 

[eb24]

Haha that's so cute that Rain will go with you!!! I did it once where I had to take a bottle baby to my law school classes with me for a few weeks. They sure do get a lot of attention- hopefully Rain remembers his church manners!

Were it anyone else under any other circumstances I would probably push more for a vet visit just to be on the safe side, but your situation is so unique. It sort of goes back to our earlier conversation about the need to let nature takes it's course to a certain extent. If on Monday they are all doing really well but the eye is still looking yucky then it may be worth revisiting but you honestly don't need one more thing on your plate right now. All you need to do is charge your batteries and enjoy Easter Sunday with your family!

Hopefully that eye stays gunk free! 

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, I think 4 weeks is most commonly recommended for introducing solids. Usually I start offering the mush around 3 weeks, but of course they don't really know what to do with it for a week or so. . .so it does end up being 4 weeks before they're actually eating it. But doesn't hurt to get them familiar with the food, at least!

For kittens with goopy eyes, I just keep them clean and usually it clears up. I'll use some terramycin (it is OTC if you can find it) if it doesn't clear up fast enough, but that's rarely necessary.

 

[savethemoms]

Thank you! I haven't seen anymore goobers today so I'm hopefully out of the woods on a infection!