Signs of neglect by mother?

[chipbargirl]

Anyway, another update today. When the owner arrived, she informed us that Kitten #4 passed yesterday </3 We expected it to happen, but it still just breaks my heart. She felt awful and kept saying that we should have taken #4 yesterday, but we know that would probably not have made a difference. Today, Kittens # 1 and 2 were doing great! They were hydrated and very energetic! Kitten #1, who we have nicknamed "Brutus" because of his size, even opened his eyes! Their ears are even opening! Unfortunately, Kitten #3 wasn't doing as well. She was dehydrated and wasn't moving much. We also found fleas all over her. We all agreed that should come home with us, so we brought Kitten #3 home! When she got here, we gave her a quick warm bath with baby shampoo and tried feeding her water-downed formula with an eye dropper. We will be leaving shortly for the pet store to stock up on supplies. So far, we have on our list: KMR and a bottle kit; would a powdered vitamin/anti-biotic/probiotic help her at all at this point? Thanks for all of your help! Will definitely be sending updates!!!

 

[orientalslave]

If you can treat the mother with a good drop-on (Frontline etc.) for fleas that will benefit the two remaining kittens.  It's sad, but kitten mortality can be very high.

Do remember when bottle-feeding you need the kitten in the right position - on it's tummy with it's head up, like when it's nursing.  Tiny kittens don't have a cough reflex and if you feed in the wrong position, or too fast, it's all too easy for the milk to go down the wrong way.

 

[missymotus]

Sad that one passed, good luck with the one you've taken home. 

If you can get Pet Nutri Drops, one drop can be added per day to the formula. Many kittens are saved by that supplement. 

 

[chipbargirl]

Thank you so much for all of your advice! Right now we are guessing that the kitten is a girl, so I will be referring to the kitten as "she". She is doing very well; within 36 hours of bringing her home she went from a lethargic, quiet, low muscle-toned little thing to a loud, wiggly, thriving, warm and happy kitten! We bathed her in baby shampoo and have yet to see another flea; if we do, we will bathe her in dawn. We have her on liquid KMR and we are feeding her every 2-3 hours. Her umbilical cord just fell off early this morning, her ears are unfolding more and she opened her eyes for the first time today! I understand that she is still mostly blind, but I love her beautiful blue eyes :-) She is completely growing on my and I pray everyday that she makes it through this. She loves to wander around her box already, and has scaled her stuffed dog and other blankets already. She has a very healthy appetite, and we have gotten her to urinate several times. However, we cannot get her to poop....We have tried everything from washclothes to napkins to running her bottom under warm water, but she won't go. I have looked up videos on different ways to encourage them, and nothing has worked! I will be adding a few drops of vegetable oil to her formula later to see if that helps. If not, it looks like we'll be taking a trip to the vet :-/ is there anything else I can do to encourage her to go??? 

 

[catwoman707]

So sorry the one baby died, I had a feeling and just hoped...

As for the little girl, good job! For you to be watching them and all, bringing her home because she wasn't doing so good, and now she is doing so much better, that's awesome!

Flea anemia is very hard on kittens, I have seen them die from this alone, so it's a big deal to be sure they are gone, probably not all will be from the first bath, but you can rebathe her, and remember the longer you keep her in water the better chance of them drowning, the good thing is fleas can NOT swim, so even submerging her in water up to her neck and keeping her there for awhile will work.

To do this you must first start out with wetting only her neck, and make a ring around her neck with shampoo, get it good and soapy. This means the fleas will not be able to crawl upward on her when her body is submerged.

After 10 minutes the flea will let go, and wash down the drain, if you can keep her in for up to 15 minutes the fleas will drown. And thats that!

She sounds constipated, this happens sometimes from the KMR switch, just dilute it with water a bit more so it's not as concentrated.

When their eyes open they can see btw, nice

 

[chipbargirl]

Okay awesome, I will give her another bath tonight or tomorrow morning to ensure that all fleas are off! I will also dilute her formula, thanks for the advice! 

 

[orientalslave]

You need to change and wash her bedding every day as well.  Any fleas will have laid eggs which drop into the environment...  Wash the bedding hot (60C) or discard it.

 

[chipbargirl]

I have been washing all of her linens daily. I picked up baby blankets and washclothes, as well as a pack of kitchen washclothes, at the dollar store and have been using that for her alone. I called the emergency vet last night because I was so worried, and they said that I should continue to dilute the formula and stimulate her. If there is no poop by tonight, we need to see a vet :-/ She's been drinking so much and her belly is now big! Last night I began to hear gut sounds, is that a good sign? 

 

[chipbargirl]

Monday Update...

Little girl doing very well. Brought home Kitten #2 and he is shockingly skinny :-( took both to vet and he confirmed girl and boy. Their names are now Parker and Hardison (props to anyone who makes the connection!). Parker is doing very well, she's a tubby kitty! If no stool by Wednesday, going to add a drop of mineral oil to her formula. Other than that, her digestive tract seems normal. Hardison is on diluted KMR every hour, and Karo Syrup/Water every hour switching for several hours until he begins to become hydrated. Vet said touch and go for him for the next 24 hours, but he is expecting a full recovery! 

 

[chipbargirl]

Wednesday Update....

Parker is doing extremely well! She finally pooped yesterday!!!!! Eating lots and moving around even more, cannot believe how far along she is development-wise! As for Hardison...he is doing very well :-) he is slowly gaining weight and beginning to move around more. They both began climbing out of the box with ease, so we have moved them into a giant hard-plastic dog crate. They are currently wandering around in it, but I'm sure they will settle down for a nap together soon :-)

Kitten #1, who we have named "Goliath" because of his massive size, and mama are doing well so far. Thank you for all of your advice!