Sos!!

[Juliettemazza]

First off I am a first time foster mom. I work at a shelter and brought home a 2 year old pregnant calico cat who gave birth to 3 kittens 2 weeks ago. The mom, or queen is only 6lbs. One kitten did not survive. One girl, and one boy (the runt) survived. They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow! The girl seems to be thriving, gaining about .5 oz a day, nursing from the mother well. Her eyes are open, and she's mostly quiet, sleeping well and not needing any extra attention. Today she weighs 8oz. I am mostly worried about my little runt. When he was born, he weighed a mere 2.4 oz. As of today, he weighs 4.7 oz and like I said he is 2 weeks old! Yesterday, he weighed 4.8 oz. He does not seem to want to nurse from the mom (since the beginning!) and I have been supplement feeding him since he was about 3 days old. I have only seen him nurse from the mom a few times, and he does eat well and take from the bottle. He is so tiny and half the size of his big sis. I'm worried today because he lost a little bit of weight, but also had less bottle feedings today than normal since I couldn't feed him as much as usual with work. The mama cat seems to trust me, but in the past 2 days she has hid him under my bed and she trills often when just laying without them. The little runt always has a good body temp, eats well from the bottle, but doesn't nurse from mom. I am so worried about him and I'm not sure what else I can do to encourage nursing from the mama. I have skipped feedings at the word of a vet who thought this might help, and I have gone as far as trying to put his mouth on one of mama's nipples. I'm getting nervous he won't make it and I am hoping I can get new pieces of advice on what to do here. I have been told it's a good sign if they make it to 2 weeks, but my little runt is so tiny I worry so much. Like I said in the beginning, mom is small too but I believe her maternal instincts are strong. Does anyone have advice, or any thoughts on the chance of my little one making it through? I have been researching like crazy and asking so many foster moms out there. Please share any knowledge or advice you can give me! I am already attached and trying so hard. Mama will be spayed when the kittens are weaned and I want to keep them for at least 2 months. She was dewormed a few days before giving birth at our shelter and over came a URI wth the help of medication when the kittens were just a few days old. I can use all the help this forum can give, thank you in advance!!!

 

[talkingpeanut]

I think you should assume the kitten isn't getting any food from mom and take over feeding completely. It sounds like he just isn't getting enough.

 

[Juliettemazza]

Thank you for your reply! I definitely will, I just am so confused on why he isn't nursing when his sister is and seems to be thriving

 

[StefanZ]

Some are weak sucklers it dodnt need to be real fauly you must handfeed

 

[StefanZ]

I have now read the whole post. I see he does already gets bottle feeding, so he IS able to suckle.
Still, do you have possibility to give him more? You cannot give him food by force, even if it may be called for forcefeeding, but if he by any occasion seems wanting or willing to take more, give him more.
Or be enticed to take more.

But if he IS a bad suckler, a needleless syringe may be the solution. But be careful, correct technique is necessary.

Exact what kmr are you giving? You can blend in some honey in the kmr, giving quick energy, and thus, more force to suckle a little longer = getting more in... Or smear a little sweet water with honey on his lips and gum.
Also some nice vitamine paste may be good, esp if it contains extra calories.

Can you get RAW goats milk? Cartooned goats milk is an Ok alternative to kmr, but raw goats milk has sometimes an edge. it comes from an alive momma, after all.

One idea more. Sometimes its possible to use a little sponge, type make up sponge, to handfeed. One extra good with such a sponge, you can with it draw some milk from mommas teats, as you do have momma around. And this way, he may get into him some of mommas antibodies...

J Juliettemazza

 

[Sarthur2]

J Juliettemazza

I agree that he needs to be 100% fed by hand. He needs about 5mLs of formula every 3 hours around the clock to grow.

The rule of thumb is 8mLs of milk per ounce of weight, divided by the number of feedings each 24 hours.

He needs feeding every 3 hours at only two weeks old. The amount increases as he gains weight, and he can have more than 5mLs per feeding if he wants it.

He should weigh close to 8 ounces at 2 weeks.

I would assume he is not going to nurse mom at all for whatever reason, and try not to miss feedings.

The kittens also need to stay with mom for 10-12 weeks. This little guy particularly needs to be at least 2 pounds before he leaves.

Keep us posted on his progress!

 

[Juliettemazza]

Thank you! Today he weighed in at 5.2 oz and his big sis weighed 9.5. Ive been feeding every 3 hours. As long as he is gaining, do you think he will make it although he is so tiny? I know it's hard to say, but he eats well and i can use some encouragement! And yes, I will keep them for 3 months and there's a good chance my mother, best friend and I will be the adopters. You can say we are already attached!

 

[Juliettemazza]

Thank you for all of this information! Today he weighed in at 5.2 oz. I will definitley do as you say. I have the KMR that is pre mixed as well as the powder formula. I also was told to buy Vetoquinol Pro-Biolac but when I tried switching to this he seemed to not take as much.

 

[Sarthur2]

Powder is best. I never recommend the pre-mixed. It seems to cause diarrhea.

It sounds like his chances of making it are excellent!

Are you feeding him through the night?

How much does he eat at each feeding?

 

[StefanZ]

You can try to give him more often - if you can of course. At least during the day.

This standard every 3 hours is good rate for healthy trouble free kittens. Our experience is weaker kittens usually need more often, every 2 hours is common, in desperate cases even down every hour....

 

[Juliettemazza]

Hi everyone, I posted in here once before. I took home a pregnant cat from the shelter I work at and she gave birth to 3 kittens, 1 which passed. The other 2 are now 22 days old. The girl is 12 ounces and thriving, nursing from the mom. She is a good weight, walks well and seems to be doing just fine. The boy is a little runt weighing in at only 5.89 ounces. I started mixed ad wet food with his formula and giving him nutrical once a day. He had conjunctivitis which cleared up after medication in just 24 hours. He seems to be getting stronger every day but I worry about him. He doesn't nurse from the Queen (since day 1) and I feed him every 2-3 hours. He's just so tiny and I'm trying to do everything I can so he gains some weight. His eyes are also grey since they've opened and I was wondering if this is normal. He can definitely see. I'm wondering if any cat experts out there can give me some good advice on what else I can do to maximize his chances of making it.
I think they were premature but we've made it 3 weeks so far. I worry about FKS and I would love any success stories about the runt of a litter making it. Thank you in advance!

 

[StefanZ]

Try to increase the amount of food perhaps by giving a little more often. Can you get RAW goats milk?

Exactly how much a day are you giving at this moment? He should have in the range of 45-50 ml a day. Although wet food is more energhy tight so it gives more now. My example is for somewat under 180 grammes