1 week old kittens - Stray mom, kitten breathng rapidly and twitching

Sarthur2

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Here is a helpful video:

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

The dropper is good, a needless syringe works well too. Are you feeding kitten formula? Full fat goat’s milk is excellent as well.

At this age, they need feeding every 2 hours. Once you get weights we can advise how much to feed. Each kitten needs to gain 6-10 grams per day.

The sneezing indicates they may have colds. If they get really stuffy, they might have upper respiratory infections and need antibiotics.

Thank you for caring for them! :)
 

talkingpeanut

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Is there a way to close mom in your garage and then eventually move her into a room with the kittens? That would be the best thing for all of them.
If not, she will likely be pregnant again shortly.
 
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nels.mika

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Here is a helpful video:

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

The dropper is good, a needless syringe works well too. Are you feeding kitten formula? Full fat goat’s milk is excellent as well.

At this age, they need feeding every 2 hours. Once you get weights we can advise how much to feed. Each kitten needs to gain 6-10 grams per day.

The sneezing indicates they may have colds. If they get really stuffy, they might have upper respiratory infections and need antibiotics.

Thank you for caring for them! :)
We are using a replacement formula, this is the brand! Kittenlady said in one of her videos powder is the better choice so that's what we are buying. I'll check out that video. They are so fussy it's hard to get it in their tiny mouths hehe. I'll take a pic of the dropper, I'm trying to give them 1 if not 2 droppers because to be honest most of it ends up on the outside of their mouths.. I'll grab a pic of the bottle as well. As far as antibiotics, can they be given them at such a young age? I had no idea!
 

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Sarthur2

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Wrap the kittens in a towel like a burrito with only their heads out. Place tummy down and gently hold the head still while giving drops in the side of the mouth. Allow time for the kittens to swallow and breathe in between. Eventually they will begin to suckle strongly on the syringe.

They must eat and you are in charge - not them! :)
 
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nels.mika

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Is there a way to close mom in your garage and then eventually move her into a room with the kittens? That would be the best thing for all of them.
If not, she will likely be pregnant again shortly.
Yes I am worried about that too 😥 I am contacting the animalshelter as soon as they open today. My local one lends people live animal traps and offers free trap/release spaying and neutering. Unfortunately we haven't seen the mom all night, her food and water is still in the garage so we will be trying the trap there. She trusts me Well enough to let me get close to the nest but when I approach her when shes outside of the garage she bolts from me. I dont think she would ever come inside 😞


Here is a pic of dropper and bottle! The dropper is long enough to touch the bottom of the bottle. Ill get a scale asap so I can record weights as I'm not sure right now.
 

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nels.mika

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Wrap the kittens in a towel like a burrito with only their heads out. Place tummy down and gently hold the head still while giving drops in the side of the mouth. Allow time for the kittens to swallow and breathe in between. Eventually they will begin to suckle strongly on the syringe.

They must eat and you are in charge - not them! :)
I'll try the burrito thing! I'm so scared of hurting them I dont hold them terribly tightly, and their little arms always find a way to squirm out haha. Always a game of patience. Is it okay to try and lift their little gums? Or open their mouth gently with your fingers or the tip of the dropper? Its rubber, not glass. They never want to actually open their mouths.

Also, how often should they be pooping and peeing? They haven't done it since the first time, about 10:30 PM last night. I would guess it's because they aren't getting enough food? I stimulate before and after and nothing so far.
 
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nels.mika

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Update: got one to pee, Also just purchased a scale. Time to see what they weigh!
 

Sarthur2

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Yes, you may gently open their mouths. The pee will be clear if they are hydrated well enough. If it is yellow they are not hydrated enough. Also, they should drink enough to pee a few times a day.
 

Sarthur2

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What do they weigh? How much and how often are you feeding?
 
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nels.mika

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What do they weigh? How much and how often are you feeding?
Update! Got them to latch last night. Finally. They did lose a little weight. they went from 5.8 and 6.0 down to 5.5 range. Today got them all back up to 5.8 or 5.9. Think they are a little dehydrated. did the pinch test and they still have not pooped. They are peeing regularly though. Two are latching and suckling now and getting a good amount, I'd say at least 7mls. They go until they are done. One of them is still really fussy and only latches sometimes, but when he does, he gets full pretty quick. They also have little.. hiccups? Is that normal? We burp them gently until they stop. What can I do to make them poop? Stimulating isn't working, guessing because of dehydration. They still have plenty of energy to meow and climb and escape from my hand so I don't think it's too bad but still very worried.
 
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nels.mika

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Also I should add: the trick we used to get them to latch was watering the formula down less. Originally we used 1 tablespoon of powder per two table spoons of water. We are now using 1 tablespoon formula per 1 tablespoon water, with just a few extra drops of water so it's not too thick. I read that should help with dehydration because they will get more nutrients
 
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nels.mika

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Sorry if I am spamming the thread I am running on 6 hours of sleep total in the last couple days! I commend those of you who do this full time holy cannoli. I was thinking perhaps switch between the diluted formula and nondiluted so that constipation doesn't become an issue?
 

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That might be a good idea , though they need extra nutrition. If it's been a few days since they pooped, I have heard to but an infant suppository and shave off a tiny sliver and insert it in the anus. They need to go!
 

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You could also try 2 drops of mineral oil per feeding and discontinue when they go. Also a method that works very well is to hold one on it's back, Ron warm water just over the anus and with one finger tap gently on the anus, they don't get so sore that way. I read on earlier posts that infant suppositories work very well, just the sliver of one.
 
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nels.mika

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You could also try 2 drops of mineral oil per feeding and discontinue when they go. Also a method that works very well is to hold one on it's back, Ron warm water just over the anus and with one finger tap gently on the anus, they don't get so sore that way. I read on earlier posts that infant suppositories work very well, just the sliver of one.
Okay I will try running warm water over their buns and the mineral oil. Do I mix the oil with the formula? Or administer separately? If that doesn't work I will get a suppository. I've never used a suppository before, is it a pill or a liquid?
 
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nels.mika

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I did get them to pass gas out of their bums quite loudly, especially one of them. Is that a good sign or bad?
 

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I recommend drops of olive oil rather than mineral oil in the formula. Do not dilute the formula. They need the nutrition.
 
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nels.mika

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I recommend drops of olive oil rather than mineral oil in the formula. Do not dilute the formula. They need the nutrition.
Okay don't dilute, got it. I tried the water thing and they still didn't poo. They did however fart a ton again. Idk why they keep farting so much but not pooping. Will try the oil in the milk though.
 

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Follow directions with the formula but you can use unflavored Pedialyte instead of water for dehydrated kittens. Better to contact a no-kill shelter to see if you can foster them with the shelter's support. Kittens with URI can crash fast and quick reaction time with treatments such as nebulizers and Clavamox can save them. Twitching while dreaming is normal. Hold the kitten next to your ear, do you hear any wheezing or clicking noises when they breathe?
 
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