4 week old lifeless kitten

mykifty · May 10, 2014

Please help. All the sudden my kitten became lifeless won't eat move or drink.

Norachan · May 10, 2014

How old is the kitten? Still with the mother or a kitten on his/her own? Sudden listlessness can be a sign of poisoning, is there anything that the kitten could have got into?

mykifty · May 10, 2014

I rescued her 5 days ago. She and 4 others were left in a box. My friend has the other 3. She's been great. I bottle feed her kitten milk every 4 hours she would eat about 20 ml. She's been great till about 4 PM today. I fed her 10ml at 12 and when I went to check on her at 4 to feed her something was not right.

mykifty · May 10, 2014

Nothing she could of gotten into. She just has no energy :-( just lays here. Limp. I'm devastated. Right now I have her on a hearing pad on low with some blankets on it.

Norachan · May 10, 2014

Keeping her warm is the most important thing for now. If she wont eat you could try rubbing some honey onto her lips to stimulate her to suckle.

I've sent a message to one of our experts so she should be online with some advice for you soon.

Not sure what time it is with you but is there a vet you could get her to?

stephenq · May 10, 2014

Hi @mykifty

About how old is the kitten, or how big is she? Does she fit easily in one hand or is she bigger than that?

Is she peeing or pooping after feeding?

Very young kittens can't pee on there own, they need the mom to lick their urethra to get them to pee, and if she isn't peeing on her own she is at risk of dying if you don't stimulate her to pee. You would need to rub a wet paper towel on her urethra and anus to get her to go, and you would need to keep doing this until nothing more came out.

if this isn't the issue then I can't tell you what is wrong except that she sounds very sick, and needs immediate vet care and is at risk of dying without it.

i wish I could help more, but there are many unknowns.

If she is eating (or previously ate) she needs to pee.

She must be kept warm, and if she is very young then keeping her warm is even more important than food.

mykifty · May 10, 2014

Ok I will keep her warm on the pad and keep petting her. It's 2am where I am and honestly I know it sounds really bad but I can't afford any vet bills. I just can't. For the last week this little baby has become another one of my kids. Thank you for reaching out to someone else.
Should I just leave her alone? Or is it ok to pet her and love on her? I just love her so much.

mykifty · May 10, 2014

Thank you so much. She's about 4-5 weeks old fits in one hand. Now that you mentioned it she's not really peed or pooped. I'm going right now to do you said with a warm cloth. I will update ! Thank you so much. I pray it works.

stephenq · May 10, 2014

OK well if she is 4-5 weeks she should be able to pee, but maybe she's younger so lets assume she can't.

Get a paper towel that's wet with gently warm water and then gently wipe her anus and urethra areas while holding her over a trash can or something. She should let loose with pee, and you should keep doing this until nothing more comes out. Then you must do this after every feeding. And once a day or so she poop.

I understand you don't feel that you can afford a vet, but some vets will give discounts for strays. At the very least call the nearest vet and explain the situation first thing in the am and see what they can do, and please take her to a vet. We can't diagnose her from here, but based on your description she is very very sick, and her life is at risk.

And of course its ok, its important than you pet her and cuddle her.

She needs a vet.

mykifty · May 10, 2014

Oh my goodness guys .... I did what you said and she peed and pooped all over me and guess what..... She's up and walking around. Literally 5 min later!!! She's still weak but she's moving!!!! Oh my goodness. She's purring too. Oh I'm so happy. I will keep a close eye on her and she will be going to the vet in the morning. She's one of my children now!!!! Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you.

Norachan · May 10, 2014

Oh, that's great.

Glad to hear she's made such a rapid recovery. Keeps us posted on how she does.

mykifty · May 10, 2014

:lol3: I'm so happy I can't stop crying. She's still needs time but she's moving and eyes are open breathing is back to normal. Thank you all so much. I will update in the morning !!!!

mykifty · May 10, 2014

My avatar pic is my baby kitty you all just helped me save :-) :clap:

stephenq · May 10, 2014

mykifty said:
Oh my goodness guys .... I did what you said and she peed and pooped all over me and guess what..... She's up and walking around. Literally 5 min later!!! She's still weak but she's moving!!!! Oh my goodness. She's purring too. Oh I'm so happy. I will keep a close eye on her and she will be going to the vet in the morning. She's one of my children now!!!! Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you.

You have saved her life! You have SAVED HER. OMG congratulations!

Keep stimulating her until nothing more comes out. Then continue feeding her and stimulate her after every feeding.

Here are 2 links and video included:

http://www.maddiesfund.org/Maddies_...re_How_to/Stimulating_an_Orphaned_Kitten.html

In the coming days we can advise you on how to transition her to solid (wet) food. And she will in a few more weeks need some testing, vaccines and de-wormimg.

She may not need a vet tomorrow is she is Bright, Alert and Responsive (and eating and peeing/pooping) but we will never tell you not to take her to a vet

Congratulations again on saving her life!!

catwoman707 · May 10, 2014

Okay now I hate to be the bearer of bad news to bring you down from your excitement, but there's more to it than that.

She was stimulated and went potty because you stimulated her, but she is not out of the woods.

4 week olds do NOT need stimulating, but of course if they are stimulated they will go.

There are several major things here I want you to think about and know about with babies.

Number one and two are huge, and equally important. One is, NEVER take her outside. Only held in your arms. They have no immunity to all of the gazillion viruses lurking, in grass, all over. Adult cats and vaccinated cats come and go fine, and you would never have any idea of just how many there are and how they are literally, EVERYWHERE.

The next one is bottle feeding. The majority of kittens who are bottle fed by kind hearted people like yourself who die? They are held in an incorrect position, it seems right, and they eat well, but many get pneumonia, by being held on their back like a baby and fed, which easily causes them to inhale even a teeny drop, and get pneumonia, and they die. There is no saving a baby from this. It is the single most common way for young kittens to die.

These are my two cents of what is happening to her.

If it is the first one, and she has contracted a virus, the main thing in getting her through it if it is infact a simple virus and not the bigger deadly ones like panleukopenia (puppy parvo) then it will take her 3 solid days to work it through her system and her to get well.

The single thing that will determine if you can save her or not is simply hydration. Dehydrated kittens die fast, there is barely any reserve of water in a young kitten like this, it's like a tablespoon or some rediculously small amt.

So when they have a fever, it gets dried up, or if their appetite goes down, they get dried up.

You MUST make absolutely certain she is taking in just as much as she was before this.

stephenq · May 10, 2014

catwoman707 said:
Okay now I hate to be the bearer of bad news to bring you down from your excitement, but there's more to it than that.
She was stimulated and went potty because you stimulated her, but she is not out of the woods.
4 week olds do NOT need stimulating, but of course if they are stimulated they will go.

There are several major things here I want you to think about and know about with babies.
Number one and two are huge, and equally important. One is, NEVER take her outside. Only held in your arms. They have no immunity to all of the gazillion viruses lurking, in grass, all over. Adult cats and vaccinated cats come and go fine, and you would never have any idea of just how many there are and how they are literally, EVERYWHERE.

The next one is bottle feeding. The majority of kittens who are bottle fed by kind hearted people like yourself who die? They are held in an incorrect position, it seems right, and they eat well, but many get pneumonia, by being held on their back like a baby and fed, which easily causes them to inhale even a teeny drop, and get pneumonia, and they die. There is no saving a baby from this. It is the single most common way for young kittens to die.

These are my two cents of what is happening to her.

If it is the first one, and she has contracted a virus, the main thing in getting her through it if it is infact a simple virus and not the bigger deadly ones like panleukopenia (puppy parvo) then it will take her 3 solid days to work it through her system and her to get well.
The single thing that will determine if you can save her or not is simply hydration. Dehydrated kittens die fast, there is barely any reserve of water in a young kitten like this, it's like a tablespoon or some rediculously small amt.
So when they have a fever, it gets dried up, or if their appetite goes down, they get dried up.
You MUST make absolutely certain she is taking in just as much as she was before this.

Can you elaborate on the correct body position for feeding? :-)

catwoman707 · May 10, 2014

Kittens from newborn and up who are not weaned should always be in the natural nursing position only. On their tummies, on all four paws, head tilted slightly up.

This helps them control what comes in and when they swallow and breath while drinking.

Bottle should have a nipple cut small, so that a full bottle tipped upside down will quickly form a drop on the tip but won't drip unless gently shook downward, or at least take several seconds to drip out.

stephenq · May 11, 2014

mykifty said:
My avatar pic is my baby kitty you all just helped me save :-)

Can I ask where you live?

She still needs a vet so please take her in and we look forward to what is hopefully another positive update. :vibes:

mrsgreenjeens · May 11, 2014

So glad you got this baby back to "normal". Is she still acting ok?

If you cannot find a Vet that might help you since she was technically a stray, maybe this thread will be of some help to you: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/155462/cant-afford-a-vet-please-read

catwoman707 · May 11, 2014

@mykifty I want to make sure you are not staying away from here because of my post, sometimes I have a way of coming right out there with everything when there is an urgent situation. A 4 week old lifeless kitten would certainly be one of those times.

The bottom line here is, until we are faced with a situation like yours, a little baby kitten is found and we want to take care of it, the majority of people don't have a clue about all the how-to's, etc.

There was a time when I didn't know zip, shoot I was a dog person!

It's not like we are taught this in school, no. We find out the hard way sometimes, even learn hard lessons too. What we didn't know about this or that.

So no feeling bad for anything you didn't know about, or maybe even mistakes made, we have ALL been there okay? I mean that.

What matters is, you want to care for her and save her. You came here asking questions about what to do, and what is wrong maybe, but the most important thing is, that you are trying.

If you will, please come and let us know how things are going.

4 week old lifeless kitten

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Every Life Should Have Nine Cats

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