5 day old kitten care tips.

[crystal dawn]

Hello,

My cat had four kittens 5 days ago. They all seem to be thriving. I've got her settled into a large box in my closet with a heating pad on one side covered by a towel folded in half and a bed sheet folding up in fours so it fits in the box over that. Kittens are warm but not cooked. Mom has been taking good care of them so far and they all have been gaining weight steady since I got a scale to weigh them when they where two days old. I can post their weights over the last few days if requested.

I am mainly concerned because mom doesn't seem to be cleaning them or stimulating them that often. Is there a way I can tell if she's getting them to go or not?

I'm also worried about fleas we have some and nothing seems to get rid of them.Been battling them for two years now. I lost four out of five kittens a couple of months ago because of the fleas. The fleas drained them dry pretty much. Right now I'm using a few drops of dawn in an eight ounce spray bottle and misting the kittens to try to keep the fleas off. This is working okay also the flea numbers are lowish right now. Is there anything else I can do to get the fleas completely off and keep them off. I would like to avoid bathing them if I can right now as They won't be able to regulate their own body temps for another week and a half.

They also seem to sneeze occasionally. I do have money for a vet appointment but transportation is tricky but it's possible. Though I also know there isn't much that can be done for kittens this young. They are going strong so I could be worried over nothing. It could be that when the last litter was this age we started losing them and that has me worried. Someone is up watching over them 24/7 so we can catch any problems early and hopefully get it sorted out.

 

[handsome kitty]

You can treat the mom with Advantage II and it should take care of the fleas on the kittens. 

She may not be cleaning them because of the Dawn you are misting them with.  I'm sure it tastes funny and it can give her the runs.

@sarthur2 has some good ideas for getting them out of the house.

 

[red top rescue]

Fleas can kill them by eating all their red blood cells but I don't think Spraying them with Dawn in water will help much because it will not drown the fleas.  In the days before flea meds, we would just make "flea soup."  Put some water in a bowl and a little Dawn in the water to break the surface tension and flea comb every single flea you can get off the kittens and the mama.  Also change the bedding every day so no eggs can hatch.  If you actually have some Advantage, you can put some on a Q-tip and touch any escaping fleas with it, it will slow them down enough so you can catch them and throw them into the bowl to drown.  Also, all of us who have raised orphan kittens know that you can bathe them when necessary.  Hopefully they are not so covered with fleas of flea dirt that this is necessary, but if it is, we can give you instructions on how to do it safely and get the kittens dry and warm very quickly.

I have used plain Advantage on nursing mother cats once the kittens are a week old if they are rescues and the mom is loaded with fleas.  It is supposed to be safe to use on nursing moms but check with your vet to be sure.  Even if she is over 10 lbs, the small cat dose of 0.4 ml. should be sufficient (over 10 lb. dose is 0.8 ml).  The flleas prefer the kittens because they are young and tender, but if mom has advantage on, she will not be bringing many back to the kittens.

As for stimulating and cleaning them, you can do it yourself with a cotton ball dipped in warm water to clean and blot with a dry one to absorb urine  (My brilliant friend who raises orphans uses a tampax to soak up the urine from a whole litter of babies and then disposes of it).  You can also entice mom to lick them more by putting tuna juice on them (we have done that and it works!)  At this age they mostly pee, and any poops they have are usually very soft and will be until they start on solid food, at which time she will not wanting to be eating their poops and you will be litter training.  (Use sand, not litter to start with but dont worry about that now.)

An occasional sneeze is normal for a kitten, they get milk in their noses sometimes, and the fleas go up there too and tickle.  But if they have discharge from their eyes or noses, they may be getting an upper respiratory infection and then you must take the whole family to the vet. 

There are other reasons kittens can start to fade at this age, so it is good you are keeping on top of things.  Let us know how it's going.

http://www.myhealthycat.com/advantage-flea-control.html

 

[crystal dawn]

True, I will stop using the dawn and check with the vet for a safe flea med for mom tomorrow.  I see like six fleas max on the babies right now. Just the last one a bathed from the other litter died soon after I did that. I just know how fragile the little ones are and don't want to do anything that would harm them and putting chemicals on mom is a little iffy. But if it will keep the babies alive I will do it. I will start changing the bedding daily too. Mom get a little upset when I do that though but she's getting better about me handling them. She just doesn't like them outside of the safe area one bit.  Is their anything else I can do for the babies to help with the fleas? Getting them out of the house is going to be interesting as it was built in the 1940s I also have five other cats, one is a senior at 16 years old and a dog to treat. The good news is no carpets. Just the beds, clothes and furniture to contend with.

 

[crystal dawn]

The kittens seem well this morning. I went and got a warm cloth to gently wipe them down when I returned mom had beat me too it so I didn't disturb her. I just left her to it as when I walked in she looked up at me like this is a private moment go away. So away I went.

My partner watches them all night and he wakes me if anything seems to be wrong. All was well as he didn't wake me or say anything to me as we switched off.

 

[Sarthur2]

Are you getting the Advantage today for mom?

 

[crystal dawn]

Thanks for the reminder I almost forgot to do that.

 

[crystal dawn]

Is there anything else I can do/use? Advantage is very expensive.

 

[Sarthur2]

Advantage is recommended because it is very effective. Over the counter products like Hartz are not effective, and in fact, cause skin irritation.

 

[crystal dawn]

The only over the counter I used is frontline. Which worked pretty good without any irritation for my pets but results very with different pets.

 

[Sarthur2]

Frontline is okay. It gets mixed reviews on effectiveness. Advantage is awesome!

 

[crystal dawn]

Okay the trick will be getting it. I'm also worried about it transferring to the kittens and killing them.

 

[Sarthur2]

On the mom's neck it will not hurt the kittens, but should kill the fleas on and around mom, and including those on the kittens.

It's terrible you lost her last litter due to fleas.

There is also spray in a can that you can use on carpets and furniture, and then vacuum to pick up dead and dying fleas, eggs, and larva.

Also wash the bedding the kittens are on after applying Advantage when you get it. Using a tube per month will control the fleas.

Are you getting mom spayed after this litter?

 

[crystal dawn]

The kittens tend to make their way all over mom behind her on her ect.

Thank you, one did survive out of the litter of five. I handed him over to someone with knowledge on how to take care of fading kittens. As far as I know he made it.

yeah I have some spray  it causes the dog to wheeze though and me too.

Already changing out the bedding daily to keep the number of fleas in the nest down.

I am going to try my best to get her and my other two females spayed. Kittens is just to much work.

 

[Sarthur2]

The Advantage will not hurt the kittens by being on the mom's neck.

 

[crystal dawn]

Okay

 

[red top rescue]

There is a good way to get rid of the fleas, nonpoisonous and not expensive, just a little messy, called DIOTOMACEOUS EARTH or "DE" for short.  It's a powder made of crushed tiny sea creatures and its actually used as an additive to some farm feeds and can be purchased at farm supply stores like Tractor Supply (google them to see if there is one in your area).  You spread it all over carpets and wood floors and sweep it and leave it down for 48 hours and then vacuum it up.  On to of that, you use Advantage on your dogs and cats more frequently, like every 2 weeks, until the infestation is cleared up.  Between dusting the place with food grade DE and treating the animals with Advantage, you will eventually get rid of the fleas.  There is more information in a couple of our recent threads on fleas and how to get rid of them. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/244747/flea-treatment-questions

@catwoman707    explains the secret of making Advantage affordable for all.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/294340/losing-my-mind-over-fleas-could-use-some-advice

I explain in detail about using diotomaceous earth

 

[crystal dawn]

So that's where I find DE, I've been looking for it and could never find it. Turns out I've been looking in the wrong store. I will see if I can get some soon.

 

[crystal dawn]

Well I got the kittens weights from two days old to today. They are getting harder to deal with when it comes to weighing time. Anyways one only gained about 7 grams over the last 24 hours.  He seems to nurse well so should I just watch over and weigh again tomorrow? The other three gained between 10 and 17 grams. Mom gets as much canned food as she wants as she comes and asks for it. I moved the amount up to half a can from a forth so it will stay with her longer. she's also nibbling on a all stages food and gets a small dish of KMR daily.

 

[handsome kitty]

They sound like good weight gains.