Advice About Normal Kitten Behavior @2-3 days old + ongoing issues

ska003

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Hi all! We took in 2 rejected kittens and despite efforts, one was lost. The little guy seems fine but I wanted to make sure just due to paranoia and I have no idea how kittens this young are meant to behave.
He is sleeping well and crying out a bit loudly for food every 2-3 hours and drinking about 2 ml. After this, he is urinating every time and defecating about once or twice a day only. He has developed a little belly in the past day which I hope is a milk belly, I don't think he is bloated from constipation.
He is wriggling around the hot water bottle (covered in a furry cover) and the warm blanket we have in a little box/ crate for him and mewing. I think he wants his sibling or mom but I just leave him to make himself comfortable to avoid overhandling and jostling him.
I want to make sure he doesn't decline, so any tips or things to look out for would be appreciated. I would rather be overcautious and catch and potential issues quickly.
Thanks for any insight!
 

StefanZ

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Hi all! We took in 2 rejected kittens and despite efforts, one was lost. The little guy seems fine but I wanted to make sure just due to paranoia and I have no idea how kittens this young are meant to behave.
He is sleeping well and crying out a bit loudly for food every 2-3 hours and drinking about 2 ml. After this, he is urinating every time and defecating about once or twice a day only. He has developed a little belly in the past day which I hope is a milk belly, I don't think he is bloated from constipation.
He is wriggling around the hot water bottle (covered in a furry cover) and the warm blanket we have in a little box/ crate for him and mewing. I think he wants his sibling or mom but I just leave him to make himself comfortable to avoid overhandling and jostling him.
I want to make sure he doesn't decline, so any tips or things to look out for would be appreciated. I would rather be overcautious and catch and potential issues quickly.
Thanks for any insight!
It seems very good so far, as you are describing. You are apparently doing a very good job; good you are observant, cautious, and wants to do your best!
YOU are his Momma, and if you dont take care, whom will??
Do you weigh him daily? Best in grammes. What kmr do you use? Can you get raw goats milk?
The daily amount of goats milk or kmr is, 8 grammes / oz a day. So if he is say, 120 grammes, it should give 4x8 ml + = a little over 32 ml kmr or goats milk during the day. More if he wants, but not much less.

You can try and give him a stuffed animal for company? Or make yourself one, stuff up some fleece... Fleece feels as a nice fur.

Ps. Healthy well fed kittens DO have some belly, milk belly as you say. But if you do worry he may be get colic, you can always add a droplet or two of simethicone in his bottle a couple of times a day (not every meal). The same simethicone as is used for human colic babies.

Pity about the bro whom passed, but such is life. That is why life is so precious, it may easily end sooner than you wish... It may also be the reason why momma rejected them; she felt bro was a gooner. While your living boy you managed to step in in time to save him.

Tx a lot for helping this little one.
 
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StefanZ

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Ps. The daily raise should be 10+ grammes - may be higher raise with some healthy kittens, but shouldnt be much less. So this is the easiest way to notice if they are doing good, or if you must raise the warning flag...

Also, knowing exactly how much he weights, helps you to count exactly how much food he should have during the day. Because it will be more and more as he gets bigger and heavier....
 
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ska003

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Thank you so much! I have not been weighing him as I do not have a scale but I will order that today, that's good advice. The kmr we are using is the Royal Canine babycat milk, that is what the vet gave us. I don't think he has been getting close to 30ml a day, maybe more like 20. I will try and get him to drink every hour now.
Is raw goat's milk better for him? I can try that if moving him over would help.
I put in a teddy bear this morning, he's cuddling on the paw so hopefully that gives him some comfort. Thanks for your comfort about his sibling, I felt badly but I think there was little that could be done, it was likely a defect or illness.
Thanks again and hopefully he continues to grow :)
 
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ska003

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Ps. The daily raise should be 10+ grammes - may be higher raise with some healthy kittens, but shouldnt be much less. So this is the easiest way to notice if they are doing good, or if you must raise the warning flag...

Also, knowing exactly how much he weights, helps you to count exactly how much food he should have during the day. Because it will be more and more as he gets bigger and heavier....
oh awesome! then i will def have to get that scale asap, that should be a big help thanks
 

StefanZ

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Royal Canines is surely OK, its no need to change as its going well for now. Yet raw goats milk is always a good idea, and potentially a good help. If no other reason, its too coming from a living momma. Do have some if you can get hold of it.

You can perhaps borrow a scale from some neighbour? Anyway, it doesnt need to be nothing fancy. Measuring in grammes, and good if elecronical, but almost any kitchen or postal scale should do.

Every two hours should be good enough, but if he is very weak and dont manage to take as much he should, yes, it may be necessary to give every hour...

You can also carry him at your chest if you wish. Cangaroo method!
 

Sarthur2

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I agree 100% with StefanZ StefanZ on all that he said.

The Royal Canin is excellent, so carry on. Feeding every 2 hours is perfect for now. You are feeding through the night as well, right? The scale and weighing will give you peace of mind.

You are doing an excellent job! 😊
 
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ska003

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Hi all! I am having some worries about my kitten who has not defecated in over 24 hours now. He was defecating regularly in the days prior, and is still urinating after every feeding. He is drinking kitten formula quite well and gained 9 grams yesterday which seems to be a good sign, i hope the weight is not bloating due to constipation.

I have been stimulating his anus to try and get him to defecate, but after he finishes urinating he is wiggling a lot and crying out making it hard for me to even keep him still. He is moving around in his box at times and not yelling excessively at all so he does not seem to be in discomfort from what I can see but I was wondering if there were any tips to help this, as well as advice on when I should call a vet if he still fails to defecate.

Thanks!
 

Sarthur2

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Kittens will sometimes skip a day, but you can add a few drops of olive oil to his milk. This will often soften things up and get them going.

Otherwise, you can purchase glycerin suppositories in the baby aisle of a pharmacy, shave off a kitten-sized piece and insert. This usually brings on a poop in about 10-20 minutes or so.

There’s nothing wrong; he’s just a bit backed up. A vet would give an enema. You can resolve this at home with glycerin and oil. 😊
 
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