Cat just gave birth, but half died

[irenepaark]

Yea a
Droplet honey on gum is ok, it will dissolve itself after a while. Or give water with some honey in, if you can get it to drink. Not too sweet, so you barely feel its sweet. You can also add a tiny trifle salt.

Ok I just mixed some honey with water and a very very tiny pinch of salt to the mixture. I tried putting it on their mouth/gums but very slightly because all three of them kept yelping. Thank you. Do you by any chance know what temperature they should be kept at if it’s their 7th day and with their mom?

 

[Norachan]

Try to keep the room around 85F. You might find some useful information in this article.

Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn’s Life – Cat Articles

 

[irenepaark]

Hello,
I just saw the thread thank you! I checked on the kitten right now but it still won't seem to latch onto the mom and I try to feed it kitten formula but it extremely hates it and keeps yelping which makes the mom cat restless and try to take it away from me. Is this normal? It was 164g two days ago but it's still 165 now.

it seems very weak and lethargic. hates drinking milk and suckling. should i plan a vet visit? I only have time tomorrow after 4 though (in around 32 hours). Would vet visits for this be very expensive?

 

[Sarthur2]

Please watch this video and hand feed this kitten with a syringe. It must gain weight to survive. Wrap all but the head in a cloth to keep still while feeding. Feed every hour for now. Put honey on gums. Let kitten yell. It must eat.

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

 

[StefanZ]

it seems very weak and lethargic. hates drinking milk and suckling. should i plan a vet visit? I only have time tomorrow after 4 though (in around 32 hours). Would vet visits for this be very expensive?

Unless the vet is very good at helping small, weak kittens, it wont help any. Possibly he will help you decide its time now to end.
Most vets arent good with weak kittens, and so, your dedicated work, with advices from a good forum or some rescuer nearby, is often the best practical chance....

An experienced vet could try with feeding through a tube to the stomach. It could be her chance, if she is reluctant to a normal feeding... But I have noticed many vets dont know how to do it either (its not easy if you arent shown properly)... I had once a desperate forumist whom did everything right, visited even 4 different vets, and none of them apparently knew nothing of this tube feeding... So after a week of tedious tries to forcefeed, the kitten got pneumonia and died... If ANY of these 4 vets knew how to do it, and had appropriate gears, the kitten would probably survive.

 

[Norachan]

A vet visit might be a good idea for Mum if she's having trouble nursing. Did you manage to express any milk from her?

With the kitten you probably are better of trying on your own, unless you get to the point where the poor baby is obviously too sick to help any more.

Make sure the kitten is warm when you feed. Even if it's just a mouthful of formula, then waiting until the kitten swallows and calms down and then a mouthful more it's better than nothing.

 

[catsknowme]

Do the kittens feel cold? Yelping and fussing sound like they are cold or hungry. If the kittens feel cold, do not feed them formula just yet. When you pick them up & they yelp, they are typically looking for food, warmth or to be stimulated to urinate
In your area, there are probably quite a few cat rescue groups who can offer moral support, advice AND know of a vet who knows about ferals/kitten rescue. EMPHASIZE that you are seeking ADVICE and actually have the mother cat, which is a HUGE gift in & of itself!

 

[irenepaark]

Please watch this video and hand feed this kitten with a syringe. It must gain weight to survive. Wrap all but the head in a cloth to keep still while feeding. Feed every hour for now. Put honey on gums. Let kitten yell. It must eat.

Syringe Feeding — Kitten Lady

Hi I just tried feeding it again because once again, it lost 5 more grams. It definitely will not eat it and keeps moving his head away and won’t even latch. I think I’m going to take it to the vet tomorrow.

 

[irenepaark]

Hi I just tried feeding it again because once again, it lost 5 more grams. It definitely will not eat it and keeps moving his head away and won’t even latch. I think I’m going to take it to the vet tomorrow.

I watched the video as well, thank you for that. I’ll put honey on it’s gum right now.

 

[irenepaark]

Unless the vet is very good at helping small, weak kittens, it wont help any. Possibly he will help you decide its time now to end.
Most vets arent good with weak kittens, and so, your dedicated work, with advices from a good forum or some rescuer nearby, is often the best practical chance....

An experienced vet could try with feeding through a tube to the stomach. It could be her chance, if she is reluctant to a normal feeding... But I have noticed many vets dont know how to do it either (its not easy if you arent shown properly)... I had once a desperate forumist whom did everything right, visited even 4 different vets, and none of them apparently knew nothing of this tube feeding... So after a week of tedious tries to forcefeed, the kitten got pneumonia and died... If ANY of these 4 vets knew how to do it, and had appropriate gears, the kitten would probably survive.

That’s what I’m worried about as well. A long time ago I found a very weak runt kitten and I took it to the vet to try and save it. They administered some shots and tests but said it was just going to be up to chance if it will survive or not. It passed a couple days later. I’m scared the wrong vet could possibly make it worse. But I don’t trust myself to be good at handling it. I tried searching rescues around me but the only ones I could find were for fixing strays.

 

[irenepaark]

Do the kittens feel cold? Yelping and fussing sound like they are cold or hungry. If the kittens feel cold, do not feed them formula just yet. When you pick them up & they yelp, they are typically looking for food, warmth or to be stimulated to urinate
In your area, there are probably quite a few cat rescue groups who can offer moral support, advice AND know of a vet who knows about ferals/kitten rescue. EMPHASIZE that you are seeking ADVICE and actually have the mother cat, which is a HUGE gift in & of itself!

When I hold them, they do not feel cold at all. When I carry it and try to feed it, it yelps non-stop making mom come and take it from my hands. I tried searching rescues around me but most of them are for fixing strays.

 

[irenepaark]

A vet visit might be a good idea for Mum if she's having trouble nursing. Did you manage to express any milk from her?

With the kitten you probably are better of trying on your own, unless you get to the point where the poor baby is obviously too sick to help any more.

Make sure the kitten is warm when you feed. Even if it's just a mouthful of formula, then waiting until the kitten swallows and calms down and then a mouthful more it's better than nothing.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m not pressing correctly/hard enough, but I did not manage to get any milk from her. The other kittens though are constantly sucking and seem to be drinking.
The kitten keeps crying and moving it’s head, closing it’s mouth when I try to feed it. I do not want to force it but at this rate, should I? Mom cat keeps coming and taking it from my hands though and I feel like it’s so much stressful handling for the small kitten.

 

[catsknowme]

Are you wrapping it in a "purrito"? Is it acting fussy while it is with mama kitty?
I PM'd you with a couple of kitten rescue groups (local to you) that may be able to offer advice.

 

[BellaBella101]

I know it's hard, but the kitten sounds like it desperately needs sustenance, even if she cries. Mama seems like she's doing her best to protect her kitten, but don't let her take the baby away from you if that's what she needs. Force feeding may be the only thing possible to keep her alive.

Best wishes to you and your Kitties.

 

[BellaBella101]

Everyone else above has amazing advice. If she's losing weight, she needs help.

 

[irenepaark]

I know it's hard, but the kitten sounds like it desperately needs sustenance, even if she cries. Mama seems like she's doing her best to protect her kitten, but don't let her take the baby away from you if that's what she needs. Force feeding may be the only thing possible to keep her alive.

Best wishes to you and your Kitties.

I do see him trying to suck on the mom for at least like 30 seconds and then it stops. I'm also not sure if anything is coming out?? I try squeezing but nothing. But the other 2 kittens have gained weight so I feel like she has to be lactating..

 

[Norachan]

Kittens will all claim a nipple and return to that one every time they feed. Is it possible that she is blocked in the nipple the sick kitten is trying to latch onto? Get a warm place for the rest of the litter, a box with a heating pad or hot water bottle, and try putting him in with his mum on his own.

Can he drink from a different nipple?

Yes, you have to force him to drink a little. Warm a blanket in your microwave, wrap him in that and try to get a few drops of formula into him.

Maybe some good tips here?

 

[Jcatbird]

You are doing extremely well working with this kitten. I have not been commenting because I don’t want to distract you from the advice being given but you need to know that you’re doing very well. If the nipple that the third baby is trying to suckle does seem to be blocked you can try putting a warm wet cloth against it to see if that gets it open but either way, the small baby will need extra attention and feeding from you right now. Just keep going,

 

[Bratcat31]

I had a very difficult baby to supplement too. She screamed bloody murder and refused to eat. Turned her head away always and she never ever ever latched. The first few days it took me HOURS to get enough milk in her without accidentally aspirating her. One drop at a time from a syringe. Wait till she swallows. One more drop.

Wrapping helps a LOT. Try that if you aren't. And do not necessarily expect him/her to latch. Basically none of my babies I have supplemented have ever latched. I've heard it's very very common if the babies have their mom and my babies always have a mom there. You aren't doing anything wrong if they aren't latching. Just do one drop at a time.

Good luck and I'm so glad you were able to weigh and are able to supplement! Here is my littlest one that yelled and fought and caused all thr rukus. She was very small when born, lost a lot of weight (despite supplementing and having a mom whom she absolutely latched on to) but she pulled through very well in the end!

 

[catsknowme]

Are you using Miracle mini nipples? Often, kittens do not like the taste, texture & scent of artificial nipples and syringes, just like human babies. Also, goat milk is sometimes easier for kittens than is whey (the cheapest & most common base found in most kitten milk replacers). Some people use clean makeup sponges but I have not tried using them.
Mama kitty will need kitten food as well as kmr herself, to assist with ample milk production.