Well, my friends cat had a litter of three kittens. Unfortunatly(and for reasons I don't know) she refused to take care of them(the mother cat was once feral, I don't know if this could be a reason she wouldn't take care of them). My friend doesn't want to care for the kittens herself, and since she couldn't find another cat mother, she gave them to me. I've read every article I can find on orphaned kitten care, and I have been caring for the kittens for about 12 hours now, feeding them every 2-2 1/2 hrs. What I don't know is do I have to keep this up round the clock, or can I go longer between feedings during the night? The kittens were only born yesterday, so they are true newborns. I'm feeding them KMR(powder kind you mix yourself), have them in a nesting box with blankets in it, the nesting box is set over a heating pad on low. The kittens are eating great, which is where my next question comes from. How much should I give them at each feeding? I am feeding them out of a 3cc syringe, and I have been feeding them until they stop mewing, which is usually somewhere between 1 1/2-2 syringe fulls apiece. Should I be giving them any more, or less? I am going to go buy a scale for weighing them tomorrow, but I can already tell they aren't tiny kittens. I know their chances for survival aren't good, and I would appreciate it if people didn't tell me that, since I have been surrounding by doubting people since I took them
After they eat I rub their genitals so they will urinate and defecate. How often do newborn kittens defecate? And how much should I handle/pet/"groom" them? I've never even had a cat of my own have kittens before, so I have no experience in the kitten raising department, but I am willing to try extremely hard to help these kittens survive. Am I doing anything incorrectly? I currently own a 1 yr old spayed female DSH I adopted. Will she kill the kittens if she discovers them? Also, they are very squirmy, and VERY vocal at feeding time, are these good or bad signs?