my 9 hour kitten still wont nurse

[loveymoore]

my cat gave birth this morning with 6 kittens, all four are nursing normally while the other two does not. The fifth kitten only sleeps and does not try to nurse. While the sixth kitten has not tried to nurse ever. We tried, putting him right to the nipple and even got the nipple in his mouth but he won't suckle. We also tried feeding him through syringe but still, he wouldn't suckle. They sleep fine with their mother, and their mother also regularly grooms them. Can anyone give an advice to what i should do?

 

[Norachan]

loveymoore I'm sorry you haven{t had a reply yet.

One of our advisors StefanZ has posted this advice in other threads

"A dropper (feks eye dropper) may be easier with small, weak kittens, than a bottle. (Also, many people do have a dropper home. Clean it off thoroughly if was used for medicines earlier.) Another alternative is a small syringe. In dire need you can use a drinking straw. Have also dextrose (glucose sugar), very useful in many of situations where they need extra energy or seems to be fading. Set a little wetted dextrose powder on their gum. Other sugar sources like honey and white caro syrup do also works, but dextrose is best."

 

[StefanZ]

advices above are sound. continue with tries to give via syringe, dropwise.
IF they become stronger, they will hopefully be able to nurse from mom.
weigh daily so you notice if they nurse good.

what did you tried to give with syringe? what kmr?

loveymoore

 

[Sarthur2]

How are the kittens doing now?

 

[loveymoore]

advices above are sound. continue with tries to give via syringe, dropwise.
IF they become stronger, they will hopefully be able to nurse from mom.
weigh daily so you notice if they nurse good.

what did you tried to give with syringe? what kmr?

loveymoore

unfortunately, kmr is not available in pur area and we got this recommendation of papi's furbaby's milk

 

[loveymoore]

How are the kittens doing now?

the one who cries out has nursed on his mom, he just seem to want to find the nipple on his own but he cant nurse for long, if he gets detached he cannot go back to nursing. Sadly, the one who only sleeps didnt make it last night. We found his mouth with dried and wiped it off, then it came back again after finding out that there are no wounds in his mouth. We dont know what happened and by the time we saw him, he already passed. I dont have the money to go to vet much less for an emergency one and its kind of heartbreaking to feel so helpless.

 

[loveymoore]

the one who cries out has nursed on his mom, he just seem to want to find the nipple on his own but he cant nurse for long, if he gets detached he cannot go back to nursing. Sadly, the one who only sleeps didnt make it last night. We found his mouth with dried and wiped it off, then it came back again after finding out that there are no wounds in his mouth. We dont know what happened and by the time we saw him, he already passed. I dont have the money to go to vet much less for an emergency one and its kind of heartbreaking to feel so helpless.

dried blood*

 

[FeebysOwner]

I can't be of much help, but sometimes you need to have the kittens take turns nursing, as one or more can kind of get shoved out of the way by the stronger ones. So, the one who is still hanging on, perhaps try getting him to nurse while the others are not, with feedings in between those times. Also, if there is any additional information in this website -
Kitten Care - Home — Kitten Lady

 

[loveymoore]

I can't be of much help, but sometimes you need to have the kittens take turns nursing, as one or more can kind of get shoved out of the way by the stronger ones. So, the one who is still hanging on, perhaps try getting him to nurse while the others are not, with feedings in between those times. Also, if there is any additional information in this website -
Kitten Care - Home — Kitten Lady

that is reasonable and we tried that, when the other kittens stop nursing, we try to put the ones who can't nurse well near their mother's nipple. however, we found out this morning that three of the kittens have cleft palate so we know the source of the problem now :'(

 

[StefanZ]

unfortunately, kmr is not available in pur area and we got this recommendation of papi's furbaby's milk

If you can get goats milk, it should be OK- Raw goats milk has even some advantages; it comes from an alive momma too.

 

[StefanZ]

that is reasonable and we tried that, when the other kittens stop nursing, we try to put the ones who can't nurse well near their mother's nipple. however, we found out this morning that three of the kittens have cleft palate so we know the source of the problem now :'(

Ouch, cleft palate isnt good, and many of them dies. But the thing to do and try with is to handfeed.
Because, having cleft palate, they cant suckle succesfully, because they cant create vacuum. But if the damages arent too big, they can swallow...

Thus, handfeeding with a syringe or a dropper, may be succesfull.

surgery isnt strictly necessare, and its really mostly a cosmetic.

Observe, with humans its common they do survive - if they are handfeed.

there is even a movement with surgeon doctors; they travel to poor countries in Africa, to make surgery on cleft palate children and teenagers. Not because its strictly medically necessary, but the other children in school are mocking them and makes their life difficult.

 

[loveymoore]

f

Ouch, cleft palate isnt good, and many of them dies. But the thing to do and try with is to handfeed.
Because, having cleft palate, they cant suckle succesfully, because they cant create vacuum. But if the damages arent too big, they can swallow...

Thus, handfeeding with a syringe or a dropper, may be succesfull.

surgery isnt strictly necessare, and its really mostly a cosmetic.

Observe, with humans its common they do survive - if they are handfeed.

there is even a movement with surgeon doctors; they travel to poor countries in Africa, to make surgery on cleft palate children and teenagers. Not because its strictly medically necessary, but the other children in school are mocking them and makes their life difficult.

feeding them with a normal sized nipple makes the milk go to their nose and i think its the reason the other one died last night. I tried feeding them with longer sized nipple and it seems more okay but im really cautious since im too scared that im doing it wrong, its my first time and i dont know how much i can learn from a youtube video. And thank you for the input about the surgery, we were worried that we would need it tmso they survive. Aside from handfeeding, can i do anything to help my kittens?

 

[StefanZ]

f

feeding them with a normal sized nipple makes the milk go to their nose and i think its the reason the other one died last night. I tried feeding them with longer sized nipple and it seems more okay but im really cautious since im too scared that im doing it wrong, its my first time and i dont know how much i can learn from a youtube video. And thank you for the input about the surgery, we were worried that we would need it tmso they survive. Aside from handfeeding, can i do anything to help my kittens?

You must do as well you manage, taking examples from youtube etc... In the moment of Thruth you are there yourself and usually alone... So just, think it over and do your best.

Miracle nipples, or even - mini miracle nipples, works good for many...
But its possible you will need to drop dropwise - because they do literally have difficult to suckle, but are hopefully able to swallow.

From the side of the mouth, to avoid to happen squirt in straight into the wrong neck. so to speak. sorry for my bad english.


Ps. And do pray. If prays really helps may be discussed, but praying thends to help YOU to endure, to manage the difficult moments of despair,
to give you new renewed strengh to continue, although you are tired, despaired and even - frustrated...

 

[loveymoore]

You must do as well you manage, taking examples from youtube etc... In the moment of Thruth you are there yourself and usually alone... So just, think it over and do your best.

Miracle nipples, or even - mini miracle nipples, works good for many...
But its possible you will need to drop dropwise - because they do literally have difficult to suckle, but are hopefully able to swallow.

From the side of the mouth, to avoid to happen squirt in straight into the wrong neck. so to speak. sorry for my bad english.


Ps. And do pray. If prays really helps may be discussed, but praying thends to help YOU to endure, to manage the difficult moments of despair,
to give you new renewed strengh to continue, although you are tired, despaired and even - frustrated...

hello, im really grateful for your kind words and encouragement, sadly all the kittens that had cleft palate already passed this evening. Although, they gave signs of recovery earlier, it suddenly got worse. Thank you for all the advice and help, I really appreciate everyone who tried to help bu replying to this thread. I hope for more kittens with this disability to survive in the future, honestly it was so scary because it was new.

 

[Norachan]

I`m so sorry to hear they didn`t make it. Did any of the kittens in the litter survive?

Please get your cat spayed as soon as you can. Cleft palates are most likely an inherited genetic disorder, so if you allow her to have kittens again in the future there is a strong possibility that more kittens will die this way.

Cleft Palate in Cats

 

[loveymoore]

I`m so sorry to hear they didn`t make it. Did any of the kittens in the litter survive?

Please get your cat spayed as soon as you can. Cleft palates are most likely an inherited genetic disorder, so if you allow her to have kittens again in the future there is a strong possibility that more kittens will die this way.

Cleft Palate in Cats

Yes, three other kittens from the litter do not have cleft palate and are thriving strong. And thank you for the advice, we are also planning to get her spayed as soon as possible