My First Bottle Baby Foster!

[red top rescue]

When you get her a little bigger, there are some important things you need to do with SINGLE orphan kittens to teach them manners etc. that they would normally learn from a mom and litter mates. We can help with that too, so you don't end up with a bratty catty. If there is a chance you can take on a couple more orphans along the way, it would be even better. We do that a lot in rescue and advise it for anyone trying to raise a single orphan, but if you can't, we do know some important things to share with you.

 

[Dinosnores]

Yeah, I'm definitely worried about that. The plan now is to give her to another foster who has kittens of a similar age once she's weaned. Her situation is really not ideal.

Also, mini-update: I heard her first purrs! I didn't know kittens that young could purr, absolutely melted my heart. I've also switched from syringe feeding to bottle feeding. I only have 3cc syringes (the pharmacy wouldn't give me bigger ones without a prescription for some reason) and she was eating the whole syringe and then getting very upset when I had to take the nipple from her mouth, refill the syringe, and try to put it back in. Very messy. Now I've been weighing the bottle before and after she eats from it and using that to calculate how much she's getting since it's impossible to eyeball.

No poop yet, either, her last poop was about 10 hours ago. If there's nothing poking out at her next feeding I'm going to have to try the thermometer and see if anything comes out.

 

[talkingpeanut]

No, you do not need to use the thermometer after only 10 hours. Kittens do not poop every feeding. I would honestly not do that at all...

You could consider using a sliver of a glycerin suppository instead. A manual evacuation is an invasive option. You certainly don't need to intervene if she doesn't appear to be straining.

 

[Dinosnores]

talkingpeanut
The problem is that the muscles she uses to push out the poop don't seem to be working, so when she has to go, it just sits there in her butt no matter how much we try to massage it out. The vet said to be careful with giving her things to loosen it, but if there's any way I can help her go and avoid shoving probes up her tiny butt then I will. I'll go down to the pharmacy tomorrow morning and see if I can find those suppositories. How often do bottle babies of her size poop? When should I be concerned that I'm not seeing any?

I did put a little kitten-safe ointment on her anal opening since it's still very red and sore-looking, maybe that will help get things going down there.

General update: this is the official end of her first full day with me. She gained 5 grams exactly, which I feel is less than she should be gaining, but at least she's gaining something. Should I be giving her something like NutriCal or is it alright that she's gaining in such small increments? She's also started to pick her head up a lot more, when she first came to me, she only dragged and flopped it along the ground. Now she sits up and seems like she's trying to look around. So adorable!

 

[talkingpeanut]

I don't think you or your vet have enough information about her yet. You have only had her for one day. Has she had a change in formula? Do you know that she's been getting enough food for normal elimination?

I think you need to give her some time to adjust and grow and see how it goes. Obviously if you see her straining, that is cause for action. In that case, I would start with the glycerin suppository.

Does your vet have a lot of experience with kittens?

 

[Dinosnores]

I've only had her for one day, yes, but the woman who brought her to the rescue (and then the rescue gave her to me) had her for three days, and she was't able to get her to poop, either. Her only poop so far has been at the vet's office and it was a normal poop, no hardness or anything. I'm feeding the same KMR she was on since the beginning. As far as getting enough food to produce stool, her total daily consumption yesterday was 38.8g but as for the day before that, I assume was not good because she was only being fed a reported 1mL per feeding.

As far as I know they vet is experienced with kittens, he's the vet the rescue uses and he was very confident in handling her. The vet techs I saw before him definitely knew what they were doing.

I just worry she's in pain from not pooping and I have no way of knowing. Although if she's eating big meals and rooting around in my hands like normal then she mustn't be, right? What are warning signs to look out for in terms of dangerous constipation? Lack of appetite and a hard stomach?

mini-update: she's definitely a preferred night feeder (yay me...), the first night and now this night she packed away double her usual milk intake in per feeding, and she was purring louder than I've ever heard a cat purr. She still wobbles all over the place, but her head movements are confidant now, and it's eerie how she tries to follow me with her head despite being blind and deaf.

Thank you again everyone for being there for me and dissuading my worries. I just want to do the absolute best I can for this little baby and give her a chance at a good life. Next feeding I'll try and take some more pics, she is painfully cute!

 

[Dinosnores]

She is so dang cute, I could watch her sleep all day. I ordered a Snuggle Kitty, but until it gets here I've been giving her a "mom" made out of warm dry rice in a sock. She likes to cuddle it!

 

[mazie]

Awe, that's so sweet. She likes the comfort of being against something soft and warm. She probably would like to lie on a heating pad. Have you tried that?

 

[Sarthur2]

I think her poop issues may resolve as she stays on a steady diet and gets bigger.

I do agree that you should try to stimulate her first before using anything. And put a drop of olive oil in each bottle.

Kittens do not poop after every meal. Some poop every other day.

How much and how often is she eating now?

She is precious!

 

[Dinosnores]

mazie Yeah, it breaks my heart to think she might be missing her mom and littermates, so anything I can do to give some of that back to her is important to me. Also, that disc she's on with the paws is a snugglesafe, which is a microwavable heating pad. You're right, she absolutely loves it.

Sarthur2 Yep, the vet said not to give her olive oil more than twice a day so I've been sticking to that. That a relief that they don't poop every day, I was under the impression that bottle babies poop several times a day. I hope you're right and it resolves as she grows, that would be amazing. She still has not pooped in 24 hours, but she's peeing and eating fine. She's up to 175 grams and is eating 5-6.5 mLs at every feeding from a bottle, which is MUCH better.

And don't worry, I stimulate her before and after every meal for about 30 seconds, I'm not gung-ho about the "thermometer method" haha. Is it normal for kittens to hate being stimulated, even when I'm being extremely gentle? She absolutely screams her head off by the end of it. Maybe she's just frustrated with me taking too long.

She's still very feisty and energetic, she can hold her head up pretty well now and she's getting pretty fast at wobbling around instead of just dragging herself and rolling.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I can't imagine that there would be a problem with adding a drop or two of olive oil to each bottle. Why is your vet opposed?

 

[Dinosnores]

talkingpeanut
He's afraid it will cause a lot of diarrhea which could send her spiraling downward quickly since she's so small. The poop she needed to have "extracted" by him wasn't hardened or anything, it was a perfectly normal poop that she couldn't seem to push out with stimulation for some reason. He's afraid that softening her stool won't help since he's suspecting neurological damage - she would just have a really runny poop that she also won't be able to push out, or that would just leak out of her uncontrollably.

I'm willing to try it if you guys don't think it will hurt her, I haven't seen any changes in her with the twice daily olive oil yet.

I also have another question for everyone: how often should I be handling her and doing things besides basic care like feeding, stimulating, and cleaning? Right now I only take her out of her carrier to feed her and stimulate her, and then after I clean up her face and butt I brush her a little with a toothbrush and put her back. She gets about 15-20 mins of time with me per feeding (so every 2.5 hours) and the rest she's in her carrier sleeping. Is that okay? Should I be brushing her and holding her more? I was thinking I would save that for when she's a little older and let her sleep right now so she can grow.

 

[Sarthur2]

You are giving her the right amount of attention and stimulation for now. I agree with you that as she gets bigger and older you can spend more time with her. Young kittens need lots of sleep!

When you stimulate her, do you use a warm, damp cloth?

I think it's too soon to say she has neurological damage.

 

[Dinosnores]

Sarthur2
I use these small, very soft soft cotton squares that I dip in warm water, and then I wipe her whole butt area at the end with a warmed up unscented baby wipe. I've also tried stimulating her on her back and with me holding her belly-down over a towel and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I prefer having her on her back because I can see everything that's going on down there.

Yes, I'm with you guys hoping that she grows out of this no poop phase. It means so much to me to have you guys here as a support network, thanks again for everything!

I've attached a pic of her updated chart for the curious (ignore the total weight gain cell for today, it will be correct once I've entered her weight at tonight's final feeding). I've decided to keep weighing her at every feeding even though it's excessive so that I have an example of normal weight fluctuations for future fosters and also so that if she starts to decline I can catch it and intervene quickly.

 

[Sarthur2]

If the baby wipe has alcohol in it, please don't use it.

She's gaining well!

 

[Dinosnores]

Nope, no alcohol!

Also... SHE POOPED ON HER OWN!!! It took nearly 15 minutes of constant, gentle stimulation, but she had a massive poop all by herself! There were three formed solids and some runniness which I assume is from the olive oil, which I'm going to stop giving her so I don't make it worse. You guys were right and you believed in her and she did it!

 

[talkingpeanut]

Don't stop the olive oil. She shouldn't be having solid stool at this point, so I would think that's actually consolation. Toothpaste consistency is ideal. She just needs a little time for her system to even out.

This is good news!

 

[Dinosnores]

talkingpeanut

Oh, okay! Is it also a good idea to cut her KMR with a little more water? Like 1:2.5 instead of 1:2?

I'm so relieved, haha. I've never been so happy to see poop in all my life.

 

[kashmir64]

My absolute personal favorite is 1 part KMR to 3 parts goat milk. Raw is best, however pasturized will be alright. Keep in mind, store bought can be a little rich.

 

[red top rescue]

Some of my bottle babies would only poop every 3rd day when they were very young, and they had no problem at all, as they ate more they pooped more often. Goats milk is a good thing to use to thin down the KMR. It does not upset their stomachs at all, and mother cats' milk thins out as the babies get older anyhow. The super concentrated formula is for newborns who cannot drink a lot. We always thin with goats milk rather than water because that way you know they are getting enough nourishment. And the single orphan I helped a couple raise also loved the rice sock heated in the microwave. That was his bed buddy. After feeding and cleaning and a little cuddling, I would put him and the rice sock to bed in a carrier in the other room and he would sleep like an angel.