My First Bottle Baby Foster!

[Topherius]

Shes getting to the curious stage and under supervision let her roam around. Its good to have a nice open spot thats contained for her to roam and play. Definitely get a small plushy for her to play fight with, they like to work those genetic hunting skills and kittens are born into litters normally so socialization starts from birth in some sense. Kittens can start a bit of body temp regulation at 3 weeks, and at 7 weeks its the same as an adult cat, but always have a nice warm place for them to retreat to for comfort and a warm up or a nap.

 

[Dinosnores]

Oh boy, how exciting! Yeah, she has her snuggle kitty, and I've seen her try to play with it before by biting on its ears and batting it with her paws. I've upgraded her from her carrier to a plastic bin and added in a preliminary litter box (DIY'd from a cereal box) just to get her used to the concept since she could start going on her own any day now. The circular disc is her heating pad and I've added a small, soft ball so she can start learning to play with it.

 

[Topherius]

Great setup! Though that box wont last long, she will be jumping that in no time lol.....I eventually had to upgrade to a spare room without a door and a glass table top to block her in but she could see through it still. God thats one cute furball you got there.

 

[Dinosnores]

Oh yes, once she finds her legs I'm done for, haha.

I have a nice large, enclosed playpen to keep her contained once she hits that stage, but it's almost four feet wide so I won't put her in that until she's a little more mobile and I'm sure she won't wander away from her heating pad and get lost.

 

[Sarthur2]

At the 3-week mark you can let her begin to socialize more and explore under supervision. She will get more interested in toys at about 6 weeks when she begins to eat soft solids on her own.

 

[Dinosnores]

Our little girl is now over one pound and 3.5+ weeks old! You were right Topherius , the bin did not last and she already figured out how to break out. She's now in her big playpen full time, but I've put in two snuggle safes to dissuade my fears of her getting cold. At first she was pretty unsure and mostly just hid in her igloo house with her stuffie, but now that she's more comfortable in it, she plays with her toys and explores. Still no peeing or pooping on her own, but I have a small litter box in there just in case.

She spends a lot more time awake now, sometimes when I check on her she's up and chewing on a toy, or just sitting and looking around. I still can't believe how fast she's growing. She also has a lot more baby teeth now, all the big pointy ones on top have come in. I've read some places that you can start weaning once they have teeth, but I want to wait until she's pottying on her own before even trying that since it can be so hard on her little digestive system.

Also, amazing news: she may have a potential adopter already! My sister has been sharing my photos of Astrid on social media and apparently the mother of one of her friends has been wanting a new kitten for their cat and is very interested. She's going to meet Astrid eventually and we can progress from there, but if she applies for pre-adoption and gets approved, that means Astrid can go right into her forever home once she's spayed (at 3 pounds) and she doesn't have to go through the trauma of being shuttled around to adoption events. It would be nice for me, too, because I could get updates and see her grow up into a beautiful cat.

 

[Topherius]

Our little girl is now over one pound and 3.5+ weeks old! You were right Topherius , the bin did not last and she already figured out how to break out. She's now in her big playpen full time, but I've put in two snuggle safes to dissuade my fears of her getting cold. At first she was pretty unsure and mostly just hid in her igloo house with her stuffie, but now that she's more comfortable in it, she plays with her toys and explores. Still no peeing or pooping on her own, but I have a small litter box in there just in case.

She spends a lot more time awake now, sometimes when I check on her she's up and chewing on a toy, or just sitting and looking around. I still can't believe how fast she's growing. She also has a lot more baby teeth now, all the big pointy ones on top have come in. I've read some places that you can start weaning once they have teeth, but I want to wait until she's pottying on her own before even trying that since it can be so hard on her little digestive system.

Also, amazing news: she may have a potential adopter already! My sister has been sharing my photos of Astrid on social media and apparently the mother of one of her friends has been wanting a new kitten for their cat and is very interested. She's going to meet Astrid eventually and we can progress from there, but if she applies for pre-adoption and gets approved, that means Astrid can go right into her forever home once she's spayed (at 3 pounds) and she doesn't have to go through the trauma of being shuttled around to adoption events. It would be nice for me, too, because I could get updates and see her grow up into a beautiful cat.

Yep lol They start expanding 'their' territory fast. Also being that shes close to 4 weeks, she will probably be ready for litter training soon (if she isnt already). Mine started going around 4 weeks in a secret spot, and I thought she was constipated cause when I did her bathroom time stimulation nothing was coming out and brought her to the vet for no reason cause I was so worried after two days lol. Start getting her used to litter, especially if your stimulating for bathroom breaks and nothing is happening (she may still pee that way which can be deceiving). Orphaned kittens seem to catch on to weaning faster so I wouldn't worry too much other than making sure she is still getting her correct amount of food and her weight gain is consistent. I started mine about 4 weeks and did formula for those times she just wasn't interested in the wet food. I also did a formula/wet food slurry to ease her into solids. SO glad to hear shes thriving and going to have a forever home!

 

[Dinosnores]

Yeah, after she eats and we snuggle, I set her in the litter just to see if she wants to try anything. So far there's been no scratching or eliminating in it. At least she's not eating it! I change her bedding daily so I'm always on the lookout for potty spots, but there's been nothing yet.

It's crazy how much she grows between feedings, she went from walking around casually from toy to toy to actually RUNNING between them. She's getting to that crazy endless kitten energy stage, it's so fun!

 

[Dinosnores]

Two massive milestones you guys - weaning has officially begun, and Astrid had her first pee all on her own - in a giant puddle which she rolled in and tracked all over everything, but still! I'm keeping a very close eye on her so I can put her in her litterbox is she starts scratching at her blankets. Hopefully she's litter trained in the next few days so I can slow down on the laundry.

As of yesterday, she's been eating formula mixed with a little kitten food (fancy feast kitten, the turkey flavor) out of her bottle and doing very well. Her stools have actually improved, they're a lot less dried-out and she's able to pass them a little easier. I've also been giving her some probiotics in every bottle to help with the transition to wet food.

It's so exciting, once she's eating and pottying on her own she's that much closer to being totally independent and getting adopted!

 

[kashmir64]

Congratulations on the beginning of independence. However, she will still need formula for a minimum of another 4 weeks. Preferably another 6 - 8.
They grow so quickly...don't they?

 

[Dinosnores]

Astrid is continuing to thrive, she's now over 635 grams and is peeing and pooping in her litter box all by herself! She's still eating her "meat bottles" (fancy fest kitten mixed with her usual formula) but I'm thinking of trying a bowl of slurry again maybe tomorrow or the next day. I've tried it twice already but she doesn't understand how to lick yet. I open her mouth and put the food in, I put some on my finger, every trick I can think of, but she doesn't quite make the connection. She's been a bit slow on some of her developments (maybe from having no mom or siblings?) so I know she'll get there eventually. I have a dish of dry kitten food and another of water in her enclosure but she hasn't touched either yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good kitten-safe litter? I've been using yesterday's news but it gets so soggy and nasty that I have to throw all of it out after just a day and I'm going through so much of it, it feels like a waste. It's impossible to separate the clean pellets from the soiled ones so I have to toss everything. What do you guys use for your kittens?

 

[kashmir64]

Have you tried a spoon? Put some on a spoon then up to her face. Once she starts to lick it, slowly move it downwards to the plate.

You should only be using non-clumping litter at her age. Clay is cheap enough to dump daily.

 

[Sarthur2]

Any non-clumping clay litter is good while she's learning. Tidy cats makes one, but generic brands will do the job too.

She does not sound quite ready to eat on her own yet, but she will soon!

 

[Dinosnores]

She's done it! Astrid ate slurry out of a bowl today TWICE!!! AND she ate some dry kitten food!

She started out by sucking slurry off my finger, then licking/biting it as I brought my finger lower and lower into the bowl, then she finally made the connection. It was such a beautiful sight you guys, I could have cried. She's like a real grown-up cat now. She chases toys, she does her business in a box, and now she eats from a bowl! She's really growing up right before my eyes, only a few more weeks and she can be adopted and go on to be someone's perfect companion.

Don't worry, I'm still weighing her religiously and I give her some of her usual formula in a bottle afterwards to make sure she's gotten enough. I haven't seen her drink out of her water bowl yet but I did see her mouthing some of the kitten kibble and I could hear her crunching on them. I'm not sure how many she actually swallowed but it's a step in the right direction.

Oh, and thanks for the litter advice! I think I'm going to keep using the paper pellets, but just a much thinner layer so I'm not losing so much when I toss it. I saw her trying to eat some and since they're so big, she just spits them back out. If I was using clay, even non-clumping, she might actually swallow it and that would make me nervous. Also the fact that they don't track is nice, and when she makes a mess and digs out a bunch it's easy to pick up the big pellets and toss them back in.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Woo Hoo! That's AWESOME!!! What a great custodian you are to this kitten.

 

[Sarthur2]

What a big girl to eat her slurry! Such a cute picture too.

You'll have to send her "mama" tiger with her when she gets adopted!

 

[Dinosnores]

Is it normal for her to be completely rejecting the bottle at this point? I have dry food and water in her enclosure at all times and I take her out and give her wet kitten food mixed with some formula when she wakes up and starts getting crazy, which is every 4 hours or so. She eats the dry food on her own (and I caught her drinking today) and she also eats the slurry with no problem. I offer her formula in a bottle 30 mins or so after every feeding and she's completely uninterested and will back away and clamp her mouth shut. She'd much rather eat some kibble or slurry, is that okay for her?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, it's good news! She's weaning herself.

In fact, you can begin turning the slurry into just wet food.

You can also give her a dish of formula to see if she's interested.

 

[Dinosnores]

Yay, that's so exciting! She's so funny, when she's done eating she always tries to cover up the dish of food. It's really interesting to see these instinctual behaviors emerging since no one ever taught her that. We have a good routine going during the day, she eats and then I let her run around and play in a part of my apartment that I've kitten-proofed. When she finally poops herself out, she comes back to me and falls asleep purring in my lap. She's going to be such a sweet cat once she gets out of the kitten crazies, I'll have to make sure whoever adopts her understands that she needs to be played with regularly. She loves to be held and petted, she just needs to be tired out first or she can't focus enough to enjoy it, haha.

 

[Dinosnores]

Something amazing has happened, you guys... remember how I was on the lookout for other single orphans I could pair with Astrid so she could have a playmate? My rescue found one! He's with me in complete sterile isolation right now for a quarantine period but I'm estimating him at 5 weeks old, which is just a little younger than Astrid. Once he's healthy they can be playmates and now neither of them has to be alone, it's perfect!

We named him Beans (because he smells like a wet fart) and his story is that he was trapped with his brother from a feral colony and they couldn't get his mom. For some reason he was separated from his brother and sat all alone in a shelter for a week until my rescue pulled him and now he's with me. The woman who pulled him said he was nasty and that he bit her, but once I gave him a safe space to decompress for a few hours and talked to him gently, I had him purring in my hands in 30 mins. He's been with me for two days now and he purrs when I so much as poke him, he just wants love. Nasty? Nah, just scared.

He definitely has some sort of parasitic or bacterial infection going on, he smelled HORRENDOUS when I first got him and had bloody diarrhea all over the inside of his carrier and himself (he had a bath the second I brought him home). The soonest I can get him into the vet my rescue uses is Monday but I have my own emergency vet aware of the situation and ready for him just in case he starts declining (I'm monitor his weight and hydration extremely closely). In the beginning, the smell coming off him was so bad it made me physically sick if I was around him for too long, but dosing him with bene-bac and other probiotics in his food (wet kitten food mixed with KMR made with pedialyte) have made a drastic improvement. His stools are still a little loose, but they're formed and the smell is at tolerable levels. I also haven't seen a trace of blood since the first day, nothing but improvement. He's also started playing, when on the first day he mostly sat hunched in a corner out of either fear or lethargy. I plan to have a fecal exam done at the vet and have him tested for giardia and coccidia. I'll also be deworming him and Astrid with pyrantel.

He's cute as a button, though, with a round head and big, sad eyes. I can't wait to get him healthy so he can have Astrid as his buddy.