New Kitten Help?

danteshuman

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So three kittens were found and delivered to my mom (I know they should have been left with their mom if possible but I can't undo it.) so they are ?3? Weeks old, eyes open, walking about a bit but mainly just crawling around to a better sleeping place.

So here are my problems. 1 I'm having a bit of trouble stimulating them to go, I'm not good at it, luckily my mom is. Any tips? 2 one is really not wanting to eat. I'm kinda worried about failure to tribe. Don't worry we bought a scale and will be monitoring their weights. Considering we have had them for 12 hours I hope we will muddle through.

They are warm and cared for. Right now we are taking tips from the kitten lady website.
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The black one is Nick, white one is Sunshine & the grey one is huffandpuff because she keeps hissing. We are thinking about calling her Tulip.
 

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danteshuman

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PS does anyone know how to get rid of fleas on wee kittens?
 
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danteshuman

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Thanks for the articles :thumbsup: these were found kittens..... my boys are fixed. However when we are finding homes for at least two of them we might spay/neuter them at a clinic before adoption.

My mom has been hunting for a kitten for a couple of months. My stepbrother who lives 100 miles away calls and asks if she wants a (single) kitten he found. My stepdad drove to LA and picked up all three kittens. Then my mom looks at them and goes "those are babies we need formula! When does the pet store open?!?" She kept them warm all night long until I got them and heated them at 5 am.
Luckily we already have a brand canvas crate that works great for them plus a wire puppy pen from a pet bunny a decade ago. Since I'm nocturnal I will feed them at night and may feed them during the day if her taking them to work doesn't work. We are all scrambling to keep these unexpected babies alive. You know how new kittens cause chaos when they first arrive. Hopefully n I n j a kittens can't climb puppy pens when they are 3 months old. ;)
 
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danteshuman

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We lost our scale but they will be weighed at the vet today. They are eating every couple hours. 1 has pooped, the other 2 have not. Plus the little runt (black) is hungry every hour but can't eat hardly anything. We think they are constipated. Given the state we found them in and they had to go through their first night without formula while we waited for a pet store to open; it would make sense.

They are playing and running around rough housing. Their names have been decided on Nicky, Sunny (for sunshine... nephew named him) & Cammy (grey/peach for Camilla, means little warrior fits her personality.) Unforgently Cammy & Sunny have already started to try to climb out of their metal puppy play pen. IMG_6964.JPG IMG_6955.JPG
 

kashmir64

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They are precious. I would add some coconut or olive oil either to the formula or straight from a syringe until they poop regularly. Only a few drops. Also, make sure they have a heat source so they stay warm. This also helps digest food properly as digestion doesn't properly occur if cold.
As far as formula... I have always found that 1 part KMR and 3 parts goat milk seems to be best for thriving kittens.

Cammy (grey/peach for Camilla, means little warrior fits her personality.
That's funny. This was Samai's shelter name before I got her and changed it. I didn't know what it meant. Even then, the universe had her pegged.
 

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I think they're older than 3 weeks. 4, maybe 5. They may be able to go potty on their own. Try offering a shallow tray of non-clumping litter. Do they have any teeth? If so, you can try them on semi-solid food, like meat baby food (no onions or garlic), or canned food mixed with formula. That might be easier for them than trying bottle feeding, which can be difficult for mother-raised kittens to get the hang of.
 
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danteshuman

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Vet said kittens ok, use flea comb, call if they vomit or if the constipation does not clear up. They are 5 weeks old, we will start trying to introduce the older 2 to wet kitten food. Plus she gave us a free rabbit cage someone donated, to keep the little trouble makers in. Also we can post on her website to help get them adopted when that time comes.

Sunny 1.5 pounds
Cammy 1.3 pounds
Nicky .9 pounds

*in 4 weeks we can vaccinate and deworm
 
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danteshuman

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They are warm. Every one is complaining because they can't open a window or door so the house stays toasty. There canvas crate/bed has ahit water bottle on one side under a towel plus a little baby blanket so they can regulate their temperature. Plus they get snuggle time on my lap/chest under a nice thick fleece blanket. Their play pen has a bed and blanket in case they get cold.

I will try that olive oil though
The vet said they were dehydrated from losing their mom plus last night with no bottle/kitten formula. They are well hydrated now and full of energy. To just feed them like we have plus try kitten wet food on the 2 bigger ones.

(Cammi original name was huff&puff because she hisses at everyone/everything. Hence the warrior name.)
 

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Thank you for taking them in!

Are you able to help trap the mom for a spay? It's the kindest thing you can do for her.
 
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danteshuman

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talking peanut I agree. However in this case they are from 100 miles away so I would say no. If I had been involved I would have aimed to trap the mom and kittens together.

That said I did raise 2 bottle babies who were in our roof. Their mom we think was the cat we always saw around that got ran over. They had to be pretty desperate to be crying out at 10 days old.

I can garuntee these kittens will be fixed and will not create more feral kittens.
 
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danteshuman

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Update: I'm beyond exhausted feeding them every hour and half or every three hours. They are eating gruel (half wet food half formula) that makes them feel full longer but they are still nursing. They pooped yesterday ... the runt Nick was super constipated. So still working on him. The 2 bigger kittens are pooping and playing in their litter box. They still pee on their bedding or me. The runt is still being stimulated after feedings. So yeah progress!!! I'm sleeping in the living room to be them/hear them. My full grown cats are still afraid of the kittens.

Thank god for the bunny cage!

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kashmir64

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You can try to give Nick coconut oil straight from a dropper or syringe. Just a couple of drops, then again a few hours later. I wouldn't do more than that thought. You don't want the runs.
I would also introduce a litter box. One with low sides and non-clumping litter only.
When mine were that age, I could set out gruel and put the formula into a dish. That way, they could choose what they wanted. I also introduced a water dish (which they mostly played in, for awhile) but it was there. I could also only feed every 4 hours, which gave me a huge break.

You are doing good. Keep it up. I know how hard it is.
 
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danteshuman

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Would olive oil work? I have no coconut oil. Poor nick when he went poo twice yesterday it was hard and I wound up gently pulling it out. They may have been without milk for a day or two before we found them. Plus on Sunday they went 12 hours without formula for sure being trapped/transported/waiting for a pet store to open on Monday ... getting water droplets while they waited. (We were expecting weaned kittens.)

They have a very small litter box in the bunny cage. 2 of the kittens are pooping in it.... and tossing all the litter out of the box
 
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danteshuman

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He pooped!!! He is no longer constipated. He even pooped in the litter box once (he has been pooping on blankets.) The other kittens are using the litter box but still pending on bedding.

They smuggle the baby blanket I use when they are on my chest.
 
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danteshuman

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Nick is still getting formula from a bottle. They all eat gruel. Today the two bigger kittens got to try straight kitten wetfood. Nick also got a small amount of wet food when he helped himself.
I'm going to take photos outside in the yard once a week next to a coffe mug to watch them grow. I totally baby nick but I make a point to give each kitten lap time to sleep on me every day. Also the large wire puppy pen now has a quilt draped over it and held with chip clips. Sunny is a little escape artist.
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