Newborn Supplemental Feed Guidance Needed

[Cheeky_Moose]

Taters now has most of both eyes open- there’s one last little middle bit on her second eye that’s being stubborn. It’s looking good for her!

My latest concern was the weights the last couple days; the kittens are now 25 days old. Yesterday the whole litter had the smallest gains so far- only 6 grams for each of them. I made sure mama got extra wet food and kmr today and she loved it but didn’t seem to eat any more then usual (her dry food intake decreased as I offered the wet). When I did tonight’s weigh in, the weights were all over the board;
475(+6)
436(+6)
467(+12)
474(+16)
507 (-1)
The loss was of course the most concerning and it came from the biggest kitten (Spud). None were acting odd; if anything, Spud was extra energetic- zooming, pouncing, and wrassling every kitten he could get his paws on (see photo of him mid-bounce) He had zero interest in mama snacks but he did settle down for a nap with the rest of them. Is this just a blip? Considering how active they’ve been, should I just do another weigh in tomorrow morning instead of waiting till tomorrow evening?

 

[Sarthur2]

Your kittens are all as healthy as can be — they are all at one month old weights already, and the fluctuations are normal. And no, just do a 24-hour weight check. They are fine!

You can try wet food mixed with formula to make a mush on a flat plate to see if any are interested, but they will continue to nurse.

They are cuties!

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

Thank you Sarthur2 for the reassurance. I love these little mites! They’ve all cut their teeth so I did a small offering of mush last night and had a couple sniffs but if was mama cat that launched herself into the dish lol. Not sure how I’m gonna start weaning if Mama keeps eating their food!

 

[Sarthur2]

You’ll need to make mama a plate and kittens a plate of mush when the time comes. I have pictures of some of my then-kittens eating at mama’s plate with her, while nearby other kittens ate from the other plate. It all works out!

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

You’ll need to make mama a plate and kittens a plate of mush when the time comes. I have pictures of some of my then-kittens eating at mama’s plate with her, while nearby other kittens ate from the other plate. It all works out!

Guess I’m gonna need some bigger plates…
My boy Spud dropped to 502 g(-5 g) at weigh in tonight but the others gained +7, +19, +20, +25. I feel like they’re stealing his milk but I watched him jump in and have a good suckle alongside the rest of them. He’s still super energetic so I guess I’ll just keep watching him; I just want him to gain a little so I can quit fretting about it

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

So weights are still all over the place but Spud finally gained weight again. (Thank goodness). Here I finally thought I could stop worrying about the little crew and was playing with them all after weighing when suddenly Taters out of nowhere starts crying in distress and then dry heaves several times trying to throw something up. She seemed out of sorts for a couple minutes then went back to playing so I didn’t think much of it. But then they went to feed and within a minute of Taters suckling, she broke away and did the same cry/dry heave. However, this time she just crawled back to the others and settled into the “I’m uncomfortable and in pain” loaf position (but she stopped crying).
Of course this happens right before bed. Don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight not knowing what’s going on with her.

 

[StefanZ]

They do often cry alike babies before vomiting, or almost vomiting... So this alone isnt very especial... But together with the other you write, its potentially alarming yes.
Do observe, but hope for the best...

You can perhaps measure her temp? Say in the armpit... You can compare with her siblings. Both visibly higher and visibly lower are worrying.

 

[Sarthur2]

How are things now? Which one was this?

Cheeky_Moose

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

How are things now? Which one was this?

Cheeky_Moose

This is my sweet Taters. I stayed up last night and watched her heave again (Mama was very attentive) but I did see her have a decent feed before I went to bed.
When I got up this morning, she's not doing well. It looks like she had several bouts of diarrhea last night (orange tinged) and her weight went from 478 last night down to 448 this morning. She has zero interest in feeding and is clearly lethargic and not feeling well (though still has a little energy to tussle with her siblings). I've got a heating pad under where they sleep (which she's avoiding at the moment) and I've contacted the shelter to give me the ok to bring her into the vets. I don't have a thermometer unfortunately nor do I have any pedialyte so I'm thinking I might go put some honey on her gums to give her some extra energy.
Ugh my poor girl - I can't think of what she may have eaten to cause this...

 

[Sarthur2]

She definitely needs to see a vet right away. Orange-tinged poop is indicative of too much bile in the stool. But it’s difficult to say for sure. In this thread, a kitten needed deworming:

4-week old kittens with bright orange, runny poop

Cheeky_Moose

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

She definitely needs to see a vet right away. Orange-tinged poop is indicative of too much bile in the stool. But it’s difficult to say for sure. In this thread, a kitten needed deworming:

4-week old kittens with bright orange, runny poop

Cheeky_Moose

Yeah I'm worried it's parasites as Mama cat was wormed when she got to the shelter but it didn't cover tapeworm and I thought I saw some potential bits of that...but the vet wasn't comfortable giving her anything more so late in her pregnancy. I was hoping to get everyone wormed at 2 weeks but Mama cats been super protective of the babies so I was trying to get everyone to a point where her hormones calmed down and the babies could be pulled away short term without her panicking.
In better news, I gave Taters some sugar water to brighten her up and it's worked - she's had a good feed from Mama (phew!) so my biggest concern of her staying hydrated is much reduced. She's now making some effort to play with the others. Still not 100% but definitely better then first thing this morning. I still plan on bringing her in though.

 

[Sarthur2]

Tapeworms are caused by fleas and look like rice. The kittens are likely too young for tapeworms. The worms the kittens had in the thread I referred to were roundworms. These are treated with fenbendazole or pyrantel pamoate.

Good she seems better and is feeding, but treatment is still best.

Also, parasites and worms are not the same.

Cheeky_Moose

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

I hope they are too young for tapeworms - Mama was treated for roundworms so hoping it's not those either. I would be happy with zero worms really...

I'm not sure what you mean by 'parasites and worms are not the same?' Worms (Hook, Round, Tape, Heart etc) are all types of parasitic worms...?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, wormlike parasites are the types you mentioned and are usually referred to as “worms.” Protozoan parasites are single-celled and cause coccidia and giardia.

Gastrointestinal Parasites of Cats

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

Yes, wormlike parasites are the types you mentioned and are usually referred to as “worms.” Protozoan parasites are single-celled and cause coccidia and giardia.

Gastrointestinal Parasites of Cats

The vet never got back to us (myself and the shelter) Apparently they had 63 calls on their message machine (they don’t answer their phone directly anymore) so they just never got to us.
I got called into work this afternoon and Taters was looking a little better so I left. When I got back, there was another accident in the room (see photo). I’m assuming it was Taters as her butt was all yellow again. But then poor Russet started crying and puked right beside me. I popped him on the weigh scale and no surprise he’s lost 20 g since I weighed him last night.
So now I have two babies sick and the rest are probably all on their way. And no vet. So frustrating!!
I’m going to assume it’s some sort of bacterial infection so they need metronidazole or some other type of antibiotic. The shelter told me they’re too young for dewormer (which I don’t believe is true) so I’d rather go with an antibiotic to get them stable and if it still doesn’t clear up, then go after the dewormer. Any advice to keep them going until I can get my hands on the meds?

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

Update! The vet got back to me finally after 5 pm today- everyone’s getting strongid tomorrow. Hopefully that should clear things up. Taters is bouncing back and Russet has his energy back although he’s moved from nausea-weight loss-orange poo-weight gain-yellow watery diarrhea. Poor guy.

Since most of them may have runny bum tomorrow- do I have to worry about giving them electrolytes if they’re still exclusively drinking from mama?
Pics for thanks tax!

 

[StefanZ]

Update! The vet got back to me finally after 5 pm today- everyone’s getting strongid tomorrow. Hopefully that should clear things up. Taters is bouncing back and Russet has his energy back although he’s moved from nausea-weight loss-orange poo-weight gain-yellow watery diarrhea. Poor guy.

Since most of them may have runny bum tomorrow- do I have to worry about giving them electrolytes if they’re still exclusively drinking from mama?
Pics for thanks tax!

Electrolytes as such arent harmfull unless grossly overdone. So if its feasible to you, yes, give them electrolytes, if its not much trouble for you.... ps. And pedialyte is in concentration of body fluids, so its totally harmless.

Its probably not strictly necessary, but I do believe its good.

 

[Sarthur2]

If the Strongid doesn’t work then try Albon or metronidazole. If it’s coccidia, it’s definitely contagious. Poor kittens — I hope they get better soon!

 

[Cheeky_Moose]

Hi folks- the dewormer cleared up everything within 48 hours so the kittens have been busy growing and learning! They are now five and a half weeks old. My next questions are weaning- they still have full access to mama and dry food is available 24/7. Wet food is offered 4x a day and all the kittens have tried it but it’s hit or miss if they make meals of it. They’re all gaining weight and being exposed slowly to new people and sounds; however I can’t tell who’s eating what so poops are random. It seemed like everyone started pooping and then it all disappeared. Could mama still be eating it?
They’re also very hesitant for kittens and I’m wondering if that might be their stray mothers influence- they refuse to leave the foster room (with the exception of bold mr.spud) even with the door wide open. They haven’t been scared of the strangers visiting (one at a time) but they also don’t really care to visit them either haha. Do I just have a naturally hesitant crew or are they still just too young?

 

[StefanZ]

Is mamma actively cautioning them, to avoid humans?

Re the poo... Its prob momma still eats it. But observen, normally when they begin to eat solid foods, the consistency of poo changes, and momma tends to not longer eat it...