Sick 3 Week Kitten Won’t Syringe Feed

Aj2015

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Hello!
I have been fostering a momma cat and her 7 kittens for about 12 days now. Momma came to me with some sneezing, and within a few days was a congested mess. She ran a fever, sneezed and had clear drainage from her eyes. My vet put her on Clavamox and after several days she greatly improved.
Unfortunately all the kittens caught what seems to be a uri from mom. I’ve had three pass away in the past few days despite my best efforts to save them :(. I currently have one extremely sick kitten that I’m honestly surprised is still alive. I was hoping for some advice.

This kitten did have a lot of drainage from his nose, though that seems to have cleared up. Currently his breathing is quite labored and he refuses to nurse at all from mom. He moves around a decent amount still, but is crying most of the time. I have been trying to syringe feed, but even when I get milk into his mouth, he refuses to swallow it and just spits it back out. I don’t know that he gets any of it down. I have been putting heated bags of water for him to lay on to keep him warm and a humidifier running. I know this may be futile, but he has always seemed to be such a fighter and continues to hang on even though he hasn’t nursed in at least 4 days. Any tips for how I can get him to swallow the milk? Or any other advice to help him?

Thank you so much in advance!
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I am so sorry. Newborns can live off of nutrients from their umbilical cords for a number of days. Keep trying to get him to nurse from mom, and keep trying to syringe feed him - even if it is a drop at a time, for hours and hours.
 
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Aj2015

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Thank you for the advice. Sadly the little guy died a few hours ago. That’s 4 out of the 7 now...
I have one who is very chunky and seems to be the strongest. I have heard him cough a few times, but that’s about it. He seems to have the best chances. The second one still seems to be nursing frequently and feels like a good weight, but has one eye sealed shut from drainage and sneezes.
The last one sneezes quite a lot, has an eye sealed shut and has had some difficulty nursing. I have supplemented him with syringe feeding and was happy to see him successfully nurse from mom for a good chunk of time last night.
Any ideas on how long it takes for them to get past this uri? They have been sick for at least a week now if not a bit longer...
Secondly, a question about momma cat. Should I feed her as much as she wants to eat? She came to me pretty thin, and I’ve always given her all that she wants, but she’s getting quite a belly on her. I want to make sure she gets all the nutrients she needs so these kittens have the best chance, but don’t want to over feed.
Thank you!
 

StefanZ

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Yes give her all she wants and manage to eat. Goats milk or full fat yoghurt are good too. Egg yolk if you havent problems with salomonella there.
 

talkingpeanut

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Are you wiping the eyes with a warm, wet cloth to help open the eyes?

And have you talked to the vet about antibiotics for the kittens? They are small, so would need a very small dose, but it could help them.

Mom should eat as much as she wants. Access to unlimited kitten food and meals of wet food throughout the day is perfect.

Sorry for everything you’re going through.
 
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Aj2015

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I am wiping their eyes with a warm, wet cotton ball a few times a day and flushing them out with a saline solution, as recommended by the vet.

And yes! I forgot to mention the babies are on a small dose of Clavamox twice a day as well. Is there anything else I can do for the kitten’s eyes? Even when I clean them out they stay mostly shut and you can see their third eyelid. :/

Thank you for the advice, that helps! I’ll keep giving mom all she can eat. All three seem to be doing well and nursing this morning, so that’s a positive.
 
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Aj2015

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I wanted to post a picture of these kittens eyes since they look so terrible to me. I can get them to a vet on Tuesday if needed... my vet saw them on Wednesday and suggested I rinse them out with saline, but they weren’t quite this bad. Will this clear up when their uri infections do? Or could this become a more serious problem for them?
Thanks again :)
 
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Aj2015

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I would at least show the vet those pics, if they accept emails. And follow up with a call to make sure they see them. I would imagine they need to be seen by the vet. They are so young, you can never be too cautious. Poor babies.
Thank you! I am going to take them in tomorrow for the vet to check out. I don’t want there to be any long term damage to their eyes...I do think they have improved today though! I’ll post updated pictures here in a moment.
 
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Aj2015

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Hello again!

I had a few more questions I hoped to get some advice on. All three kittens are still doing well- I’m planning on taking them to the vet for their eyes today.

First of all, would it be too stressful on mom to just take her babies to the vet and leave her at home? I put them in separate carriers when I transport them and thought it would be easier if I could just take them. Thoughts?

Second of all, when should I begin litter box training? They are 3 weeks and 2 days. I plan on picking up some non clumping litter today.

Lastly, when is it best to begin introducing wet food? I’ve seen different answers online...I tried to give a little canned to my biggest kitten, but she had no interest at all.

Thank you! It is so helpful to be able to come here to ask questions :)
 

mazie

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I just noticed our experts have not gotten sight of your latest post yet, but I think that at their age of 3 weeks, transporting them together in a carrier without mom along should be fine. It is not that they need access to mom now every minute of the day. If you are going to be gone say for a couple of hours, they will be fine. As far as the litter, 3 weeks is the perfect age to get them started using a litter box. As you mentioned, the non-clumping type of litter and I would use say a box lid or cut down a box very low, line the bottom so that every thing will stay contained. Just make sure that the sides are not too high for them to easily get in and out of. Let us know how it went!:)
 
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Aj2015

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Thank you!! I went ahead and took them without mom and everybody did great. The vet gave me some eye drops to put in their eyes three times a day, so hopefully that clears them up soon :)

I also put some nonclumping litter in a low box, so hopefully they take to that well.

If anyone has ideas about when/how to start them on some canned food, let me know. And how to keep momma cat from eating it before they learn to XD
 

catsknowme

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I usually begin offering canned food slurry with formula about 4-5 weeks of age (and that is with bottle babies!). I have had kittens wait until 6 or 7 weeks before they eat solids. I know that's a long time to wait but it prevents woolsucking and other disagreeable habits when they are older.
 
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Aj2015

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Thank you for the advice! I’ll hold off for a little while then on trying to get them to eat canned food :)

I do have a follow up question about momma cat. When I got her she was sick, and since then has recovered really well and put on a decent amount of weight. Her and her babies are in a bathroom with a tallish board for a barrier when I open the door. My house is pretty calm. I have one golden retriever who is also very calm. If he wanders too close to the room, momma cat will sometimes come flying up and hit the board trying to attack him. I understand that and work to keep him away and clear from her space since she wants to protect her babies.

Recently she has shown some aggression with me. At times she will leap up to bite or swat at me which makes it stressful to try and take care of her kittens. I enter very calmly and try to talk soothingly to her. She loves attention and wants to rub against me, get her face pet and rubbed, but I definitely struggle to trust her. She can be seeking my hand to pet her one moment and then try to bite me the next.

Any advice? I am fostering these kittens, but don’t want to get bit and scratched throughout the process. She often is extremely friendly, but seems moody. The kittens are 3 weeks and 4 days...will this aggression likely improve soon?

Thank you in advance!
 

StefanZ

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Try with feliway diffuser or spray.

Some relaxing music may help too. Classic calm music prrhaps harp music often best.
 
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