Underweight 3 week old kittens

[HeyKat]

I was given 5 3-week-old kittens to foster yesterday. I'm feeding them KMR with a bottle, stimulating them after meals, weighing them before and after, and giving them a heat source they can crawl away from. But it's been less than 24 hours and I already have questions.

1. They are TINY. Like the size of newborns. The littliest was 112g on arrival (108 this morning) and the biggest 169g (now 180). So I know kittens should gain about 14g per day, but what if they're so severely underweight? Should they be gaining more to catch up? If so how much?

2. Greenish stool: how worried should I be? Consistency is normal.

3. Also, the teensiest kit pooed a LOT (greenish), and had a tiny bit of red blood at the end. Likely from straining, or should I be panicking? He's already lost 4g, and he's struggling to latch so I'm getting a miracle nipple today. Hopefully he'll eat better with the smaller nip.

I've only had 1 bottle baby before and he was a hefty 320g at 10 days, so these miniture rugrats are intimidating. Any help/cheerleading much appreciated

 

[StefanZ]

Can you get raw goats milk? With the smallest you can add glucose sugar / dextrose. This will typically be a droplet of white caro syrup on the gum inside lips... Also dilute the kmr powder with some flavorless baby pedialyte. Not just water. It contains some glucose sugar and good salts... Give her as much she manage and often. Even every hour if necessary. 10+ gramnes is ok, 14+ not necessary.

 

[kittiefoster]

Hi hi if they are struggling to latch on I will sometimes help them form the section needed by placing my fingers around the end of the nipple near their mouth it just helps them get a little bit more suction in so you would take four fingers including your thumb and place them around the bottle near the base of the nipple don't squeeze or anything just help fill the space up to their little mouth.
Also at this age I would add in some baby rice cereal. It helps to clear up the diarrhea and you can also get some Purina probiotics online at Amazon. Put a half a package into the feeding amount for all the kittens, it should have tiny red spots in it before you shake it or stir it when it's added to warm water... That is the probiotics, but it also has a product in it that stimulates their appetite, from bovine bones... Works wonders in getting their stools to even out especially when they will soon be switching to cat food... Anytime kittens have a dietary change they will have stool changes as well so I think that's what's going on with the green poo... Nothing better than probiotics for that. Usually it looks as though you need a prescription to get the Purina probiotics but you don't it's called Forti flora.
I think that will really help you in both stimulating their appetites and resolving the issue which will help them not be dehydrated and put on weight.
The rice cereal will help them to start forming normal kitten poops... When they are just on milk they will have very unusual poops but the rice cereal helps to solidify... Then, once they're stabilized you can start adding oil canine baby cat wet food in with their formula and the rice cereal you kind of make a thick formula out of that and then open up the bottle nipple a little bit they will love that!!

I have rescued over 300 bottle baby kittens and each litter needs their own little tweaking of what they need for changes in their nutrition status... In this case it sounds like because of their age it's time for some firming up of their poop and then they should be able to poop on their own in about a week put them in the litter box and stimulate them there. If they were in good condition you could do it at 3 weeks, but since they are so weak you should probably wait.

You are doing a wonderful job!! I don't want to scare you but bottle babies only have a 50% survival rate and it is very intensive care... Also if they are not latching on it is almost 100% of the time because they are cold. You can warm them up by putting them close to your body, do that for a half an hour before trying to feed them because if they eat while they are cold, they cannot process the food... Their digestive system shuts down when they are cold so if you force them to eat food when they are cold, they have a difficult time digesting. Very soon they will be able to regulate their temperature but because they're a little bit weak and behind they are probably struggling with that.... Don't assume that because they have a heating pad that they are warm enough they may have crawled away from it and don't know that they need to be on there... Once they get cold they don't know what to do... They get a little bit frantic and panicked. Of course keep them all cut together and another good thing is to put the heating pad over the top of them just for a short period until they're all warmed up then remove it and put it to the side where they can crawl back to it... Hope I have not overwhelmed you with too much information lol best of wishes I know you are doing a very best for them and it will seem like they're not doing great and next thing you know they'll be running around falling over each other! Thank you for doing such a very hard job! Keep in touch!! You can private message me if you want to get my attention if you have any other questions... If you need my text number I can give you that too if your private message me... That way I could be available for questions anytime, I'm up half the night with her pregnant Mama who's ready to give birth any day haha it would be a treat for me to have the mama to take care of the kittens!! Good luck!!

 

[StefanZ]

I wonder, if they really are 3 weeks... Did they opened their eyes?

If they ARE 3 weeks, and that much underweigh, its not sure they will survive, even with best care.
But its of course the smallest whom is most critical.

Fight on; there is always a chance as long you are dedicated and fight...

H HeyKat

 

[kittiefoster]

I wonder, if they really are 3 weeks... Did they opened their eyes?

If they ARE 3 weeks, and that much underweigh, its not sure they will survive, even with best care.
But its of course the smallest whom is most critical.

Fight on; there is always a chance as long you are dedicated and fight...

H HeyKat

Stefanz ... I agree we had a particularly sick litter one time and we said that even if one kitten survived it would be worth all of the heartache and struggles of trying to save the kittens and one actually did survive her name is Athena.... She's a beautiful and sweet black domestic short hair, one of my favorites!

 

[HeyKat]

Thank you StefanZ and kittiefoster for your advice. I've read through it all carefully and will do what I can.

The kittens' eyes are open and they have their incisors so I'm pretty sure they're 3 weeks old.

To clarify, the kittens' stool was a funny colour this morning (it's normal now), but they haven't had diarrheoa. I suspect they pooed so much because the person who found them and tried to look after them for a day or two wasn't stimulating them before she dropped them off at the shelter.

The kids seem fairly energetic, though I don't have much experience with kits this young so I don't know how they'd compare. The tiny one has the strength to climb the bars of their cage if I don't take him out fast enough for food. He's a bit dehydrated still and he won't latch, but I've managed to get him to take 5ml every 3-4 hours with the miracle nipple and a ton of patience. He's been gaining slowly since, and the others are all gaining well. Biggest is now 197g!

It's still only been a day, but I'm cautiously optimistic for now. Touch wood.

 

[Sarthur2]

Try feeding the tiny one with a 1-2mL syringe if he won’t latch to a nipple.

 

[Willowy]

If it was a straightforward matter of not being fed enough, once you get them eating they should be fine! Lack of appetite usually means something's wrong inside but if they're raring to go then they're probably healthy other than being underfed. Everything sounds good so far.

 

[HeyKat]

If it was a straightforward matter of not being fed enough, once you get them eating they should be fine! Lack of appetite usually means something's wrong inside but if they're raring to go then they're probably healthy other than being underfed. Everything sounds good so far.

Thank you, this is encouraging.

... Except Kitten 4, who was eating like a champ yesterday and grams away from beating out Kitten 5 for biggest, refused to eat all night I even tried using a syringe but he just kept squirming away, like, "Hard pass, lady!" He's losing all the weight he gained

 

[HeyKat]

Update:

My tiniest kitten is still tiny, now weighing in at 115g. He gained a measly 1g in the last 24 hours.
2 kittens are eating well and gaining steadily, 10+ grams per day.
The one who refused to eat before suddenly regained his appetite after 15+ hours and -17g and attempted to swallow the bottle whole. He did well for a while and then at his last feed refused to eat again.
The last kitten was doing okay, until the latest feed, when she refused to eat and shot diarrhoea like a hose.

We don't have pedialyte or karo syrup where I live, and I can't get goats milk. I tried googling pedialyte recipes but there are so many different ones I don't know which to trust. I think I can substitute honey for karo syrup (right?), but the kittens aren't lethargic. They refuse their food quite vigorously.

I do have some kitten meds for diarrhoea, which also contains dextrose, prebiotics and electrolytes, so I'm going to try adding a little to my struggling kittens' next meal and see how it goes...

 

[Willowy]

The standard oral rehydration solution recipe is 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 liter/quart of water.

If you can find it, use 1 teaspoon of low-sodium salt instead of 1/2 tsp of regular salt, because the potassium in it gives extra benefits.

Since they have teeth, have you tried offering pureed meat/canned cat food? They might be sick of milk and want to get started on real food. If you can get them to eat something, keep adding kitten formula to it at least until 12-14 weeks, they really need the extra nutrition.

 

[Sarthur2]

They may also be full and can only hold so much. Unless they’ve aspirated they will let you know when they are full or hungry.

 

[StefanZ]

Update:

My tiniest kitten is still tiny, now weighing in at 115g. He gained a measly 1g in the last 24 hours.
2 kittens are eating well and gaining steadily, 10+ grams per day.
The one who refused to eat before suddenly regained his appetite after 15+ hours and -17g and attempted to swallow the bottle whole. He did well for a while and then at his last feed refused to eat again.
The last kitten was doing okay, until the latest feed, when she refused to eat and shot diarrhoea like a hose.

We don't have pedialyte or karo syrup where I live, and I can't get goats milk. I tried googling pedialyte recipes but there are so many different ones I don't know which to trust. I think I can substitute honey for karo syrup (right?), but the kittens aren't lethargic. They refuse their food quite vigorously.

I do have some kitten meds for diarrhoea, which also contains dextrose, prebiotics and electrolytes, so I'm going to try adding a little to my struggling kittens' next meal and see how it goes...

If they have hefty diarrheas, extra electrolytes become a must... As they lose salts aplenty.

This is why the manslaughter cholera kills. Its not just the poison from bacteria as such; in main its the sudden lack of salts.... And thus, a basic pedialyte is the cure, cutting off the great majority of deaths into just some few percents.

Salt; preferably low sodium salt (or minerale salt); as this contains also other salts not just natrium, also potassium and some magnesium.

Another alternative may be some good minerale water. You see on the label if it contains lotsa of different salts... Let go the gas out; and use this. Add a touch of honey or even common sugar, and there you have an useful homemade pedialyte...

Another variation is, you take common rice and aplenty of water. You boil the rice thrice the usual time. You take the water, add these salts mentioned; and voilá, you have a terrific home made pedialyte, with salts, glucose sugar from the boiled out rice, and some extra carbos... This pedialyte is extra useful for diarrheas; both in humans and kittens...

 

[HeyKat]

They may also be full and can only hold so much. Unless they’ve aspirated they will let you know when they are full or hungry.

The problem is, the one who refuses food loses weight every time, so it's just yo-yoing and not actually increasing. The past 2 days his averages were +3g and -7g.

Also thank you to everyone who's commented and offered recipes. The kittens are going back to the shelter for babysitting today, so I'll try the recipes out this evening when I get them back. In the meantime, I'll be catching up on sleep. Uh, I mean work. Catching up on work. Definitely not sleeping all day.

 

[HeyKat]

I'm so worried about my tiniest kitten. He's been hovering between 115-118g all week. Finally managed to get him up to 121g today ... and then he excreted it all and went back to 116g tonight.

He's not lethargic and his stool is normal. He still has energy to climb the bars of his cage and he cries loudly for food before meals. He and his siblings are all now drinking their kmr with added electrolytes, glutamine and probiotics (I got a pedialyte-type solution from the vet), but it doesn't seem to be making any difference for him.

I can get him seen by the vet again tomorrow but I'm afraid she'll just write him off. I don't want to give up on him when he's still got life, but it's hard to have hope when there's just no improvement.

Any suggestions for what I can do, or ask the vet to try?

 

[Sarthur2]

I suspect there is nothing the vet can do that you are not already doing. Since he acts normally otherwise, your best bet is to continue feeding as you have been, and hope for the best going forward.

My only suggestion would be to try full fat goat milk instead of formula. He may do better on that. It sometimes does the trick, whether liquid or powdered full fat goat milk.

Sometimes, a kitten in this situation needs to pass the 3-4 week old mark to turn the corner, so to speak. If they make it past this marker, they will suddenly begin to gain weight and prosper. It’s a strange thing, making it past this stage, but once they do, they usually thrive. I hope it’s the case here! .

 

[HeyKat]

I suspect there is nothing the vet can do that you are not already doing. Since he acts normally otherwise, your best bet is to continue feeding as you have been, and hope for the best going forward.

My only suggestion would be to try full fat goat milk instead of formula. He may do better on that. It sometimes does the trick, whether liquid or powdered full fat goat milk.

Sometimes, a kitten in this situation needs to pass the 3-4 week old mark to turn the corner, so to speak. If they make it past this marker, they will suddenly begin to gain weight and prosper. It’s a strange thing, making it past this stage, but once they do, they usually thrive. I hope it’s the case here!

I know there are no guarantees, but thank you for giving me hope again. I'm seeing little canines pop out, so with luck maybe he'll turn that corner soon

 

[HeyKat]

Help one of my kittens is dying i don't know what to do. She gained 10g today so I wasnt worried when she just wanted to sleep earlier, but now she's totally limp and unresponsive. She just twitches a bit like she's in pain if I touch her stomach and she peed herself and leaked some diarrhoea in my lap without moving.

Is there anything I can do for her?

 

[StefanZ]

Help one of my kittens is dying i don't know what to do. She gained 10g today so I wasnt worried when she just wanted to sleep earlier, but now she's totally limp and unresponsive. She just twitches a bit like she's in pain if I touch her stomach and she peed herself and leaked some diarrhoea in my lap without moving.

Is there anything I can do for her?

Ouch. I fear she is dying for real, and in pains too. Is there any chance she got something poisonous into her? Exactly what kmr do you give her?
Do you have access to a vet?

If not, what to do if you want to try to fight on.

Keep her warm. Keep her hydrated with sugar water (glucose sugar if you have, but common sugar may work too). Really, pedialyte is best if you have it at hand. She will get both glucose sugar and salts.
Do not give her food, because her digestion is probably down.... But she will survive a couple of days on the glucose sugar. IF she becomes better, you man continue with food; preferably goats milk, its milder than most kmr...

Massage her where you can, with fingertops.

 

[HeyKat]

Ouch. I fear she is dying for real, and in pains too. Is there any chance she got something poisonous into her? Exactly what kmr do you give her?
Do you have access to a vet?

If not, what to do if you want to try to fight on.

Keep her warm. Keep her hydrated with sugar water (glucose sugar if you have, but common sugar may work too). Really, pedialyte is best if you have it at hand. She will get both glucose sugar and salts.
Do not give her food, because her digestion is probably down.... But she will survive a couple of days on the glucose sugar. IF she becomes better, you man continue with food; preferably goats milk, its milder than most kmr...

Massage her where you can, with fingertops.

All she's had is royal canin babycat milk and prolyte.

It's the middle of the night here so no vet