Urgent help needed!!!

[livismom1]

I know I this forum is FULL of information and I will be searching and reading everything I can but I need help now...


My daughter just called me. A friend of a friend has five 2 1/2 week old kittens. The mom died. She is picking them up tonight. Her boyfriend bought some kitten formula. But what will she need to do? Supposedly the people are only feeding them 2x a day. That can't be right?!? I have never had kittens younger than 8 weeks old but that doesn't sound right. She is freaking out!

Can some kind member give me a Needs to be done check list to get her started??

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens this age should weigh about 10 ounces and need to eat every 3 hours. The amount is based on their actual weights, but basically as much as they want.

You’ll need to get a weight on each using a kitchen scale and preferably in grams. Weigh daily and keep a chart.

I’d like to know their weights as soon as possible to guide you on feeding amounts, especially as they were only fed twice a day.

I hope your daughter is buying powdered kitten formula. It is preferred over pre-mixed.

The kittens need to be stimulated to pee and poop with a tissue on their bottoms both before and after eating.

I’ll post more soon!

L livismom1

 

[livismom1]

Kittens this age should weigh about 10 ounces and need to eat every 3 hours. The amount is based on their actual weights, but basically as much as they want.

You’ll need to get a weight on each using a kitchen scale and preferably in grams. Weigh daily and keep a chart.

I’d like to know their weights as soon as possible to guide you on feeding amounts, especially as they were only fed twice a day.

I hope your daughter is buying powdered kitten formula. It is preferred over pre-mixed.

The kittens need to be stimulated to pee and poop with a tissue on their bottoms both before and after eating.

I’ll post more soon!

L livismom1

Thank so much. She is going to pick them up soon. She had to run here to grab a cat carrier. I told her to take pics and I will try to post them.

 

[Sarthur2]

I know these kittens are not newborns, but these videos by Kitten Lady will help:

Bottle Feeding — Kitten Lady

Stimulating Kittens — Kitten Lady

 

[Sarthur2]

Pictures would be great! Keep us posted!

 

[livismom1]

She got the poor kittens to her house. The people weren't there for her to question. Just left the door unlocked. Ugh.

They weigh between 140-160 grams. They are all hungry so her and her boyfriend started feeding them. He picked up a can of powdered Petlac. Is that an ok brand? If there us something better, she can pick up something different from either Petsmart or Petco tomorrow.

I have 1 picture. It's not great but her priority was getting them settled and fed.

 

[Sarthur2]

The Petlac is fine, but my word, if these kittens are two and a half weeks old they are severely underweight. Is your daughter sure about their ages?

They need to be fed around the clock every 2-3 hours.

At 140 grams, this is not quite 5 ounces and is what a week-old kitten weighs. The other end, at 160 grams is 5.6 ounces and not much better. At two weeks a kitten should weigh 8 ounces; at 3 weeks 12 ounces; and a full pound at one month.

Bottom line: if they begin to be fed and pottied regularly they should catch up quickly. They need to gain 10 grams or preferably more each day.

Not being fed regularly it may take them a few days to adjust, but they should soon grow and eat lots, up to 48mLs or more divided into 8 feedings spaced 3 hours apart, so 6mLs or more per feeding — more as they grow. This is a 24-hour example.

They can also get brushed with a toothbrush which mimic’s mom’s tongue grooming them.

Please update with a progress report tomorrow, specifically how much they are taking and weight gains.

Kudos to your daughter for taking this on and to you for your support and research to help her!

 

[livismom1]

Quick update, each one ate a little over 1tsp or 5ml of formula before they stopped sucking. They were able to get 3 of them to poop and pee. She said only one if them looks "less healthy". One of their eyes glued short with gunk. She got most of it but didn't want to hurt it. Two of them are are very active.

She was not the one to talk to the people about them. So maybe they are younger.

Thank you so much to everyone for their help. I told my daughter she will know what it's like to have an infant now. Lol

 

[Sarthur2]

The eyes can be cleaned with a warm damp cloth to keep the gunk from crusting the eye shut. The kittens may need terramycin antibiotic ointment for eye infection.

I suggest they be seen by a vet asap to make sure they are healthy and to check if any have respiratory infections that need antibiotics.

With not knowing much about their history a vet will be helpful in setting their age. I will say they should cut baby teeth (milk teeth) by 4 weeks. It’s a helpful marker.

Sounds like they ate well! Next feed in 3 hours and this means waking the kittens if necessary to feed them.

Is there a heating pad set on low under their clean blanket? Kittens need a heat source the first 3 weeks as they cannot regulate their own body temperatures.

The ones who haven’t toileted well may be dehydrated. Hard to go until you have enough food.

Give a weight gain/feeding update tomorrow please!

Yes, your daughter will get the full round the clock infant experience!

L livismom1

 

[StefanZ]

She got the poor kittens to her house. The people weren't there for her to question. Just left the door unlocked. Ugh.

They weigh between 140-160 grams. They are all hungry so her and her boyfriend started feeding them. He picked up a can of powdered Petlac. Is that an ok brand? If there us something better, she can pick up something different from either Petsmart or Petco tomorrow.

I have 1 picture. It's not great but her priority was getting them settled and fed.

You have got excellent advices and guidning by SArthur.

I want just to add, goats milk, and especielly raw goats milk, is a good alternative / supplement for this Petlac.

Im not saying you need to change, but if you ever would feel you want try with another brand, so goats milk or a kmr based on goats milk usually works fine.

Raw goats milk has some potential advantages, but its usually not necessary in healthy kittens.

 

[livismom1]

Just got off the phone with Olivia. Boy 5 kittens can make a lot of noise!! Lol

She just got done feeding them. They all ate about a tsp again. All have peed but I think she only got 1 to poop. I think she is worried about upsetting their tummies. She said they are full now. I think she is being too gentle. Lol

She did say that one of them was licking another ones bum when she went in to feed them.

She sent videos of them. They are all very mobile. Also she said none of them have teeth yet.

 

[Sarthur2]

Has she been able to view the videos I provided to you?

If she could upload the video of the kittens to You Tube you can share the link here. I’d love to see them and try to determine an age.

Any further weight gains?

Good to hear they appear to be thriving!

 

[livismom1]

I sent her the videos. I am not sure if she has had a chance to watch them. She sounded exhausted. Am I a bad person for finding some pleasure in that payback? Lol

I will try to upload the videos to YouTube when i am on break. She sent them to me via instagram.

 

[livismom1]

I have no idea if this is going to work, but here it goes

https://youtube.com/user/livismom12

 

[StefanZ]

2-2,5 weeks seems to be a good guess. They are moveable, eyes wide open, ears beginning to open up but not up yet.

They dont have no very emaciated looks, but with these weights they are underweigh.
They could have low birth weigh, but being healthy they survived. But still, its a little low weigh they have now for their age.

So, its important to know, exactly how much they weigh, exactly how much they get during 24 hours; and how much they add every day.
If they add 10+ grammes a day - it shouldnt be any big worries.
If its much less than 5-6 grammes a day, you must do something. May even be Red flag / red alert.

And if its somethin in between, yellow flag but its not necessarily dangerously.

 

[Sarthur2]

It worked - I watched each one. Thank you for posting. They are very verbal. I agree with StefanZ - maybe 2 weeks but should weigh more, so hopefully they will catch up soon.

I know your daughter was deliberately taking video, but they need to stay in a warm nest together for another week or so and then explore small areas at a time.

Maybe they were hungry or scared - most kittens don’t scream this much unless they need something.

 

[Talien]

Kittens being that vocal is often because they are looking for mom, there are several soft toys that mimic the sound of purring or a heartbeat that can be used to calm them. Even wrapping a clock in a towel and putting it near where they are may help.

Pretty much everything has been covered already so the only thing I can really add is that it is impossible to overfeed a Kitten. Once they get to the point where they are eating food out of a dish on their own they will use every bit of what they take in and will not get fat, they might look like it after gorging on food but that's just because they are totally full.

As soon as they start running and playing it's time to start litterbox training which is not really complicated and there are videos of how to do it all over youtube.

 

[Sarthur2]

Agree with Talien about wanting mom, but thought we’d get the kittens’ weights up and share weaning and litter training tips and videos in a few weeks as needed. A soft plush animal in their nest to cuddle is a plus!

 

[livismom1]

The kittens are eating and peeing. But not pooping. I called the vet and of course they close soon and can't get them in tomorrow because of staffing issues. The Joy's of living in a small midwest city. They said it's not too concerning. Just to use a damp warm paper towel and rub the butt. I'm hoping that maybe they are just stressed with everything going on.

I will have Olivia weigh them again when she gets home from work.

I cannot express how grateful I am for this wonderful group!! Not only for this new rescue situation, but for the advice and help I've gotten for Oliver. The cat my daughter rescued and stole from her dad's house last year. He had been abandoned without food. Now he is a spoiled rotten cat eating only the highest recommended food. Lol

 

[Sarthur2]

Constipation is a common issue with kittens who move from mom’s milk to formula. Tell your daughter to begin adding 2-3 drops of olive oil to each kitten’s feeding. This should help soften the stools and move things along. If the stools begin to get runny, she can pull back on the oil.

Kitten stool should be toothpaste consistency. When kittens first go on formula they frequently get constipated initially. The oil should help it to resolve. If it does not, you can buy glycerin suppositories, shave off a tiny piece and insert it. It usually brings on a poop within 20-30 minutes.

Good idea to get them vet checked for ear mites, worms, fleas, infections, etc. Peace of mind!

I hope to see that they are gaining weight at the next weigh-in.

Good to hear you are enjoying the site!