Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
My husband and I found some kittens, not even 24hrs old, 2 of them dead, the other 2, cold as could be, at first I thought they were dead. When we went to move them, the slightest movement proved to be the saving grace of the 2 kittens who made it. One is strong healthy and raising hell when he's hungry. The umbilicals are clean and taken care of. The other kitten has issues. This one i would believe to be the runt of the litter, well, here's the list:
listless
needs help with pooping (enema style)
eats maybe 1.5-2 cc's (compared to sibling eating 6-8 cc's)
has a cold
He tries to suck on fabric, but as soon as milk comes at him, he doesnt want anything to do with it. I need some suggestions on keeing this guy fed and somewhat healthy. They are being kept in a box that has a heat pad under it, and they are on towels. They are on a 2 hr feeding schedule. Any hints on what to do with sickly? I know the first thought is vet, but i just had my dog put down, and creamated, and a bit short on funds this week until next week, so please, help.
clawskitty@yahoo.com

Bless you for trying to save these poor kittens.

If nothing else, try offering him lukewarm water with some karo syrup disolved in it. About one tablespoon of syrup to a pint of water. He really needs the kitten milk, no cows milk. If he is suckling on the fabric, try dipping it in some of the formula.

Also kittens need to be stimulated to eliminate. After each feeding, they should be massaged to get them to poop and pee, then they need to be cleaned. They have no reflexes to do these things that are normally done by the mother cat until the kittens are several weeks old.

Below is a link to an article that may give you some additional hints.

Orphaned Kitten Care

Thank You,
Ive already got the kitten milk. Slim (the sickly one) is eating more now, about 4-5cc's now. Sometimes he will surprise me and almost finish off the bottle. My only real concern with him now is with his cold. He's so young I dont like the cold in him. Im trying to keep them warm as I can, his sniffles seem to happen right after eating though. Throughout the night I can hear him sometimes. He's my only real concern.

Pig (the one that eats like a pig) is doing great, he's strong adventerous and when theres food around, he's all over it. And beleive it or not, yesterday, he purred. I didnt think they could purr at such a young age, but there was no denying it. As rattlely as it was, it was a purr. Slim even managed to try it.
Any ideas on what I can do for the cold?
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Clawskitty
clawskitty@yahoo.com

Glad he is eating better. Nothing you can do for the cold until a Vet sees him. Just keep his little eyes and nose clean for him.
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 18 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

I agree with Abymom, try to get him to suck some KMR off the fabric and see if that works. If he has a cold, that explains being listless and perhaps not eating too. As soon as you can, you need to get him to a Vet. Bless you for rescuing these babies.
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 18 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

As promised, here are the pictures. Slim is doing better, his cold seems to be residing

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clawskitty@yahoo.com

The pictures would not show up for me. Did you upload them into the gallery?? If not, you need to do that first. If so, where in the gallery and I will look at them that way. I want to see baby kit pictures
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 18 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
Cat Board Monitor and Chat Host
Pet Hobbyist
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

Sorry abou that, still new to this. Here are those pics, although, Slim isnt doing to good, got her on antibiotics, but im still worried about her.




If my photo's dont show this time, try searching clawskitty for usernames, its in the kittens folder
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clawskitty@yahoo.com

Oh they are very cute. Slim looks like she is drinking nicely now, hope she continues to improve and catches up with her piggy sisfur
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Tessa Onyx, Tabitha, Samantha, Foudini, Charlee, Spottie, ShyRaven, Buddy, Tuxie, Widdle Attila Sipowitz, Lizzie, Minnie, ET, Mylo, Penny (We be house cats at last), and Salem, Wicca and Marmalade (We iz also house cats, we guess) also Riley da goggie and Buddha da hamster too
A house without cats is like a garden without flowers