hi herher
1) water bowl - not sure what type of water bowl you bought for them - perhaps it is too high at the sides causing them to climb on it and tip it over? or that the vessel is too light? another way is to put a those shallow aluminium baking tray underneath the water bowl so it the water bowl is tipped over, the water is collected inside the tray
please give fresh water to your kittens. it's advisable even for adult cats. cats are very fastidious animals. they will not drink if the water surface has something on it (i.e. their fur, etc)
2) if you want to mix in canned food, put the amount of kibble you want in a small container (the smaller the better), next spoon in the amount of canned food you want to use onto of the kibble, next using the bottom of your spoon (the convex part), mash down on the canned food until it is properly "lumat" (if it is in chunk type), then mix the kibble and the canned food around and around until both properly mix. you can't just give it a few whisk it won't do. that's the trick i used for my anna - she's so good at going for the fish chunk rather than kibble.
if you're soaking the kibble with water, pls bear in mind that after awhile, the softened kibble will dry up.
3) leaving food out for them, if you can afford to feed them several times a day then by all means do it (i.e. you're at home). if not then it is suggested to provide them free choice (meaning leaving the food out for them the whole day and topping it up when it's low).
4) bathing kitten - actually i'm not sure whether this should be done or how - i only gave my cats their 1st bath just before going for the neutery surgery and sometimes they smelled a bit.
what you can do is wipe them down but make sure you rinse your towel/cloth in warm water (hotter than lukewarm) but remember to do a dip test to check on water temperature. from what i read, a cat can sense temperature only on their nose and their paw pad, they can't really sense increase in temperature that well anyway on their body so pls make sure your bath water is not too hot for them. wiping them down is more advisable as this will help reduce risk of them catching cold.
if you make it a habit of "grooming" them, i.e. giving them freqeuent wipe-down, it may help you to bond with them and familiarise themselves with being handled by human. when "grooming", pls also make it a point to gently check their ears, their gums and teeth, their paw pads, run your hand gently through their furs all over their body, to see if there's any bumps or cuts or odd stuff sticking to them. check if there's any flea faeces leftover on their skin and in their fur - dots of black or dark brown.
maybe they smell because they dirtied when they poo2 and didn't know how to clean themselves up.
5) for the fleas problem, if you're thinking of using a flea solution, and if you have a vet to visit, pls get advise from your vet whether you can use the flea solution on the kitten (seems like can only use them when they're of a certain age and of a certain weight, something like that but can't remember exactly how and what).
6) germisep - a very very useful "tool". it's actually disinfectant in tablet form and it's safe for animals and humans. widely used by those in animal industry including animal hospital, etc (according to the brochure). it's in tablet form, it will dissolve in water, you mix up one tablet with one big bottle of water (like your 1.5l or 2l coke bottle) and from there you can portion out any quantity you want to use and dilute this amount further for your use. it will last a long long time. and it's good for wiping down your room and even your kittens (pls make sure you dilute it even further). you can add the diluted amount to your moping water, spray upon surfaces and let air dry, etc, etc.
the whole bottle of germispe is expensive but i bought it loose - Rm6 for 20 tablets. and it lasts me a long time.
6) please don't use repellent or air freshener - if possible because the chemical in the air freshener may irritate the kitten's nose, i know this is a tall order. can you try to find other alternative? if you need to use air-freshener, and if it's not too expensive, try to use those freshener sold at pet shop meant to be used for animals too.
for myself, i spray diluted germisep into the air around their litter box..the smell will disperse in a while.
if your kittens are consistently having runny poo, pls observe for signs of illnessess.
that's all i can think of to "scare" you for now
