CARING ADVICE NEEDED! 2 weeks old kitten

[shima138]

I rescued a little kitten today from the street. It was in a box with an opened packet Whiskas wet food inside the box. Someone was trying to feed it wet food when it is too small for that & needs milk badly.

Kitten's description:
Eyes: Still blue-ish
Can walk, doesn't hobble around.
Ears are up.

I have a little feeding bottle (brand: dogIt) bought from Jusco but don't know if it was me, the kitten or the bottle. Kitten squirms too much; I tried to hold it & put the nipple to its mouth, but maybe it had problem sucking. I had to cut the nipple off because the little hole I made with a needle didn't allow much milk to go through.

Please I need advice on caring for it. I'm in Bukit Baru, Melaka. Maybe there's any fosterers around the area? I'm a college student & I have class tomorrow! Won't be back until afternoon. Who's going to feed it? :<

How often do I need to feed it? And how often do I pee & potty it? Currently I'm giving it Tura Kitty Milk, also bought from Jusco. It isn't the same with real cat milk but that's all I have.

What else does the kitten need?

It's in my pet carrier. I lined the carrier with old bedsheet, put a water bottle filled with warm water, & cover the kitten with a little towel.

What else? Please help?

Sorry it's all jumbled up

[nurkasih]

First of all, you are starting right already...

So, first thing first, I've hand raised my Kecik from 2 weeks old ( the pic in avatar) and now she's 6 months old already.

1. Milk, you bought the right one so far. Just do not feed them human milk formulae. Get a syringe from pharmacist ( as them for baby aged around 2 months ), it will only cots you less than RM1 as being 2 weeks and you have no experience, syringe will help to do most work. And mimicked how a mummy cat milked her kittens, from the side. Put him/her down,and push the syringe of milk from the side. If you wrapped up and milked him the way human baby does ( from up ) the kitties might end up having milk in their lungs. Usually it takes around 3/4 of the syringe per serving. And 2 weeks cats need to be feed 3 hours once.. yerp, means you have to wake up in the middle of the night and bla bla bla..just like human baby.. I'd even went back home just to feed them ( lucky my workplace is near ) and after feeding they will go to sleep.

2. After feeding, you might want to take a damp clean towel, clean up the babies from head and finally lightly massage the bottom of the kitties as 2 weeks kitties need simulation to poo and pee ( remember how the mummy kitty will lick their young at the butt esp?) that's how you are suppose to be doing with damp towel of course.

Warm bottle would be good..and it'll even better if you have old socks to cover them ( so that when they moved they wont pushed the cover away ) as baby kittens do not have the ability to retain own body heat. So, normally they need their mum for that or you can provide them with old socks or the towels ( as you are doing ).

and finally, best thing is to...

get hold of a mummy cat / rabbit boley jugak rasanya who just gave birth and still nursing ( maybe your friends?) and take damp cloth / cloth swap it on mummy cat to take the smell.. and put it on every kitty and tadaaa..if things work the way it is.. the mummy will accept the kitties and saves you with all the troubles...

I've done both, hand raised a 2 weeks old stray and putting in 2 kitties of 1 week to my mummy cat. And now she loves them as they are theirs..

(^^) happy trying

[shima138]

God! I already replied last night. Why isn't it showing?

Thanks sister for replying. You've helped a lot.

I'm skipping class today. Worked into the wee hours and didn't up in time for class. So the little kitten has someone to look after it this weekend.

So this morning it woke up at 8 am meowing for milk. So I made some; bottle can fill up to almost 50ml I think. I filled it almost full, & fed the kitten. It still squirmed trying to grab the bottle. I had to press the bottle so the milk can get out. After some time the kitten turned her head away and seemed like it was trying to suckle onto something. It made sucking noises. When I put the nipple near its mouth it went ballistic again, clawing and grabbing. After a few drops it turned away and began meowing. I thought it was full, so I peed & pooped it. Pee was clear, but poo was just traces of yellow streaks on the kitchen towel.

When I put it back into the carrier with the hot bottle it seemed to nudge the bottle sides like it was looking for nipples. Then it started meowing again, trying to get out of the carrier. But when I took it out to feed again, it didn't feed much. Kept pushing the bottle away. I don't know why
I'm growing impatient with all the work and assignment. I mean this isn't the first time I'm caring for kittens. But I can't figure out what she wants!

Then I took some wet food onto my finger and it sucked that. Is it supposed to be eating wet food? It can't pee & poo by itself, can barely see, I don't remember having one that wants to eat wet food at this age.

It's finally asleep. Dreading the next couple of hours. Maybe it doesn't like the milk?

[blackie007]

Originally Posted by shima138

Kitten's description:
Eyes: Still blue-ish
Can walk, doesn't hobble around.
Ears are up.

I think the kitten is more than 2 weeks old. I hand-raised my Blackie from 2 or 3 days old after his mother, an abandoned cat, was crushed on the head when she didn't wake up when the car she was sleeping under moved.

A kitten's eyes will remain blue for about 6 weeks.

At week 3, the kitten's ears will completely opened....or "up". It will also start to explore its surroundings, stumbling around.

At week 4, it learns to walk without stumbling, or "hobbling". Tiny baby teeth will start to show. Check your kitten for signs of tiny baby teeth, and if they're there, your kitten is definitely not 2 weeks old.

As for milk-bottle feeding, it takes a few days for a kitten to get used to the milk bottle. So, you could either go through the few days 'fighting' to get the kitten to suck, or you could get a syringe, as suggested by nurkasih above.

And one important note: Do not push in too much milk at once. It will go into the lungs of the kitten and you don't want that to happen. Just push a little at a time, mimicking the amount that the kitten would have taken in if it had sucked the syringe on its own. And if you're lucky, the kitten might actually suck on the syringe on its own!

[shima138]

Thanks for replying Blackie:)

But did you have to tell the sad story about the mother? Poor cat.
I panic whenever my father starts the car's engine back home. I'll make sure the cats and kittens are nowhere near before allowing my father to back out.

Definitely not 2 weeks old :) I noticed last night that she had small teeth. Her eyes don't seem to be as bluish now. She follows my movement so I think she can see quite well.

And guess what the last feeding went quite well! Haven't got time to get a syringe, but I think the bottle will do for today. I just have to squeeze the bottle a bit to help it feed.

The kitten's napping. I feel soooo much better now. The other bigger kitten I have also seems to be responding well to the newcomer. He keeps sniffing around the carrier and gets all excited when I take the little kitten out. I think he wants a playmate lol.

I just wish I could get better milk. Tura brand is all I can find at Jusco and Tesco. I don't know any pet stores around here, and since I don't have my own transportation it's hard to get around to look for one and get the kittens to the vet. Melaka taxi drivers are ruthless, and bus service is just as disappointing But I will take the two to the vet soon. Considering going to Vally's.

[blackie007]

Originally Posted by shima138

But did you have to tell the sad story about the mother? Poor cat.
I panic whenever my father starts the car's engine back home. I'll make sure the cats and kittens are nowhere near before allowing my father to back out.

No, there is no need to mention the sad story. But it served its purpose (reminding everyone to be careful when they start their car)!

Well then, if she already has small teeth, then she's definitely 4 weeks old or more. That would explain why it was sucking canned food off your finger. :)

And I'm glad to hear she's feeding well on milk. All the best to you in caring for this lil' darling.

[shima138]

It's getting tough again

I'm sorry but I'm losing patience here. She's been meowing like she hasn't eaten for days. She woke up at 2 pm and I've been battling her since, feeding and trying to find out what she wants. I fed her milk with the bottle. She fed some, turned away and acted like she was trying to find a nipple. Then I bought the syringe, which doesn't really work with her. She spluttered and the milk didn't get into her mouth. She didn't even suckle the tip.

So I put some wet food on a plate, and she plowed through it, sucking here and there, and wandered off meowing and acting like she was trying to find food. When I directed her towards the food she either went another way like she couldn't smell or see the food, or she would seem to suck/eat some bits, & then she wandered off again, meowing.

Could she possibly be sick? I really can't take her to the vet. But she seems fine, except she's acting like I haven't been feeding her. She would walk around the room like she's trying to look for food, meowing and sucking on my fingers (in a very desperate manner) if I put them in front of her.

I need a fosterer :< I feel like crying.

[shima138]

I feel so bad for feeling upset and frustrated with her. She's just a little kitten and I want to help her. But you know when you're trying all you can but it's not working.

She's sleeping now. I know she needs something but I don't know what it is.

[lobak_oren]

shima,
it's normal for your kitten to meowing all the time for this first few days.
mine was meowing for two whole weeks.. imagine the sleeping hours i loose.
you could do like i did, put some of the milk at your finger and let her sucks it. then continue doing that. but bear in mine , she doesn't drink that much.
as for the food, if u still want to give her food, if it is dry food, you wet it a bit with some milk. so it'll be softer to her teeth.
hope you get the idea.

[aina.mj]

hai there...i just want to share my experiance, maybe it will help u.try put a little bit of wet food on ur finger then push it into ur kittens' mouth..dont forget to syringe some water after finish feeding,1 spoon of wetfood,3@4times daily.u can try find frieskies for kittens can food,it contain chicken&liver.very good for health.i think kitten that age with no mother around take longer time to learn how to eat by itself.i follwed adviced by my vet to stop giving milk to my mulan when he is 1mth old.so,that is how i fed him wet food and sometimes i 'lembikkan' kibbles(rc baby cat is a very good one if u can find,other brand will do also) and 'suapkan' ur kitten.it will take 1@2 weeks for the kitten to be able to eat on its' own.best of luck....

[shima138]

Thanks lobak oren & Aina :) I've picked up another kitten last week, so now I have 3.

Last week I took the two to the vet and she confirmed that the littlest one is about 4-5 weeks. It is easier to care for her now, though she wakes up so early in the morning and starts meowing for milk. I guess it's no different than having a baby. It's definitely a good practice lol.

She's still being bottle-fed. I buy her wet food sometimes but being on a tight student budget that's about once a week.

The vet gave meds for diarrhea and a vitamin to be given twice daily. But she still has diarrhea. I think it's the wet food. I've switched to Friskies from Whiskas but no improvements so far. I hope she grows up quickly so I can switch to dry food.

The other two bigger kittens prefer the wet food too, but I don't have fridge so the wet food go bad easily. How do I get them to like dry food more? Kitten #3 (newest) has diarrhea even after being given meds. Should I give her more time or should I take her to the vet? Nothing wrong with her other than that. She's fattening up :)

How do I stop giving milk to the littlest kitten? She cries for milk even after I've fed her wet food.

(She's gone to sleep hehe..So cute )

[rawr2buny]

regarding the 'good practice' HAHA! That is sooo true! When I first fed Kyon his medicines, I failed half way and mom yelled 'macam mana kau nak jaga anak nantii?!' LOL painful but I guess I'm getting better (maybe :P)

Awww, she's surely one lucky kitty, good job shima!

I have always had cats around me since I'm in primary school. But I rarely had kittens, as far as I can remember, just 2 times I guess. So I seriously had a hard time when Kyon cant stop diarrhea-ing! My poor Kyon. So I asked PF-gurus hehe.

Ughh, diarrhea meds? The orangey colour one? I don't like giving that to Kyon, it is so bitter that he'll foam at mouth and it pains me to look at him. One week he's free from diarrhea, and the other week he got poopoo all over his back again and again.

Hmm from what I have learned from my experience with Kyon (now 3months old) and what I have read from this forum, there are several reasons why our kitty got diarrhea: (a) she has got a sensitive tummy. (b) kitten/cat's tummy can easily spoiled so you need to slowly change her food, drastic changes on foods may cause diarrhea.

to change your kitty's food; if she's still on milk, try mixing bits of kibbles in milk so its softer for the kitten. then, day by day slowly give her lesser milk and more kibbles and keep on like that until she can take only kibbles/wetfood. you can use this way too, if you want to change her food from wet food to kibbles. for example:
day 1&2: mix wet food = kibbles.
day 3&4: mix <wetfood + >kibbles.
day 5&6+: make the wet food lesser and lesser until the kitties can eat the dry food & only dry food!

Oh and, it is good to dada ayam rebus! My Kyon's poopoo became solid, the next day after one tasty meal of ayam rebus! but since you are in college in Melaka, it might be hard.. you are not living with your family is it?

I think it is always a good idea to take her to the vet if you are unsure. sorry if there're any wrong infos, i am no expert too, budak baru belajar jugak

Good Luck!

p/s: Im sorry, I always ended up making longg essays. haha!

[aina.mj]

hai...i agree with rawr2buny about mixing kibbles with milk..it is easier if u mix warm milk with kibbles and make sure the kibbles r soft like porridge.must try to push a little bit of the mixture to the kitten mouth if it doesn't want to eat by itself.
about the diarrhea, i think it is better to ask the vet.
how to stop giving milk..?emmm...i just stop giving..but i put a bowl of kibbles and a bowl fresh water all the time so they can eat&drink whenever they want.my cats meow every time they notice i'm home..hahaha...i think cats not just meowing for food(if u know that they are alreaday full),they just love ur attention and want to be pempered.
u must have love them so much...don't worry, everything will be ok soon.

[shima138]

Originally Posted by lobak_oren

shima,
it's normal for your kitten to meowing all the time for this first few days.
mine was meowing for two whole weeks.. imagine the sleeping hours i loose.
you could do like i did, put some of the milk at your finger and let her sucks it. then continue doing that. but bear in mine , she doesn't drink that much.
as for the food, if u still want to give her food, if it is dry food, you wet it a bit with some milk. so it'll be softer to her teeth.
hope you get the idea.

I've given up trying to get them to eat dry food. Tak sampai hati nak biar lapar lama until they eat the dry food, even if buying wet food is burning a BIG hole in my purse.

I've tried all the things suggested on here. Wetting the kibbles, feeding by hand, gradually changing the diet.None worked. They refuse to eat anything other than wet food.

[shima138]

Originally Posted by rawr2buny

regarding the 'good practice' HAHA! That is sooo true! When I first fed Kyon his medicines, I failed half way and mom yelled 'macam mana kau nak jaga anak nantii?!' LOL painful but I guess I'm getting better (maybe :P)

Awww, she's surely one lucky kitty, good job shima!

I have always had cats around me since I'm in primary school. But I rarely had kittens, as far as I can remember, just 2 times I guess. So I seriously had a hard time when Kyon cant stop diarrhea-ing! My poor Kyon. So I asked PF-gurus hehe.

Ughh, diarrhea meds? The orangey colour one? I don't like giving that to Kyon, it is so bitter that he'll foam at mouth and it pains me to look at him. One week he's free from diarrhea, and the other week he got poopoo all over his back again and again.

Hmm from what I have learned from my experience with Kyon (now 3months old) and what I have read from this forum, there are several reasons why our kitty got diarrhea: (a) she has got a sensitive tummy. (b) kitten/cat's tummy can easily spoiled so you need to slowly change her food, drastic changes on foods may cause diarrhea.

to change your kitty's food; if she's still on milk, try mixing bits of kibbles in milk so its softer for the kitten. then, day by day slowly give her lesser milk and more kibbles and keep on like that until she can take only kibbles/wetfood. you can use this way too, if you want to change her food from wet food to kibbles. for example:
day 1&2: mix wet food = kibbles.
day 3&4: mix <wetfood + >kibbles.
day 5&6+: make the wet food lesser and lesser until the kitties can eat the dry food & only dry food!

Oh and, it is good to dada ayam rebus! My Kyon's poopoo became solid, the next day after one tasty meal of ayam rebus! but since you are in college in Melaka, it might be hard.. you are not living with your family is it?

I think it is always a good idea to take her to the vet if you are unsure. sorry if there're any wrong infos, i am no expert too, budak baru belajar jugak

Good Luck!

p/s: Im sorry, I always ended up making longg essays. haha!

Hi rawr2buny :)

Thanks for replying to my post. Sorry for this delayed reply, sangat2 busy dengan assignment sampai tak sempat nak bukak forum.

Saya dah give up dengan dry food. Earlier this week saya boil dada ayam. Putih dengan Odie makan, tapi Becky tak nak jugak. Saya suap pun dia keluarkan balik *naughty!* Campur kibbles dalam wet food pun tak jadi jugak.

Dirrhea meds tu colour white/grayish. Macam tak jadi je.. Vitamin colour orange. Kittens saya nampak sihat semuanya, tapi dirrhea je la. Setakat ni semua okay. Next week SPCA rep nak datang pick up. I think that's the best choice. Can't find any suitable owners to adopt them.

[shima138]

Originally Posted by aina.mj

hai...i agree with rawr2buny about mixing kibbles with milk..it is easier if u mix warm milk with kibbles and make sure the kibbles r soft like porridge.must try to push a little bit of the mixture to the kitten mouth if it doesn't want to eat by itself.
about the diarrhea, i think it is better to ask the vet.
how to stop giving milk..?emmm...i just stop giving..but i put a bowl of kibbles and a bowl fresh water all the time so they can eat&drink whenever they want.my cats meow every time they notice i'm home..hahaha...i think cats not just meowing for food(if u know that they are alreaday full),they just love ur attention and want to be pempered.
u must have love them so much...don't worry, everything will be ok soon.

Hi Aina :)

Sorry for this delayed reply. These 2 weeks have been very hectic for me.

Thank you for your advice but wetting the kibbles didn't work well with my kittens. They all refuse to eat it. Maybe they all know I would give in before long and give them wet food! Sometimes I think they're on to me

I spend at least 2 hours everyday cleaning my room. They all poop & pee in the litter box I put in one corner. It's not hygienic I know :( But it's all I can do. I'm living with friends so you know how difficult it is. They are not complaining but they don't have to, I know they're uncomfortable with the cat and cat food smell

All 3 of them are doing very well. Next week the SPCA is coming to pick them up. I hope I'm right on this (giving them over to SPCA). They'll have food and shelter, and new owners will come soon.

[shima138]

HELPPPPP!!

I'm rethinking my decision to send them to SPCA I mean they already have 130 cats there. What chances do my babies have of getting adopted with that many cats around? Am I right on this?

A F4 student is interested in adopting them, saying he/she has 5 years experience with cats and that the family love cats. That sounds like good enough but I'm still worried they might dump the kittens later on.

But I guess if people adopt from SPCA, you still can't be sure they won't dump them, can you? You will never know and can only hope for the best and that it doesn't happen.

[rawr2buny]

shima, sorry for the late response i was out to the vet td ;_;

Hee its okay, i can understand, i tend to got too caught up with assignments sampai semua benda pun tak sempat buat

ohh kittens? not kitten? alamak banyak ya? semua pun diarrhea? selalunye kalau kitten i guess SPCA akan jage, besarkan, neuter and open for adoption if dorang tak ade masalah. but i have heard that if the cost exceed certain limit and tak dapat dijaga, it will result in PTS :( tak tau la kan. and also, there might be chances tak ade orang nak bawak dorang balik, jadi tak comel or bermasalah and PTS

hmm budak F4 tu rumah family die dekat je ya? pade sha la, sick kittens ni kena ade kesabaran banyak, mengeluh mcm mane pun die tetap nak jagekan. like me and Kyon, kadang die asyik ulang diarrhea je sha pun jadi *sigh* tp sebab sayang jadi tak kisah. maybe shima boleh tengok his/her family first, tengok if she'll agree to vaccine/neuter/etc the kittens. ask her if she dont mind jaga sick kittens (diarrhea) and shima decide lepas tu. sebab jaga kittens bukan senang kan lagi2 lepas all the hard work you've done since few weeks ago? ^^;

shima dah try post dekat listing? mana tau ade org nak adopt? :) ambik gambar dorg pose comel2 banyak2 and put for adoption :D im sure nanti insyaAllah ada orang minat tau!

Aww memang tak ade chance langsung nak bagi dry food? O_O Haa, certain cats memang tak terima ayam kot hehe. But lepas bagi ayam tu perut diorang okay tak? Selalunye bagi ayam rebus sampai poo die firm balik tak silap sha. That is what I did to Kyon.

Ooo, lain ya. Yang Dr bg sha, its orange in colour and its very bitter sampai berbuih-buih mulut Kyon for 5-10 mins setiap kali makan the ubat.

[Nur_illiyana]

i had been looking for this thread, finally jumpa juga..

this little girl told by shima had been adopted by me..
rename her as Kecik..

dah hampir sebulan kecik with me..
keadaan dia sekarang, kutu dh tak ada tp kena fungus pulak.. dalam rawatan, dah 3 hari makan ubat fungus diberi oleh vet..
baru sekali mandi dgn Malaseb..atas nasihat vet..
diarrhea pon tak ada dah..

bab makan, she love kibble so much.. kalau letak babycat dlm bowl dia, sekejap je dh habis..susu kalau letak dalam bowl tak nak minum..kalau campur dengan wetfood or kibble, mesti licin..
malam2 sebelum tido, kena hug dia dan suapkan susu dalam bottle..

macam shima cakap, dia memang gelojoh kalau minum dengan botol..
disumbatnya puting tu dalam2.. suka nk pegang botol sendiri dengan tangan kecik dia..

even she is already 1month plus, badan dia tak besar2 pon..
beza sangat kalau nk compare dengan baby dan aden masa umur 1month..
but my hubby and i love this little girl soo much..
kitorang panggil dia budak cerdik dan banyak akal..

kalau pergi vet or naik kereta mesti nak dukung.. kalau kena dukung tu, bawak la pergi mana pon, dia tak kisah..

to shima, dont worry my dear, we will take a good care of this little girl forever..
Kalau datang KL, singgah2 la..kecik mesti suka jumpa mummy shima..

[tediber]

salam illi,
terima kasih untuk illi sebab selamatkan budak kecik. he he he..

patutlah kita mesej shima dia tak reply. dah ada orang adopt rupanya.
baru buka blog illi tgk si kecik. seiras dak tom saya yg saya ambil dari tempat letak kereta hospital besar melaka. warna hitam +putih. =)) ( di blog tidak jelas ada wrna putih ke tidak. he he he he)

Updatelah selalu ya illi perkembangan si kecik.

Terima kasih. =))