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Please Help - "runt" Of Kitten Litter Not Eating.

My 2 year old cat gave birth to a litter of 5 kittens on Wednesday morning.
Since then the kittens have grown and all look healthy except one.
It was a little smaller at first, and as the bigger kittens have been fighting stronger to get milk and have been pushing the little one away he has not grown like the others and therefore is less and less likely to be able to fight for himself.
I do keep trying to put him to the milk but he doesnt even seem to know what to do, he has fed a few times but always seems to get pushed away by the others.
My family have gone to my grandads for the weekend and left me to look after the kittens and I went to work this morning which is only in my village and I just got back and the little kitten was lying asleep behind the mum and I worried at first thinking he was dead but i picked him up and he is ok, but so much smaller than the others.
Basically I know that u can hand rear cats with sustitute milk, my family were thinking of doing that but as they have gone away and i am worried that he needs to eat TODAY, i dont really know what to do now.
I cant drive, I live in a small village and there is only one more bus into town now and I wouldnt be able to get back, and tommorow its sunday and we country folk have NO sunday buses, plus Im working all day tommorow.
Im worried about this kitten and I dont want to leave it for any long amount of time.

Does anyone know if there is anything from the house i could use to feed this kitten?
:frown:
please help, thank u xxx

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Reply 1
i have an emergency number for the vets we go to and my friend has a number for an animal ambulance... is it not too drastic to call for help for a little kitten? xx
Reply 2
When you put him near the mother to feed, take the other kittens and let him eat, once hes done then let the other kittens eat too?
WEAR GLOVES otherwise she'll abandon him, our runt was the same (we called him Runty) we just had to give him alittle bit of a helping hand for a few days. :smile:
Reply 4
DO NOT GIVE THE KITTEN COWS' MILK. That is the most important factor here. It'll give him diarrhoea that may prove fatal. "Cat's milk" sold in petshops etc is also unsuitable. You need proper substitute formula from a vet but if that's absolutely unavailable today, mix up a little egg yolk, natural yoghurt, glucose and water - boil and cool the water first to sterilise it. You could also add a little mayonnaise to thicken it. There are various "recipes" you can use to make up kitten food, you'll have to check what ingredients you have available - see here, here or here for more information. Make sure he's kept warm if his littermates are shoving him out and wipe his tummy with a few firm downward strokes using a warm, damp cotton wool ball after every time you feed him.
Reply 5
hahaha i call mine runty :smile:
im not actually worried about mummy cat abandoning them cos she seems to trust us with her kittens which i know is against normal cat behaviour but if u saw my cat, shes like a cat with learning difficulties.
iv tried moving the others but they squeak so loud then the mum gets up leaves the little one and goes to the others cos they squeak louder :|
Reply 6
Jennybean
DO NOT GIVE THE KITTEN COWS' MILK. That is the most important factor here. It'll give him diarrhoea that may prove fatal. "Cat's milk" sold in petshops etc is also unsuitable. You need proper substitute formula from a vet but if that's absolutely unavailable today, mix up a little egg yolk, natural yoghurt, glucose and water - boil and cool the water first to sterilise it. You could also add a little mayonnaise to thicken it. There are various "recipes" you can use to make up kitten food, you'll have to check what ingredients you have available - see here, here or here for more information. Make sure he's kept warm if his littermates are shoving him out and wipe his tummy with a few firm downward strokes using a warm, damp cotton wool ball after every time you feed him.



thank u, how du know so much?
how can i feed him the home made stuff? will he just lick it up or do i need to find some kind of pippette thing? x thank u x
Reply 7
jesscaa
hahaha i call mine runty :smile:
im not actually worried about mummy cat abandoning them cos she seems to trust us with her kittens which i know is against normal cat behaviour but if u saw my cat, shes like a cat with learning difficulties.
iv tried moving the others but they squeak so loud then the mum gets up leaves the little one and goes to the others cos they squeak louder :|


Nah, my cat was the same with both her litters. A queen who's fond of her family shouldn't mind too much if you touch the kittens, foreign scents on them will cause problems if she's feeling nervous or unsettled to begin with.
You're forgetting the first rule of kitten threads, ALWAYS post pictures. Then you may ask your questions :hmmm:
Reply 9
jesscaa
thank u, how du know so much?
how can i feed him the home made stuff? will he just lick it up or do i need to find some kind of pippette thing? x thank u x


I'm a vet student, but panic not, a quick google search will give you all the information you need. Basically it's just a question of understanding that different mammals don't all produce the same kind of milk, each species' will have different proportions of fat, lactose, protein and water and you need to make sure you don't feed the little cat something that he won't be able to digest.

The best way to feed the baby is probably to use a bottle, but you'll need to see your vet for one that's the right size. So for now, just use a spoon - take a small amount of food and very gently plop it into the kitten's mouth. However it's imperative that you don't lift the kitten's head or push it back - it must be held in a natural position or you risk getting milk into its lungs. If this happens, pneumonia will occur which is almost always fatal. If you're too scared to try a spoon you could also soak a napkin or piece of kitchen towel in the food and use this to drip food into the kitten's mouth.
Audrey Hepburn
You're forgetting the first rule of kitten threads, ALWAYS post pictures. Then you may ask your questions :hmmm:

Agreed. Want pictures!
jesscaa
hahaha i call mine runty :smile:
im not actually worried about mummy cat abandoning them cos she seems to trust us with her kittens which i know is against normal cat behaviour but if u saw my cat, shes like a cat with learning difficulties.
iv tried moving the others but they squeak so loud then the mum gets up leaves the little one and goes to the others cos they squeak louder :|


It's a cute name, my Runty is so friendly it's odd, he's on the small side with a huge tail and a cute face and he makes these little monkey sounds and brings me moths. ^.^
Reply 12
Not a cat expert but am a dog owner...

Syringe feeding? stroking throat to make it swallow? Progress to getting it to lick off finger? Put some on its paw to lick off? dunk its head in the milk?

Like I said, not an expert and I really think you should call a vet.

Keep it warm. How old is it? My mums friend kept her newborn kittens in the oven believe it or not!

Be cafeful though, as the mum cat sometimes eats weak young (happened to the same person) and I guess if you handle it too much it might get rejected because of your smell....

HTH, but like I said, call a vet.
k9ruby
dunk its head in the milk?


Lol, this is the best one, do this.

Disclaimer: Don't.


Reply 14
im really really worried now :frown: u can feel all its bones and stuff and the others are all like fat and healthy.
im put the other kittens in a different room in a warm basket cos theyve eaten enough to last them a lifetime but the little one still doesnt seem to be feeding even when i physically try to open its mouth and put it to mums nips.

im a bit too scared to make the substitute stuff though in case it kills him, du reckon it will be alright? :frown: :frown: :frown: :frown:

x
jesscaa
im really really worried now :frown: u can feel all its bones and stuff and the others are all like fat and healthy.
im put the other kittens in a different room in a warm basket cos theyve eaten enough to last them a lifetime but the little one still doesnt seem to be feeding even when i physically try to open its mouth and put it to mums nips.

im a bit too scared to make the substitute stuff though in case it kills him, du reckon it will be alright? :frown: :frown: :frown: :frown:

x


I'm going to go out on a limb here and venture that not eating is perhaps more likely to kill him than eating something not 100% ideal. Don't panic about feeling his bones, he's probably more dehydrated than anything else. Get some nosh down him and he'll perk up. Even if you just whoosh up a couple of egg yolks (DON'T USE THE WHITES) with some warm water and a bit of sugar, it's going to be better than nothing. He needs rehydrating and to get some fat and protein inside him. Just keep him alive for the next couple of days til you can talk to a vet. Panicking will do nothing, all you can do is try your best, if he dies, he dies, I'm afraid life is sometimes a bitch like that and at least you have the other lot that are healthy, you'd be a lucky girl to have come through having a litter of any animal completely unscathed :smile:
Reply 16
so if i whisk 2 egg yolks, some warm water and just normal sugar? i only have sugar in a shaker that we use to put on cereal?

im gonna try and do that now, thanks x
Reply 17
Audrey Hepburn
You're forgetting the first rule of kitten threads, ALWAYS post pictures. Then you may ask your questions :hmmm:



maybe ill put up some pictures when im not so worried about him dying.
jesscaa
so if i whisk 2 egg yolks, some warm water and just normal sugar? i only have sugar in a shaker that we use to put on cereal?

im gonna try and do that now, thanks x


This has lots of good ideas:

http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm

Good luck, hope he's alright in the end :smile:
Reply 19
I don't want to frighten you but this kitten is in serious danger of dying. It is already the smallest weakest kitten and therefore it must get some nourishment soon. It is a good idea to try and get this kitten to suckle from it's mum on it's own, but you must make sure that if you temporarily remove the other kittens that they are kept warm as they are very young too. If the kitten fails to latch on to it's mother I think it would be best to feed it the substitute milk ( I take it that you have a proper kitten substitute) asap as it is now probably too weak to feed from it's mother, and will probably require human assistance. If you can't contact your parents is there any older neighbour that would help?

It would also be good to ring the vets for advice asap.

Hope this helps , best of luck.

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