newborn kitten advice

[animalgirl2010]

I found a newborn kitten in a ditch close to my house 2 days ago I looked around for signs of mom or other kittens and didnt see any he was cold and covered in fleas so I brought him home. He has been doing really well up untill today he eats about 3-4 cc's at every meal and I have been feeding him about once every 2-4 hours just basicly whenever he starts crying I feed him. I have raised orphan kittens before but never from this age he is tiny he weighs almost 4 oz still has his umbillical cord. This morning when I tried to feed him he didnt act as interested, then when I tried to get him to potty his stool was very watery and looked bloody (yesterday his stool was normal). Any idea what that could be or if it is life threatening? And what can I do to stop it? Oh guess I should add he is drinking plain goats milk.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

Anytime you have a kitten that small any runny stool can be life threatening. I would take it to the vet if you can. If not then if you have access to albon or something similar I would try that. I would also switch to the kitten formula or esbilac I think it's called (it's been a while since I've nurse little newborns).
Good luck.

 

[redhen]

Aww! poor little guy!

Runny poop is a bad thing in a kitten so young. Could you get him to a vet? See what they say...Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, baby kittens can go from 'not quite right' to 'dead' in a matter of hours sometimes, so if you see something noticeably wrong with the attitude and stools it is REALLY REALLY worth a trip to the vet, even if it means no eating out for a few weeks.

Good luck to you and the kitten,

Pat

 

[insiderart]

Most likely the goats milk is upsetting it's little tummy. You really need to get some kitten formula. I used KMR, call the vet and ask if they have any premixed kitten formulas as generally the kittens do better on those. Especially such tiny ones. Are you stimulating it to go "potty" with a warm moist paper towel each time you feed it? Are you keeping it on a covered heating pad?

Keep us posted!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i'll suggest KMR also..however i've heard that goats milk can be really successful. it may be that in this case the little one is just too young for that.

i raised a baby kitten from 2 days - she still had her cord and everything and when we brought her in she was cold and barely moving. now she's big and bossy and the queen of the house. my little one was the other way - she was constipated. at that time the vet said there might be a little blood in her poop while her system gets going.

has your little one been having a poop every time you feed her??

try switching to the formula if you can. you can usually get it in the bigger grocery stores.

you might also want to call a local shelter - they might have some great advice if taking her to the vet isnt an option.

good luck!

 

[animalgirl2010]

Well he/she is still alive. it cries but is just not as active as yesterday I did get some powder hartz kitten milk replacer for him, I used goat milk on the other kitties I had before so I just thought that would be ok. I wish I could but I cant afford to take him to the vet just to walk in there would be 40 then the tests and meds. But I did call and they said that I could try some antibiotics and see if that would help so I went in and got some of that from them. I have been stimulating him to go to the bathroom before and after feeding, the color of him stool has turned from red like blood color to a darker blood liquid I dont know if that is good but hopefully it will get better since I switched formula. I do have a heating pad on low under half of his box and I have a blanket folded up on top of it with a stuffed animal for snuggling. I got him to take 4cc of the formula just now so we will see im hoping I will be able to save him.

 

[redhen]

I hope he makes it!

 

[teach1rusl]

I just want to tell you, please don't feel badly if he/she doesn't make it. Based on where you found the kitten, with umb. cord attached?? it may be that the mother abandoned it on purpose. If something is wrong, some cats will reject a kitten. I went through that with two kittens I found (both had the cord attached). They would eat a little at first (using a syringe) and I could stimulate them to potty a bit, but they just started fading after 2-3 days. One lasted a few days, the other about 5. It broke my heart that I'd failed, but I knew that I'd tried my best. I really hope it works out for your little kitty though. Just be braced in case it doesn't.

 

[that_crazy_lady]

We always use goats milk, goats milk is used for all typs of babes, it's not like cows milk. one year I raised two whole litters from 4 days, and a few odd balls from day 1. but I don't think it would be a good idea to swtich back now that you have replacer unless a vet or someone else who really knows says so.
ohiofarmgirl had a good idea about calling the shelter.

most kittens that we have had that made it past day 4 lived.

I hope the little guy makes it