Pls help me and my kittens

I posted few pictures of kittens few days ago. Actually that cat is not in my pets, she always born her babies among my containers. Now she left these kids , I dont know why....
Now I am in problem, how to feed them, these days I am trying to feed them with the old feeder of my son, but the nipple size is very big according to their mouth. Here thin nipples are not available. Please advise me what to do?
Also tell me after how much time feed is necessary?
Here is picture, I am feeding the kitten.

Here again

Post your question in the pets forum or ask Dave to switch it there for you. There are so many people that know tons about feeding babies on that forum. Maybe some will see your question here too. good luck! You have quite an involved task ahead of you!

On the farm we use to soak a cotton ball in milk and let them suck it out.....hard work. I've raised kittens, puppies, and squirrels that way.
Good Luck Kaleem :-)

rikerbear
IT is very difficult, can I try sringe?

Gumlla, until you get a good answer, get an eyedropper so you can dribble nourishment into their mouths. They won't quite be able to suck on it but at least they won't die.

They probably need feeding every 2 hours for now and they won't take much at a time.

You can, but it is easy to actually drown the babies with it.....plus they don't like the feel of the hard plastic in their mouths, so may resist opening up for it.
And yes every 2 hours is about right

darius
Your idea is good, I will try with eyedropper.

You may also have to stimulate them to go to the bathroom...like a mama cat does. If they don't go they will not survive. I used an eyedropper for little squirrels but you do have to be careful that they don't get formula into their lungs. I would hold them more upright or even leaning forward, not on their backs. Picture them nursing from the mama cat, mostly they are on their stomachs.
Good luck, this is a very kind thing to do...tough but rewarding

Floridian
It is very difficult to holding them more upright or even leaning forward. They dont want to drink with my hands still looking for their mama cat.

I understand completely. Your babies may be big enough to eat more solid food, maybe watered down kitten chow. Let me ask my sister who raises LOTS of baby kittens. I'll call her later and ask her to come in and take a look at this thread. Her name is Janet and she is DallasDiva here at DG. I know she'll be happy to help you

These kittens are of 15 days and very difficult to handle them but I am feeding them with feeder, tomorrow I will buy dropper. I am waiting for more advises......from your sister

eyedroppers work very well for feeding tiny kittens and puppies. Also, getting the right formula from a pet store, rather than using whole milk might be better - you can tell someone at the store what you are doing and they should be able to get you the right stuff (formulated especially for baby kittens).

Here we have problem, do not have pet stores.

I always heard whle milk was not good for kittens but canned milk was ok... probably Janet (DallasDiva) can fill you in for sure.

Canned milk as well as whole milk will give kittens stomach problems. When I have had to hand feed little ones, I have always used goats milk straight from the goat. You can put a bit of slightly cooked eggs~scramble them on a low temp until they almost cook, when they start to get a little thick mix them very well with the milk, one egg usually works well~ it will make it thick enough that it won't run down the throat and get into their lungs and it will give them the extra protein they need.

Raven

Yes goat's milk works great.............never tried the egg, but that's sounds reasonable

gumlla, it is very important that each time after you feed the babies you stimulate them with a humid napkin (like their mother's tongue) on their lower belly, as their mom would do (motion is from the back to the middle of their belly). This will make them pee - otherwise the will not.

The position of the kitty while feeding is also very important.

Cats dehydrate very fast.

I wished I could help you.

Good luck my friend!

Ursula

Need to go to pet shop to get kitty bottle to go in her mouth to suck better also has milk for it too so check it out so you will have to be feed them every a hour what I did before, yes true lot of work.
So cute kitty!

This message was edited Sep 30, 2004 6:31 PM

An eyedropper is a good idea, but they will need some type of small nipple, to develope their "sucking response".They usuually eat 2-3 ml at a time, and need to eat every 3-4 hours. Not to use "cows milk" though....diluted evaporated milk will work in a pinch. As my sister (Floridian) said, it is VERY important to stimulate them to urinate and have bowel movements. That needs to be done either before or after each feeding. The bowel movements will appear very liquid-like, but they should urinate quite a bit. A soft cloth with a massaging movement, to insure they empty their bladders. Another point to be very watchful about...make sure you feed them only enough to fill their little stomachs, and not be in a hurry to over-feed... I have lost too many small kittens, by allowing someone to "help" me feed them...and if it is not done properly, the kittens will aspirate the formula and they will develope aspiration pneumonia. It is a tough job. I have also been lucky, on several occasions, going by a local animal shelter and finding a mommy cat who either, still has a litter of kittens or has just had her kittens taken away...and she is still lactating. Mom cats will accept kittens, other than their own, if introduced slowly and by rubbing the kittens with her scent first,rubbing her with a small towel, then rubbing the kittens. If the Mom cat starts to groom the little strangers...then you have it made. I cannot tell you the number of kittens I have sucessfully raised and found good homes for....from pregnant Mom cats to newborn orphans...It is such a wonderful feeling, when you succeed. I have made many people very happy with my kittens. I adopt them out to people with just one hard and gast rule....spay or neuter your new kitten when they get old enough!!! I have 6 cats of my own(at least, I had 6 cats last time I counted)....all were "throw-aways" and made wonderful pets.Please let me know if I can help, with any advice from the kitten school of "been there...done that..."

An eyedropper is a good idea, but they will need some type of small nipple, to develope their "sucking response".They usuually eat 2-3 ml at a time, and need to eat every 3-4 hours. Not to use "cows milk" though....diluted evaporated milk will work in a pinch. As my sister (Floridian) said, it is VERY important to stimulate them to urinate and have bowel movements. That needs to be done either before or after each feeding. The bowel movements will appear very liquid-like, but they should urinate quite a bit. A soft cloth with a massaging movement, to insure they empty their bladders. Another point to be very watchful about...make sure you feed them only enough to fill their little stomachs, and not be in a hurry to over-feed... I have lost too many small kittens, by allowing someone to "help" me feed them...and if it is not done properly, the kittens will aspirate the formula and they will develope aspiration pneumonia. It is a tough job. I have also been lucky, on several occasions, going by a local animal shelter and finding a mommy cat who either, still has a litter of kittens or has just had her kittens taken away...and she is still lactating. Mom cats will accept kittens, other than their own, if introduced slowly and by rubbing the kittens with her scent first,rubbing her with a small towel, then rubbing the kittens. If the Mom cat starts to groom the little strangers...then you have it made. I cannot tell you the number of kittens I have sucessfully raised and found good homes for....from pregnant Mom cats to newborn orphans...It is such a wonderful feeling, when you succeed. I have made many people very happy with my kittens. I adopt them out to people with just one hard and fast rule....spay or neuter your new kitten when they get old enough!!! I have 6 cats of my own(at least, I had 6 cats last time I counted)....all were "throw-aways" and made wonderful pets.Please let me know if I can help, with any advice from the kitten school of "been there...done that..."

Sorry..one more thing...I looked again at the pictures....let the kitten "hold" the bottle...in other words, as you feed them, let them put their front feet on the bottle. That will allow them not to be fed too quickly or aspirate the liquid. They will actually put their little "hands" around the base of the nipple and that will put you in correct/easy position for feeding. They will learn very quickly to "grab ahold" of that bottle.Silly???? Maybe...but it works.

I am thinking of the old fashioned eye dropper with the rubber end, and then as the kitten get's bigger, move to a bottle.

Do they have vets there, that can sell you tiny nippled bottles?

Also, my next choice would have been goats milk as well, possibly very slighlty diluted with boiled or purified water.

Poor little things.

Last night I tried with feeder and now they are familiar with it, and taking milk with feeder, with egg I will start after few days , I used tetra pack milk, goat milk is not available here.
stimulattion is a new to me, before these I donot have pets ever.
I will do as directed by all of you. Actually I knew late about the mother cat that she has left her children, Yester night I also saw the mother cat but she is still away from her kittens, dont know why, before these she always care her kittens with love. Now babies are very weak.
Today morning they are much better.
Thank you for good advises.

Glad to hear the Mom cat is still around. Try putting out the dry kitten food (if for no other reason than Mom cat is probably starving) and leave the kittens in close proximity, preferrably with a box or something, that Mom cat can get into...she may just come back to feed the kittens. If Mom cat sees you...she won't come near them, but let nature take over. You may get lucky. If she gets close enough to the food and " hears" the kittens, she will probably feed them. A box, with the kittens in it and cover the opening part way(the top) with a towel. Keep us updated!!!!

Another thought...Mom cat may have abandoned her kittens for a reason. I don't know how many you found, or if this is her entire litter. Mom cats will sometimes abandon the smaller, weaker or sick kittens, to take care of the others. I have actually seen a Mom cat push one certain kitten away and pay no attention to it, while feeding the others in the litter. I can only again stress PLEASE put dry food out for the Mom cat ("kitten" food is preferrable) She may have abandoned them because she was unable to feed them. Make plenty of food available to her and she may return to the kittens/or feed others she has hidden somewhere. The kitten food gives her more nourishment than regular cat food, but anything is better than letting her go hungry. God Bless you and those wonderful little creatures and I will watch for your updates. Let me know if there is any question you need addressed. If I don't know the answer, I have 4 vets (one of whom is my best friend) that I can turn to for help.

Here is one of "my orphaned litters" from last year...So, your hard work will pay off. These littens were @ 3 days old when a City animal control officer called me and said they were going to be put to sleep, if I did not take them....They were a mess...fleas. intestinal parasites, malnourished....But, here is the results....God Bless

:-)

Ttoday I rub their privates, they did pissy and a lot , I think that was the block of two days, now they are thinking me as their mother, now I changed the feeding procedure, they are very cooperative now during feeding.Here are new pictures. I tokk today envening, all are fine now.
Thanks for your kind advises.
kaleem

Looking good here.

O my goodness! They are so cute! Are they brown like the picture shows? If you lived over here I would adopt them in a minute!!!

I had a brown kitten once and have never been able to find another one again, definitely my favorite color on kitties!!

They look like they are doing well, good job!! I applaud you for all the work you are doing to keep them healthy and alive!

Good luck and well wishes with your babies,
Raven

Raven
Yes one is grey/white/brown, that is very pretty, One is completely black and one is white/black. Thanks for asking.

I love good news! Well done, Kaleem!

I did it with the help of all the above listed members. Thanks all of you.

They are just so cute!!...I talked with Janet again today and she wanted you to know that often the mama cat will leave the babies if she isn't making milk or getting enough to eat and drink herself. She needs plenty of water to make milk. She suggests keeping food and water out always for mama cat and putting the babies in a box nearby. A box with a towel in it for the babies and one towel draped over half of the top for shelter. Mama cat won't feed the babies out in the open. If she doesn't get in the box with them just bring them in again for the next feeding and put them out again...not all night but just while you can make sure they are safe, warm and dry. She says dried or evaporated milk or even soy milk thinned will be better for the babies than cow's milk.
It looks like you're doing a great job, thanks for taking care of them!
Stacey

Stacey
Thank you very much, in this job you are also with me, Mama cat is out and not returned yet. Yesternight I saw her, first I put the milk is a saucer for kittens , mama cat came and drink that milk and went away. Today I have not seen her. I put all the babies in a box in a safe corner, because its raining out side. Now condition of the babies is very good, all the babies are taking feed with the feeder. Thanks

gumlla, I'm so happy!!!! I'm probably too apprehensive, but last night I could hardly find any sleep thinking of these three babies and you (unexperienced mother LOL). God bless your wondeful heart, my friend.

And yes, from now on you will be the kitties' mother.

If it is getting very cold during night, it would be good if you could provide the kitties with a bottle of warm water (well wrapped in a towel) as substitute for the warmth the mother supplies them.

Cats are wonderful mothers. There must be a reason why the mother is not taking care of the kitties.

You are doing a wonderful job, gumlla.

Big hug,

Ursula

Ursula
Your idea is fantastic about warm water bottle, kitties will think there mom is with them. It is very difficult to care these babies. But I did with all of you. I think we did is better than I did. You all are with me in this strange situation.
(unexperienced mother LOL). You have good sense of hummer.
Please keep in touch.
Thanks

Wonderful news! You make a great mom gumlla! How exciting to be able to rescue these babies....

see Gumlla weeds just said that you are a good mom too! LOL She meant good Papa.