Right, I'm a bit of a worried "grandmother" here. My cat (only just a year old) has just had a litter of four kittens. They’re six days old, very lively, with lovely coats... The thing is, my cat is the type to stay out all night "partying" somewhere with her feline mates from the countryside; she'd stopped since having the kittens, but now, well, she's back at it. She disappeared at 6.30pm and it's nearly 3am now, and she’s still not back. She's left four starving kittens behind.
So, what should I do? How long can kittens go without a feed before it becomes a risk to their health? I can't go and look for the mum as I’ve no idea where she’s off to. Do I need to pick up some kitten milk tomorrow morning if she’s still not back? How can I stop her from pulling stunts like this? I’m really worried about the kittens—they're crying for food and they're clearly cold. My mum, who's seen plenty of litters in her time, isn't worried in the slightest, and it’s really getting on my nerves. Am I overreacting? But more importantly, can I actually get some sleep or am I inevitably going to find dead kittens in the morning? ...
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Reg.
Translated from French
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Hi, I have a kitten who is only three days old. He isn't drinking at all anymore, neither from his mum nor from the bottle. I've wrapped him in a blanket to keep him warm. What can I do for him?
I think things should be alright now, he’s been going to the loo on his own for two days. I’m just going to see the vet about his diarrhoea. Mind you, I’m not even sure if it is diarrhoea, as the vet told me that kittens this age have very soft poo because they aren’t having anything other than milk.
My kitten has been going to the toilet on his own for two days now. He’s eating really well and has put on nearly 0.35 oz (that’s over six days, but at least he’s gaining weight). And for those on this forum who are having a go for no reason, I’ve been to the vet at least four times in a week and a half and they don't do anything except give me advice... so I’m asking here in the hope of getting a bit more information, that’s all. If you’ve got nothing useful to say, there’s no point – you might as well just keep quiet. You’d think it was your own cat’s life at stake.
To get them to go to the toilet, you need to stimulate them. After every bottle-feed, you should rub the kittens' lower tummy (the genital area and bottom) with a cotton pad or a soft cloth dampened with warm water. This will trigger them to wee and poo. It’s a reflex! If you don’t do this, they won't be able to go at all.
I took in a kitten five days ago because his mum stopped looking after him; she wouldn't even let him be near her. I've been bottle-feeding him every three hours with Royal Canin kitten milk, but he's really struggling to feed. Since I've had him, he’s weighed about 0.37 lbs and hasn't gained an ounce... I'm so worried. He had his first poo after three days, and today (day five) it was completely liquid. I think he has diarrhoea. I'm with him all the time, I haven't left his side... Why isn't he putting on weight?? Why does he have diarrhoea? Thanks.
You’ve got to manage to get them to do at least one poo a day, but more often than not it’ll be two. If the kitten is with its mum, you might not actually see any poo because she swallows it while licking the little ones, but if the kitten is an orphan, you’ve got to try and get them to do their business after every feed.
Some really good news, at lunchtime today my kitten started to poo on his own but nothing actually fell out, it just stayed hanging there... it’s like he didn't have enough strength to push it out. So I put on a latex glove and helped him by gently pulling the little bit... at first it looked like he was constipated but by the end it was actually quite runny. I reckon it was that "hard poo" that was blocking him. Anyway, the good news is that after 3 days he's finally been :))) I just hope he'll manage it again from now on...
