Time to meet today’s Star Kit, Champa. She is a 2 week old Calico from the Bronx.
Champa was found abandoned in our garden under a fig tree, along with a dead sibling, in the pouring rain. We opened the door to the tool shed and cleaned out the nearby dog house to see if momma would take her to shelter. She did not, and the next day, Saturday, our mother in law heard her crying in the mud, alone, so she took her in to keep her warm. My sister-in-law came the next day, Sunday, to feed her KMR powder mix and clean her. We came home that night to the cutest, tiniest kitten we ever saw.
Right before we took her to the vet on Monday, she had a poop by herself, a semi-hard brown one. The vet said she seemed to be OK, other than what could be mites in her ear, and told us her chances of survival were slim (10% chance first week, 20% chance second week etc). The next evening, we pooped her, a very liquid poop. Since then, nothing. We are going on 7-8 days of no poop and are very worried. The vet says if we’re only giving her formula, not to worry as of yet. We’ve read every forum, including this excellent one, and have:
1) increased her KMR water to power dose to 3x-4x water
2) bought anal thermometer with KY
3) switched yesterday to liquid KMR.
I bought mineral oil a couple days ago, but my wife read a couple forums that said mineral oil had bad implications, so she only allowed me to mix a couple tiny drops with the powder formula feedings and then stop because she feared more harm than good would come. she is eating voraciously, sleeps well, has started walking nicely, and pees a storm, but no poop. At this point, we don’t know what to do. Any suggestions please?
Tom is the owner of 4 amazing cats, and using the Daily Kitten he provides a place for cat and kitten lovers to share the love for their own cats and kittens.
Pounce! She seems like quite the fighter. I am sure many of the great folks here willbe able to give you great advice and tips for your new little one.
Congratulations!
She’s too cute for words. There are some real experts here, so you are sure to get some good advice.
I wish I were a poop guru but alas, I am not. I hope someone chimes in soon with some answers for you. She is so adorable.. Thanks for taking care of her and letting her into your hearts.
Go to http://www.Kitten-Rescue.com and look for “stimulating the kitten”. Or just look it up on line. You have to mimic the mother to help with the pooping. I hope this helps and good luck. We want to see an up-date on this baby once she gets past this. I hope you have many, many happy years with Champa.
We rescued a slightly older (4 weeks) kitten in Brooklyn a couple years ago.
A kitten’s bowels are stimulated by the mother cat washing (licking) their belly. To simulate this, take a cotton ball, dip in warm water. Hold the kitten upside down, and gently but with some pressure rub the cotton ball from the front legs down to the tail. You may end up with some “stuff” on the cotton ball. Do this after each feeding.
Good luck! Beautiful little girl !
She is a beauty. I have raised a few this young. Found out that a little bit of pancake syrup mixed in the milk does wonders Do this at every feeding. Don’t forget to stimulate with a warm cloth. Any gently rubbing belly seems to help. They will not poop everytime but always be sure they pee.
Squee for wee Callie girl Champa our NY Star-kit today at TDK!
You can access helpful TDK chat links by typing in Poo and Raising Kittens on Search bar box too!
Champa is totally cute!
Pretty sure mineral oil is not good for kitties. uiu might want to research that, there is probably into on this site.
Wishing you all the best – thank you for taking in this wee cutie!
Um, sorry for the typos. Not uiu, you – info, not into. Sorry.
I’ve heard of using a few drops of Olive Oil in the formula. That seems like a better choice than Mineral Oil to me. But I’d rather hear that from one of the more experienced bottle feeders on here.
Champa is a little champ – especially when it cones to just being too darn cute!! Thank you for rescuing this teeny kitteh!
Wish that I could help you out, but unfortunately no expertise/experience. Hopefully others can provide advice, or I suggest that you call the vet again.
To Champa’s new owner – A little Mayonnaise on the kitten’s nose should help her poop – my 2 year old is a bit constipated and that always works! And she may even like the taste!!
Try it!
gisdipe
Please know we are praying for your little fluffball. Keep at it, don’t give up. And please, please keep us informed. I want this little fighter to make it. ANd THANK YOU for adopting
Champa, you are gorgeous. Champa’s parents, please click ‘constipation’ in the ‘hot issues’ pink tags and especially check out Chaos’s Guide to Constipation which pretty much covers everything we have learned on the subject on this site. I’ll see if I can find the link for you (but having trouble with the site right now).
Here is Chaos’s Guide, hope it helps: http://dailykitten.com/chat/topic/chaos-guide-to-constipation/
Ahh, the ‘hot issues’ tags are really called the ‘topic tags’ to the right of the page (except they keep disappearing on me!)
Sweet little calico baby! Try these sites, they are very helpful and will tell you everything you need to know about your knew little one. Check back in with us if you need help or have questions, we love babies!
http://messybeast.com/handrear.htm, http://www.safehavenforcats.com/newborn.htm
Champa had such a rough start in life, and then you came along like a Guardian Angel. Bless you for caring for this wee babe. Prayers being sent for her survival.
What a beautiful tiny creature. Hope she pulls through. Have you returned to the vet’s? Yes, it is expensive, but there is no better investment. I spent $1000 almost 20 years ago on the little stray who adopted me. I still have him at 18 1/2 and he is my best friend in the world. I really hope you can save her, but don’t feel terrible if you can’t. If you hadn’t stepped in, she would have been dead by now.
purrs.