Dear TDK, my cat gave birth to three kittens last week but she could not care for them, most probably because she is not producing milk? I am not sure as to why but I had to intervene when I noticed that she did not bother to clean any of them. I took them to the vet to get their umbilical cord cut short and to detach one from their placenta. The vet had instructed me to feed them every two hours and use damp cotton to stimulate elimination. I tried my best but two of them died, the first after taking home from the vet and the other the day after.
It has been 9 days and I am deeply worried for this last one. She is so small and looks awfully fragile! If she stretches, she is barely the length of my hand.
For the first three days I was so afraid to lift and hold her head up to feed from the syringe that the vet gave me. But she had a bit of an appetite so what I did was I let her suckle the syringe a little, let her rest when she stops, then try to make her suckle again until she rejects the milk altogether and thereafter try to stimulate her. Her weight at this point was 50 grams (so tiny and light!)
Honestly, I have no knowledge of caring for younger kittens. Before I saw or read any of the the online kitten care instructions, I neither know how much milk to give nor about burping the kitten. During the time, I syringe fed her this http://www.catalog.ttldistributors.com.my/catalog/productdetails.asp?id=448 which I found out later, contained cow milk.
On the fourth day, she finally defecated the second time since the first day. Her feces was a little hard at first but after stimulating further, the feces came out softer and without much straining. Throughout the fourth day, she kept eliminating but the feces has grown watery instead. Worried it might have been the effect of the milk, my boyfriend got her this http://www.catalog.ttldistributors.com.my/catalog/productdetails.asp?id=450 goat milk. I do not really know if her diarrhea was caused by the milk or feeding too fast – I have no idea how feeding too fast is like.
On the fifth day, she gained a 5 grams. However, she refused to drink the milk I offer her every two hourly which was 1 cc. At this time, her feces looked a little hard but seemingly healthier than the day before; after replacing her formula.
On day six, she had finally started to suckle the syringe willingly since her first feed of the day. She seemed to want more of the milk, so without thinking, I increased her intake to 2 cc. It did not occurred to me that it would be an act of overfeeding. I noticed that she started purring as I was getting her to burp. She also weighed 60 grams then.
At one week, however, she started to defecate watery stool again. It was cause to worry since she had also suddenly lost interest in her milk. I took her to the vet again for a checkup but because she was so tiny, the junior vet had no idea how to treat her. In the end she administered some glucose shots in an attempt to give the kitten some energy, and also a dose of anti-diarrhea medicine.
Yesterday (day eight), I was careful not to overfeed her again and tried my best to get her to drink her milk. I also did the tent test and found that she was a little dehydrated, so I gave her the homemade Pedialyte from the recipe available on this site. In the morning, her stool was solid enough, an ice-cream-like consistency. But towards the afternoon, her stool grew hard that she was straining to eliminate. Come evening, she was finally able to eliminate what looked like green paste. I understand that this is unhealthy. After a while, she excreted mucus feces and this worries me a lot. I decided to stop giving her the homemade Pedialyte in case her irregular bowel movement was caused by that. Her weight dropped to 55 grams.
Today (day nine), she seems livelier; crying loudly when she is hungry, squirms a lot when I try to clean her, purrs when she is fully fed (I have been feeding her 1 cc every hour since midnight), and her eyes are starting to open. But it is still worrying that she is defecating mucus, yellow without any trace of blood, sometimes cheese-like consistency. She also excretes after every feed. I am afraid to offer her anymore homemade Pedialyte so the only way I am sure she is well hydrated is to get her to drink milk constantly. Her weight dropped again to just 50 grams.
What is causing her to excrete mucus stool? Am I feeding her right? For your info, I increased the water ratio to her formula so that her milk is more diluted because of what I read on one of the many newborn kitten care website, that it is possible her tiny body will not be able to handle the rich nutrients of the formula. Should I just stick to the mixture direction of the formula? Did the homemade Pedialyte cause any side effect? How do I know if there are any other complications associated with the mucus stool? I have not had enough sleep since the kittens arrive, therefore, I am mentally exhausted. I would appreciate your kind advice, especially from those who had similar experiences.
Many thanks in advance.
Comments are now closed.