Goat’s milk vs kitten formula 1 wk old rescues

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  • 3 March, 2018 at 10:04 pm #866293
    Noreen
    Participant

    Hi all,

    Sorry for the long rambling post. I am fostering two rescues, a brother and sister who are just over a week or so old (the umbilical stump was dried but still attached when I got them). They were eating condensed goat’s milk, 1:1 with water when they were given to me. I think they passed their meconium with me, as each one had a dark tarry bowel movement within the first day I had them. Since then, the stools have gotten very loose, and yellow. There was some blood in the stools within the first two days, but the rescue group gave me Albon to give for a 9 day treatment regimen, and the blood in the stools has stopped. The diarrhea has not though. Both kittens seemed to be ravenously hungry the first 3 days, not sleeping for more than 45-60 min at a time. I know that it’s important to try and keep their food as ‘regular’ as possible, but I was becoming distressed at how often they wanted to eat, and how little they were resting. I ran out of the goat’s milk, and decided to try kitten formula. I noticed an immediate difference in their sleep habits, and just seeming more satiated when they ate. The diarrhea has their poor little bottoms sore, and I’ve noticed that the only blood, if any, is when I try to clean them (they also are much more agitated, which makes me think it must be sore- I know my bottom would be!) from the forums on here, I found the recipe for the homemade pedialyte, and decided to try that to give their systems a break from either the formula and milk, and see if that improved their stools. The color has changed to a darker yellow orange, although still loose. Neither one shows any lethargy, or dehydration, both urinate fine when stimulated, and in the week that they’ve been with me, they have grown. I have read here though that the goat’s milk is superior to the kitten formula, so now I’m questioning my decision to switch to the formula.

    This is my first time fostering little ones, never mind SO tiny. Their well being is my priority. Can anyone offer any tips/suggestions?

    4 March, 2018 at 1:04 am #866296
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    I think what I would do is feed them BOTH. Meaning, one time feed goat’s milk, then the next time feed KMR. I did that with my last kitten, and he got along fine. I have fed only KMR to kittens, and also only goat’s milk. I think it just depends on the kitten, and what keeps them satisfied. I like the goat’s milk because I never had to worry about constipation like I did with the KMR powder only kittens. But with your kittens having diarrhea, this is not really an issue. I like the powder with both of these options, because you can mix up what you will use in a day or two without it going to waste.

    http://messybeast.com/handrear.htm

    Bottle Babies

    http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

    4 March, 2018 at 1:49 am #866297
    Noreen
    Participant

    Thank you! I considered that, but I wasn’t sure. I’m just so worried about them- I understand how serious diarrhea can be for little ones. I try and get them to rest, then when they’re resting, I keep checking to see if they’re ok,????

    4 March, 2018 at 8:15 pm #866305
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    Oh yeah–the worried cat mom! Just like having your own human babies and checking on them to see if they are still breathing. You are doing fine! If you need us, we are here. If they should get lethargic and not eating, rub some karo syrup or honey on the gums or tongue, to perk up their blood sugar level, then try and feed. If kittens quit eating, they run the risk of crashing from low blood sugar levels.

    4 March, 2018 at 11:07 pm #866307
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    …and warm. Kits can’t digest anything if they’re cold. Thanks for fostering and fussing over this duo of kits.
    PG

    3 July, 2018 at 8:17 pm #869016
    Angela
    Participant

    I have four orphaned kittens. They are 6 days old, I lost the fifth one last night. I started using goats milk from the grocery store this morning. 3 our of four pooped and one, the biggest, seems stopped up. I was using the liquid kmr, and am now mixing 1/2 and 1/2 kmr and goats milk. Any suggest? I have raised a litter of 5 about 7 years ago. All lived to be healthy and happy. Thank you!! Worried sick. Up all night.

    3 July, 2018 at 8:20 pm #869017
    Angela
    Participant

    Also, I have had them since day 2, when their momma was shot and killed.

    3 July, 2018 at 8:39 pm #869018
    Noreen
    Participant

    Angela,
    You’re an angel for taking care of these babies! My secret ingredient to get them to stop having such loose stools was puréed pumpkin. I mixed a tiny bit with Water and made it very runny so it wouldn’t clog the bottles and added it to the formula or goats milk. I ended up alternating between the KMR & the goat’s milk. I turned them over to another foster once my work schedule picked back up, but she kept them on the regimen I had begun, and said that they both did fantastic. Both babies are thriving, and have been adopted by their forever families.

    I can’t imagine having 4 at once, 2 was exhausting! I found that using baby wipes was handy in stimulating them to eliminate, and made cleanup that much easier. I also bathed them every day, because they got messy with the accidents they had in their little nursery. I used a flat heating pad, on the lowest setting, under a towel, to maintain warmth for them, it was much more reliable than a hot water bottle. I changed their towel frequently (accidents, lol) and kept extra handy for feeding, cleaning. (I’ve never done so much laundry in my life, even when my KIDS were babies!) for their little nursery, I used a large clear storage container, it was easy to peek in on them, it was the perfect size for the heating pad, and they couldn’t climb out. If their little bottoms end up sore from being wiped, or the diarrhea, it’s ok to use a little zinc oxide (Desiten) on their bums, just like babies. The bottle nipples were the biggest challenge- how to make a big enough opening, but not one so large they’re getting too much. Also, making sure to feed them while they’re on their tummies, with their heads sort of elevated, as if they were at momma’s nipple. Just like human babies, it was easy to start to notice their sleep habit, once their little bellies started getting the right nutrients. I *tried* to anticipate when they’d need to eat and be ready, so it wasn’t a frenzy, but I often lost that battle.

    Hope some of this is helpful! Keep up the good work!

    3 July, 2018 at 8:45 pm #869019
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    I’m so sorry Angela, for the a$$hole from hell who shot and killed their mother. Sorry, I’ll cut no breaks for people like this.

    Sounds like you are doing as best you can. You don’t know their history or what they have been exposed to, so you do the best you can and hope it’s good enough. I would feed goat’s milk one feeding, then switch to KMR the next. If they get diarrhea and have sore bottoms, put some Desitin on it or Aquaphor for healing in between poops. With constipation, you can add a few drops of olive oil to the formula since it helps soften the poops. I’ll post a link for the ‘triangle method’ of pooping a kitten, it works wonders–don’t give up. Also, if he doesn’t poop in a couple of days, the vet can administer an enema to get things moving for you.

    Helping a kitten to eliminate

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