Help!!!! Orphaned kitties been sleeping the whole day

Home The Daily Kitten Cat Chat Forum Cats & Kittens Help!!!! Orphaned kitties been sleeping the whole day

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  • #46909
    nervouswreck
    Participant

    Hi guys, i just found three abandoned kitties right outside my house 3 days back and been taking care of them since. They’re about less than a week old i guess based on the umbilical cord still attached to them…. Usually they woke up every 4 hour or so to be fed.

    Then today after their meal they’ve been sleeping like 8 hours straight on…

    They do move here and there during sleep but they just keep on sleeping.

    I’m worried it there’s anything wrong with them as they’ve been sleeping so long and haven’t eaten yet….

    Should i wake them up to feed them???

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks in advance.

    #682409
    kaitlyn
    Participant

    They should be woken up every 2-3 hours for feeding, don’t feel bad about waking them up, getting them on a schedule is a good thing. 🙂

    Try some of these links they’re very helpful:

    http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html

    http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

    http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15

    http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml

    http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

    #682410

    Welcome and thank you for saving these babies! I put some tags up at the top for you to click and find threads that may be helpful. I don’t have experience with newborns and on the weekends it is slow around here, so we’ll try and keep your post bumped up till someone with more knowledge can help.

    I do think you should wake them to feed them and then let them sleep more. That’s what newborns of all species do, sleep and eat!

    Please keep us posted and welcome to TDK!

    #682411
    nervouswreck
    Participant

    wow that’s a lot of information. i do feel guilty waking them up from their sleep… they look so peaceful and cozy..

    anyway, just finished feeding them and poop-ing and pee-ing them. now they’re back to their cozy sleep. gosh they fall asleep so fast!

    #682412
    Gigi1182
    Participant

    I agree with Jetta and Boo Boo’s mom- wake them up every 2-3 hours. They will be hungry. As a general rule of thumb (what I’ve been going by, anyway), 1-2 week olds should get 8-10mL of formula at each feeding, 2-3 week olds get about 10-15ml, 3-4 week olds get 15-30ml. Spread out the feedings longer as they get older. 1-2 weeks should be every 2-3 hours, 2-3 weeks every 3-4 hours, by 3-4 weeks they should make it 5-6 hours before they need to be fed again. I would recommend using the canned kitten milk replacement (KMR or GNC- but NOT hartz!). The powdered stuff *is* cheaper, but it also makes them constipated. (I’m dealing with that right now with my 4 week old girl… it’s NOT fun!) Also make sure you’re helping them eliminate by stimulating their little butts with a moistened cotton ball or towel. You will need to do this as soon as you wake them up, and after each feeding. Don’t worry if they don’t poop every time- kittens on formula will most likely only poop every 1-2 days. If they go more than 3 days without pooping, get them to a vet. They can’t poop on their own till they’re about 4-5 weeks old, but don’t stop doing that until you see them poop all by themselves. Hope that helps!!

    #682413
    nervouswreck
    Participant

    just a quick question, if say they overslept so to speak and i tried to feed them but they just refuse to eat. any remedy on this?

    #682414
    choyt9
    Participant

    put some honey or karo corn syrup on the roofs of their mouths to keep their blood sugar up. that’s why you’re waking them up every 2 to 3 hours…

    #682415
    Gigi1182
    Participant

    Make sure the formula is nice and warm too. My kitten won’t drink it if it’s too cold.

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