# 2 Day Old Kitten



## savingxmaryxkate (Apr 26, 2009)

On the way home last nite, my boyfriend found a 2 day old kitten on the side of a store. he brought her home to me. we are feeding her drops of PetAg KMR (Kitten milk replacer). we have her in a warm small area and she is sleeping alot but so far seems to be doing ok. we know the chances of her surviving at this young of age with out her mother are slim but we want to do all we can to give her a chance... is there anything else i can be doing?

i was told to clean/rub her "private" areas with a wet wash clothe to be like her mother cleaning her to make her go to the bath room.... i cant seem to make it work, as gross as that sounds...

please help!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Hi, when I had a young orphaned litter to hand-raise, I also couldn't seem to get them to potty for me. I found I was being a little too gentle. One of my male adult cats, Louie, loved to help me care for them. He (of course) used his tongue, but he used his nose and sort of pushed them over on their side/back and would lick from their tummy to their tail and while I wouldn't say he was 'rough', he wasn't taking particular care to be 'soft as a butterfly' either. 
So, if rubbing/stroking them with the warm, damp towel isn't working well when they are 'upright', try turning them over just a tiny bit and see if that works.

If you can keep the kitten warm and fed, it should survive. I have hand-raised several orphaned litters, but the youngest I've had them was at about 10dys old. I've never had to raise newborns, but I am certain it can be done. Another thing to consider, is if the kitten isn't getting enough formula, there won't be very much of an output until they begin to eat well.
I really like the PetAg products, KMR and the nursing bottles. I also liked the Farnam KMR called: Just Born w/ Colostrum. I've used the pre-mixed cartons and for the litters of kittens, I bought the powdered cannister and mixed formula for each day.
Good luck! What a lucky kitten to have been found and rescued.
heidi


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## tsenseless (May 25, 2009)

Babies that young will get a lot of gas. You need to feed them a little bit (1milliliter) every hour, and rub their tummy. (They should still have a small umbilical cord, rub right below that). If you don't rub their tummy every hour (for like 3-4 minutes) the baby will get gas and die. Keep them in a warm place but not to warm. I found that if you 'roll' the baby into a blanket that usually works well. (And all of my 'rolled' kitties like to sleep on or ontop of me when i sleep, they're very affectionate).

Yes, after every feeding make sure to rub both private places with a warm damp cloth (gently), until they poop and pee. If the kitty doesn't poop in 2 days it will die. If it poops within that time it will live and grow up fine. The sooner you get it to poop the better. Don't feed it cow milk if you have the choice of something else, it will give the kitten diarrhea. You should be ok since you said have formula. As long as you have the patience over the next week to keep rubbing and feeding the baby by hand it will live. Good luck, and god speed.

what else....
They do not have a full immune system, make sure to wash your hands with isopropyl alcohol before and after feeding or handling the kitten. The kitten breast milk acts just like breast milk does in humans. The previous poster was correct, some kittens like to be sitting when they poop, others on their back, some on their tummy, i had one who liked to grip like he was sitting. If the baby stops crying, cant cry, or he opens his mouth to cry but no sound comes out, (he is on the verge of dying) the baby needs liquids/food, after the first day you can give 1ML of formula followed by 0.5-1ML of water (NOT tap water). As the baby starts sucking down more formula/water add more to the syringe. If i recall correctly, after a week my survivor was sucking down 5-8ML in a sitting 4 or 5 times a day.

The youngest kitties I rescued, only 1 of 3 made it. It was a learning experience for me though, as I had never really taken care of babies like that before. In retrospect, if i had known what to do they all wouldve lived. The hardest part is if YOU are a deep sleeper, the baby going without food or rubs for 6-8 hours could kill it, you'll wake up to find it dead and feel like an a$$ because you were sleeping. The first couple days you're going to need an alarm clock to go off every hour so you know when to feed. After the kitten fattens up, grows some hair, and walks without trembling legs, thats when you know you're through the worst of it.

edit:

kittens can be born with worms, i'd suggest getting your kitty dewormed after he/she reaches 2-3 weeks of age. I'd take the kitty to the vet ASAP as well.


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## tsenseless (May 25, 2009)

Any news? How is the little guy doing?


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## savingxmaryxkate (Apr 26, 2009)

SHE POOPED!!!

i mean it wasnt alot, but i'd like to say my boyfriend and i feel like proud parents!!!! i always feel so bad making her go potty right after eating cuz it takes so much energy outta her... poor little girl. i'm thinking about taking some pictures and posting on her progress just so that it will be easier for yall to see what i'm talking about over different issues because i know i'm going to need all the help i can get!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay! _...only cat-mad peeps would get excited over kitten poop! _ :lol:


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

Heidi n Q said:


> Yay! _...only cat-mad peeps would get excited over kitten poop! _ :lol:


You think that's bad Heidi...when Lucky was a kitten and he used the litter box for the very first time, I wanted to take the tiny pee clump and have it bronzed...yes, I said bronzed.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

my3kitties said:


> ...I wanted to take the tiny pee clump and have it bronzed...yes, I said bronzed.


[_voice of Skipper the Penguin from Madagascar movies_] Okay, that's a little beyond my realm of cat-mad. I think you may be into cat-crazy territory, now! 
Rico! What are the probablilities on that? :lol: 
[Rico] Well, Skipper. It appears she stood here, moved to here, and jumped into the deep end, right..... [dramatic music] ...there.
[Skipper] Oh. Well, there's our answer, then. We all know that kitties don't like water and you must be crazy as a lemming to jump over the cliff.


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## savingxmaryxkate (Apr 26, 2009)

OMG PLZ HELP!

shes breathing but shes not moving much... shes nursing slowly but when we go to rub her tummy like usual, she usually cries and stuff and she's just laying there... she doesnt seem to be doing well...

what can i do!?

im crying, my boyfriend is in the bathroom tending to her... shes pooped with out us having to rub her... is that a bad sign?

we have been feeding her wit ha little sureng thing that the vet tech gave us... what would work better, the smallest of feeding bottles wouldnt fit in her mouth!

help me save her!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

EMERGENCY VET! 

I'm sorry, little kittens are very difficult to help when they take a downturn. They need immediate veterinary help. There is no way anyone could tell you what is wrong or how to fix it. I would rush her to the E-vet right away.
IF she does not make it and passes away? I will be very sorry for your broken heart, but you should feel very good about yourselves for TRYING to help her! For doing the best you could! ...and most especially... for loving her for the time you had her.

Best wishes, but I would take her to an emergency vet and hope for the best.
*_closes eyes to send good thoughts and healing wishes for the kitten and her caretakers_*
heidi


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## tsenseless (May 25, 2009)

If she's pooping and still having problems take her to the vet ASAP.

You may be overreacting, she may enjoy the rubs now and be very sleepy. But it'd still be safer to take her to the vet.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Locking this thread as there is another one about the same issue, having info in 2 different places gets confusing.


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