Kitten Questions - May be urgent?
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fairybells
Kitten Questions - May be urgent?
Our cat had kittens Friday of last week and all but one of a litter of three is still alive. Her milk has dried up almost entirely so this evening I began feeding the kitten w/ kitten formula. He seems fine however when he is sleeping he will curl up and twitch a little and mew here and there and then go back to resting. Is this normal? She is still bathing him, sleeping w/ him and doing all other necessary mother things for the cat. He does however have a few small fleas but in a cat this young I am unsure how to treat.
Re: Kitten Questions - May be urgent?
If he is twitching, he's probably just dreaming...and the mewing is normal for a newborn....they will wake up momentarily and instinctively mew for their mother. I'm not sure why her milk has dried completely, I would strongly suggest she and kitten are seen by your vet immediately...he can tell you if you need to supplement the formula completely from this point on.
Make sure that the area where mom and kitten are is free from drafts...kittens don't develop a shivering reflex until they are at least 7 days of age, so it's important he is kept warm at all times. If you see him away from his mother, gently place him with her for warmth and bonding.
Again, I strongly advise getting them both seen immediately by your vet.....with the other losses, you can't risk this little one getting ill...please don't wait on this.
The fleas are concerning for both kitten and mother...in newborns, flea infestation can cause life-threatening anemia in a matter of hours/days, you can't risk it. You can use a flea comb only, for mom and kitten at this point: Take a dish of warm water and add a drop or two of dawn dishwashing liquid, dip the flea comb in it, run through the fur, dip again, repeat until there is no evidence of fleas. Do NOT immerse kitten in water and make sure he is warm and dry at all times, you don't want to risk hypothermia. This is the only safe method of treating a newborn and nursing mom for fleas.
Your vet can also provide you with the proper kitten formula (I recommend KMR only), kitten nurser bottle/nipples, and can go over the mixing directions with you so that you can ensure proper feeding amounts, times of feedings required, etc. Please opt to get the mother tested for FELV/FIV.
More kitten care information can be found HERE
Post an update when you can...would like to hear your vet's report on how they are doing...
Make sure that the area where mom and kitten are is free from drafts...kittens don't develop a shivering reflex until they are at least 7 days of age, so it's important he is kept warm at all times. If you see him away from his mother, gently place him with her for warmth and bonding.
Again, I strongly advise getting them both seen immediately by your vet.....with the other losses, you can't risk this little one getting ill...please don't wait on this.
The fleas are concerning for both kitten and mother...in newborns, flea infestation can cause life-threatening anemia in a matter of hours/days, you can't risk it. You can use a flea comb only, for mom and kitten at this point: Take a dish of warm water and add a drop or two of dawn dishwashing liquid, dip the flea comb in it, run through the fur, dip again, repeat until there is no evidence of fleas. Do NOT immerse kitten in water and make sure he is warm and dry at all times, you don't want to risk hypothermia. This is the only safe method of treating a newborn and nursing mom for fleas.
Your vet can also provide you with the proper kitten formula (I recommend KMR only), kitten nurser bottle/nipples, and can go over the mixing directions with you so that you can ensure proper feeding amounts, times of feedings required, etc. Please opt to get the mother tested for FELV/FIV.
More kitten care information can be found HERE
Post an update when you can...would like to hear your vet's report on how they are doing...
..........Traci
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fairybells
Re: Kitten Questions - May be urgent?
We are going to take the cat in to the vet tomorrow since we just noticed her milk dried up tonight. It is next to impossible to get them to come out in the middle of the night for anything other than an animal being hit by a car.