I've been fostering off and on for a cat rescue group for a year or so, taking cats from a high kill public shelter and placing the animals in a Petsmart adoption center once they're altered and appropriately vetted.
Well, fast forward to now and one of the members of the group guilted me into talking 3 infant kittens. They aren't supposed to be staying long but as she seems to be going invisible on me, I want to make sure they get the best care they can from me. I've fostered before but never something this young for more than a few days and I feel I need some help knowing how and when to transition them as they grow.
They were ~3 weeks old when I got them. Shockingly, they were chowing down on canned food but turns out that was just because they were starving (the shelter doesn't bottle feed, they just leave them be and if they don't eat, oh well). Once a bottle was offered, they went totally off the solids for several days. Now they're ~4 weeks old and are eating solids well (ProPlan with meat flavor baby foods) but getting a bottle 3-4 times a day, which they still nurse vigorously.
I guess their health background is everyone has, and is being treated for, coccidia (lovely smell, par for the course for this shelter). They have subclinical URI and are getting supplementary lysine. Clavamox is available but everyone is eating and there's no green discharge so I'm holding off. They also get acidophilus in the milk to help with the coccidia. I already had a digital kitchen scale and they've all gained weight through the week. Average weight is 500g.
Main questions:
When to totally withdraw the bottle
When to give more freedom of movement
Anything else to do health wise, to aid recovery from coccidia and URI
I hope that wasn't too long for my introductory post!
Edit: I completely forgot the gratuitous kitten cuteness.
Are they being treated with Albon for the coccidia? If so, there is NO need to add acidophilus, since you could be damaging their GI tracts. You should also NOT add anything to their formula, least of all, acidophilus. Use only KMR powdered form, and mix exactly as the package directions indicate for weight or age.
Most kittens are not ready to wean onto solid food until they are at least 4 weeks of age, but since they probably never recieved formula before you had them, there's nothing wrong with giving it to them now, as you have been doing. It is beneficial to them to get the nutrients in the formula so they can get a better start for growth and development.
Do NOT feed human baby food, there is NO nutritional value in human baby food used for kittens, it does NOT contain vital nutrients that kittens need for proper growth and development. Please cease it immediately.
Is the ProPlan you're using a kitten diet? If not, cease using it and use a proper kitten formula, like Iams canned Kitten food. In another week or so, you can place the canned Iams Kitten food on a shallow plate, and drizzle a bit of formula over the canned food, and offer this to them a few times a day. Since the plate will have both the formula and the canned Kitten food, they will have the choice and preference and will decide on their own when they are interested in only the canned. Some kittens will not eat canned kitten food exclusively until 6 weeks of age or more, it depends on the kitten, the kitten's nutritional needs, and how it is offered (frequency, consistency of the food, palatibility, etc).
What do you mean, "subclinical" URI? It's a URI or it isn't. In tiny young kittens, URI's must always be treated appropriately because they do not have a full immune system to combat infections, particularly secondary infections that are always a potential with URI's. Tiny young kittens are extremely susceptible to many infections and if not treated at once, those infections can worsen considerably.
If you have clavamox, and if it was prescribed properly by a vet, then you should be giving it to the kittens as prescribed. Is it tablet form or oral suspension form? I recommend the oral suspension form because this is easier on kittens, and they do not have the risk of choking on tablets. If suspension form and it has already been mixed/refrigerated, you need to know it is only good for 7-14 days in the fridge once mixed, then it expires and must be discarded. So if you have the mixed oral suspension and haven't used it, you'll probably have to discard it and get new clavamox from the vet. Do NOT ever give expired clavamox to a pet, not only is this dangerous (since the solution spoils quite rapidly), but it is totally ineffective.
The lysine is going to be useless without the clavamox. It is only a supplement and typically used for feline herpes, not generalized URI's. It probably isn't even necessary to give the lysine at all, and I would ask your vet about that. It is the clavamox the kittens need most to treat infections, and prevent worsening infections.
The Albon should be given as prescribed, and once the treatment days have ended, the kittens need to be re-evaluated, and if the parasite is still present, the treatment may need to be extended. Followup with the vet on that. It's crucial they are re-evaluated and treated accordingly, because if treatment ends too soon or is ineffective, the coccidia will continue and become harder to treat.
Freedom of movement: do you mean letting them exercise, play, activity, etc? Of course, since they are growing and developing and will be expending energy and need to exercise their growing limbs. They are also curious and need to investigate their surroundings and be active. This helps keep them active and healthy (exercise and activity is also helpful for the GI tract). Do be sure you have completely kitten-proofed your home before allowing them access to most areas...proof your home just as you would a toddler, don't let them get under furniture or behind appliances, etc. If you have other pets in the home, they should be seperated from the kittens since they have URI's, and since they are not old enough or developed enough to defend themselves. If you have children in the home, only minimal handling should be allowed and only under strict supervision by you.
Forgot to add, might want to discuss with the rescue organizations that they need to educate the shelter and get all newborns proper care..one cannot just put out canned or dry food for a newborn or un-weaned kitten and expect this to be appropriate, it is NOT! Understandably, the rescue orgs are probably always looking for foster parents for these tiny ones, but it is up to the shelter, and incumbent upon them to properly care for newborns and tiny young kittens! If the public was aware of that sort of practice, the shelter would be under alot of scrutiny and poor reception from the public.
The pic is priceless, what adorable little fur-balls!
rshevin wrote:(the shelter doesn't bottle feed, they just leave them be and if they don't eat, oh well)
...
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...That's horrible. :(
Poor baby kittens... I don't even want to imagine what may have happened to the ones that were too young to figure it out.
I've somewhat inexpertly raised abandoned kittens from as young as two days old before... And it is a LOT of work, yes... But there's no excuse for such severe neglect and lack of caring for kittens, even in a kill shelter. Disgusting.
That shelter you foster for needs to take better care of YOU as well!
They would be losing a valuable asset if you decided what they
were doing to you was too much for you to handle.
Well, let me just say this is probably one of the worst shelters around. The staff is ignorant and lazy and the management is worse. I've spent 3 years trying and trying to bring in education as have dozens of others with only regressions in conditions to show for it. My problems with the rescue appear to be limited to the one person I was dealing with. I've worked with them for a long time and never had a problem. Thankfully I made 1 more phone call and was able to find a permanent foster.
The kittens are continuing to eat well, both solids and bottle and everyone is gaining weight.
If the shelter has poor management, it should be investigated (i.e., by your local US Humane Society organization), and the public needs to be informed. If this shelter is city-supported and funded by the city and public (or even the county, specifically), then the taxpayers should have every right to know what is going on, particularly if animal care and welfare are sub-standard and/or if the welfare of the animals is at risk. The HS director, city officials or public can oust a manager if necessary.
She shelter has recently been investigated several times by the state vet and local media, to no avail. There have been 4 managers in 3 years, each worse than the next. The solution to each problem is to increase the euthanasia rate rather than work towards increasing adoptions, education, and conditions. I've been involved in this situation for 3+ years now and there is no easy solution and I resent the implication otherwise.
Luckily the kittens are heartily wrestling and chowing down and have a permanent foster now.
