Abandoned kitten, 2 wks old approx. HELP!!

marypeter

Hi, We have found ourselves with a 2 wk old kitten, abandoned by its feral mother. Got kitten formula and a tiny bottle. He drank about 15ml yest but only about 10 2d. Worried he's going off his food. His bowel movements are v hard so don't know what to do to help with that either. Finally he has lice/ fleas but is too small to wash with flea shampoo. Bought Frontline Spray which the assistant in the vets shop said we could use on him but feeling hesitant as she didn't seem on top of her game. Any advice?? thanks

toadfly

Where in the country are you? If there are any rescue centres near you theyay help you out. You will need to get treatment for the fleas at the vet rather than a petstore. Well done on taking the little one in.

fatmammycat

Marypeter, our youngest cat here was a three week old feral when we got him and like yours covered in fleas, ( and had cat flu and was practically blind, needing one eye removed) you need to wash him and remove the fleas with a tweezers as they can actually kill a kitten that young, our little guy was SO anaemic from them but we washed him the bathroom sink every evening and took them all off by hand. We fed ort guy every three/four hours ( including through the night) and added in a special kitten food- like mush- at four weeks which is very easy for him to digest.
Two weeks is very young and they can fade, but kittens, unlike puppies, are easier to save. We also- as per our vet's suggestion, syringed 2/3 ml of sugered water into our cat's mouth between meals, it seemed to offer him some much needed energy to eat.
Best of luck OP, our guy is now a fat spoiled brat of 12 years and we're so glad we saved him, hope your little one makes it.

Dodd

Try to have the kitten upright when feeding because if it is on it's back it can easely take fluid into the lungs.

boomerang

Frontline spray can be safely used on kittens over two days old so long as you follow the dosage instructions on the bottle.


The dosage is measured in the number of pumps used so you'll need to weigh the kitten. This is handy:

Frontline Spray Dosage Calculator

deeperblue11

marypeter wrote: »

Hi, We have found ourselves with a 2 wk old kitten, abandoned by its feral mother. Got kitten formula and a tiny bottle. He drank about 15ml yest but only about 10 2d. Worried he's going off his food. His bowel movements are v hard so don't know what to do to help with that either. Finally he has lice/ fleas but is too small to wash with flea shampoo. Bought Frontline Spray which the assistant in the vets shop said we could use on him but feeling hesitant as she didn't seem on top of her game. Any advice?? thanks

me and my girlfriend were in the same boat. two maybe less week old kitten, eyes still closed!!
we got kitten milk replacer from pet shop and a small bottle. it took a while to get him to drink. a little squease on the bottle but not much as you dont want to drown it!!
hunger took over and eventually he got used to it.
feed very often.
he followed us round the house for ages when he was mobile. total pet.:) we just kept feeding until he wasnt hungry.
you will enjoy it. good luck.

Irish Stones

marypeter wrote: »

Hi, We have found ourselves with a 2 wk old kitten, abandoned by its feral mother. Got kitten formula and a tiny bottle. He drank about 15ml yest but only about 10 2d. Worried he's going off his food. His bowel movements are v hard so don't know what to do to help with that either. Finally he has lice/ fleas but is too small to wash with flea shampoo. Bought Frontline Spray which the assistant in the vets shop said we could use on him but feeling hesitant as she didn't seem on top of her game. Any advice?? thanks

Are you keeping him warm?
And by "warm" I don't mean a blanket, because very young kittens (younger than 30 days) can't heat themselves, they need am external source of heat.
You can use a bottle filled with hot water and wrapped into a cloth. But you have to change the water often. Or you can use a heating pad.
Feed him with his belly down and after this you have to stimulate him to do his poo by rubbing his anus with a wet piece of cloth, like it were her mother's tongue. Ask a vet for any doubt you have.

Same thing for the flees, only a vet can give you the right advice/dosage for such a small kitten.

metaoblivia

We got a 2 week kitten back in late April. Keep feeding him with the bottle and keep him on the same formula. He'll be able to start eating canned food in a few weeks. Our little guy didn't start out taking a lot of formula either, but he increased his amounts pretty quickly. Like others have said, make sure he's upright when you feed him. It might help to have him in your lap. He should latch on to the bottle pretty quickly once he's well-positioned.

You might have to still do some stimulation in order to get him to release. It's very easy - just gently rub his backside with soft napkin or cloth. Our kitten didn't produce his first full poo until the third day we had him.

For fleas, we used Dawn dish washing liquid (not the anti-bacterial type) to wash him. It kills the fleas and is still safe for the kitten. From there, try to brush him daily with a flea comb. And if you do end up bathing him, be sure to wrap him up in blankets and keep him very warm while he's drying off.

And like another poster said, be sure to keep him warm. A litter of kittens usually use each other to keep warm, but since he's all by himself, he'll need a warm nest with blankets and a soft cuddle friend (our guy had Mr. Elephant ).

So that's what we did, and when he went to see the vet at 6 weeks, he was as healthy as could be, and even big for his age. Now he's about 3 1/2 months old and as confident and social as can be, healthy and grows each and every day.