Kitten question

[Renew Deal]

My girlfriend is watching a kitten for a local humane society. She has had it for about a week and a half and the kitten is about 17 days old.

I am worried about the kittens eyes. They are full black with no other color. The left one is a little blurry. Is this normal? Do the eyes fill in at some point? I am worried that this poor thing is blind.

Second is that it has diahrea. My girlfriend is taking it to the person that gave it to her to be "dewormed." Any ideas what's up with the diahrea. The kitten has been bottle fed from birth.

Also, do nipples mean that it's a girl? Shse has small matching bumps on her belly.

Thanks

[SoCalDem]

1. Their eyes all start out a deep blue..weepy or glassy eyes

can indicate conjunctivitis.. Take the baby to the vet..

The formula may be mixed too rich and that may be giving it diarrhea.. The vet is the best choice here.. Make sure it has a warm place to sleep... a heating pad on low, with a folded towel on top ..inside a box is a good idea.. They like to feel "hidden" at that age.:)

Aren't kittens great ???

[Renew Deal]

4. They aren't weepy.

They are a little glassy, but I am not sure if it's bad. They are all black (dark color) though. Should I worry about it? When do they start to fill in.

[SoCalDem]

5. That baby is very young.. They start playing and pouncing

on stuff at about 4 weeks or so.. If this is a lone kitten, it will probably be a bit withdrawn at first,,. They play with each other in a litter.. Just don't over stimulate it.. You might crumple up a hand towel for it to snuggle on..

I'll look for pics of my babies at around that age,. brb

[SoCalDem]

7. Here's Pirate on 4/1/03...he was born on 3/23/03

and a week later

[Kamikaze]

8. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

I'm going to explode from cuteness overload.

[SoCalDem]

10. You want CUTE???

couple of hours old...



2 days old

[Kamikaze]

16. This is actually torturing.

I've had a roommate living with me for the past year who is allergic to cats. About the same time I've been seperated from my mom's cats. I miss them terribly, and luckily my cat-allergic roomie moves out in a month. Then its off to the shelter to save me a lucky kitty (or two).

[CatWoman]

21. I'm allergic to cats

yet I have four.

Go figure.

BTW: SoCalDem is the most special person on earth. I live to see her kitty pics and hear her kitty stories. I've learned so much from her.

[Rhiannon12866]

43. I vote for two, so they can keep each other company

Just make sure that they are compatible. I adopted my uncle's two kitties when he died and my beloved Rhiannon would bully Angela, even though Angela was older, bigger and had claws. Rhiannon had been declawed, poor baby.

My friend has an ornery older cat that she has had since she was a kitten. This cat does not get along with other cats and my friend regrets not having adopted two, since she thinks the cat's attitude is because she is alone while my friend is at work. My friend can't even face losing this cat, but she did say that if she ever did, she would adopt two when she was ready.

Keep us posted! There are a lot of cat lovers here and we love hearing the good stories and seeing kitty pix!

[flamingyouth]

20. I remember when my cat had kittens when I was a kid

I watched two of them actually being born - it was the most completely amazing thing I'd seen up to that point, that was for sure. I loved how they would wake up every two hours for food, just like human babies.:D

[Flaxbee]

39. You're SUCH a good mom, SoCalDem...

...amazing care you've taken of these kitties (and from what I've read, all the other creatures, too).

[SoCalDem]

41. They're my babies

even though they are grown now. Not as cute and helpess, but they all have their special personalities :)

[Renew Deal]

9. I can't post pictures but

The kitten does look alot like that. The bottle is the same size.

[amerikat]

11. Great pix!

Have any new ones. I'd love to see them. Great markings.

[SoCalDem]

18. Just of the ones we kept... Sara and Sammy

http://socaldem.smugmug.com/gallery/61891/1

This link will take you to all of them..

The ones on top are from the first litter..

the ones we kept are the last two (2nd litter) and the 3 to the left of them (1st litter)


I bottle fed 5 the first time, and 4 the next time ..Finally caught Mom and got her fixed, but she refused to love us and be "our" kitty, so we feed her and the Dad ..outside..They never allow us near them :cry:

[CatWoman]

23. bookmarked!!!!!!

[SoCalDem]

24. You can get a kitty fix...anytime you want now

:):)

You are a :loveya:..too

[amerikat]

25. I had a very similar situation

Both Mom cats are fixed, only the Daddy cat remains to be caught and neutered. We had two litters at one time. They were born about a week apart. 4 in the first litter and five in the second. We have found homes for all but two and I am keeping them. I post a pic but photo bucket seems to be down.

[Red State Rebel]

That looks familiar! I just got mine weaned this week...

Nothing like baby kitties!

[Renew Deal]

27. OK, I tested the eyes.

I think it can see!!! I wiggled my finger near her eyes, and it would back up. I also got a flashlight and tested it for light. I flashed it in her eyes from a distance and she squinted. I then sat near it and brought the light close to it's eyes. I could see it's puples close. I think it's a good sign.

[amerikat]

31. I agree. Can you get in touch with the caretakers of any of it's

Litermates? You could compare notes. It might be helpfull to all concerned.

[Renew Deal]

32. Supposedly they died

I am not sure if that's true.

[amerikat]

36. how many were in the litter?

That would suck it that were the case

[Renew Deal]

37. 3

But my girlfriend found pictures of 2 others that look just like this one on the humane society website. That;s why we wonder. Those two have blue eyes that have filled in some.

[amerikat]

40. I hope all your questions are answered tomorrow at the vet.

And I hope all is well with the little fella.

[ScrewyRabbit]

2. Don't know about the other questions, but nipples don't

indicate the sex of the critter. All mammals, both male and females, have nipples. Just like people...

[mike_c]

3. two questions....

1) does it track moving objects? I presume it's eyes have just opened and possibly it's pupils haven't begun to constrict yet (?). Anyway, if it's not blind it will begin to track moving objects, although it might still be too early for that. Kittens don't generally need to see until they are several weeks old.

2) diarrhea or just runny stool? The latter is not unusual on a milk diet IIRC. Remember, the mother normally cleans it's anus, and milk contains little bulk. Diarrhea is dangerous. Runny stool is pretty normal, although you might want to take a sample to the vet.

[Renew Deal]

6. Two answers

I can't tell if it does. It stops in it's path if I stick my hand in front of it, but I can't tell if it's using another sense.

It's diarrhea

[amerikat]

12. What color is the stool?

[Renew Deal]

13. Yellow, liquid and it stinks.

[amerikat]

17. I would say that is normal.

I just raised 9 of them and the yellow stool is normal. I assume you are using kitten replacement formula.? I still can't eat Grey Poupon.

[politicat]

14. Off to the vet with you.

Banfield Pet Clinics (operated out of PetSmart outlets) are pretty decent - that's where our cats go because our vet closed his freestanding clinic when he retired and went part time with Banfield - have a very very good insurance policy that's not terribly expensive.

Your mileage may vary; we were following our vet, of course.

I had a kitten that small as a freshman in high school; her mother died and I adopted her. It's very difficult to handraise a kitten that small, and formula is just not a substitute for mother's milk. If you can, you might ask around and see if you know anyone who has a cat who has recently had kittens. When I got my kitten, we had another cat who had just had kittens and she forcibly adopted my kitten. I was feeding the kitten with a dropper at the kitchen table when my mother cat came out of her hidey-hole, jumped up on the table (something she NEVER did) gave me this look of utter disgust (you stupid human, I assume it meant) and picked up the kitten by the scruff of the neck and carried her back to the hidey-hole. Some mother cats will adopt; some will not.

Good luck, and find a vet asap.

Pcat

[Renew Deal]

29. She is seeing the vet tomorrow. Thanks

[Rhiannon12866]

44. I take my animals to Banfield, as well

My vet opened up a second practice there and because they were his patients, we followed him there. The biggest problem for me is having to deal with the parking lot. We have to deal with the traffic and there is no place for them to piddle. And I hate having to navigate past all the cash registers and shopping carts, but my friend in New Hampshire says that hers has a separate entrance for the pet hospital, so I guess they're all different.

My guys always seem to need something. I have had three dogs and my cat on their "wellness plans," and have really saved money. Everything that is routine is covered and you also save a percentage on most everything else, including medication. I walked out of there last week, owing nothing for my little dog even though he had both inoculations and tests. He is on the plan that covers dentistry. He had very bad teeth when I first adopted him. The invoice was two pages long and I was charged for nothing but the extractions. He had eight, poor little guy, but I was only charged for three.:-)

[Rhiannon12866]

15. I agree that you should take the kitten to the vet ASAP

People here know a lot, but an expert should actually examine the kitty. He might notice something that you're not and the collection of all the symptoms could point to a specific illness.

It's not normal for the kitten's eye to be blurry. All the kittens I've seen have been extremely bright-eyed.

Prolonged diarrhea can be quite serious, especially in an animal that young. It can cause dehydration and this is difficult to overcome even if the kitty drinks more.

All animals, male and female, have nipples. To tell the sex of a cat, you have to look closely at the anus. I am being quite serious, here. If it is a female, there will only be one opening. But if it is a male, there will be three openings, one on either side of the one where kitty poops. These are the anal glands.

Good luck with this and please keep us posted. This kitten was so lucky to have found such caring people. IMHO, kittens are the cutest baby animals.
:loveya:

[hyphenate]

19. We had to handraise kittens

without it's mother, it's expecting you to fill that role. The yellow diarrhea is fairly normal. You should be wiping its butt after it defecates, as a mother cat would (I know it's gross, but...) be licking it in that area to stimulate the defecation and urination. We had three kittens orphaned at a week and a day old. Two survived. The middle one passed away, and the runt almost died from pneumonia.

You should be feeding them approximately every two hours. And no evaporated milk, no low fat milk, or any dairy products!! The recommended supplement is KMR. Petco, Petsmart or your vet will have it available.

The two that survived for me were Dax and Kira, my little runt. They lived 10 years, and might even be still alive, but I lost Dax moving cross-country. He was 16 pounds and pure fury if he wanted to be. And when he was with me, he was a baby. Kira escaped from the house last October, and she also had a wild streak in her, even though she was tiny. They indeed had a stubborness that I'm sure contributed to their initial survival.

I miss having a kitten around. :( But I have 5 adults now, ranging from 14 to 9, and I don't think I could handle the energy that comprises a kitten. Good luck.

[bratcatinok]

22. Has the kitten been given any deworming medicine?

I'm asking because I don't quite understand your sentence here.
My girlfriend is taking it to the person that gave it to her to be "dewormed Or were you saying your girlfriend will be taking the kitten back to get dewormed. It's been a long day for me and I'm easily confused right now...so, I'm sorry I'm not understanding.

Deworming medicine can give a kitten diarrhea.

If the kitten is stopping when you hold your hand up then my best guess would be it can somewhat see your hand unless its whiskers are brushing against your hand.

I would take it to the vet to be on the safe side. In the meantime make sure you keep it hydrated. As someone said, the formula may be a little rich. I don't think it would hurt if you watered down the formula a little for a short time until a vet can see it.

As far as determining sex I've always used the exclamation mark vs the colon. The colon is a boy kitty.

[amerikat]

26. If your raising it for the Humane Society then they have a vet

I would take it to the vet. Just to get that eye problem looked at. Conjunctivitis afflicts many kittens (four of five in one of my litters) and is easily cured with antibiotic drops. But have a vet look it over.

[amerikat]

28. pix of eyes for comparison

This cat is about three weeks and the eyes look normal and healthy.




This cat is about 3 1/2 weeks and has one normal eye (right) and one eye with conjunctivitis(note it's smaller size and weepiness.

[Renew Deal]

30. Thanks

It looks a lot like that.

[amerikat]

33. Antibiotic will help that out.

be sure to follow the dosage and time table for greatest effectiveness. You'll do fine with that kitten. You always can get basic advice here on DU.

[Renew Deal]

34. I knew DU would be the place to ask

about cat stuff. I onced asked about another cat that was in heat and I got great info.

:hi:

[amerikat]

35. Bookmark this thread in the event you need to ask more questions

and feel free to pm me anytime witha kitten question and I'm sure that goes for everyone else that replied to your question. Are you going to keep the kitty?

[Renew Deal]

38. It's my girlfriends

and she will decide.

[amerikat]

42. was she reassured by the advice from us DU'er

[Renew Deal]

45. Yes, we both were

Thanks a lot. :yourock: