kittens not feeding

Question
My cat gave birth 3 days ago, this is her third litter, she had 3 kittens, around one of her teats it is swollen, she isn't in pain, but it feels like there's a lump in there or possible an unborn kitten. One of the kittens passed away yesterday and the other two seem very lethargic and won't feed, one of them won't even try, I have put the kittens mouth against the mothers teat and she just doesn't bother, it wants to just sleep, I'm afraid they may pass away too if we don't do something soon, could you please help me in doing something for these kittens.....Thank you

Answer
Kim,

You need to get your mama to a vet to find out what is going on.

It could also be that the milk is toxic tot he kittens (depending on any number of situations).

Anyway, I am giving you some guidelines for hand raising the remaining kittens.

I will be out of town Friday and Saturday, but your vet should be able to help.

Most newborns will have to be tube fed, although if their suckling is really working well (which appeares not to be the case here), you may be able bottle feed it.  To learn how to tube feed, you need to see your vet.

At this stage, warmth is just as important as proper feeding.  The newborn must be kept in a warm, draft free area, with a warming pad set on very, very low so the baby does not get too hot.  Heating pads at the lowest setting may be too warm.  I would put the baby in a shoe box lined with old toweling or sheeting and keep that on a warming pad (an electric blanket set very low or a mattress warmer set very low are often pretty good.  Newborns cannot regulate their body temperature yet, so depend on mama's body warmth to keep them warm.  So, you have to substitute for mama's body heat as best you can.  If you pick up the kitten, it should not be cold to the touch!

Feeding: As I said before you may have to go to your vet to learn how to tube feed (it really is not difficult, especially once you get the hang of it).  I like to use Justborn kitten milk replacer, although KMR is also a good product.  I like to cut the milk replacer 1-t-1 with unflavored Pedialyte fro the first week.

A good time schedule for kitten feeding is 7:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 7:00 PM, midnight.

The daily intake for a kitten should be about .3 oz (8-10ml) of formula for every 4 oz (100g) of body weight.  I find a digital postal scale is a good device to weigh the kitten. Make sure the formula is blood heat (a couple of drops should feel warm but not hot on the back of your hand).  Also, the biggest danger in tube feeding is that the kitten will vomit up some formula and then aspirate it leading to pneumonia.  So, you must be careful.

The kitten should gain about an oz (30g) during the first week and then 2 oz (50g) in subsequent weeks.  Once the kitten hits 3-4 weeks, it can be weaned.

After feeding, the kitten should be "pottied" (use a cotton ball and gently massage the genital areas). It will pee at each feeding and poop, maybe once a day.  Also, you need to burp the kitten. Just hold the kitten at your shoulder, head elevate and gently tap its back until it burps.  It is more likely to get air bottle feeding then tube feeding.

A good reference is:  "Hand-Raising the Orphaned Kitten", by M.L. Papurt, DVM; Barron's Educational Series, Hauppauge, NY; 1999.

Please come back to me if there are any more questions.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.