Pockets-the kitten

Question
My grandparents cat had kittens, and it was a litter of 4, they are about 4 weeks old. and 3 of them are perfectly healthy, they are big, playful, the whole 9 yards...
But one kitten only looks like he's 2 weeks old. (he looks now, what the others did at two weeks.)  he's not very playful. and he isolates himself from the group. So ive been taking care of him. He eats just fine. but doesn't seem to be gaining any weight. The other thing is, i cant get him to go to the bathroom, anything solid anyway. Ive gotten him to go once, but thats it. He looks like he could be dehydrated, but he's eating plenty of formula. and i have him drink water as often as possible.
Ive raised a kitten before that was worse off, i got him when he was 2 weeks old, and he was almost dead, an now he's two years old. and perfectly healthy
But as far as pockets, *the little one im caring for now* i dont seem to be getting anywhere...its only been a week. But with my other kitten he started showing improvement very quickly.

any ideas?

thanks...Ashley

Answer
Ashley,

It is possible that the kitten is a typical "runt of the litter" but I am concerned about the fact that he is so much smaller than the others. I would recommend that you try to get this little guy to a vet to rule out things like cleft palate and other birth defects that can make feeding more difficult. Kittens this age normally nurse for all of/most of their nutrition so water isn't what I would recommend. If the kitten is dehydrated the vet may use a syringe to put sterile saline under the skin at the scruff of his neck in order to have it absorb slowly and rehydrate him. Since you mention that the kitten was in rough shape and has been in spite of over a week of individual care the veterinarian would be my next stop. There are any number of reasons that a kitten would not put on weight, anything from an allergy to his  formula to birth defects that may or may not be correctable. In terms of coaxing a kitten who is being formula fed to poop, this takes a bit of patience and some time. If you use a cotton ball moistened with warm water and start by washing his face after a feeding and then work back to wash his back and roll him  while keeping him in place with one finger to wash his tummy and then finally use the cotton ball to wash from his genitals forward to his bum. It can take 5 minutes or so to have a kitten poop when they are being cared for by humans, unfortunately we are a poor substitute for a mother cat. Since this kitten hasn't shown the kind of improvement that would be expected by feeding formula on demand as often as the kitten cries for it the vet is the next stop to be sure that nothing serious that may result in a sad ending is happening. Please, let me know what the vet says so that I can pass this information on to people in similar situations. I hope that this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again.