Bottle fed kitten?

[AussieBird]

Thought it'd be worth asking if anyone on the avenue has bottle fed kittens.
It's day two with Belinda (six days old) and i have some minor questions.

 

[MiniMacaw]

I have bottle fed prob close to 100 kittens between working in the vet clinics and with rescues. Ask anything.

 

[AussieBird]

I have bottle fed prob close to 100 kittens between working in the vet clinics and with rescues. Ask anything.

Thank you!
First Q, like i said Belinda is 6 days old (estimate as i don't know when she was born) how much should she weight?
Second question is rather odd, but... how often should she be pooping?
This little one has really brought out the stresser in me

 

[MiniMacaw]

You need to use either a super soft wet washcloth or cotton ball to induce her to poop after every single feeding by softly rubbing around the genital area. She won’t defecate each and every time (the normal amount of defecating at this age is 1-2 times daily) but she will urinate each time. Mom cat normally licks to get the job done (and eats the waste to keep the area where she raises the kitten clean). Kittens that young can’t urinate or defecate on their own with regularity. You may already know that info, just adding it in in case.

A roughly week old kitten usually weighs around 4 oz and should almost double that at week 2. By a month old they should weigh around 12-16oz.

 

[AussieBird]

You need to use either a super soft wet washcloth or cotton ball to induce her to poop after every single feeding by softly rubbing in circles around the genital area. She won’t defecate each and every time (the normal amount of defecating at this age is 1-2 times daily) but she will urinate each time. Mom cat normally licks to get the job done (and eats the waste to keep the area where she raises the kitten clean). Kittens that young can’t urinate or defecate on their own with regularity. You may already know that info, just adding it in in case.

A roughly week old kitten usually weighs around 4 oz and should almost double that at week 2. By a month old they should weigh around 12-16oz.

Yep i have been toileting her

Umm, i knew she was runt, but she seems very small compared to those measurments...
she is 68g on an empty stomach and 72-3g after she has eaten. ( i will convert those for you)
68g = 2.399 oz
72g = 2.54 oz

 

[MiniMacaw]

The most important thing is hydration. If you pull the skin on the top of her head up into a tent, and then release it quickly, does it quickly snap back into place or slowly fall back down into a sort of wrinkle pile?
If she’s hydrated and taking her feedings well, then I’d just watch her weight and make sure she’s growing weekly. There are always exceptions to the standards and you may just have a teeny tiny runt like you said and she can be perfectly healthy that way.

 

[AussieBird]

The most important thing is hydration. If you pull the skin on the top of her head up into a tent, and then release it quickly, does it quickly snap back into place or slowly fall back down into a sort of wrinkle pile?
If she’s hydrated and taking her feedings well, then I’d just watch her weight and make sure she’s growing weekly. There are always exceptions to the standards and you may just have a teeny tiny runt like you said and she can be perfectly healthy that way.

It seems to go back down normaly.
She becomes very vocal and active when she's hungry. She was given to me by a vet and she never said anything about her being unhealthy.

 

[AussieBird]

Speaking of becoming vocal now that i have woken her up i might feed her agian.

 

[MiniMacaw]

I doubt she’s unhealthy if she’s eating well and with gusto. She’s just tiny for now...I bottle fed one like that that ended up gaining so much weight later on he was huge. And some stay small but are healthy as can be.
Is she defecating normally? That would be another sign of good hydration. Kittens that young that aren’t getting enough formula tend to really obviously strain to poo. If she’s not, then I wouldn’t worry.

 

[AussieBird]

She very good at eating which is helpful as this is my first time.
Since i've only had her a short time i believe she is defecating normally. It was actually a bit odd last night when i fed her, i shifted her while she drank and she had already started pooing without me doing anything yet.
But yes i think she doing quite wonderfully, thank you agian!

 

[AussieBird]

@MiniMacaw her weight is now in the 70's, actual weight in's vary at 73-75g, not alot but something.

 

[MiniMacaw]

@MiniMacaw her weight is now in the 70's, actual weight in's vary at 73-75g, not alot but something.

That’s great! It’s going up and that’s what matters. I’m excited to see where she’s at in a couple weeks when her eyes are fully open and she’s crawling around.

 

[AussieBird]

That’s great! It’s going up and that’s what matters. I’m excited to see where she’s at in a couple weeks when her eyes are fully open and she’s crawling around.

She's an expert crawler already, she's only still when she's sleeping

 

[AussieBird]

After exactly one week with me Belinda weighs close to 85g! She has gone through three different boxes due to her love of escaping, but i believe i now have a suitable one... at least for a few more weeks... hopefully...

 

[AussieBird]

My little teeny tiny purrer