"Tony" wrote in message
om...
First, the info:
Male 4-5 weeks old Found in good condition/health after mother cat
died.
A vet's visit revealed no apparent blockage in the intestine, and
teeth development which indicated age to be 4-5 weeks, although the
kitten is smaller than average for that age.

We have had our new kitten for close to four days now. In that
time, I have not been able to get it to defecate. On the first day of
its rescue, it was in my mother-in-law's custody. She claims that she
saw a small brown smudge in the basket she was keeping it in. She
cleaned the basket out and I did not see the substance so I do not
know how much was there.

When we first got the cat, he was very active and energetic. I
did have some trouble with feeding though. After trying soft kitten
food, and kitten food mixed with Heartz MRF (milk replacement formula,
we began bottle feeding just MRF. The kitten appeared to have a hard
time getting the formula out for those first few days. He was biting
the nipple hard and out of breath. Eventually, through a combination
of making the hole larger and applying more pressure on the bottle, I
was able to get the kitten to latch on and suck without biting. (His
ears "bobbed" up and down, indicating correct flow) Today, my wife was
feeding the kitten. She appeared to be doing it correctly, but the
kitten was biting the nipple. I came over to help apply pressure when
the kitten bit the nipple completely off of the bottle (he didn't
swallow it). I'm assuming this means that the kitten is ready for
solid food.

Over the course of the past four days, the kitten has become
progressively less active. Assuming that the vet's office is open
tomorrow (Veteran's day), I will take the kitten back for some stool
softener and I will ask about the nipple and how to encourage the
kitten to progress to solid foods. However, I would appreciate some
more info, even if the vet's office will be open. So...

1. Why would a kitten completely bite off a nipple?
2. What else can I do to encourage him to eat solid foods?
3. Beside stimulating the kitten's privates, how else can I encourage
defication?
4. Any other tips?



Thanx.


Thanx
»Tony

The vet is a good idea,

1st thing is to get the kitten lapping out of a bowl. You can put some of
the kitten formula in a bowl. Dip your finger in the formula and see if you
can get the kitten to lick it off your finger. If he'll do that keep dipping
your finger into the formula and gradually lower the finger toward the bowl
while he's licking. The point is to lure him to the bowl and then have him
discover there is much more food there and to try lapping it up.

Once you get him drinking the formula out of the bowl do as others have said
and start mixing in canned kitten food. If he doesn't take to that right off
try mixing the formula to a thicker consistency then try mixing with food.

As far as the lack of bowel movement, if he hasn't been eating much there
won't be anything much to poop. The lethargy could be from his not
eating/drinking more than from being constipated.

W