How much liquid (formula and/or) water for 4 week old kittens?

[LLC]

Hi all, recently my husband and I picked up two 3 week old kittens who are now 4 weeks old. I want to make sure they both are well hydrated... They both eat wet kitten food and some formula. How much liquid should they get each day?

[rainbow]

I'm not one of the kitty experts here but they should be along shortly with their experiences and information. Why did you get kittens at three weeks of age ....were they abandoned?

There is a Feeding Chart about a third of the way down the page at this website ....

http://www.packrat-pro.com/kitties.htm

[LLC]

We answered an ad on Craigs List. I got the kittens from a woman who found them abandoned at two weeks of age under a house porch. She had them for a week before we picked up our two (5 kittens total). She found out how costly they can be and how time consuming they can be. I had birthed several kitten litters before and had done the hand-feeding every couple of hours, so I knew what I was in for.

The last two days I have started giving them both formula mixed with filtered water (PUR) and just plain filtered water by feeding syringe a couple of times a day. About 9ccs worth. We have a water softener and well. They do not need that salt and whatever is in our well as far as chemicals, minerals, etc.

I have one who is kinda lethargic. She has a good appetite, eats both the wet kitten food and drinks the Enfamil (yellow label) human formula. Stools are good. She has no signs of distress other than she is lethargic and would rather be sleeping in her bed or on me. She is more active once she wakes up, goes to the bathroom and/or eats. She plays hard with her sister (who is in rambunctious mode most of the time lol) but tires easily.

Mind you, both kittens were covered in fleas. I have since bathed them and gotten all of the fleas off them. I am also treating them for worms. However, with it being OTC stuff...I am not sure the wormer is working.

I will be calling a vet this coming week but was just curious as to how much liquid they should be getting. I do know that a kitten can become lethargic if not well hydrated.

I checked their gums and while they are a medium pink, they are not dark pink.

Thanks for reading my posts!

[Love4himies]

At four weeks you can mix some forumula into their canned. I would say about 4 parts canned to 1 part formula. Just so it is not liquidy, but soft enough that they can lick at it easily. To check to see if the kitten is dehydrated you can gently pinch the skin on the back of the neck. If it springs back quickly then they are fine, if not, increase the liquids.

How sweet of you to take these orphans in

[14+kitties]

Kittens that young should never be wormed by OTC meds. The meds never work. They also should not have had a flea bath. They can go downhill so fast by getting a chill. You may think they are dry and warm but it is hard for a kittens tiny body to warm back up suffeciently after a major temp change. If one of the kittens is lethargic I would think that is not a good sign.
Thank you so much for being the kittens . You will be rewarded. Just curious as to why you didn't take the whole litter to raise so they weren't separated?

[lUvMyLaB<3]

What happened to the rest of the litter? My only advice, and I am experienced would be that you should have stopped at the vet on your way home after picking them up. The fleas could have left them anemic, which is probably why you say their gums are lighter. If a kitten is lethargic you should have been at the vet yesterday, I am sorry to sound blunt, but its the way I see it. You say you have experience bottle feeding, so I would assume you would be aware?? I am not wanting to sound rude, that is not my intention, just this is something close to my heart, but you have had these kittens for a week... I think it would have been better to contact a rescue, so they could have immediate vet care and perhaps with a mother. I foster kittens, but would never have an orhaned litter without a mother cat figure.

The kittens need to be weighed, What kind of formula are you using?? I would scrap the human enfamil, kittens requirements are far different. I would do as L4H said, and water down the canned food, innova evo cat and kitten is what I use, what kind of canned are you feeding?

If these little guys have parasites, and one is lethargic, in my house that equates to an emergency, if you were willing to take them on, that includes the responsibilty of vet care, if that is not possible please contact a rescue. good luck.

[LLC]

Sheesh

First off, I had stated, "Mind you, both kittens were covered in fleas. I have since bathed them and gotten all of the fleas off them." The kittens were not given a FLEA bath. They were bathed in Dawn dish soap as was suggested to me by a woman who breed Persians. Between my husband and I, sat diligently picking off every flea with tweezers.

Second, the one weighs 413 grams and the other one who seemed lethargic weighs 434 grams. Oh and the lethargy the vet said was probably due to the cheap @ss wormer. sigh The OTC wormer was pitched in the trash. I should have known better!

Third, I have no idea what happened to the other kittens. We were handed these two and were told the others were spoken for when we asked for all 5. We were escorted out of the home. (I did call animal services due to the poor conditions they were in.)

Fourth, they got to the vet today and I am happy to announce they do not have any parasites that could be found. The vet refuses to do the wormer until they turn 6 weeks old. However, she did notice they were both a tad bit anemic but she was not concerned as their iron level was almost in the normal zone. However, she wants to see them both next week.

As for "I foster kittens, but would never have an orhaned litter without a mother cat figure." My intention was to use my neighbor's queen who was nursing. Unfortunately, she had taken off and has not been seen since. Er go, I got in a tight position and did the best I could.

Regarding what type of canned food... Iams Kitten Formula Canned Food is what they are getting. The vet recommended taking them off the formula period since they do so well eating the wet cat food mixed with a bit of water. The dry food they get a few pieces of mixed with water is: Blue Buffalo Spa Select. We try to use as natural of products as we can.

http://bluebuff.com/products/cats/ss-kitten-chick.shtml

Cleo is the one I was concerned about. She is the larger and lighter one of the two. In the photo of the both of them, she is on the right. She is also the one in the single kitten photo. (Had to make a correction as I realized I had originally put her as being on the left. The left one is actually Kayla.) Kayla is just ticked at me for taking yet another photo of her. :lol:

They are both well hydrated and seem content. The one I was concerned about is running around the house like she drank an energy drink. :lol:

The reason I did not go to the vet immediately is due to the fact it was 2130 on a Saturday night when we picked them up.

[Bailey_]

Thankyou for rescuing these two little kittens. You're doing a wonderful job with the resources you have available.

Is there someone else with a female cat that you can contact?

[chico2]

OMG,what adorable little guysI am glad you took them to the vet and I hope they'll be ok

[BenMax]

All I can say really is that I think you are WONDERFUL for taking these little babies in.!!! You are in the correct forum!. We luv you already!

[Love4himies]

Oh what little cuties they are

Please take them off Iam's, it is one of the worst cat foods you can buy, IMHO, it is not fit to feed to cats . If you would like your kittens to thrive Wellness puts out a great kitten food (canned) and Nature's Variety Instinct is good for all ages. Supplemented with tiny pieces of raw meat, your kittens will quickly gain the weight that they need and wonderful muscle mass.