Ive just com back from the vets and was having a chat to one of the staff behind the desk. She was asking advice on hand rearing a kitten that she had got in.

Its 4 weeks old and olny weighs 100g, it wont suck for any length of time so she is tube feeding it. She says she is feeding it every 3 hrs or so and its getting 2.5 mls on each feed.

Her concern was that it hadnt had a poo for 6 days.

The vets had checked it over and said there is nothing physically wrong with it.

I said that I didnt thick that this kitten would make it and to call it day, I know prob sounds a bit harsh to some of you, but where do you draw the line? I advised that she try feed it a touch more as 2.5mls didnt seem much.

has anyone any advice that I can pass on? personnaly I think she is on a road to nowhere with it

100g at 4 weeks is just about the most dreadful 'underweight for age' I have ever heard. If the kitten hasn't poo'd for 6 days then it certainly wouldn't be wanting (or able, rather) to take much feed at all, if any. I'm quite shocked that one of the vets hasn't apparently, intervened further. Constipation can be one the biggest hurdles to overcome in hand rearing kittens and if the kitten is not constipated I can only imagine the poor thing has something wrong with its bowel/digestive system

With absolutely no disrespect to you, I'm quite surprised that a veterinary staff member would be asking a client for advice, however well versed the client is in hand rearing kittens.

FAB have a really excellent few pages on hand rearing; I think I'd be inclined to point her in the direction of that.

she says its stomach isnt hard and doesnt feel constipated, (vets apparently checked)

Im as shocked as you especially when my kittens that are 5 days old weigh twice that!

It beggars belief doesn't it? By the way, I certainly didn't mean any offence in saying I was surprised she asked you.

If the kitten hasn't poo'd for 6 days there's certainly *something* amiss, isn't there?

I'm currently hand feeding a 4 DAY old kitten who weighs 109g. His mother had a c-section and no milk so he had a bit of rough start. I consider him to be a little underweight (taking into account his birthweight) so 100g at 4 weeks old is just shocking.

No offense taken I was supprised too, Just thought I would come on here and ask as im back there in the morning.

Not really sure what you can suggest to her. Tube feeding is obviously perfect for a kitten that's too weak to suck but if this little one can then it sounds more likely there is an underlying reason why it won't suckle for any longer... unless its dreadfully weak in which case it needs some other intervention.

I've only ever tube fed tiny kittens where there's no suck reflex. It would worry me a lot, tube feeding an older kitten with nothing coming out t'other end

she says it is really bright, pottering around and started to play a little.

I dont understand how a kittens so underweight, eating so little and not going to the toilet could be anything but at deaths door

I wish Tje was still about. She knew so much about young kits and hand-rearing. If I remember rightly she was in a very similar situation as your VN. But the only other thing I remember was that in that case it didn't end well.

Is she expressing the kitten's bowel and bladder after every feed? If so, is she doing it propperly? This is the only thing I can think of to explain the lack of poo. I'd also suggest her using nutri-drops to supplement the cat to help with energy, suck reflex and weight gain.