Another kitten question - any vets out there?

[KimR]

I am concerned about a kitten we are considering adopting. He/she (?) is one of a litter of 5. The mother was a stray that took up at a neighbors, malnurished and nursing a kitten. In no time at all she was pregnant again, but apparantly was still not up to par because she was unable to produce sufficient milk for her kittens and 2 of them have died. The others are small and skinny, but appear to be doing ok. My neighbor has taken them in and is hand-feeding them with kitty formula and nutri-cal since the mother is unable to care for them.

My concern is for the long-term health of this little kitten. Will she be likely to have any problems resulting from malnutrition in her early weeks? My oldest DD was heartbroken when the other 2 kittens died. I don't want to have my girls get attached to this kitten only to lose her too soon. (or myself, for that matter.) A few years ago we lost our cat due to kidney failure and she was only 4 years old! I don't want to go through that again!

Kim

 

[Rajah]

I'm not positive on this one (I'm not a vet), but I'd be concerned more about the state of the mom when she had the kittens than that the kittens weren't fed well during their first couple of weeks. Though obviously that would concern me, too.

On this one, I'd actually call your vet and get their opinion, or if you want some more professional opinions online, I refer you to http://www.ivillage.com/pets/boards where you can try the cats board. There are a couple of vet techs there who might be able to answer your question.