My cat had kittens. Is the small one a runt? What care is needed?

A newborn kitten usually weighs about 100g. So the small one is a normal weight and the big one is really big. They will gain about 100g/week. So if your smaller kitten gains about that much/week, it is getting enough milk. Mama has more nipples, so it will likely be able to drink while the other is suckling somewhere else. Just observe them. For now I would not worry.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. She should be bottle fed every 3 hours or so. Keep her nice and warm, environmental temperature should be around 80 if she isn’t snuggling with mom or with the other kittens. I would try to encourage her to nurse first, and then offer the bottle. Weigh her on a gram scale daily to make sure she is gaining weight daily. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Kameo is adorable! She may not get much bigger if she has not grown much in the past 6 months. This is not normal per se for cats, but may be common for runts of the litter. Nutrition may help with this as well as ruling out any underlying medical conditions heart, liver, kidney issues through a throrough physical examination by a veterinarian + screening bloodwork. A top rated food that I recommend for a cat of this age is Royal Canin Kitten dry and wet food. It is highly palatable (most cats love the taste) and provides better nutrition than many other commercially available brands of cat food. I recommend transitioning gradually over the course of a week into the Royal Canin Kitten diet (1st 2 days 75% old food 25% new, 2nd 2 days 50%/50% old/new and last 2-3 days 25% old/75% new). You will likely notice an improvement in Kameo's coat and skin health on the Royal canin diet. If she does not grow significantly by the time she is a year of age....continue her on the Royal canin adult cat food, maintain her at a good body condition score (not too far or too thin), and give her lots of love! Kittens like people come in all shapes and sizes!

I agree that it sounds like Buckwheat is the runt of the litter, and they do tend to struggle more than their littermates. You are doing the right thing by supplementing with KMR, and he's unfortunately still too young to wean him. I'm not sure how often you are feeding him with KMR, but I would discuss with your vet increasing supplementation to try to get him to gain some weight. Also make sure he is up to date on his deworming treatments, as intestinal worms can prevent him from gaining weight. Finally, I would have him seen by your vet to discuss additional meals with KMR and the vet may have other suggestions to help him thrive.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The smaller kitten is likely the runt and sadly they are common. It is ok that it is small and she/he can still do well. But is is wise to may more attention to how that one is doing. It is normal that the kittens cry when moved or the mother is gone. The mom cat will lick the anus and genitals to stimulate the kittens to urinate and defecate. The stool of kittens is looser than adult cat poop. I am assuming that is what you are seeing. As long as the kittens are nursing and growing things are probably fine. Good luck!

You should be weighing them every day or two to make sure they are gaining weight. If the little on is not gaining weight then you will know it is a problem and you will need to get it to a vet. You can use a kitchen gram scale to weigh them.

He is not so far away from his normal weight,, actually. Count 100g/per week. So if he is a week old and weighs 90 g, that would still be ok, especially since he may not have been fed for a day before you found him. Keep feeding him kitten milk (pet-lac), as much as he wants, and keep him warm. Do not forget to stimulate his genitals and anus after feeding so he urinates and defecates and keep him clean (use a moist warm paper towel or tissue to rub gently, like a mother cat's tongue). If he is healthy, ie does not have any congenital conditions, he should grow normally. If you have any other cats in the household, it might be a good idea to let them interact with him, you might actually find a mama that way who may not have milk, but takes on the hygiene and babysitting and eventually teaching him to be a cat! It is very rewarding to raise a kitten! Enjoy!