My newborn kitten won't nurse and is inactive. How can I save it?

Some kittens don't make it no matter what we do to help them out, and some cats are just not cut out to be moms. There is also the possibility that there is a congenital internal defect. If the kitten is very weak and won't suckle from the nipple or a bottle, you can try to slowly syringe the kitten milk replacer, but there is an increased risk of it going into his lungs and causing aspiration pneumonia. If this doesn't work, you should take the kitten to get checked out by a vet. The vet can show you how to safely tube feed the kitten to get its proper nutrition. Make sure that the kitten is staying warm and clean, and that you are stimulating urination and bowel movements. Here is a good article on raising orphan kittens: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576

Your best bet would be to bring the kitten into your vet. They can check for any issues such as congenital problems causing the weird back arching, cleft palate that affects nursing, etc that you may need to treat differently or take particular care for. If the kitten is otherwise healthy, adding in supplemental feeding may also help with weight gain if it can't nurse enough from mom.

That is not normal. I recommend getting the kitten seen by a vet right away. Such a tiny baby needs to eat every few hours. Many veterinarians will use an ordinary eye dropper or small syringe to utilize as a means of dispensing the milk replacer to the kitten. Most pet stores or veterinary clinics have nursing bottles, too, but be alert to the fact that some kittens cannot suck the contents through the small nipple. You may need to actually squeeze the milk out for the kitten while having the nipple in the kitty's mouth. Warm it up a little, too, under the hot water faucet! If it is after hours at your local animal hospital, your short-term solution will be to mix an egg yolk with a can of evaporated milk (make sure it is not the sweetened condensed milk). This is only a temporary "solution" (!) and should only be used for a couple of feedings. At the first few feedings the kittens will probably only consume a few cc’s worth of milk. (There are 5cc's in a teaspoon.) You will need to feed every couple of hours at first and gradually build up time between feedings as they begin to eat more at each meal. Start by offering a small amount. If the kitten won’t eat readily from the nipple and bottle, try an eyedropper or syringe and drip a little in the mouth, adding more as the kitten's pace. Make sure that the milk just above room temperature; try not to microwave since you can cause hot spots in the milk. Follow instructions on the milk replacer for mixing and storage. You will need to contact your veterinarian if the kitten has not eaten within 24 hours or is extremely weak. Once they get the hang of it, the kittens should consume the milk replacer greedily. You can stop the feeding when the kitten begins to slow down the consumption or becomes disinterested.

Hi John! I would be afraid ti could die overnight as newborn kittens are extremely fragile and cannot last long without feeding. You can try to get him to feed. Rub a nipple near his mouth or at the side of his face. This should stimulate him to open his mouth, which will allow you to gently put the nipple inside. Once he feels the nipple on his tongue, that should stimulate his natural sucking reaction. If this doesn't work, then yes you will have to bottle feed him. He will need a kitten formula and a bottle, which you can get from a grocery store. If the grocery isn't open all night, there is an emergency formula recipe you can give him to hopefully get him through the night. I will include a link to a website below that details how to bottle feed a kitten and that has the recipe. The emergency formula recipe is found under the section "bottle feeding." Best of luck! https://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

This could be a case of fading kitten syndrome which unfortunately has a poor prognosis. You can try Nutrical on her gums as well as a dab of Karo syrup to see if increasing her blood sugar helps. Unless she starts having a better suckle you will have to keep going with the dropper for feedings.

Diarrhea in a kitten this young is definitely very concerning, as is the stoppage of nursing. The fact that the mother is separating her young is a bad sign, as this is usually what the mother will do when she senses one of the kittens is sick, or possibly contagious to the others. You may need to start bottle feeding and/or transitioning to hard food sooner than later to preserve the kitten's health. I would not let this go on for more than a few more hours, as dehydration and hypoglycemia are real concerns in an animal this young and fragile. You may also want to look into obtaining some antidiarrheal medication from your veterinarian. Hope this helps.

Your kitten needs to be seen by a vet immediately. Cats cannot go without eating for more than a few days without suffering liver damage. Your kitten is likely very dehydrated and weak and will need supportive care to help him survive. Right now, make sure he stays warm and mix some honey or corn syrup with warm water and very carefully use a syringe or dropper to get him to swallow some of this to help rehydrate him and give him some calories. Be very careful because it is easy to choke him when he is this weak.