Aww I'm so sorry - have just come back in and caught your reply. I would persoanlly (without seeing them consentrate on getting the fluid into them at this stage - especially if they have runny stools and the hot weather ect.) I would also carry on wiping them up pretty well both around the mouth after feeding and their bottoms (not so much to stimulate them now, but more for hygiene reasons as a nursing queen would continue to so this and her saliva is mildly antiseptic and so especially important in the heat. Kittens are usually pretty good at telling you when they are ready for weaning i.e. wanting meat (as your gnarled fingers will advise you) when the time is right. As I said before I would try and obtain some Simicat asap (much better IMO) than lactol for kittens to digest. I don't have any in at the moment or I would have rushed it to you.

Bless you for trying your best - it may be that the kitten was not going to survive anyway. But, at least you gave it a good chance.

If I can do anything at all to help PM me.

Take care, Kath. X

I've spoken to Linda and she said that she's not surprised. In fact she's gonna be surprised if the other one survives too...
We're pretty gutted of course, but also appreciate that its nature. according to the vet book.. only 20% of neonatals survive when handrearing. not so good is it?

Kath, thanks hun.. I'll sort that out in morning and keep u informed. Cheers

I took the little one to the vets this morning and she thinks he's about 14 days old. She gave him a couple of injections of fluids and antibiotics. We have a feeding kit and a tin of clinicat (think thats what it was called). She seemed quite happy with his progress from friday since she'd seen him last and said that he's not out of the woods yet, but we'd done everything right...

The downside for me is that I go back to uni tomorrow and so have to hand him over to a fosterer who can continue with his 3 hourly feeds 24/7. (I was only supposed to be having him until today anyhow). I did consider giving it a go since we've all become quite attached to the little guy, but with my final weeks of the course now and assignments still due.. I had to hand him over..
We're going to miss the little guy and hope he does well.

I hope to hear of progress reports, so will let you know.

Thanks once again for coming to my emergency aid. You have all been a fantastic help.

Awwwwww poor baby i'm so so sorry, you do get attached really easy when you are involved so closely with them. Like you said though, the odds aren't good, it was nothing you did and you have done the best and gave them the best chance they could have had without mum.

They are adorable but only look very young still, 3 weeks max IMO. Hope the other one is ok and pulls through. Let us know how he gets on please. xx

I will hun

I miss him already oh how I wish he'd been born in two weeks.. then I could have seen him through this.... (amost certainly would have kept him)
linda said that now she knows I can safely foster small kittens, she's sure that there will be more needing our help in the next few weeks. (I finish uni for 3 months in just 2 wks time, so will have loads of time to spend with them).

i've heard from the foster mum today and the little kitten is doing very well so far. He's now started to take a few little sucks of solids and is getting more and more active each day

he's still not out of the woods yet though, but keep sending positive thoughts for him please

That's great news. I was wondering how things were going. Bless you for your hard work in trying.

Kath XX