My neighbours cat that's less than a year old had kittens 7 weeks ago, he's unemployed and very young, I did advise him to get her speyed months ago but to no avail.

Anyway I've not seen the kits till today and was shocked at kit number 5 the runt, it's only a quarter of the size of the others and he said it doesn't feed very well, mum now has little or no milk she's skeletol anyway, I have been feeding her when I see her as I know he's short of cash.

It looked dehydrated to me it's eyes were sunken and half closed, and very weak and wobbly whilst the others although thin were playing and pouncing but this one just sits or is asleep and I think it's breathing looks laboured.

I went to Pets R Us this afternoon and bought some Sherley's Lactol and a bottle, I've managed to get it to drink twice and I've been going to it every hour since 5pm, I went in at 8 and 9pm but it would not feed, all of the others are with mum upstairs but the little one is downstairs on it's own. I've told him he needs to take it to the vet but I'm not sure that he'll take my advise.

What worries me is have I upset it stomach by feeding it Lactol, he said he'd been feeding the kits some kitten biscuits and kitten meat but that this one barely touched anything.

He's off out all day tomorrow to the Air show at Fairford and has given me his door key so's I can feed the kit, do you think it would be OK to continue with the Lactol?  

I  definitley think a trip to the vet would be useful . If funds are a problem does  he recieve benefits as he may be able to go to the pdsa. Would he let you take them or go with him
Just to add that my last cat was only 7weeks old when I got him but was fully weaned so maybe he could have kitten food, hope fully someone with more knowledge of young cats will be able to advise you

He's recently been made redundant from Honda and is on benefits, he went to see PDSA and they said he could only register one of his now 5 cats, I told him to register the runt and get advise on that one as although the others are all thin they are active.

My worry is that he's such a dosey lad and seems in no hurry to do anything that in the 3, 4 or 5 days that it takes him to do anything the kit will fade to nothing. So in the meantime when he decides to get his act together do you think I should continue with the lactol?

I think Lactol can be given to kittens & nursing queens as a stop gap, Royal Canin do a kitten replacement milk.

I would try to get the queen & her kits to a vet asap, if the queen is not feed enough she may lose all the kittens. Have you got a local Cat Protection League ? They may be able to help as I would think they will have experience in looking after queens & their kittens.

The queen seems fine although thin and the other kits although small and a bit thin are active, they are all independant and when I offer food they all feed well, but the runt shows no interest in food at all and when I bottle feed it after 5ml of Lactol it turns away or struggles then falls asleep.

What I don't like to see is that mum is curled up with 4 of the kits but number 5 is left on it's own and just squeaks, mum will wash it and then just leaves it.

I'm hoping to build it up a bit by giving the lactol and in the 6 hrs that i've been feeding it it has not wee'd or poo'd once

I could smack my neighbour nice as he is for not paying attention weeks ago

Try gently massaging the little one to stimulate him/her to go to the loo.

You could also try diluted evaporated milk diluted with a bit of honey mixed in. You could also try dropping the milk onto his/her mouth onto the tongue, at 7 weeks they should be trying to eat & lap(although they do need to be with their mum until they are 12 weeks or so old)

It could well be that there is something wrong with the little one & it really needs to go to the vet asap.

I don't have any experience of bottle feeding kittens, but with pups, if they have got dehydrated then they can't process the milk, and need re-hydration fluid  Your could get Lectade at the vets, or dioralyte at the Chemists, but it can be a bit of a problem to get the plain sort, most seem to carry the Blackcurrant flavoured, and will order plain in.  If you can't get anything, I would try dropping in some boiled, cooled down to look warm water with a little glucose in it.  Little and often is the key to success with pups.  Good luck.

why don't you give the RSPCA a ring and explain what has happened and maybe they can help out by treating the cat plus kittens for free or at a reduced price. i'm sure if you explain they would rather help out knowing if he can't afford all the treatment.there are other prctises that will treat animals  and just ask for a donation rather than charge full price.
if nothing else then the mum needs to be operated on to stop her having more unplanned kittens. i don't know much about cats but i'm sure she willbe ready to have more kittens sooner rather than later and that would put a real strain on her body at such a young age.
thank god your there to help out,keep up the good work. 

I think you'd be better advising your neighbour to contact the local Cats Protection League - they've generally got a "kitten list" for homes for the kittens and often will help with spaying too.

Hope you get on well with the little one, although it sounds to be very poorly indeed.  Keep trying to feed little and often - every hour or so - and don't forget to rub tummy to stimulate evacuation process.

If you offerto foster the little one and explain the full story to the cats protection league maybe they will help, assuming Mr nice but dozy will allow you to do this. And yes cats can reproduce again extremly quickly cant remeber how quickly but it may even be now  they arn't like our dogs so she needs to be neutered asap

Update on little mog.

After feeding him all over the weekend and then on Sunday evening showing dozy neighbour how to feed him when I'm at work plus leaving him with a supply of lactol and instructions to feed every hour or so plus give some lactol to mum and other kits to lap, I'm hoping it's sorted.

When I did my last feed on Sunday evening I then put a large plate of kitten meat down for mum and the 4 stronger kits and little weed wobbled over and joined in and ate 3 tiny pieces then widdled on the floor :)

Neighbour was not in when I got in from work on Monday so I was not able to check on the progress, I'm hoping to catch up with him today, when I will remind him that mum needs to go to vet ASAP for the 'op'.

Have you got a local PDSA that you could take the kit to thats free as its not yours and you should not have to pay! Sounds like you have a soft heart I would take it home, keep it warm try lactol again and then let nature take its course as I fear it might. But good on you for trying.

Disregard my last post he's a fighter find it a good home!!

Didn't see this until now. At 7 weeks, no bottlefeeding should be necessary -to me it sounds like this kitten has cat flu , they won't eat if their noses are even slightly blocked as then they can't smell the food. I'd say antibiotics are needed. Moggy kittens should eat well at 7 weeks (easily wolf down 4 large meals a day), especially if mum is low on milk. For future reference, Lactol is pretty rubbish, the best kitten milk is Cimicat (I don't rate RC much either) which you can get from the vet or online or some petshops. Chances are the kitten is feeling better because it's no longer dehydrated thanks to your good work, but it still doesn't sound right and I still reckon antibiotics is essential here.

Have you thought about the TopLife Kitten milk from Tesco's/Asda's and soak some complete kitten food in it?  (A friend who breeds British Shorthairs soaks Royal Canin kitten in the milk and hers are very strong healthykittens).      I know its more expense for you but at least you know they'd be getting good nutrients into them.   I think your best port of call would be Cats Protection, they would provide your neighbour with a neutering voucher to help with the costs and would rehome the kittens.