Greetings.

I am curious about perspectives on the frequency for weighing neonatal and underage kittens.

The Koret Shelter Medicine Guide, "Raising Unweaned & Underage Kittens," is clear:

"Weigh kittens once daily at the same time and under consistent conditions (e.g., before or after feeding and stimulation-but always the same). On average, kittens should gain about ½ ounce (14 grams) per day, or roughly 4 ounces (113 grams) per week. Keep in mind, these numbers may vary depending on the individual kitten and the resources available."

But other sources indicate weighing more frequently, including recommendations to weigh before and after every feeding.

Weighing more than once per day may introduce a certain amount of noise (clinically insignificant variations become louder and mask clear trajectories). But perhaps there are patterns to be discerned through more-than-once-per-day feedings?

#EducationandTraining
#FosterPrograms
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

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Daniel Wenger
Founder
Foster Kitten

https://fosterkitten.app/
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I think weighing before and after feeding is more useful if you're using a method of delivery that doesn't easily track the amount consumed, like bottles. With syringes, we know exactly how much they've eaten and can look for variations there. We weigh once daily. Weight can fluctuate throughout the day and we're checking for it to trend upwards day to day. 

Of course! That makes perfect sense. Thank you!

I completely agree, our shelter weighs once in the morning before the first feeding, and we always use syringes if they need supplemental feeding by staff or volunteers. If you haven't I would highly recommend kitten college, they helped us review our kitten protocols last kitten season and I believe they have a course on Maddie's University.

Hi Daniel! Good question. You'll find your answer and lots more information in the National Kitten Coalition's Kitten Resource Library. 

https://library.kittencoalition.org

Hey Nancy:

Always wonderful to hear from you. I see it!:

"Weigh kittens at least once daily and ideally two times a day. It is best to weigh them before and after each feeding to ensure they are consuming enough formula to gain weight daily." (https://library.kittencoalition.org/article/daily-care-of-bottle-kittens/)

That resolves the apparent contradiction: two practices; two purposes. Track weight trajectory; estimate formula intake.

If kittens arrive with a mom, I advise our fosters to just leave them be.  As long as everyone is wiggly, staying in the cuddle puddle, mom is attentive and no one is crying excessively. We aim to let mom just do her thing and only step in if someone seems to be in distress with the goal of keeping babies with mom.
For ones that mom isn't caring for or with no mom & they are bottle feeding, they weight before feedings (and after if not using a syringe) and keep a log.
Anyone eating on their own (we have a lot of 4w kittens that come in that will eat wet food on their own), we do once a day. Aiming for the same time of day and before eating.  We leave dry food down at all times for these ones too so its not an exact but gives a good idea if its upward trends or not.

We do this probably until around 6w and they've shown they are eating really well on their own.

We also will do daily weights for any with diarrhea, regardless of age. Make sure they're keeping weight. 

Hi, Daniel:

According to the latest guidelines from the shelter med programs, as long as healthy kittens are gaining weight daily, then fosters don't need to be concerned about specific weights/feeding amounts. Weigh at the same time each day, either before or after feeding, and if they've gained, you are good to go! We don't want to make it more difficult for fosters to take on these little ones! If the kitten is compromised, of course you need to follow more closely. 

This course is a great resource: https://university.maddiesfund.org/products/taking-the-fear-out-of-bottle-feeding-and-basic-kitten-care

Also, this flip book is fun and useful: https://kittencollege.aflip.in/livinglibrary

Thank you for helping the most vulnerable animals in shelters!

Erika

We recommend weighing twice daily for fosters and we check in frequently to make sure the babies are gaining weight.