Help! I found a baby kitten

[Scrapper16]

Last week I found a baby kitten at work. There were no other cats/kittens anywhere around.
He was in very rough shape, very thin, covered in fleas & ticks.
He came right to me and wouldn't leave my side.
(I work in an office. I had to stay outside for an hour, he kept trying to follow me back inside. So cute.)
I took the kitten to the vet right away. (the closest one to my work)
They estimated him to be 6-8 weeks old.
He weighed 15.2 ounces.
They bathed him and gave him a bit of flea meds.
They said that due to the amount of fleas he had, he was low on blood, so they did no blood tests.
They also told me to give him canned food.
I picked the ticks off one by one that night.
He hardly ate/drank.
He had terrible diarrhea for a few days, so I brought him to a different vet for another opinion.
(This vet has seen my parents pets for many years, we trust her very much)
She estimated him to be 4-5 weeks old.
He weighed 14 ounces.
She gave him some intravenous fluids and sent me home with electrolytes to give him.
She said that I could give canned cat food or baby food with meat only.
I chose baby food, he loved it.
She did a stool sample test, came back negative on any parasites.
He still had diarrhea, I think it actually got worse.
So, I decided to give him just kitten formula.
I feed him every 4 hours. (yes, night and day)
The diarrhea has stopped, but he only pees, no poop.
He still hasn't gained any weight :(
I am very worried about the kitten.
He is a very happy kitten. Loves to be held, purrs a lot.
I am going to just continue what I am doing, but wondered if anybody had any similar experience and maybe suggestions?
I am so scared that I could lose him, I have become so attached!

[opus88]

hi...this is the link to the walnut clumping litter, seems many people are very happy with it, it wouldn't be something Giz would eat(I hope)...its natural, none of the 'stuff' they put into the clay litters. I wish I could buy it in my small city :(
do as it says with any new litter....start adding it gradually to the one kitty likes in Gizmo's case that would be clay litter....add slowly and keep increasing the amount as he gets used to it..

http://www.bluebuffalo.com/healthy-home/naturally-fresh-clumping-cat-litter

[opus88]

oh yes now I remember he did eat the littler and get plugged up.....how abt mixing it, try 50/50....hopefully that will keep him from chomping on it and still use it...you can also try a clay litter thats NON clumping to do the mix with, theres also a walnut shell litter and a  crystal litter....keep trying till you find something he'll use.....;)

[Scrapper16]

I am nervous that he might eat it again, though.
We never actually saw him eating it, so if he did it again, I probably wouldn't know for a while. That's why I wonder about a non clumping kind? If he does ingest it, I assume it wouldn't . . . clog him up as much? He was blocked up real bad last time, and I was very surprised the it was from eating litter. I never saw him eat litter or spend extra time in the litter box.

[opus88]

little monkey.......yeah best go back to the clumping litter for now b4 he gets used to NOT using..and be sure and buy an enzyme cleaner such as Natures Miracle to remove all scents of places he's used..cats go by scent and these enzyme cleaners are the only thing to remove that scent from their sensitive noses..
go back to the clumping, wait a few weeks than if you do wish to do a transition to another litter do so by adding it to the old litter slowly..just a cup full or so at a time.
btw....yesterdays news is a great one, however pine shavings are not..they have way to high of a chemical odor to them and most cats hate. good luck.
glad to hear he is doing so well :)

[Scrapper16]

So, a couple weeks (at least) has passed since my last update.
Gizmo is doing great . . . except . . . .
he won't use the litter box. When I used (clumping) cat litter, he used the box every time. Obviously I stopped using that. I tried yesterdays news, nope . . . . He goes on the floor behind the couch. I put a small box with the yesterdays news in that spot, he just started going behind another couch. I then tried pine shavings. Still, he chooses to go on the floor. Should I try going back to litter? Maybe the non clumping kind?

[spirit3]

Gosh just following your story!!! I guess we found Scout much sooner when she was abandoned, I could feel her little ribs. We were lucky in that she had no fleas or signs of parasites. I gave her Whiskas kitten milk which I gradually diluted to wean her off of per Opus rec. and regular canned kitten food which she handled quite well-it was over by the Friskies and has a pink label w/white kitten on it. The kitten crunchies she doesn't like for some reason so I have to mix them in w/the moist to get her to eat some at breakfast. We think she was about 4 wks when found based on Spirit's size @ 5 wks when we got her. Absolutely best of luck to you both-you have a little fighter there-keep us posted-Scout sends her best wishes!! (our feral rescue)