I have three five week old kittens (estimate, we found them and the mom). We lost one yesterday morning and now another is sick, the tongue is whitish and he just hides his head in the corner of the box. Local vets want 42 dollars EACH just to look at them (I am disabled and broke) local pounds are either kill shelter or the one that isn't won't take them because we live outside their jurisdiction. I am feeding them a combination of KMR (kitten milk replacement) and a vitamin gel and have used a rosemary and cedar oil flea repellent on them.
I am hoping there is a vet out there on this site who (unlike all those around here) isn't just in it for the money and can tell me if there is anything else that I can do??
We are desperate!!
Thank you.

Check them for fleas. My one cat had a litter of kittens that all died from fleas.
Severely under weight, unable to eat and white tongue are some signs of fleas.
Try giving one a bath and see if there is ANY blood in the water. If there is they are infested with fleas.
Dry them asap so they don't catch a cold.

[QUOTE=N0help4u]check them for fleas.

That is my suspicion as well, which is why I used the rosemary and cedar oil spray. I just don't know what I can use to bathe them and don't know how safe it would be for the really ill one.
Thanks for your answer.

I have heard that cedar oil can be toxic, I would check that out before I used it again. I have heard of boiling a lemon and using the lemon water to spray on the kittens... not sure if it works.

Mayonnaise is suppose to suffocate fleas but then you have to wash it off.

At our shelter we use dawn dish detergent to suffocate the fleas when they are too little
For a flea bath. Lather them up real thick with the detergent. Just mix with a warm water and leave it on for about 3 - 5 minutes. Use a flea comb when rinsing them to pull any dead or still living fleas. Dry them really well, and wrap them up. The white tongue and gums is a sign of anemia... due to fleas infestation. You need to stop using the rosemary/cedar oil. You may need to do this a few times to get rid of them all.
You said you found the mom? If you still have her, and she is willing to nurse them,
Her milk is much better than the KMR. You should use the KMR only if mom is not taking care of them, or someone is not getting enough of mom's milk. Good Luck!

It's now been over a week so I feel I can safely say this (feeling superstitious). We managed to save one kitten, due largely to a local clinic and organization who gave us a free exam and treatment for the one remaining kitten (the third one passed between making the appointment and leaving for the clinic).
The diagnosis was not fleas and probably not luekemia, I was having a hard time following what he was saying but he called it failure to thrive and said it just happens to a litter sometimes. We have held off naming her (superstition again) until a week has passed just in case it was the luekemia. It has actually been about ten days now and she is healthy and adorable. My daughter is calling her "Spitter", because she does (a lot!) and it is the name of a character on the show Greek which my daughter watches.
Thank you to everyone for their thoughts, prayers and advice. God bless you all.

Spitter is such a cute name. I hope you check into having it spayed/neutered before sexual maturity. Check back in with that clinic you would probably get a great deal on the surgery.

The failure to thrive in cats is called "fading kitten syndrome" and is similar to crib death in humans except that it does not happen as suddenly. The white gums could also be caused by hookworms, which latch onto the intestinal walls and suck blood. You need to be careful and use your vet's advice on what dewormer to use in young kittens.