Kitty Rescue,help help

Nurses General Nursing

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I know this has nothing to do with nursing. My husband rescued a kitten,very small,eyes still closed from under our house. The mama got hit by a car and we looked for others but couldn't find them. We are bottle feeding it every 2 hours since around 11 pm Saturday night(my own kids didnt have that kind of schedule).Does anyone have any experience with this.My other animals are very jealous but i guess thats to be expected. should I be doing anything special that I dont know about? Thanks for your repplies.(sp)

You can help it live, depending on just how young it really is. Dropper feeding frequently is good, but call your vet and ask about it -- we had to use a special mix once for the same situation. Other than that, I think warmth and quiet, and protection from other pets, is crucial. It will have to imprint on something besides mom, unfortunately, and may just end up being you.

Good luck!

You can buy "kitty colostrum" ( I don't even want to know how they get this) at the pet vet supply store.

I hear this is good stuff for bottle feeding your kitty.

-Russell

Specializes in OB.

Very small kittens may not void and stool without stimulation. What you may need to do is wrap a damp washcloth around your finger and stroke down from their tummy to the base of their tail. This imitates the effect of mama cat and causes them to go.

Awwww! You are a hero! And a good mommie...the only one the lil' thing has...

droppers are good...like Rusty said...you can buy kitten formula/milk and etc...there are also lactose free formulas for kittens...check your vet and ask for reccomendations. Good Luck! You have a big heart! :D

Originally posted by FullMoonMadness

I know this has nothing to do with nursing. My husband rescued a kitten,very small,eyes still closed from under our house. The mama got hit by a car and we looked for others but couldn't find them. We are bottle feeding it every 2 hours since around 11 pm Saturday night(my own kids didnt have that kind of schedule).Does anyone have any experience with this.My other animals are very jealous but i guess thats to be expected. should I be doing anything special that I dont know about? Thanks for your repplies.(sp)

Heya,

Now you're in MY area of expertise. ;)

First of all, what are you feeding it? I reccomend a product called KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) that you can find at any pet store. Feeding every 2hrs is a good move at this point.

Now here's the bit most people don't know about. Immediately after feeding, you need to take a warm damp cloth (paper towel will do) and gently rub its orifice and genitals. This should stimulate it to urinate and deficate. This is something mom usually does for them. At that age, they are incapable of urinating or deficating on their own. They need the little reminder.

Keep it warm and quiet with a dark place to hide when it wants to.

Incidentally, sexing a kitten that age can be tricky. Best bet is to judge by the distance from the orifice of the urethra. If it is a short distance, female. If that's a tough call, you can judge by the coloring believe it or not. Most orange tabbies are male, most tortoise shells are female and it is a virtual guarantee that if it is a calico, its female. If you have a male calico, you have a valuable cat!

I want to take in and rescue all the stray kitties in the world. Sadly, though I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and have to draw the line at 2. Maybe some day I'll live on a farm. That's a big threat for a city girl.

Thanks for the response.I have an appointment at the vets this afternoons.

Vettech; i have been doing this as you suggested,but the little thing dosn't seem to want to poop. Hopefully the vet will be able to. My friend just came over and i told her the kitten had a cold since it was sneezing she said"its not sneezing its constipated and its spitting at you". ah such is the joy of surrogate motherhood. Ill keep you posted

Keep us updated!!! :)

Originally posted by adrienurse

I want to take in and rescue all the stray kitties in the world. Sadly, though I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and have to draw the line at 2. Maybe some day I'll live on a farm. That's a big threat for a city girl.

Back when I used to foster kittens for the SPCA it was normal for me to have 5-7 kittens aging from 4-8 weeks old roaming my apartment along with the three ferrets. All that and a 6'2" human in a little 680 square foot apartment! There were times when i went driving for an hour or so just for the peace and quiet.

Awwhhhhhh!!! I found a stray that was pregnant (although I didn't know it) ... ended up with four little kittens. :D Was the most incredible thing - to see them grow up! I remember the momma licking their bottoms. I hope you have a nice quiet warm place for it. Nice TALL box! They learn to climb and explore and get into trouble faster than you realize it. (just like a toddler) Keep us posted!! Too bad you don't live closer ... my kittens could adopt it.

Kitty

Originally posted by adrienurse

I want to take in and rescue all the stray kitties in the world. Sadly, though I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and have to draw the line at 2. Maybe some day I'll live on a farm. That's a big threat for a city girl.

I'm with on that Adriene...I currently have 5 cats and 2 kittens on a temporary basis...and I am not sure the kittens will be going home. We live on 1.5 acres with another 4 acres of unimproved land on 2 sides so they have room to roam when they go outside.

I had 8 but have lost a couple to old age (and 1 runaway)...I tend to collect tabby and black cats...and have been known to claim that I only have 2 cats because they look so much alike, unfortunately my husband hasn't fallen for it...he reminds me in the midst of one of his "theres to damn many cats in this house" fits that he never said he was a cat person...he said he could love a cat person.

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