Cuddly Kittens » Blog Archive » Helping an abandoned kitten

posted by Abby in March 24th, 2008

jumpthattb asked:

My neighbor's niece works at a toll booth on the toll way and last night a trucker threw a box in her booth while she was working and inside was a kitten. So they brought the kitten to me because I have a cat that is nursing kittens of her own. My cat's kittens are on the older side tho (About 6 weeks)and are not nursing as much anymore. This little kitten doesn't even has its eyes open yet. My mom cat has taken to the new born kitten but the kitten I notice doesn't know how to suckle that well. So I gave the kitten new born kitten formula because we do not know the last time the kitten ate.
My cat has been stimulating the new kitten to go potty and all... but mom cat doesn't seem to know what to do with the kitten.
So my question is... Do I let my mom cat just do her thing and not worry? The mom cat takes the kitten out of her box with the water bottle that I use to keep her warm and walks around with the kitten in her mouth and leaves her in the middle of the floor.
So I am scared the kitten will get cold and die. And I need to get some sleep...
Should I just bring the kitten in my room with me and forget about the mom cat taking care of her or like I said ... Should I let my cat just do her thing?

When the kitten cries the mom cat goes right to it so I am not sure she is rejecting it. She is cleaning it. I have been feeding it and the info I got about feeding the kitten is to bottle feed it every 4 - 6 hours.
The kitten is very strong and she is doing wonderful this morning. I just left her in the box and mom cat was cleaning her when I woke up to check on her. I feed her again and then handed her over to mom cat for cleaning and stimulation for going potty.
I will call my vet this morning and take the kitten in for a check up, just to make sure...

old cat lady

March 27th, 2008

I think your mom cat has made her decision and is rejecting the kitten. You should do the feeding, stimulating and keep the kitten warm with you at night.

If mom cat leaves the kitten in the middle of the floor overnight it will be dead in the morning.

Rachelle

April 1st, 2008

I profeshionaly think you should let nature do it’s thing. In my expeirance in animal hospitals if they don’t want to eat, more than likely they don’t survie, but give your mother cat time and she could very well bring it back. Plus, you don’t need the guilt of thinking you did anything wrong. Let nature nurture, things will take on it’s course.

sumnerrain

April 4th, 2008

That is a hard question, the number one choice is for the mom to take over care of the kitten, but I worry she is taking it away from the water bottle… I found this article below, hopefully it is of some use to you:

Fostering Orphaned Kittens
If you find baby kittens alone outside and want to foster them, wait a few hours and observe — especially if they are under 4 weeks old. Many times the mother cat will move her kittens and can do so only one kitten at a time. The process can take hours. As long as the temperature outdoors is relatively warm and the kittens are in a protected area, they will be okay left alone for a few hours. If the mother does not return, take the kittens, trapping them as explained earlier.

Find A Surrogate Mother. If the kittens are under 4 weeks old and without a mother, try contacting local cat rescue groups and shelters to see if there is a surrogate mother available. A mother cat whose kittens are being weaned can be given a new litter to nurse and care for. In most instances this is preferable to bottle-feeding and hand-raising the kittens.

Preventing Hypothermia. The most common death in unattended kittens is hypothermia so you need to take immediate action to warm the kittens. Do not warm them too quickly or you may also cause death. Kittens can be warmed through your own body warmth while gently massaging the kitten’s body. Make sure you have clothing between you and the kitten for your own protection.

Kitten “Incubator”. If you are fostering orphaned neonatal kittens, you will need a small cat carrier or a cardboard box with a heating pad set at low running down one side and halfway underneath the box. The other half of the bottom should not be heated so that the kittens can move away from the pad if it gets too hot. Line the bed with a towel. The kitten area must be kept at 85 to 90 °F during their first week, then lowered 5° weekly until the temperature is 72 °F. Use a thermometer frequently to check the heating pad temperature.

Feeding. Following the directions provided on the package, feed orphaned infant kittens with commercial kitten formula. Hold the kittens in their natural nursing position — on the stomach — being careful not to hold the head back as that could cause aspiration of the formula into the lungs. Never feed a chilled kitten formula. To stabilize him as you warm him, rub a very thin layer of light corn syrup on his gums.

Feed infant kittens a minimum of every six hours to ensure they get enough nourishment. If a kitten hasn’t started eating after 24 hours, seek veterinary assistance. After feeding, wipe the face with a warm damp cloth and then dry it off until they are able to groom themselves.

Elimination. Until they are old enough to use a litter box (2-3 weeks), they need help eliminating. After feeding, take a moistened cotton ball and gently massage the anal region until they urinate or defecate. It may take several cotton balls for each kitten to complete this process.

Weaning. After the kittens are 2-3 weeks old, offer their formula to them in a saucer so they will learn to drink. Gradually add small amounts of kitten food to the formula and then decrease the proportion of formula until they are just eating kitten food. Make sure you always have fresh water out for the kittens to drink.

tiffany

April 6th, 2008

Talk to a vet right away and find out the best information from a professional. Its whats best for the kitten. If you cant afford a vet , look around to find an organization that will see her for free or lower costs.

stormymidori

April 9th, 2008

I read most of the answers and they all seem perfect, but have you taken the kitten to the vet yet? Until you see a vet, keep allowing the mom cat to care for the kitten and just keep an eye out on the baby. Also, when the mom takes her out of the box, does she leave her in a specific spot every time? If she does, leave a small towel or blanket in that area so the kitten has someplace to curl into if you can’t reach her in time.
To help with suckling try to use your pinky finger like you would with a regular baby. When my mom cat had kittens, the tiny one was having trouble and when I talked to the vet about it, it’s what he suggested to me. It took a few days, but he got used to it and I slowly started substituting the nipple for my finger.
Good luck, have patience and if you don’t bring the kitten to the vet, at least call one.

nikki_06au

April 12th, 2008

Rub your hands or cotton wool over the Mom’s mouth, then rub it over the kitten. Her scent glands contain pheremones and will mark the kitten as hers, she may accept it better.

You may need to hold her down and get the kitten sucking. The nipple should be on top of the kittens tongue. If the kitten is sucking correctly, you will see it’s jaw move. If you can get Mom to accept it, this is actually better for the kitten, perservere, you may need to top it up and supplement the milk. If bottle feeding you will need to do it every two hours around the clock.

If it sucks on Mom cat enough, she will make more milk for it. Make sure Mom is getting a high quality kitten food herself, as it contains increased nutritional value and calories essential for milk production. Try putting a little kitten milk on the teat, it might help kitten get the idea. Some nutridrops if you can obtain them will help give the kitten strength to suckle.

Good luck with it, hope you can get the kitten through.

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