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Yesterday I found the cutest, tiniest little kitten. I live in the country and there's a barn next to my house where a feral momma cat had made her nest and had a litter of kittens. The farmer who owns the barn decided to get it ready for the new growing season and all the resulting disruption made momma wisely decide to find a new hiding place for her babies. Unfortunately, she seems to have left one behind - the one I eventually found and rescued when momma didn't come back. I'm guessing it's 3 or 4 weeks old - eyes are open, but it still hasn't been weaned. I've been feeding it with an eye dropper the "cat milk" that the Whiskas puts out, because I know that some cats can be lactose intolerant. It's not interested in canned kitten food at this point, so Whiskas cat milk has been its only food (and liquid) so far.
I have adult 2 cats already and a dog - hadn't really planned on a new addition to my fur face family, but what can you do when a little orphan gets dropped at your feet? I made her a nice nest of soft rags in a cloth bag that can be zipped closed - I want to protect her from the other animals and also not have her wander off. About once an hour or so, I take her out the bag and pet her and give her a few more drops of cat milk. She cries a lot when awake (I don't blame her!), but mostly just falls asleep after I feed her. What else should I be doing to make sure this little, little kitten gets a good start?
First of all, God bless you for doing this. Secondly, the milk seems like a good start, but others on here may have better information. My only concern is, where are you keeping her ? Even though you have protected her, could some animal get to her ?
First of all, God bless you for doing this. Secondly, the milk seems like a good start, but others on here may have better information. My only concern is, where are you keeping her ? Even though you have protected her, could some animal get to her ?
I keep her in the house next to me in a basket up away from the other critters at all times. I've trained my dog since puppyhood to NEVER engage in behavior that even appears aggressive towards any cat. He was raised by one of my cats from when he was 8 weeks old, so I'm not too worried about him. One of my cats is definitely the dominant one of all the three of them, and I worry about her a little, but she's been very good so far - just some curious sniffing. So my main concern is just providing the proper nutrition and socialization that such a tiny baby requires. I've always had cats in my life, but never one so young!
Is that Whiskas product designed for kittens, or is it something to give to adult cats? If it's not designed to be a mother's milk substitute for kittens, then you need to get something like KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) or Just Born at the pet store. If you can't get to a pet store, you could order some from Amazon and get 2-day shipping. Meanwhile, here are some emergency kitten milk formulas to use until you get KMR or Just Born: https://kittenrescue.org/2017/03/rec...itten-formula/
That site has a very good page about raising orphaned kittens. And it tells you what you need to do to help the kitten pee and poop. Oh, yes. That's the fun part of raising a very young kitten. (!) But absolutely essential.
I forgot about that Kitten Milk Replacement, we used it when we trapped one of Mama Kitties kittens a few years ago, and she was very young. I think I recall that vets and pet stores have bottles with nipples on them to use too.
When she gets a little older, you can push her nose down into a small bowl of the milk and she will learn to lick it off of her chin, then the bowl itself.
I forgot about that Kitten Milk Replacement, we used it when we trapped one of Mama Kitties kittens a few years ago, and she was very young. I think I recall that vets and pet stores have bottles with nipples on them to use too.
When she gets a little older, you can push her nose down into a small bowl of the milk and she will learn to lick it off of her chin, then the bowl itself.
When they are very young the nipples can sometimes be too big. If she is having trouble with a nipple you can use a small syringe (like 1 cc).
I can't add much to good advice already given. Just wanted to say bless you for caring, and doing what's necessary to help the little one. I hope everything goes well for her, and you. Lots of good karma coming your way.
I second what everyone else has said ... but wanted to add, We love pictures, hint, hint!
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Secondly, the milk seems like a good start, but others on here may have better information. My only concern is, where are you keeping her ? Even though you have protected her, could some animal get to her ?
