| Hello my pet loving friends. Yesterday I brought home a 2-3 week old kitten from one of my friend's home. The mother cat is very young and will not take care of her. I have never taken in an orphaned babe such as this, so I need all the help I can get. Can someone please tell me what I need to feed her and what actions I could take to help this precious kitten. Please hurry with your needed feedback. Thanks again. Loriszoo from Phoenix, AZ | |
| Answers: | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/19/2006 |
| First go to the vet. pet stores sell kitten milk. Put little droplets on her face and she should try and lap it up if she is really young. Healthypet.com or the american vet association has good sites. | |
| By sandy. (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/19/2006 |
| Yes, check out with your vet first for advice. I've nurtured several baby kittens whose mothers have deserted them at a young age. Try feeding with a syringe or eyedropper, till the kitty shows signs of being able to lap. In the absence of 'kitten milk' I've just used warm diluted (with boiled water) cows milk. Warmth, the baby has no mother or siblings to cuddle up to, so warmth is essential so a small box or bed with baby rugs, or just pieces of comfy cloth. to keep her warm. Stimulation the mother constantly licks the kittens, so you need to gently massage and stroke her several times a day, this offers stimulation to the system as well as comfort. A small fluffy or furry toy in with the kitten can also help her to feel reassured. Good luck! | |
| By Ellie. (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/19/2006 |
| You'll enjoy this. My cat Molly was about 2 days old when her mother left her. She is the sweetest thing and I can't imagine life without her. Get the kitten milk and a pet bottle at any pet food store. Unless you are rich, use the powdered kind. Get an extra nipple. She might use this for another week or even longer, before she is able to drink from a bowl. We never woke Molly for nighttime feedings, and she slept through the night in a cat carrier placed partly on a heating pad right next to the bed. Cold is a very serious problem, you do need to keep her warm. If she is two weeks old you have a good chance with her. On the internet you can read all kinds of directions. If she isn't pooping, you'll need to help her. Rub her little butt with a cotton ball. She might be going on her own now, but if not it really isn't all that hard to do. If you have other cats and they are friendly to her, it will help her learn to groom herself. If not, take a washcloth and rub her with it especially around her face. This (grooming) can be a problem with hand raised kittens. Email me if you have any other questions. | |
| By Jeneene (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/19/2006 |
| You can buy baby food either the vegetable kind or the kind with meat and feed it to the kitten. That's what we were advised to do when this happened to us. The kitten formula was very expensive and the kitten would not drink it. We put it in a syringe and squirted it into her mouth until she got the hang of lapping it up herself. I set the alarm around the clock and fed her every 2 hours. It was a lot like having a newborn. | |
| By (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/20/2006 |
| You can buy a kitten bottle or an eyedropper and kitten milk at Walmart or in the pet food section of your grocery store. Start at every 2 hours and let them have as much as they want. You can wait longer between feeding if at 2 hours they do not seem hungry. Evaporated milk works too. At that age it is hard or them to metabolize food. Call your a vet in town or a local shelter they will give you good advice. I raised my oldest cat this way, he too was very small. Now he's a poop head. It's hard but worth it. | |
| By allison Fraylick | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/20/2006 |
| hi i live on a farm and have taken care of several rejected kittens 1st do not go to the vet they will rip you off we went to drugmart not sure where you are but drugmart is a store like pharmacy grocery catch all they make lil bottles for kittens and they sell a kitten formula there that's what you need to get in expensive be ready to feed around the clock like a baby follow instructions we have also used this on the farm for rejected baby bunnies. Good luck. | |
| By Kimmy (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/21/2006 |
| What about calf starter? My mother has given this to older kittens, it is like formula for cattle. | |
| By Kelly | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/21/2006 |
| Also make sure that you give your kitten a flea bath as soon as possible. Fleas can cause fatal anemia in small kittens rapidly. Keep kitten warm during and after bath. Do not use flea shampoo or powder on so young a cat- toxic. Use regular baby shampoo or mild soap. | |
| By susanna (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/22/2006 |
| Loriszoo - I have no tips for you. I was wondering how your kitten is doing. I hope well. Please let us know. | |
| By Tonya | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/22/2006 |
| Go to Walmart and buy a animal bottle and the liquid kitten milk. It usually helps stick a hot needle in the top of the bottle nipple to open it more. Feed the baby, I found it helps to burp the kitten like a baby but a lot softer. Also to get it to go to the bathroom take a warm wet cotton ball and gently massage the butt hole to get it to go potty, I would suggest doing this over the litter box so the kitten knows that the potty is there. Get 2 things done at once. Also take a warm wet cotton ball, go from head to toe strokes to clean and teach the kitten how to bathe. Any more help just email I foster kittens. | |
| By Bobbie H (Guest Post) | |
| Caring for a Baby Kitten | 05/23/2006 |
| Definitely take the advice about teaching it to use a litter box! I had a kitten once who was never taught to use the litter box every time and it would only use the litter box if it was convenient. Best of luck! | |
| By Beth |
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