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Pancho and Lefty
Please give a warm Caturday welcome to today’s Star Kits, Pancho and Lefty. They are 4 week old Orange Tabbies from Tyler, Texas.
These 2 were part of a litter of 5 whose mother got run over and killed the day after they were born. They found the sickly runt a surrogate, and “farmed” the others out. SO GLAD I took 2, because it has made a difference in their development I’m sure. So, I’ve had them since they were 2 days old. We’ve had a few crises, but somehow managed to make it through, though I was beside myself with fear. My problem now is that Lefty has started to go bonkers at feeding time. I went through the previous thread, but since it was five years old 🙂 thought I would try a new one. They are “sleeping through the night”. From the very first, Lefty (always a bit smaller) has been the louder, more strident, more busy kitty, while Pancho is a much more mellow fellow. Pancho is now taking between 45 and 55 mls per feeding, but I am struggling to gt 25 down Lefty. He WANTS more but he is fighting so hard I can’t control him to feed him. I have tried putting the formula in a saucer, they are not interested. I have tried the wet baby kitty food, no dice. Changed nipples, no help. Worried that Lefty will quit gaining weight. Hey, the good news is that they caught on to the cat box immediately!
Author: Tom “The Kittenmaster” Cooper
Tom is the owner of 4 amazing cats, and using the Daily Kitten he provides a place for cat and kitten lovers to share the love for their own cats and kittens.
You’ re doing a wonderful job to save these kittens! I hope someone here has some good advice to give you about feeding Lefty.
It sounds like there’s been some salvation for everyone, even Mama, rip, who did not bear them in vain, through the kindness of humans. I fed my bottle baby with a soft dropper from some cat vet item. A little squeeze forces the process a bit, and pretty soon he had a vacuum going on that dropper and didn’t want to let go for me to get a refill! Sounds like you’re going to get through it, and you’ll be richly rewarded with two incredibly handsome, loving cats.
COA*COA
I feel over in love when I saw your wee boys. I love Orangies and Pancho and Lefty are precious. Lefty is is so wiggling because he is hungry. Start a gruel by putting wet kitten food and Goats’ milk in the bottle. You will have to cut the nipple open to accommodate the gruel. Remember, they are growing kits and there isn’t any certain amount to feed them. When they are full they will let you know often by pushing the bottle away. Keep in touch, I want to see your boys grow up.
These to are precious! I’m so glad that you are taking care of them.
COA – Cuteness Overload Alert times TWO! I love Poncho and Lefty. Orangeness and super cuteness personified:) I have raised kitten yet never raised tiny kittens such as these. What Pussigato says makes sense. My mother used to raise dairy goats and goats milk is one of the most nutritious easily digested milks that there is. It can be had through some grocers to include Trader Joes; however it would be great if you could get it fresh through someone who has dairy goats. Contact feed stores, veterinarians, and even check on Craigslist for dairy goat owners. Stay in touch through the forums and or contact a good vet for more assistance. Keep up the wonderful work you are doing with these two precious munchkins and give them each a tender kiss for me. Also, give us an update when they get bigger. I would so love to see them as grownsups. Sending prayers your way:)
First of all, forget about goat’s milk and cow’s milk; they need CAT milk to give them immunity to some common feline diseases. You can get that at most pet shops, or maybe vets. Second, please do bring them to a vet to get their shots and, while you’re there, you can ask the vet about how to feed Lefty. Vets know a lot more than just animal medicine.
Good luck to you and the little guys :3 :3
I believe Goats’ milk is more palatable to their tummies and provides antibiotics.
Goat’s milk may be slightly easier to digest for kittens than cow’s milk, but it doesn’t provide the antibodies they need (I’m not so sure if it’s easier to digest – the fans of it say so but I’ve not heard that from other sources). K.M.R. (Kitten Milk Replacement) works well and is formulated for kittens, and if they suckled on their mom at least once or twice they should have gotten a pretty good dose of the antibodies, especially if they got the colostum.
In any case, I’m pulling for Poncho and Lefty!
All that I can say is what’s better than one ‘way cute orangie? Two ‘way cute orangies!!! Thanks for providing furever homes for Messrs. Pancho and Lefty! Vet visit sounds like a plan.
Double ginger cuteness ! !
Thanks for giving Pancho and Lefty and chance at life.
Pancho and Lefty are just two cute! (Pun intended)
Lefty may be the kind of baby who likes to eat a little, then play for a while, then eat again.
You are doing a great job – thank you for giving them a chance while their mom watches them from the Rainbow Bridge.
As far as Lefty, the last bottle baby we raised (now a big 2 year old black beauty) was a fighter, and my wife and I had to wear an oven mitt or gloves to keep from getting all scratched up. Watch Lefty… you’ll probably find that there is a position he prefers and once he gets into it, he will drink – Our Mosie preferred to be stretched out on her belly with her front higher than her back (her chest supported on something). Sometimes it was a real struggle – she’d attack the bottle and it took some struggling to get her drinking!
Mosie would also get frustrated if the milk didn’t flow fast enough and we had to widen the hole in the nipple a bit (and gave it a little squeeze to get it going as soon as it was in her mouth).
Some kittens don’t want to transition to hard food, and I think maybe they like the (as we call it) “Mommy time” and the attention. Maybe some extra holding and petting time might help.
Good luck with the them! They’re a couple of real cuties! Bottle Babies are the best!
Great job on adopting these cuties! One thing you can do to contain Lefty while eating is to wrap him “burrito style” in a tea towel, with only his head sticking out. May sure his head is not tipped back, but straight up while you feed him. And yes, he may be frustrated on the milk not flowing fast enough. (My daughter hand-fed over 100 foster kittens and I would occasionally get to help.)
“Make sure…”