HELP!!

have you asked the vet for some advice over the phone, or could you get an earlier appointment? I don’t really know anything about looking after such small kitties, but there are a lot of people on here who do…but it’s usually kind of quiet around this time due to time zones and stuff (a lot of members are in the U.S., for example). If you look through some of the existing threads, people have asked similar questions about very young kittens and folk have posted some links in response. Have a look. Keeping him warm is a major thing I would imagine. How long have you had him?

Sorry I can’t be more help, but just wanted to let you know there’s somebody out there!

and YES pookster is right, I forgot to mention keeping him warm! That is probably the most important thing! You can use a heating pad on LOW under a towel, but put it on one side of the box so he can move away if he gets warm. I get nervous with heating pads and use hot water bottles, and just change the water every few hours.

Links to good kitten-raising sites:

http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html

http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15

http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

http://www.petplace.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctfhMJUdxZA

Hope these help you with your new and young kitties.

Warm welcome to TDK. You can also click upper right pink tags for more chat/links to help w/questions.

hello jojo! Glad he’s doing much better VMarie. He seeks out your neck because the blanket is not warming him enough and he prefers your body heat. Charger would sleep around my neck early am when his hot water bottle had cooled down.

There’s a video on youtube on how to make kitty poop using the triangle method because simple stimulation by rubbing with warm wet cotton like you do to make them pee is not enough sometimes. My net is very slow right now else I would have looked up the video for you.

Charger pooped like a champ using the triangle method after almost 5 days of no poopage.

If he still has eye gunk and is sneezing then sounds like a respiratory tract infection which is very common esp among abandoned kittens. He needs all the warmth he can get. Also if it gets worse then he will need a shot from the vet. Else the infection can get worse and may even lead to blindness apart from other complications.

Due to not being fed their mum’s milk, such kittens are very prone to illness. Even when Charger was in the clear from his chest infection after he got a shot from the vet, he developed calcium deficiency issues which rendered him unable to stand on his hind legs for over a month in his 3rd month. Daily doses of liquid calcium and Vitamin B for nerves along with multivitamin drops for babies helped him a lot. Now hes as active and pouncy as ever.

Hope my experiences as a 1st time kitten owner helps you out. Keep posting!

Dee Dee

Yay for the appetite and poopage! Hope the bleeding is nothing serious. Have not faced that with Charger so far although he has had quite a few bumps himself. About the biting- I read loads of literature on how they should be discouraged at the very beginning by keeping your distance every time they start biting else the behavior becomes permanent. I tried to resist but I could not stop from cuddling and playing with him even then and now I’m a chew toy for life I guess. Got scratches and bite marks all over my hands and ankles and he’s made a game of ambushing my hands now complete with the pouncing bite and bunny kicks. Hurts like heck!!!

Dee Dee

Well hey there fellow chew toy :). It does not hurt much at that stage…tickles even but months from now you will mark my words :D. Those initial scratches and bite marks are NOTHING in comparison now lol. He draws blood often now and I’m constantly washing my wounds because I’m scared to use any topical medication in case he falls ill from biting my hands again!

He bites only me and my niece as we are the ones who play a lot with him; he stays away from others except try ambush their legs at times. Funny thing was while I was responding earlier above, he went into a frenzy and bit my hand so bad his baby tooth fell off LoL!

Sorry but this is the 1st I’ve heard of that walking style…sounds adorable 😛 Maybe he is just learning how to move right now and is testing his limbs and tail out.

He looks like he’s wearing shades in his pic…really cute!!!

Hey Marie,

Can you take him to a vet and get him de-wormed? Probably worms are clogging him up and causing him discomfort. Most kittens have worms anyway if they are stray or feral and need a few rounds of de-worming. I did it myself after consulting a vet as we do not get facilities here.

Charger caught on to the litter box pretty quickly once I mixed his pee soaked news paper strips in the litter. What kind of litter are you using?

Dee Dee

Hey Marie,

I de-wormed charger when he was about 6 weeks; younger than its usually done I know because I was worried about his bulging belly and he had a few incidents of bloody mucus poop. The vet gave me an accurate calculation of how much to give him according to his weight which was really a minimal amount given his young age. Strangely no worms were found though after a 3 day treatment. Thankfully he started pooping normal again though.

About the fleas, I would not worry too much at this early stage. I used to catch at least 4-5 fleas daily during Charger’s grooming time in the first few weeks. I even bought a flea powder apparently safe for kittens and puppies but have not had the courage to use it on him yet in case it poison’s him while he grooms.

I would also bathe him weekly with dish washing detergent as suggested by seasoned pet owners on this site (although not Dawn as its not available here). Some fleas would come off but they never really went away. Charger still has fleas till date but I try keep the population in check by combing him with a flea comb daily. Do drown the fleas in water when you get hold of them else they jump around and will re-infest the kitty.

When he was Jojo’s age, the flea comb did not help as his hair was less and very thin and soft. Now I do get a few fleas out when we are lucky 🙂

Hopefully once they grow up and become stronger, we can try more permanent solutions.

Pls do not worry…it’s quite normal and not life threatening if you take corrective measures.

Dee Dee