Newborn kitten rescue

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  • #40917
    qw0wp
    Participant

    Hi everyone,

    A neighbor of mine found a newborn kitten squalling on a rock near the apartment building and took him in. I assume the mother got spooked while moving him. I have no idea if she’d have come back for him but there are a lot of tom cats running around which could have proved dangerous for the tiny kitten.

    He was rather cold so I immediately brought him in, warmed him and ran out to get formula and a kitten bottle (wanted to get a syringe but couldn’t find any). My best guess is that he was around 2 days old, small enough I could close my hand up around him completely. I was kind of terrified by just how small he was. However he didn’t seem malnourished or sick just slightly dehydrated (hopefully he got enough colostrum).

    While Hoping for the best I kept in mind that he might not survive but each day he has grown stronger with regular bowel movements of appropriate consistency and color. I’ve had him for 7 days now and his eyes began opening yesterday.

    One concern was an eye infection which I believe he had when I got him but didn’t notice until it began to swell more. Warm cotton ball soaking on the eye to dissolve the crust allowed it to drain. The discharge was opaque, slightly yellow. Over a couple days the discharges became smaller but not wanting to take a chance I took him to the vet this morning and got some some anti-biotic ointment which I am to use 3 times daily. She told me to put it in both eyes as precaution.

    I’ve been fairly stressed and exhausted this past week taking care of him but glad to know they said he’s doing very well and aside from the eye infection seems extremely healthy. So I certainly feel more confident and relaxed now.

    I’ve hand raised 10 newborn puppies before after the mother began to reject them (overwhelmed first time mother) and most of the same basics care applies but between feedings I continue to do my research on orphan kitten care just to make sure I’m doing everything to give this little guy his best shot at survival.

    So now at 10 days old and doing well I’m finally coming around to picking out a name. I didn’t really want to or get too attached at the start.

    I don’t really have any questions at that time, more that I wanted to share my experience. Oh.. one does come to mind. I downloaded some female cat purr mp3’s and was considering putting an Ipod speaker in the corner of his nest. I know they cannot hear much at this age but perhaps feel the vibration from the speaker, so any thoughts on that? I also have a couple small beanie babies in there to simulate litter mates.

    #603621
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Wow,you seem to have most everything under control,thanks for saving this baby.

    There are a few sites that are helpful when handraising a baby kitten.

    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

    I’ve never thought of playing a purr over a speaker,see how she reacts,if she acts distressed and tries to climb toward it maybe not,if she settles down to sleep then it would seem to be OK.

    There is also a plush cat mommy with nipples that other people have bought but I can’t find a link to it now. As long as you have a warm place for her(a covered hot water bottle or a heating pad on low covered by a towel to the side where she can get off the pad if she gets too warm) and a plush pet she should be ok.

    #603622
    CheetahBoysmommy
    Participant

    What a good kitty mama you are. The little one is very lucky to have you. Maybe Rocky would be a good name, both because he was found on a rock and because he seems to be a fighter.

    When can we see pictures? We love, love, love baby pictures here.

    #603623
    qw0wp
    Participant

    Thanks for the quick replies and the resource links.

    The heating pad is offset to one side of the box. He’s real good about pulling the baby blanket to his liking to perfect his nest

    As requested here are a few pictures I took after returning home from the vet

    http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/281/7/a/kitten_9_days_old_by_opx-d30bpij.jpg

    Just after feeding and cleaning with one of his litter mates, a key-chain pound puppy

    http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/281/6/1/kitten_9_days_old___2_by_opx-d30bpwh.jpg

    eye on the right side of the picture is the infected one, Swelling is way down on the outer eyelids, a bit of swelling/inflammation may be noticed on the inner lid. Sorry its a bit blurry.. had trouble getting him to look at the camera lol

    At the vet’s office he weighed in at just over 5 ounces, He’s grown a lot since I first got him.

    #603624
    MadcatwomanintheUK
    Participant

    Oh he’s so sweet! You’ve done an amazing job, well done. So you’re going to keep him? Hmmm, names…do you like human names or would a non human name be better?

    #603625
    roxysmommy
    Participant

    Oh, what a beautiful baby you have there! Welcome to TDK and yes, I agree with CBM and BC…you are a very good kitty mom and this little one is VERY lucky to have you! Please keep us updated on how the wee one is doing ๐Ÿ™‚

    #603626
    CheetahBoysmommy
    Participant

    He’s a very handsome young man. I’m such a sucker for those little pointy kitten tails – I just love them especially when they are combined with wobbly legs and a round furry tummy.

    #603627
    MadcatwomanintheUK
    Participant

    Sparky – there was a spark of life and he grabbed it & hung on!!

    #603628
    lisaeylau
    Participant

    Wow! What a great kitty mom you are!!

    #603629
    Skyron
    Participant

    oh mcw thats a perfect name!!

    #603630
    MadcatwomanintheUK
    Participant

    Kitty Mum…or Kitty Dad?

    Btw, the purring/speaker vibration thing is an excellent idea, I’ve also heard that a ticking clock (like a big, old fashioned alarm clock) is comforting to a tiny kitten, as it’s like the Mum’s heartbeat.

    #603631
    qw0wp
    Participant

    Why I’m the paterfamilias! but the kitten certainly considers me kitty mum. After feeding I hold him against my chest gently rubbing his belly while he purrs, nibbles on my finger and drifts off to sleep.

    The vet even made mention as soon as he was back in my hand how quickly he calmed down and curled up “oh you must be the mommy” lol. The kitten isn’t showing any sign of abandonment issues or stress.

    Rescued a kitten a long time ago and used a ticking clock in his box. He was older between 2-3 weeks. Being the digital age I don’t have such a clock around here. That’s what got me thinking about the Ipod speaker case for the purring/heartbeat or other such soothing sound.

    Do I plan to keep him? More than likely, the bond formed with an orphaned critter is quite strong and special so even if I didn’t want to get attached I’m sure its inevitable ๐Ÿ™‚

    I like some of names proposed. I’ve actually called him sparky and “damn little monkey”. Rocky’s good too. Lets see, Bucky came up around the house. Fan of ‘Get fuzzy”. Also thought about Tuco (character from Breaking Bad).

    I’ll see about adding some more pictures, I was going to take one of him curled up in my hand but didn’t want to wake him yet.

    #603632
    jcat
    Participant

    Wow! That is one lucky kitten to have found you! You have done an outstanding job. I wish the world were full of people like you ๐Ÿ™‚

    #603633

    Wonderful job saving such a vulnerable little life, QWOWP! Welcome to TDK. Please do post more pictures. I haven’t experienced raising newborn kittens. He is irresistable! ๐Ÿ™‚

    #603634
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    Qwowp: Oh wow, I’m so thankful you brought this kitten in and are taking care of him. That is such a good deed, I could never do that, Duchess was at least 3 weeks, good luck and I’m glad that it seems like everything is going well. And updates and pictures are always nice.

    #603635
    qw0wp
    Participant

    Thank you all for your kind words of support. The kitten is still doing very well and starting to interact more. Beginning to process what he sees and the infected eye is looking great now. He’s also wanting to be petted/rubbed a lot now.

    His name is still up in the air right now. It’s not like he can respond to it yet so there is time to decide. Rocky is one of the top contenders. My girlfriend and my mother love the name rocky and it does make sense from his origin. I still like Tuco but I can go with Rocky. I have a habit of using Spanish names for pets.

    So anyway in this update I’ve setup a new and larger nesting box for him. added more textures for him to interact with and its probably big enough to add a water dish and litter box in the corner

    http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/283/1/0/kitten_day_11_3_by_opx-d30i7k5.jpg

    http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/283/c/c/kitten_day_11_by_opx-d30i7dr.jpg fast asleep after feeding (in his original shoebox)

    http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/283/6/7/kitten_day_11_2_by_opx-d30i7gp.jpg kitten purring getting his belly rubbed contented

    #603636
    nawlins catmom
    Participant

    Happy to hear he is doing so well! What an adorable bundle of fur… such a cute little belly! Naming can be so tricky… but fun! Please keep posting updates! Such a dear little kitten!

    #603637
    qw0wp
    Participant

    I do have a question… I’m not having any problems at the moment but I’d read a lot of bad reviews of Hartz kitten formula which is what I am using. I live in a rural area and for the most part its Walmart or nothing. What is the consensus around here?

    I intend to stop by the vet’s tomorrow to see what formulas they have and to get their opinion on the matter. Alternatively I can make my own from recipes found online (which I have done for puppies).

    #603638
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    I haven’t heard of them, but then again I don’t use KMR anymore. I used KMR with the cute blue eyed himalyan kitten on the front.

    http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p-193-49220P_002-cat.jpg

    I use this one when I bottle fed Duchesss, although I don’t know if they sell that at Walmart. Your kitten is a cutie! Is it just blankets or a heating pad too? You’re doing a great job, but make sure that he is being kept warm since it doesn’t look like he can cuddle under things that much. A heating pad does that for him/her. I did read what you wrote, but I didn’t know what you meant by layers.

    Have you given a name to him/her?

    When you go to the vet, they may be able to give you the KMR, and tel you how old s/he is?

    #603639
    qw0wp
    Participant

    KMR is defiantly ‘the’ brand when it comes to kitten formulas though tracking it down can be a challenge depending where you are. The vet’s office should at least have a high quality equivalent, whom I will be visiting today.

    As for the new nesting box… It may look a little sparse in the picture but he rolls the neck pillow around (the blue tube), burros into the wool fabric, climbs on and gets under the plush toys. There are also two baby blankets lining the bottom which he pulls around. The green towel is for covering the top of box.

    There is indeed a heating pad. I cut a hole toward the bottom of the box to run the cord out.

    If anyone has suggestions on improving his nesting box please let me know ๐Ÿ™‚

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