Just found a tiny abandoned kitten.....

[suzbaby]

I was standing in my kitchen when I heard these tiny squeaks coming from outside. I went to investigate and found a lone tiny kitten hiding under the steps to our back patio. He's SOOO small. I don't know how old, but it can't be very.
I didn't know what to do, so I took him inside. I feel terrible that a momma cat may be looking for her baby, but it's 45 degrees and raining outside. I couldn't just leave him. We have an adult cat, so I have some cat food. Trouble is, he's so young he won't just eat it. I took some milk for cats (lactose free), dipped my finger in it, and he would sort of "nurse" it off of me. He also took a little bit of soft food off of my finger. It was slow going and I don't think he got much nutrition.
I'm worried about him overnight. The vet is closed, since it's so late, as is the Humane Society.
Anyone still awake? Any advice? What should I do for the poor little guy until I can get him to a vet.
:shrug:

[WillParkinson]

1. Keep him warm...

Have a shallow dish of water available and do the best you can to keep him fed. You're doing the right thing right now and I wish you the best of luck with the kit.

[dysfunctional press]

2. put him in a room by himself with some water/food/box of shredded paper, and maybe a pillow.

he'll be fine til morning.

[suzbaby]

5. I put my older cat's spare pet bed in the room.

I have him sequestered in the bathroom. I put a little towel over top of half the cat bed, and he's currently nestled in there sleeping. He's warm and safe. I just worry about hydration and nutrition.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear suzbaby!

I think you're on the right track, though I don't really know.

Maybe PM flvegan for advice? He knows tons about animals...

Keep the little guy warm and cozy overnight, and call your vet now.

I'll bet your vet has an emergency service, or at least someone could advise you...

What a lovely thing you did!

:hug:

[LeftyMom]

4. You'll need some KMR.

This stuff: http://www.petco.com/product/5863/PetAg-KMR-Milk-Replacer-Food-Supplements-for-Kittens-and-Small-Animals-Liquid.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGooglebase-_-Cat-_-PetAg-_-132365&mr:trackingCode=517A1416-8381-DE11-B7F3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

If there's a 24 hour store near you that carries pet food (grocery store, walmart, something like that) they should have it. If you can't get it he should be okay until morning as long as he stays warm.

[suzbaby]

7. We're kind of in a rural area.

There is a 24 hour Super One, though I doubt they would have kitten formula. Thanks for the advice!

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Keep him warm and plan on giving him kitten milk a few times overnight. If his

eyes are blue and he has rounded ears and a pointy tail, then he is probably a wee little baby who probably shouldn't have food yet. If you think he is older than 4 weeks he should be ok.

Put out a clean pan of litter (it can be quite small) and plan on giving baby a "bath." You need to simulate the momma licking him, especially on the belly and bum because that helps him go to the bathroom. (Info on how to do that: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1487488/taking_care_of_your_newborn_kitten.html )

[suzbaby]

8. His eyes are bright blue.

Tiny, rounded ears, pointy tail...check. He must be so young.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Yeah. could be 4 weeks or less. Just go with your gut instincts. :^) Have you checked around

to see if there are more of them? They may be hiding near where you found that one.

[suzbaby]

11. I looked under the steps and didn't find any other kittens.

I don't hear any crying... I think he's alone.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. He may have been the last one Momma was moving from the nest. Was there any

chance she could have had a litter under your house? Under our garage was a favorite place for kitten birthings when I was a kid.

Keep an eye out for a Momma cat. She may come back looking for him to move him.

[suzbaby]

14. We do have a crawl space, but I can't imagine anyone getting in there.

:shrug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. My 7 lb cat can get into an empty 12 pack soda box. Maybe not so good

for having babies in, but they can get into pretty small spots.

[suzbaby]

10. Do you think the Whiskas cat milk is ok for the night?

It's not for kittens, but it is cat milk.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Hmmm. Definitely better than cow's milk. But I am not sure. We gave ours

cow's milk back in the day because we didn't know any better.

[suzbaby]

16. Now he's hissing at me when I come in the room.

Ingrate.... :eyes:

Just kidding, I know he's just scared and I'm not his momma.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Get the milk and he will love you again. :^) Try purring at him. That's what I did with mine

when they were teeny. I purred and "bathed" them with my index finger.

[busybl]

17. keep an ear open for mom.

it's sweet of you to take him/her in.

[suzbaby]

18. Should I give him back to momma if she comes back?

He'd be a stray kitten, but he'd be with his momma.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. She may not take him back if she's wild. The smell of humans may cause her to abandon him. But

you can try and see what happens, but be aware she may try to kill it. :(

[busybl]

21. could happen if she's feral.

You're probably in for the long haul. You want kitten milk, an eye dropper type feeder.
I fostered some kittens that were that young. so small that I held them over a paper bowl of litter for them to go.
Pet it with a finger in the the direction of the fur to simulate mam's licking.

[suzbaby]

23. Hmmm...

Perhaps I should just count on not giving him back to momma. I don't think I can foster him long term though. I'm just not around enough. An hour or two before work, then a few hours after work before I go to bed - Monday through Friday. I think he needs more attention than that.

[SoCalDem]

76. Keep him..her.. and keep that baby inside where it will be safe

Mom may not accept it back, and you'd just be dooming it to a short & unhappy life..

If you cannot keep it, when it's healthy, Pet Smart might take it for their weekly adoption thing..

But you are bonded with it now.. just keep the baby..you know you want to :)

[busybl]

22. oh, and feed him/her every couple of hours.

they don't hold much.

[EndersDame]

24. You can get Kitten Milk at Walmart I know it is evil but for times like these

they are necessary

[Quantess]

29. NOOOOO!

Use the breast pump instead.

Just kidding!

[WCGreen]

60. At the Olive Garden....

[soleiri]

25. after you feed the kitten

take a wet wash cloth and gently massage its uh... genital area so it will go potty. It's really important.

We found kittens whose mother was a first time mom and very scared. Two of them passed away, we got them too late and they were flea infested. The vet was able to save one kitten. even though they were separated for days, the mama cat did accept the kitten back and took care of her.

Good luck

[suzbaby]

26. Got a few drops.

nothing much really, I'm not sure how much pee to get out of him.

[SoCalDem]

27. Try a heating pad wrapped in a thick towel..in a box

preferably in a quiet area. If you can't get to a pet store for the cat-milk formula, you could use the Whiskas stuff you have... for today,.

You can bottle feed him/her with the kitten nurser and he/'she should do fine..
If it;s not using the littler bos, take a wet awashcloth & gently massage it so it goes to the bathroom..

I raised 2 litters from birth and it can be done.. (9 kittens)

My babies:
first litter..click pics to see the rest


2nd litter

[Quantess]

28. That's so cute.

[suzbaby]

30. What cuties!

I've just been using the Whiskas cat milk for the evening. I'm only getting about 6 eye droppers worth in him at a time. Hopefully that will tide him over. The wet cloth works a bit, he pees a little but, again, I'm not sure how much urine I should be getting out of him.
Thanks for all of the advice.

[SoCalDem]

32. If you use a heating pad.. make sure it's on LOW

I forgot to tell you that..but you probably already knew:)

[myoldman]

53. Aw...I am rushing on oxytocin...n/t

[ThatsMyBarack]

79. AWWWW!!!! SQUEEE!!!!!

I want one!!! :loveya:

[lillypaddle]

31. Poor little thing

I ran across a lone baby kitty about a year ago at my apartment complex. Luckily the vet was open, but other than just looking at him, they couldn't really take him off my hands. I wound up just sitting there in the waiting room with the kitty in my lap. Within about 15 minutes, someone who was picking up their cat from boarding, took him.

[Lyric]

33. Here's what you should do:

First, you need to treat him for the fleas that he almost certainly has, even if you can't see any. This is crucial, because he's not going to be taking in as much iron as he usually does (traumatized kittens never eat/drink enough in the first few days) and tiny kittens can get anemic REALLY fast if they're flea-infested. Ideally you should give him half an adult dose of Capstar (crushed to a powder and mixed into a bit of canned food the size of a large pea, so he'll be able to eat it all) and a couple of drops of Frontline on his upper belly. Don't put the Frontline on his back, because if you happen to find Mama again, she'll lick it right back off, and even if you don't, he might be able to lick it himself as it spreads. Put it between his front legs. That's an area that Mama cats don't lick very often, and neither do the kittens themselves. Don't use any type of the Hartz, Biospot, etc. drops, powders, or sprays that you find at the store--that stuff is poison even for adult cats, and would probably kill a tiny kitten pretty fast. Frontline and Capstar are safe enough for a kitten that young and will take care of all the fleas in less than 24 hours.

Since he appears to be younger than 4 weeks, he needs kitten formula, not "cat milk." Cat milk is just milk treated with lactase, meant as an occasional treat. It doesn't have the nutrients he needs. Kitten formula is like baby formula for kittens. Go to a pet store and find a can of powdered KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer.) Don't bother with a bottle, because if he's been nursing this long, he probably won't take it anyway--he's too imprinted on Mama's nipples by now. Just get an eyedropper or a syringe, or let him try lapping it from a *very* shallow dish of some sort. You might have to smear a bit on his nose to get him to instinctively "lick" there, and that should spur him to keep on licking. Mix the formula a little weaker than usual for the first couple of days, both to give his body time to adjust to it, and to rehydrate him. Getting fluids into him is the primary thing right now, because he might be too young to effectively "lap" enough water to hydrate his body. Kittens often look like they're "lapping" well, but their little tongues aren't meant to be taking in food and water exclusively that way, and they tend to get tired and stop before they've had as much as they need. Sucking is much easier for them at this age.

Canned kitten food with formula mixed into it is good once you've taught him to go potty in a litter box, but please keep in mind that most kittens do not litter train until they're about 5-6 weeks old. When kittens start eating solid food, their poop changed from mustardy-yellow and mild-smelling to typical stinky cat poop, and you'll be the one stuck cleaning it up until he gets old enough to use the box. You might need to simulate him to potty with a warm, slightly-damp washcloth for now, and then clean it up for him like Mama would.

Spend lots of time holding him and cuddling him close to your chest...your warmth and your heartbeat will be very soothing to him. He'll probably cry a lot, and it'll be hard to handle, but understand that he's not necessarily distressed. Kittens who have lost their mothers young tend to call and call and call, trying to let Mama know where they are. He could be perfectly happy, well-fed and comfortable, and he STILL might cry and cry and cry. It's not a distress cry, it's a locator mechanism for Mama to find him. Soothe him and pet him, but don't panic and think that something is terribly wrong just because he's crying. If you're *sure* that he's had enough to eat and drink, that's he's gone potty recently, and that he's warm and comfortable, then it's okay to take his box to another room and let him cry.

Also--if you can afford it, get thee to a vet. They'll have lots more info than I do. :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

34. Any updates? :^)

[suzbaby]

35. Well, he made it through the night.

I got up every few hours and gave him the Whiskas cat milk. I know it's not the nutrition he needs, but I figured it kept him hydrated at the least. I have an appointment with our local vet in a few hours. We'll go from there.

[GreenPartyVoter]

36. Keep us in the loop. :^) Sounds like a tough guy who will make it. (And so do you after

getting up throughout the night like that. LOL :hug:)

[suzbaby]

37. Thanks

I don't have kids yet....is this what it's like to be a parent? Up every 3 hours for feeding and potty?
:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

38. Heheh. Even more often sometimes, and then there's the colicky babies. But don't

let that scare ya. If you like kids you're willing to put up with the hard times for the sweet moments. :)

[suzbaby]

39. Here he is!

[Brigid]

40. Awwww!

:loveya: No wonder you couldn't resist rescuing the little guy! What's that stuff on his little face -- or haven't you been able to get him to a vet yet?

[suzbaby]

41. He's kind of dirty all over.

Most of it is probably the cat milk I've been feeding him. He seemed to get just as much on his face as in his mouth.

[GreenPartyVoter]

43. A warm damp wash cloth on your index finger will help with that. :^)

[GreenPartyVoter]

42. Squeeeee! Such a sweet, wee little bebbeh!

:D

[Catshrink]

44. OMG!

So adorable! I'm at two cats and two dogs now after the sad demise of my "big boys" earlier this week. I told myself that I was at my limit, no more. And then I see the sweet faces of little kitties! Must remember the words of Ogden Nash:

The problem with a kitten is that
Very soon it becomes a cat.

(Yeah? And what's wrong with that?)

[Brigid]

45. Mark Twain said:

"If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve the man but deteriorate the cat."

[debbierlus]

46. Are you going to keep him?

What a cutie!

[suzbaby]

47. I'm thinking about keeping him.

The problem is if he needs to be fed every few hours going forward. I work, so I won't be around during the day. Not sure what to do about that. Maybe the vet can keep him for a few weeks until he's ready to come live with us.

[busybl]

54. can you take him to work?

I'm happy he made it thru the night. I worried about that.

[suzbaby]

58. Definitely couldn't take him to work.

The vet said every 4 hours should be ok. So I'll just make a mad dash home at lunch to feed him.

[Sky Masterson]

49. aww.. poor fella

:)

[Bertha Venation]

55. He is very sweet.

Good for you for caring for him. You have a good heart, Suz. :hug:

As to names: I suggest Piggy, as with his dirty nose he looks like he may have been rooting in the mud for tasty bits. :)

[Rhiannon12866]

59. OMG, awwww just doesn't say it...

This tiny baby is so very fortunate to have found you... O8) :yourock:

[Arugula Latte]

63. Aaaaaah! Little adorable sweetie!

And little pink toes! :loveya:

Tooooo cute!

[SoCalDem]

68. The crusty nose & glaze in his eyes tells me he may have a respiratory issue

please take him to the vet ASAP, and keep him away from your other kitty (kitties)..

He looks to be about 4-5 wks old and looks pretty alert..good signs..

He probably has some teeth, so some kitten chow dissolved with warm water might be the ticket for him..

At his age, he may not take to the kitten nurser, and an eye dropper won;t get him enough calories & will burn a whole lot of time..

He's a cutie pie :)He should make it :)

but then, he might be a she:)

Here is a pic of 2 of my second litter at 6 weeks

[suzbaby]

69. He went to the vet this morning.

He didn't suspect a respiratory issue. He does have a little conjunctivitis in his eye, so we have ointment for that. The vet gave me special soft food and some formula. So far he's eating both happily.

[SoCalDem]

70. wonderful...

When I rescued Uncle Willie, the boys wanted to call him Boogerface because his whole face was crusted into one giant "booger"...after nursing him to health for 2 weeks, he only weight 11 oz..

he was the first kitten I found in our yard.. his mom had dragged him from the nest ..and left him .. he could not breath through his nose, so he could not nurse..and she knew he would die..

He grew up to be the orneriest, cat.. he's now called Evil Uncle Willie


always ready to pounce on an innocent passerby:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

87. Woohoo! That's good news! :^)

[Liberal_in_LA]

72. calicos! Cute

[SoCalDem]

74. That sweet little calico grew up to be a bulldog

She's huge..and a BRAT!!


from this:


to this.... and years later (now) she's packed on about 5 lbs more..

[Liberal_in_LA]

77. Mine too. calicos are crazy

[GoCubsGo]

92. He reminds me of my Frazier...

Only, he has a pink nose. What a handsome boy!

[elehhhhna]

99. awwww. Call him Hobo!

or get another and name them Hector and Pester, lol

[DainBramaged]

105. What a beauty.................

:hug:

[Shell Beau]

80. And they are sweet!! I did this for a tiny baby squirrel one time.

I felt so responsible for it. Up every couple of hours, feeding it by a syringe, making it go potty like the mama does! It was very rewarding for me when I found out it did very well after I finally was able to get him to the vet. He went to a wildlife place and I hope thrived.

[suzbaby]

48. Alright, time to Name That Cat!

I guess he's staying with us, so he'll need a name. Suggestions????

[stray cat]

50. Lucky! - as it was that kittens lucky day when he came to you for help

[suzbaby]

51. Good suggestion!

We'll add it to the potential name pile. :hi:

[WCGreen]

61. Iggy

because he is probably going to be big and it's a cute name with out sounding sissy like...

My Tom is Floyd, my skittish girl is Sylvia and my fat one is Gretchy...

[GreenPartyVoter]

88. Did you see this list of international words meaning "lucky?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=9092093&mesg_id=9093858

GirlinContempt really rocked that out for ya! :D

[GreenPartyVoter]

57. Another vote for Lucky, or a similar word in another language. :^)

[GirlinContempt]

84. Lucky in Hindi is kismatwala, khushnasseb, khushkismat, bhagyashali, bhagyawan

fatlum (Albanian), afortunat (Catalan), sretan (Croatian),
šťastný (Czech), heldig (Danish), gelukkig (Dutch), õnnelik (Estonian), masuwerte (Filipino), onnekas (Finnish), chanceux (French), agraciado (Galician), glücklich (German), τυχερός (Greek), בַּר מַזָל (Hebrew), भाग्यशाली (Hindi), szerencsés (Hungarian), beruntung (Indonesian), fortunato (Indian), veiksmīgs (Latvian), laimingas (Lithuanian), xortik tajba (Maltese), heldig (Norwegian), szczęśliwy (Polish), sortudo (Portuguese)
may mắn - Vietnamese
Gluecklich in German
幸運な　 (kouun na) in Japanese
afortunado in Spanish
heureux in French
fortunato in Italian
Gelukkig in Dutch
afortunado in Portuguese
удачливый in Russian
heldig in Norweigan

[GreenPartyVoter]

86. Wow, what an awesome compilation!

[GirlinContempt]

94. I named a whole litter that I fostered with Hindi names

There were six of them, named:
Balram - Brother of Krishna (Bal)
Purujit - Winner of love (nicknamed Ji, or Puru, adopted by a friend of mine)
Nandita - Giver of Comfort (Nan)
Lalasa - Love
Sakari - Lovely
Pritika - Beloved one (I adopted her, nicknamed Priti like Pretty)

Sakari and Lalasa looked like twins so that's why their translations were so similar. Anyway, point is, I was looking up lots of Hindi names and words so I went straight for that, and I also figured I'd google some other languages :) Sometimes you can find some really great names with good meanings that way. I think using one of the Hindi words with Kismat would be cute, cause it could be shortened to Kismat :) People usually recognize that word even in english meaning destiny

This has even more http://www.petnamesworld.com/search.php?tab=4&f_boy=1&f_girl=1&f_both=1&f_containtype=contain&f_start=&f_lengthtype=&f_chars=&f_meaning=lucky&f_land=&f_starstype=0&f_submit=1&f_searchtype=advanced&qsearch=1&browseby=1&x=52&y=8 GREAT place for pet names! You can search by language, meaning, type of pet, sex, etc...

[GreenPartyVoter]

102. Thanks for the link. :^) Hopefully I won't need it for some time yet (have two

15 yo kittehs whom I demand last forever because my heart will break when they go) but when it is finally time I will have to return to that cool names site.

[BuelahWitch]

62. Another vote for Lucky

He can grow into a big bruiser and Lucky will still fit (remember Lucky Luciano?).

[Brigid]

52. Obama!

:)

[ZombieHorde]

56. Snack. nt

[elehhhhna]

100. bait.

[Arugula Latte]

64. Some names I like:

Baxter (cute for a tuxie), Chester, Simon, Jinxy, Quincy, Skeeter, Seymour, Grover, Sherman, Bugsy, Pokey, Noodle, Stewart, Pudding

[nolabear]

65. Congrats! He looks like a doozy! WAIT A MINUTE...

Get the hint? It takes a village to raise a kitty, y'know.

[EndersDame]

67. Pixel, Nova,Cosmo,Tux, or Max

[aePrime]

78. Since Suzbaby's husband is a graphics programmer

It seems that Pixel would be appropriate!

[EndersDame]

81. I also believe that was the name of Robert Heinlien's (sp) cat

[TommyO]

82. Phoenix

rise like a phoenix from the ashes emerge renewed after apparent disaster or destruction

Phoenix is what my ex and I named our first "together" cat because he was found curled up in the sidelight of a front door during a snow storm. Later some of his fellow litter mates were found, unfortunately they didn't make it.

[debbierlus]

83. Smidgen?

He looks kind of smudged and a little smushed...so smidgen came to mind.

[GreenPartyVoter]

89. He sure does. But you watch. He'll grow up to be a beast someday. LOL

[GirlinContempt]

85. Gargamel

Mumm-Ra
Hordak
Zarkon
Igthorn
MonStar
Sour Grapes

[GirlinContempt]

95. I love this site for names

http://www.petnamesworld.com/search.php?tab=4.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0&f_gender=&f_boy=1&f_girl=1&f_both=1&f_containtype=contain&f_start=&f_lengthtype=&f_chars=&f_meaning=&f_land=Indian&f_showorigin=1&f_showmeaning=&f_submit=1&f_searchtype=advanced&pagenumber=1&qsearch=1&asearch=...&f_starstype=0&browseby=1

I had it bookmarked for Indian/Hindi names, but you can search with all different kinds of criteria... lots of great things to be found!

[Rosco T.]

66. Such an INTENSE look on his face... determined to be there...

Barack?

[XemaSab]

71. Did you find out how old he is?

:shrug:

[suzbaby]

73. Between 3 and 4 weeks (n/t)

[joeybee12]

75. If you think he's older than 2 weeks...and he must be since he wandered off by himself...

some water is best...he can go a short time without food...he'll be fine until the morning...keep him warm and safe...try some wet food like you have...he'll be ok til the morning.

[greenbriar]

90. I can't give advice without a picture

so ...

[stray cat]

91. Picture is posted in link in one of the posts under I think "Here he is"

[suzbaby]

93. BTW

He's feeling much better and we named him Oscar Milhouse.

Oscar because he's the little "orphan oscar" and Milhouse because his luck is changing now and as it was said on The Simpsons, "Everything's coming up Milhouse."

[nolabear]

96. Milhouse is a great name! Be funny if he ended up fierce.

[greenbriar]

97. HE is cute

I just LOVE little kitties

[WolverineDG]

98. I found a kitten about 4 wks old

many moons ago. Got yelled at by the vet until I told him I found her in the middle of the street & no sign of Mama Cat. (I looked) This was before you could buy kitten milk. I tried to give her regular milk & then cream, but she wouldn't have it. I thought she was too young for food, but desperate to keep her alive, I tried canned food. She was too little to reach over any of my cat food bowls, so I fed her on a paper towel on the floor. I was worried that my big male cat would freak out, but he had a strong Daddy Cat gene & took over the other duties (bathing, keeping warm, teaching her to use the potty box, etc; in short, he let her walk all over him & eventually steal his food ;) )

I took her to the vet the very next day & got yelled at, then told she might not survive the week. Took her back one week later & said "well, I must be doing something right; she's still here." And she was, until last year, 16 years later..... :cry:

Anyway, just wanted you to know not to worry, the kitten will get through this with TLC & lots of love from you. :)

Here's a pic of my street urchin (she's the one on top of the couch; she was always very small & people thought she was fat, but she was always very skinny...she just had very fluffy fur) :



dg

[driver8]

101. Great photo -- I love how the white and orange cat is checking things out. n/t

[WolverineDG]

104. Hee hee, he's my little attention whore

Always has to be the center of attention. ;)

dg

[Flaxbee]

103. we have an enormous male cat who ended up having a strong daddy cat gene, too.

I'd post a picture of him, but my cat website is down for a week or so.

But when MommaKitty brought us her three girls (we kept Momma and the babies), I was worried about Ivan (a 20 lb, all muscle tuxedo) hurting them. No need. He was protective, groomed MommaKitty when she was exhausted from nursing & general motherly duties, brought them a few dead bunnies (to my horror, but I understood what he was doing), and when two of the kittens climbed too high in a tree, he went up the tree and got them.

Loves me my Ivan! Here's to good dads of the feline variety! :toast:

[WolverineDG]

106. It's cute watching tiny kittens boss around big toms

;) He was so sweet to her. When he left us :cry:, I swear she went into mourning. Many years later, when I got another male cat (Mr Attention Whore in that pic btw), she glommed onto him like white on rice.

dg

[stray cat]

107. I love the name and am glad he is doing well - nice job!