Abandoned cat help

[sullenfire]

Last night we discovered an abandoned cat in our attic of our shop. We think that the mother cat was moving the kittens either into the shop or out, and was attacked in route as this was the only kitten we found up there. We brought him in because he was crying hysterically and it gets pretty cold out here at night and we didn't want him to freeze. Since it was so late, there was no way I could run to the store to get a supplement, however, we did this morning as well as a nursing bottle.

I was able to get him to eat some evaporated milk last night. Not a whole lot at one sitting, but some. I think I was able to get at most 3mL at once. We have him in a warmed crate with a stuffed animal. Ive also been attempting to stimulate him to go potty, which he has urinated once, but has not went poo yet. He doesnt seem to be taking the bottle very well. He doesnt seem to like it. He did better with the dropper we used last night, but I felt like I was forcing the food down him.

Today, Ive been able to get in two feeds. The first he drank at most 5mL and the second feeding, maybe 2mL. He seems satisfied with his feedings, but it doesnt seem like much based on the back of the box of supplement. He does however clean himself after feedings and then begins licking my arm, snuggles up and goes to sleep.

Im assuming the kitten is 2 weeks old. He doesnt walk very well, but attempts to. Hes very tiny and seems alittle under weight, but otherwise happy. His eyes are open.

I really want to give this kitten the best chance possible. When i was younger, something similar happened to one of my cats after it had kittens, and we tried to care for them, but they both passed away a day or two later. I would hate to see this happen to this kitten.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Ondine]

If he's cleaning himself, he's probably a little older than 2 weeks. If you can post a picture, that will help.

Keep offering him the bottle but don't worry how he eats as long as he gets something in him.

You may have to stimulate him to help him poop. Mom would lick his bottom and help him go. A warm wet washcloth works fine.

You might try mixing the supplement with some wet kitten food - make a slurry and see if he eats that. Warning - it will be messy!

Thanks for helping him.

[skewch]

It's always inspiring to see posts like this. I feel that when one person helps even one baby, you're saving a life and giving the baby a chance in live and love.

Keep up the good work, do some research on rescue kittens and possibly go buy a kitchen scale to see where the baby's at in terms of weight. It will give you an idea of how old it is too.

Keep us posted too. We love pics here hint, hint!

[StefanZ]

You seems to do everything along the manual, by pure instinct, I guess??


If you can weight him every day at the same time, you will see if he gains weight or any other changes...

A good link is www.kitten-rescue.com our veteran forumist Hissy is the one behind it.


Tx for helping this little one!


Good luck!

[snosrap5]

The amount he is eating is good. He should eat every 3 to four hours. As far as poo goes they normally only go once a day or even every other day.

Just make sure you make him pee either before or after each feeding.

If you can, buy a cheap kitchen scale to check his weight. Weigh him every day at the same time each day. I did my weigh in with my orphan boy at night. Less squirming around. Mornings were too hard to get him to hold still for a proper weight.

[sullenfire]

I just wanted to thank everyone for your help.

So far, the kitten seems to be doing very well. A lot better than I thought he was going to do (I honestly didn't think he would make it the first night). Last night he ate more than he had in previous feedings. He seems to somewhat be getting the hang of bottle feeding. I did find a stuffed animal that belongs to my son that he didn't want any more that the kitten has taken a liking to. If I do his feedings while he clings to it, he seems to do very well. Still haven't gotten a poo out of him yet, but the night we found him he did poo by himself. But, he is peeing after each feeding.

I know I have a scale around here somewhere that I'm trying to locate, and once I find it I will be weighing him. I'll post pictures sometime today with his weight to try to get some idea of his age, but i think he's rather small for his age.

Also, I was reading the recipe for kitten glop and it mentioned if you were using a commercial kitten supplement you can add about 1 teaspoon of full fat yogurt to it in the morning feeding. Would this be wise to do to help plump him up? Hes pretty skinny. I can feel his rib cage and spine still.