Little Kitten Big Problem!

I'd like to appologize for what is going to be a pretty long post. 3 days ago while I was at work We cam across a little kitten in the bathroom that someone had brought it without anyone noticeing and left there she's a cute little thing and accually was pretty tame. So I put her in a box and brought her home with me. she's pretty under weight and a little dehydrated but other wise pretty healthy I had a close friend of mine ( she's a vet tech with only one class away from being a full flegged vet) look her over pretty good and the only thing we can tell is wrong so far is she has worms I have an appoint to see the vet in a few days I couldn't get in any sooner. she's 8-10 weeks old I followed all instruction that the vet gave me over the phone when I called for an appointment so far so good she likes to be held and purrs almost instantly when she's touched and is eating well she won't drink and water just yet but i do have some kitten formula that she's been drinking and i'm adding some water to it and her kitten food hoping in the next few days i could eliminate the milk all togeather. At night I keep her in a box so I can hear her and she's seemed to be just fine. this morning I woke up to a missing kitty. she couldn't get out of the box yesterday but must have figured it out over night. We searched my house from top to bottom and finally found her in a crawlspace like hole in my basement (no idea how she got there ) there is only one way in and one way out through this square cut in the wall about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide no one can fit in there to get her out with all the pipes and insulation thats in there (it's a very old house with some new additions made to it by it's previouse owners so the only thing I can think of that this hole was for is the water lines for our kitchen sink and I plan to cover it as soon as I get her out from this type of thing happening again) but for now I'm stuck she just won't come out on her own ( i've tried food milk treats, and toys I even went so far as to send my other cat in to see if maybe she would follow her back out unfortunatly she didn't and my cat as wonderful as she is doesn't understand to pick her up and carry her out) so now i'm stuck and am just out of ideas I know that she's scared but it gets really cold under there at night and if it rains it does get pretty wet I'm terrified that this little kitten is going to get sick or worse from being under there. I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have any ideas? anything at all would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Welcome. I think your little one is just a little frightened. I think if you leave some food out and talk to him ,he'll come out it time. I think you just have to be patient.

I did leave some food out and she ate when no one was watching ( my basements quite dusy and my allergies can't take it for long in truth i very rarly go down there at all lol ) I guess i'm over reacting but since finding her I've gotten very attached pretty quick lol as i do with most animals and now that we've decided to keep her i think i'm just afraid something horrible is going to happen.

i know what its like to get attached to a kitten quickly. i saw my Monster for the first time about a day or two before i got him & until he was in my house he was all i thought about i was very attached. Anyway, i dont really know what else you can do.. Do u know any kids that are small enough to get back there? i would probably call the fire dept or something. i kno it seems dumb to call the fire dept cuz a kitten is stuck somewhere, but it could help.

I don't know your work schedule or your financial situation, but if you can afford zyrtec, go get some. I am horribly allergic to everything, including cats, and zyrtec works for me. That will help you manage being down in the basement for a while, which is the only way to get her - be there when she comes out.

Make sure you've got a chair and a book, because you may be there a while. But when it's been a few hours since she ate anything, put stinky food out. Tuna or herring - something really smelly to help draw her out (just in case she doesn't like either, put whatever you've been feeding her out).

And then sit quietly and wait - if possible, out of sight of the hole, but near enough to nab her when she comes out. If it were me, I'd have a carrier or box (that you can close) ready to put her in, just in case she's so scared she struggles to flee (it can be hard to hold on to a kitten that doesn't want to be held!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

In the meantime, I'd work on "kitten proofing" your house!

....and if that doesn't work, the "prey" drive is so strong in cats, if you've got a friend with a hamster or gerbil or mouse, borrow the pet and cage for a day and do the same thing, but with the rodent in a cage, not food.

Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to be down there. Unless you want to borrow a trap from a vet or shelter and make sure it's set light enough to trip for a little kitten.

Quick story. We had five cats, and rescued the last one, Ming Loy, from being euthanized (she was rescued by garbage men with her sister and taken to the county pound - but they both had cerebellar hypoplasia (scarring of the brain) which makes them shake and they're handicapped physically). We purchased and put up those play pen confining fence thingies? It contained her for about three hours. She could climb - and we were so worried about her hurting herself at first while we were asleep (like climbing a cat tree and then falling off of it) that we confined her to our guest room when we slept (filled it with cat beds, toys, litter boxes, food water, etc.). She always used to hide underneath the cedar chest. We'd open the door and say "Where's Ming Loy?" And we'd hear these thunks under the chest as she worked her way out, and she'd come running. When we had the house completely safe for her and we were sure none of our other cats were going to hurt her while we were asleep (foam rubber and pillows on all corners of walls and furniture, pillows surrounding all cat trees, foam rubber at the bottom of the stairs, etc.) we stopped confining her to the guest room at night. We called to her - Ming Loy! And she ignored us. After a couple of hours I finally thought - and then said "Where's Ming Loy?" And she came running! She thought her name was "Where's Ming Loy?" It took a couple of days to get her to recognize her name.



Laurie

We had something like taht happen before only it was a pipe and we had to take the sink apart. I hope she comes out soon.

Thankfully after worrying all day I managed to get my little girl. It's been a few years since I've had a kitten in the house and forgot just how mischievous they can be. After so many attempts throughout the day by me and my family and nothing working I eventually decided that trying to catch her in our hands just wasn't going to happen. So around 10pm I finally came up with a idea after running to the store and getting some Claritin for my wonderful allergies I pulled a really long small rope through the back of a cat carrier and tied it to the inside of the carriers door on the other side I set the carrier inside the hole as far as I could get it and stick some canned kitten food way in the back of the carrier I sat as far away from the hole as I could and still be able to see the carriers opening wrapped myself up in a blanket with a book fully prepared to wait all night if I had to and just waited my book in one hand and the end of the rope in the other eventually around
3am her tummy got the best of her and she tried to sneak into the carrier and as soon as her little tail slipped all the way in I pulled the rope and the carrier door closed after getting her upstairs I boardered up that horrible hole as best as can be done since our water pipes are running through the opening. I gave her a nice big bowl of milk (kitten formula) and the rest of her food she didn't get a chance to Finnish and gave her a good looking over. Except for being dirty and in need of a bath which we'll get to first thing tomorrow morning she looks just fine. And right now is laying on my lap looking at me as if nothing happened LOL and she has no clue why I was so worked up over the whole thing. Thank you all for the advice and the stories i really appreciate it
and just a little note I've decided to name her Bell since I found her in the bathroom of Taco Bell ( where I work ) I wish I could show you a picture but I can seem to figure out how to post one.

I'm so glad you got her!

Aren't they amazing - that "what's the big deal?" attitude!

Laurie

There she is a little dirty from the whole deal but still just adorable.