Orphan Kittens With Housecats Help!

I have four house cats that are 100% indoors (never outside). Two are littermates raised by me from 6 weeks. They were weaning when their mother was killed. The other two were rescued at age 8 months and 12 months. They are now 18, 14 (littermates) and 6 years old.

A mother cat had kittens under my porch and then abandoned them. She delivered in a place that could not be accessed without tearing down the porch. Only two survived and crawled to a spot where I could get to them. They are 5 weeks old now. Low weight, bloody runny stool, etc.

I've cared for them for seven days now and they've gained about 1 1/2 ounce but are developmentally delayed - still can't walk well but they're eating really well.

Does anyone know about protecting the housecats from disease from the kittens. Kittens are in a closed off room, in a large rabbit cage that I converted to a nest for them.

Also, any advice on weaning these guys? They are starting to become active, playing with each other, playing with me. Still poo-ing in the next, lots of loose, bloody stool. Feeding KMR mixed with vet-bought pre-mixed mothers milk formula. They are starting to walk better...

Thanks.

Their mother must have been with them for a while if they survived to 5 weeks...
Anyway, without them seeinga vet, you can never know if it could spread to your cats, but for now, just keep them isolated from your own cats.
For weaning, get some wet food and try smudging a little on their faces to get the taste in their mouths- they'll still need milk for a while, but it's good to start transitioning them.
Good luck!!

Bloody stools???? I think they need to see the vet. They are in need of attention asap!!

Bloody stools means either parastic invasion or bacterial issues. Please take the survivors to a good vet as soon as possible, or all your hard work may just be in vain.

I should have mentioned that I took the kittens to a vet "hour one"... straight out from under the house, into a cat carrier, straight to the vet. I took them back to the vet on Day 3 about the loose stools and just got back from the vet just now on Day 8. I think my vet is probably tired of seeing them...

My vet sent de-wormer home and I just gave it to both. The female has started producing "normal"-ish stool and she leaves the nest the do it.

My vet says that since the bloody-stool kitten is very active, playful and eating well, then it's probably worms.

...Does anyone have any suggestions on how to encourage them to go to the litter pan?

...Also, any help on water? They still stumble when they walk and I'm afraid of putting even a shallow bowl in there - one may take a header into the bowl and get water up his nose; I got a hampster watter bottle. I've read that while they are still nursing water is not needed. Is that true?

...they've gained 3.5 ounces since Wednesday, I am strictly feeding on the KMR schedule. They chew on my fingers and are starting to get teeth. They show NO interest in lapping from a bowl or off my fingers. Any suggestions on weaning? They are 5 weeks old today. They spend hours trying to nurse on my hands and arms, they seem constantly starving.

...finally, the "adoptive" father of the male comes over to help with the evening feeding and the male seems to not like him. He freezes and "plays dead" whenever I hand him to anyone. The female loves anyone who will pick her up. Any suggestions on socialization?

Oh, any anyone that's still reading the post all the way to the end, THANKS! I'm am so concerned with saving these guys, it's pretty much taken over my life. So, anyone who can lend any advice, a sincere "thank you" from me and the kittens.

Oh, well in that case, you shouldn't worry too much. they should be starting to use the litter now, you can just put some non- clumping litter in a tiny tray or shoe-box to start and just put them in there every once and a while and maybe rub their paws in it a little- usually they'll try to eat it first, so don't be alarmed, just make sure it's non-clumping. After a while they'll get the hang of it!
For water and food, you can put it in front of them and smudge it on their faces, but they'll eventually have to do it themselves...
For socialization, the only thing I can suggest is spending lots of time with them, play with them, let them sleep on you, etc.
Good luck!!

Originally Posted by tigersdad70

My vet sent de-wormer home and I just gave it to both. The female has started producing "normal"-ish stool and she leaves the nest the do it.

....

...Does anyone have any suggestions on how to encourage them to go to the litter pan?

Click to expand...

I think here is the answer. their making mess in the nest is connected with them having diarrhea.
It is rather common. Cats having diarrhea arent always using the litter as they should.

Ie, in such cases, doing outside the litter is a diarrhea problem, not a behaviour problem. Solve the runny stool, and the behaviour problem will solve automatically itself.


So you already have someone who wants to adopt the boy?
A solution is perhaps to swich them. Let the girl be adopted by him, as she happily accepts anyone friendly person. And try to find a woman to adopt the shy boy.... It may get easier this way.


Tx a lot for your work, and good luck!

It is really important that not only you isolate the kittens away from your housecats, but that you completely disinfect after you leave the room they are in. I have fostered many times and had kittens in my house with URI's, parasites, etc..and its extremely important to protect your own cats and put their health first. You can get a bleach solution and put it in a squirt bottle for your hands, wear different clothes when you go in there and take them off before you leave, and keep a lot of hand sanitizer nearby (although this is not 100% and that is why I suggest the bleach solution). I know it sounds like a lot, but it is really important. Also, get those babies on a l-lysine regiment-half a pill crushed into some of their wet food-you can get the capsules where it is already powder at Whole Foods or the like. This will help boost their immunity. I would use a wet food that is very high quality, mixed with Royal Canin Baby Kat food-this food is really small kibble that babies seem to be able to eat. The wet food I use is California Natural, chicken and wild rice. You can also syringe feed them if they are not getting the hang of eating out of a bowl. Whether it's the KMR (which is a good idea) or the wet food, or a mixture of both, syringe it into their mouths (a great site for feeding amounts is http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html). Also make sure to have a scale to weigh them each day so you can see right away if they are losing weight. You can get a kitchen scale at bed bath and beyond for around $10.

I have heard that feeding raw is the best for diarrhea, but I am not educated about feeding raw. There are a number of great websites if you google though. Good luck!!! Thanks for saving these little guys.

Thanks to everyone who have responded with great suggestions! I really appreciate it.

I have been sanitizing; different clothing, hand sanitizer, bleach, etc. I wear latex gloves when I come out of the kittens room and head straight to the shower!... 4 or 5 times a day, my water bill is going to be HUGE. I finish with the clorox wipes on all of the door handles that I touch, gates, etc. I've been triple washing their nest betting with double bleach on the first 2 washes, then just detergent to make sure the bleach is washed out of the bedding material before going into the dryer.

I took my four housecats all to the vet on Monday to re-up their boosters as well just in case. But, the kittens have brought in fleas! First time any of my cats have had fleas... I'm going to Advantage them (not the kittens, too little) right now.

The de-wormer worked quickly on the kittens. They are both making normal non-bloody stools now. And they have gone 36 hours without soiling the nest. They haven't made it to the litter pan yet, but at least they are leaving the nest to "go".

Still no interest in any food offerings other than the bottle. I've mixed the Royal Can baby food with KMR and they have "bitten" at it off my finger, but turn away quickly. They shove spoons or saucers out of their way and don't even look at it.

They are spending a lot more time awake now. They're starting to wrestle with each other, chasing tails, rolling around, so I'm really pleased with their activity level.

My adult females, who have never had a litter, are spending time at the gate vocalizing at the kittens. The nest and play area are gated, so there's no chance of contact between the kittens and the housecats through the door-gate... they're always at least 4 feet away. The adults are making a purr-like meow and rolling over on their sides in the hallway in front of the gate. Is that a sign that want to interact with the kittens?

I would never allow contact until the kittens pass their FIV/FLK test and get their 8 week shots; but I really want to keep the female - I can't keep her unless my 18yo alpha-female accepts her. Should I take her behavior at the gate as a good sign? She has never forgiven me for taking in a 9 month old male about 6 years ago. While she accepts him now, he's always "on the outs". The other two housecats look to her for behavior cues, so they don't interact with the other male very much either. When the three pile-up together, he's not invited. He can sit on the same furniture, but can't join the "ball-o-cat" pile. I don't want to take in the female kitten unless she's "invited".

It sounds like you are doing everything right; I know its a lot of work but you are doing great! I think that as long as the kittens stay in isolation for 2-3 weeks, and all of their symptoms clear up, you can start to let them be around your own cats with supervision. I have had fosters who are perfectly healthy who are allowed to be around my cats as long as their have been in quarantine and I have made sure that they are not showing signs of parasites, URI's, UTI's, anything...pretty much anything else would have to be transmitted through blood, and most of the time supervised cats won't draw blood when interacting. You would still treat the introduction like any cat being introduced in your house, which is sounds like you are already doing. Let them smell each other without actually being able to touch/see each other, switch and let the kitten be in main part of the house while the other cats are put away so that her smell gets in their territory. Then do small intro periods where the kitten is out with them 15 minutes at a time to spark their interest but not oversaturate them with "kittentude". Work up to full days together, and then full nights. Its nice when you foster, because you can kind of do a foster to adopt situation; see how the kitten takes to your family and if it isn't a good fit, you can find the perfect forever home elsewhere.

Once again, thank you so much for taking these cuties in.

Normally the mama cat would still be licking the kittens to make them go... I have 2 kittens that turned 6 weeks old yesterday. They have only been eating and going poo on there own for about week now and they didnt go until they ate a little watered kitten chow.. I kept a little shoe box lid with just a little litter in it by the kitty bed as soon as they started walking and also little plastic lid with water for them.. and then i added just a couple nibbles at a time.. now a week later they are jumping into the big cat litter box and the big cats are eating the kitten chow..