Why do these things happen to me?!?

I found a litter of kittens. They were nestled up next to an empty house, and started mewling at me when I walked by. I don't know if their mother is feral or if the former residents left their pet when they moved. I didn't see her anywhere. Either way, I felt it was best to take them now, because I know that if I left them, they'd either be killed or grow up feral. I think they're around 3-4 weeks old. Their ears are up, eyes are open, and they wobble around fairly well.

I'm going to try them on mashed canned food mixed with evaporated milk, but I don't know if they're old enough to eat that yet. If not, I need help! I've never raised kittens not old enough to eat solids. I've raised lots of 4-5 week old babies (on canned food and evaporated milk mush), but I've never bottle-fed.

If they do need formula, is it better to make my own "kitten glop" from the recipes I find online, or is the formula they have at Wal-Mart better? I can't get any KMR for a few days at least and I don't know if the cheap stuff is better than homemade or not.

It happens to you becomes you care about them .
It sounds like they may need to be bottlefed a bit. What brand is the Wal-Mart stuff? I've never made kitten-glop, but I think it works fairly well. You'll probably have to get a kitten bottle or eye dropped to feed them with, and you may have to help them go to the bathroom with a warm cloth.
Thanks for helping these guys!

My daughter has raised 3 healthy orphans recently. She used KMR in the bottle that comes with it. It is cheaper to get the powered and mix it up. I would use filtered water.

It was very hard for the KMR to come out of the nipple so she cut an "x" in the nipple and tested putting a bit of pressure on it. The kittens took to it right away.

Check out the thread of AandA'sMommy here. There is alot of information. She is raising a baby also.

And you have a good heart. That is why it always happens to you. Just like me and lots of others here on the forum!!

Keep us posted and we will try to help and give you support during this stressful time. Take it easy. Remember cats have kittens in cold barns and they grow up. Your babies are in much better hands, yours.

The formula from Wal-Mart is Hartz brand. I know that Hartz in general isn't great but maybe their formula is OK.

They ate some canned food mush. But they wanted to suck on something, so I did buy some kitten bottles and powdered formula. One of them took some formula from the bottle but the other 2 didn't. I got a little bit into them with an eyedropper, but they didn't want it. Maybe it tastes bad. I wonder if homemade formula tastes better. They're sleeping now so I guess they got enough.

I feel sort of bad about taking them from their mama but I couldn't just leave them there. And, yeah, I know kittens grow up in all kinds of bad situations but at least they have their mamas. Nothing a human can do is as good as how their mamas take care of them. I lost 2 from the last litter I raised so I'm kind of gubshy now.

Originally Posted by Willowy

I feel sort of bad about taking them from their mama but I couldn't just leave them there. And, yeah, I know kittens grow up in all kinds of bad situations but at least they have their mamas. Nothing a human can do is as good as how their mamas take care of them. I lost 2 from the last litter I raised so I'm kind of gubshy now.

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Trust me, your doing them a favor in the long run- if you didn't take them they'd be living a wild life, and the female(s) would spend their whole lives pregnant or nursing kittens. And since you're experienced, they have a very good chance of growing up normally.

Walmart carries JustBorn, right? I have seen it at the one nearby. That should be fine. Yeah -they likely need a bottle for a week or so... and may be a bit longer ...but I am not the expert on here.