Just a few hours old.....

chadsgirl374

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Hi there
It's been a rather long time since I've posted here - I actually have not had to. Tonight is a different story.....

I went to class tonight and DBF was standing in the yard holding something tiny in his hands. He was out feeding our cats and I thought he was playing with something with them. I was wrong - he was out calling one of our cats, Mango, to come to dinner, when he heard a small cry - kind of like Mango cries. There was no sign of Mango, but he found a placenta sack on the ground tangled up in some grass, inside was a tiny kitten. He had to get scissors to get her untangled from the grass. That is perhaps why, she was left there.

We knew she had to eat so we went to PetSmart and bought some kitten milk for her and the tiny bottles. She's real hungry and she doesn't know how to drink from the bottle. She will drink if we put a small drop in our hand, but the bottle isn't working for her. We are both wearing this milk substance all over us - the drop in the hand is working for her, but not us. I don't speak kitty, so I don't know how to teach her to use the bottle. How do I get her turned on to her bottle?

She's constantly hungry and at the rate she's eating, we will be literally feeding her all day long. That's great, but I have a major Chemistry exam Thurs. night and can't take her to class with me. He's got work and can't take her with him - plus he's a mechanic and his hands get awful greasy.

I used a moist, slightly warm cloth to try to get her to go to the bathroom and nothing. How long after she eats should I try to stimulate her to go?
 

levi68

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Do you think that one of your cats gave birth? Or a random cat gave birth? Ideally, it would be best to find the mom.
As for getting her on the bottle... make sure the hole in the nipple is big enough. It's easy to accidently drown a kitten this young so don't make it too big. She has to work for it but ...
If still no luck, you can try a syringe. (without the needle attached of course)
I personally like syringes better. Start by put a drop in it's mouth and it will suck automatically, you should not have to push the plunger...let the kitten suck it in. Be careful to keep kitten upright and be careful not to push plunger or kitten will inhale the formula and could die. It is a TON of work to feed a newborn kitten. You also need to invest in a kitchen scale to weigh kitten every day. They fade fast. Your looking at feeding it every one to two hours for the first week or two and then every 2 to 3 hours til about 3 weeks.
The kitten can NOT generate it's own heat and will need a heat source. A water bottle with heated water wrapped in a pillowcase perhaps.
 
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chadsgirl374

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Well, she was fed at 1am this morning and then I had to go to bed. We have another cat, Sunny who is like having 3 cats really. We put baby girl in a box with a heating pad on low heat. I covered it with a towel. I made a little nestling spot for her and she was nice and cozy. She slept until 6am this morning and then starting crying for food.

DBF has huge hands and was holding her and feeding her while I fixed his breakfast. He was able to get her to take the bottle and she did a little pee-pee when stimulated to do so. I held her in my bra to make sure she was warm and cozy.

At 7:30, I went to feed my cats (I have ferals that I have had since kittens), they are all spayed/neutered/vaccinated/healthy. Mama cat was out there. I fed her and as she was going back to her kittens, I took little one and put her where Mama could see her. As soon as I did, little one started crying. When Mama heard her cry, she ran over and carried her to where she is keeping her kittens.

She's a good Mama
. We have to get her fixed right after she's done nursing this fresh batch of kittens. We have to round all of them up, we have 5 from a previous birth. They are all happy and healthy and a handful! They get along well with our other cats. We live on 7.5 acres and they are perfectly safe and loved here. I'm just glad Mama took to her kitten. I'm sure that the only reason she was left behind was because she was entangled in the grass and the placenta sack. I don't think Mama knew she was there, or there was a rush to get back to her other new kittens. She's a real good Mama and even tried to mother our other cats (all over 5 yrs old.)! It's a happy ending to our story
Thanks for all of the help. The link was very interesting and informative.
 

levi68

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Thank goodness! Mama cats do such a better job than we ever could !
 

milu

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Oh, that's such wonderful news
I'm so glad for the little one and for you. Now you can focus on your exam
 
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