two week old kittens

i actually thought these were rats with all the noise they were making for days and days. lo' and behold to my surprise they were cuties. i can't leave them in the cold where they were and wait for mom to come back...i just can't. they are in a warm blanket and all snuggly and quiet together now but they need to get fed and i am ill equipped for the task.

please help!

i dabbed some water around their mouths to stave off dehydration but i am afraid it's too little too late. if i can save them i will, and i will keep them. i have no pets and live alone.

***CORRECTION*** These babies were only a few days old when I made this thread.

There is a wonderful site for this,

www.kitten-rescue.com, for helping orphaned kittens.

You will need mother substitute milk for cats, kmr.  There are several brands. The brand KMR is one of the better.

And something to give it with...

Well sorted pet shops should have all this. Otherwise, many vets do also sell this.

If you can get goat milk, you can use this too...

No chance you can get in their mom?   We HAD examples here of ferale moms who voluntarily went into "captivity", so they could proceed to nurse their kittens.

Good luck!   *vibes*

thank you!

hey Stef, thank you for replying.

i took these babies and wrapped them in kashmir blanket and put a little heating pad underneath on low heat and now they have gone to sleep and act just fine. mom dropped them on a slab of cold concrete out back, i guess they've been there ever since but she apparently returned to feed them. maybe i jumped the gun? i don't know...

maybe i should just take the whole basket and blanket and it put it back where they were so mom can come back and feed them. jeeze, these animals have been surviving for millions of years without my help. am i interfering with mom? i really hate that...i don't know.

there are plenty of stray cats around here and i don't own any pets, and i live alone. i can take care of them with a little help. what they need now is nourishment but it's like 2 AM and the pet store is closed.

lol, i want these babies to thrive and i will stay up all night if that's what it takes I just can't afford the whole emergency vet hospital thing.

these babies are doing fine. i used a small straw to put some sugar water (just a few granules) in their mouths so they don't dehydrate until i can get to the store to buy some real infant nourishment for them. i found some excellent recipes for substitute kitty milk on the web. these are my kitty's now and i take full responsibility. i'm calling them Moe, Curley and Larry until i can figure out what sex they are.

kitties are awesome

oh crap said:

 I just can't afford the whole emergency vet hospital thing.

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Oh, emergency vet hospitals doesnt usually do such things anyway.  They are good at helping with emergencies, but taking care of them you must do. Or find someone else who is willing.  Common vets in privat practics do it sometimes, it may be worth asking. But not evmergency vets.

Do you have rescue groups nearby?  Or other cat helpers?  THEY do perhaps have some kmr-milk.  AND they will not be too angry with if phone them in the middle of night.

They do perhaps even have some lactacing female, who perhaps can help them?  Or at least a friendly female or male, who can help you with the nursing itself, like washing, helping them go bathroom, and such.

Or if you do have a breeder nearby. A breeder wont lend you hers animals. They are afraid of contagions. But they can probably lend you cat milk, accesories, give advice...  Many breeders do help homeless cats too, as long as they dont risk contagions.

So far had you done very well, but you must follow up with something more substantial.

Excellent you are thinking about warmth, but be careful, too much warm isnt not good either.

Tx a lot, in the name of Cat.

Good luck!  *vibes*

I called the ASPCA and they want me to donate for each kitten to help and I can't afford that. They recommend that I call the animal shelter and I know what they will do. I just put them back where I found them for a few hours hoping mom would come back and feed them but she never did, and it is too cold out there to just leave them. I'm afraid I am stuck doing the best I can on my own with few resources. I put together a concoction of evaporated milk, egg whites and diluted it with water and force-fed them with an eye dropper. they don't like it at all.

And it seems they are much younger than two weeks, possibly only a few days old. But all in all they seem to be responding well, they are a group of little fighters. I'm also getting a little angry because my neighbor is a cat hoarder and he is responsible for this, but that is another story.

Thank you for your help

Oh yea, it seems it my frantic haste to find help I made a really stupid user name. The admins have contacted me about changing it and that should be done soon. My apologies to all for the dumb name.

Really bad pics using my webcam. There are two white ones, almost identical, and a black one. The black one is the largest and seems the most hardy at this point.

Thought I would give a little progress update here on Day 3: they seem to be doing quite well. The first day was rough as they did not like the formula or the eye dropper feeding method, and I'm obviously not experienced with this sort of thing. Yesterday was a little easier after I spent some time researching methods of care and what to expect. The largest one is eating fine, actually sort of sucking at the tube. The middle one is about the same. But the small one had me worried as it never seemed to swallow anything no matter what I tried, so I focused on her and just tried to make sure she got a little something every couple hours.

This morning the feeding went very well, they all took what I believe to be the right amount of formula for their weight and feeding interval - about 5cc every 4 hours. I know they are digesting the food as there are droppings in the box, and they are quite lively, I even had to put them in a larger basket because one crawled out and tried roaming around. Their voices also seem to be getting better as they are definitely louder and sound more like a meow than the noise they were making. All indications are that these kittens are right about one week old.

Here's the little one



She urinated in my hand as I held her for the pic. Another good sign.

And the big guy



I'll give another update next week, and hopefully learn how to take a decent picture

OH MY goodness!!!! First off, BLESS you sweetie for saving these little kittens . You are a saint :heart3:. OH MY are they just the most precious little furbabies EVER :love::love::love: Moe, Curly and Larry :lol3: You are doing a great job with them and I will pray hard that they continue to thrive, grow and stay healthy :cross: If you have more questions about kitten care - go to the "Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care Forum" and post a thread asking for advice :nod: Please let us know how they are doing

And, I am sad to hear about your "cat hoarding" neighbor. If you really think it is a serious problem and the cat's are unhealthy, uncared for and living in filth - then I would see about "quietly" making some calls to animal control or the ASPCA to see if how to find out if this neighbor is out-of-control....... Sad situation, and I fear you might find more kittens, if that is the case

zeety, I think it's fantastic what you are doing with these tiny newborns. Sounds like they were abandoned by their mother, but I cannot figure out why as they appear to be healthy. I'm glad you are researching as to what their needs are. I hope all 3 continue to thrive and I hope you will keep us updated.

Aw look at the little loves! :heart3:

I'm so glad Stefan posted http://www.kitten-rescue.com, because it is just a FABULOUS resource!

And those babies must have just been a few days old when you rescued them!

Please keep us posted!

Thanks guys! I'm so glad this and the other sites are here with info and support for these situations. Primula, I did put them back for a while to see if their mother would return but she never did. As I said, where she left them was on a cold slab of concrete and the temp outside was getting too close to freezing. She may have only left them there temporarily, intending to move them to a better place later but I had to decide and I chose not to take a chance. There are also other feral cats and racoons around who these would make a nice meal for.

I don't take removing babies from their mom this early lightly and I would have avoided it if I thought I could without too much risk. For what it's worth I plan to keep them permanently as indoor cats unless I can find a good home for one or two later on. I wasn't positive what I did was the right thing at first, but I know now I am contributing some good because these cats will not die and they won't be strays who suffer needlessly by getting run over or something. And they certainly won't be making any unwanted babies in the future. Also, I have no other pets and live alone so they are helping me just as much as I'm helping them.

zeety said:

 I know now I am contributing some good .... Also, I ... live alone so they are helping me just as much as I'm helping them.

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I believe both your statements are very true...   .

Its important. In many situations we humas do misuse the nature, animals, other people.  But our rescuing homeless cats, or being very friendly with our residents, is our chance to prove we humans CAN be very friendly with others. We CAN give without immediately getting payed back...

Helping the homeless is also nice, gives us a sense of meaningsful life...

Cats and we are also an example of  real symbiosis, in this words biological meaning

Our cats do shamelessly use us. Look at so many of our forumists who gladely describe themselves as  "Servant of my cats".. Or  "Humble First cat food opener".  It only to meow for the cat, and Mom or Dad is running!        

But we are getting so much back. The cats giving their friendships. Not because they must, but because they choose to do it.

Lying between the Dads knees lessen rheumatic pains. Lying on Moms stomach lessens the monthly pains...

Sleeping on Ma or Pa gives so a wonderful relaxation and nice, deep sleep..

Stroking the warm, friendly fur is very nice feeling...   And the cat is doing so voluntarily. when they dont want to be petted they do go away.

zeety said:

I don't take removing babies from their mom this early lightly and I would have avoided it if I thought I could without too much risk.

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zeety, did you think I was criticizing you for removing them from the doorstep? Because that was not what I meant at all. My point was I could not figure out why their mother abandoned them. Rather odd I think.

You totally did the right thing and continue to do so. Has someone told you that you have to stimulate them to pee and poop? Because their mother does it for them for a few weeks until they learn to do it themselves. And to wipe them gently with a warm washcloth, otherwise they won't know that they have to clean themselves?

I am looking forward to this continuing saga. 

Primula said:

zeety, did you think I was criticizing you for removing them from the doorstep? Because that was not what I meant at all. My point was I could not figure out why their mother abandoned them. Rather odd I think.

You totally did the right thing and continue to do so. Has someone told you that you have to stimulate them to pee and poop? Because their mother does it for them for a few weeks until they learn to do it themselves. And to wipe them gently with a warm washcloth, otherwise they won't know that they have to clean themselves?

I am looking forward to this continuing saga. 

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No, I think I was criticizing myself because the enormity of this responsibility is sinking in and I just needed to state clearly the reasons I did it. They are getting quite LOUD now even after having been fed and it is because they need their mom. Regardless of how well I take care of them there is just no replacement for their mother. I can't help but feel bad for them. At the same time I can't allow that to cloud my judgment because the fact is they were homeless cats, and probably would have died had I not intervened.

I use a warm, moist cotton swab to stimulate digestion after eating and that is working well. The problem is that their tales are soaked with urine, and while feeding the formula dribbles down their neck so that much of their coat is sticky. I'm going to try a toothbrush with loose bristles to see if that will simulate a cat's tongue sort of combing the fur. I'm a little afraid of using too much water though because I don't want them getting cold. I wonder if I could use a blow dryer on low setting to dry them off after a good moist rubbing?

I noticed during this morning's feeding all their umbilical cords fell off last night. I'll be expecting their eyes to open in two or three more days.

Oh boy! I went thru 2 orphaned litters and in hind site, was glad that my first experience was when they were 20 days old (the second litter was orphaned at 10 days old).

The kitten rescue link is wonderful. Keep reading thru that for ideas.

The most difficult part of taking care of mine was keeping them clean. I'd throw a towel in the dryer before bath time to have a warm one handy. I filled a large bowl with very warm water and a wash cloth. I'd clean them with the cloth (wring out as much water as you can) and once clean, wrap them in the warmed towel.

My routine was this: After feeding them, I'd stimulate them to go with a cotton ball (when younger) or Charmin TP (when a little older and they had a higher volume). Then I would give them their bath and wrap them in a towel. Just like a baby, you do want to try to get them to burp, and most of the time the stimulation from the bath got them to do it. If the bath didn't do it, I kept stroking them while wrapped in the towel. It was the stimulation to their torsos that seemed to work the best on mine.

And when you get up round the clock to feed them right now, realize that feeding times get further and further apart as they get older. You only have a few weeks of getting up in the middle of the night.

I'm in the KC area also (west side). Send me a private message if you want to chat about it. Sometimes its easier to talk it thru.

BTW, kittens typically open their eyes about 10 days old. If they aren't open yet, you probably found them when they were a week old.

Feralvr said:

And, I am sad to hear about your "cat hoarding" neighbor. If you really think it is a serious problem and the cat's are unhealthy, uncared for and living in filth - then I would see about "quietly" making some calls to animal control or the ASPCA to see if how to find out if this neighbor is out-of-control....... Sad situation, and I fear you might find more kittens, if that is the case

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Depending on what area you live in, I may have some contacts to help you. There are some shelters you DO NOT want to call.

I'm sorry to say the smaller white one in the pic above died this morning. I did my best for him but he never would eat anywhere near as much as the other two, who I believe will make it.

Thank you to everyone of you for offering your advice, help and encouragement. These babies would have no chance at all without you!