Hi! I'm new and need advice

Hi There!

I'm Sylvie and really need your help, for about 3 weeks my mum has been feeding a stray cat that turned up in her garden looking very hungry. After a week or so we thought she may be pregnant, but this week she turned up with 4 (very beautiful) kittens. We estimate that they are about 4 weeks old, she had them hidden in the hedge in mums garden. We left them alone, not wanting to intervene, hoping that they would come out when they were old enough and hungry enough. Anyway the point is the mother has disappeared! We asked around and it seems that someone may have picked her up knowing she was a stray but not knowing that she has the kittens. We don't know what to do! We have taken the kittens out of the hedge (not sure if this was the right thing to do???) and we have fed them. They are eating ok but are really worried that they still need mum. Do they still need milk? If so what sort, how often etc...????

Sorry bombarding you with questions so soon! I'd be grateful for any advice.

Sylv

If mom is nowhere to be found, you did the right thing by taking them in. Without mom, they can't defend themselves against anything. At 4 weeks old, they can eat soft foods, so they should be okay. I would go to a pet store or vet and buy some milk replacer. It has everything they need vs standard milk. You can mix the milk replacer with some wet food to get them used to the taste and texture. If they aren't going to the bathroom on thier own, you need to take a soft damp cloth and rub thier bums to get them to go. If this is the case, you can do it either before or after they eat just to make it a routine. If mom is still around somewhere, she will show up in your yard looking for them.

Hi Slyv-

First of all welcome to the board! Second of all if the kittens are under 6 weeks of age, they need Kitten Milk Replacement, not regular milk, cream or goat's milk. The formula you need is called KMR and here in the states you can get it at grocery stores or pet supply stores. Depending on the age of the kittens, they need to be fed every 2 hours around the clock. If your guesstimate is right, at four weeks of age kittens are still nursing, but they are starting to sample Mom's solid food as well. You can try mixing some KMR with some tinned food and see if they eat. Royal Canin makes an excellent dry food just for kitties tiny mouths called BabyKat 34. If you can find that, this will help them in their growth. You want to feed small amounts about 6 times a day- again depending on age.

My suggestion is to ring the vet and make an appointment and take them in. They could have parasites, or fleas and your vet would be the one to determine the health of the kittens for you, and sex them as well.

Good luck and thank you for rescuing these tiny ones. I am sorry to hear about the mother, and hope she was rescued for her benefit and won't be destroyed.

Thank you so much for your replies, I am going out now hoping to find a shop open that sells kitten formula (shops around here don't open on Sundays much!) They all seem healthy looking and very feisty, but also very frightend. They are urinating by themselves so that's not a problem, but a visit to the vet is called for I think. I'll keep you updated (I think I may have one myself! )

Sylv

Hello Again!

Well mum is back! thank goodness! Only problem is now we have her kittens and she won't come to us! We have them in a basket (the type you use to take your cat to the vet) she can see them but won't leave the hedge, she is calling them and they are calling her. It's quite distressing, she wants her babies back and as much as we want her to have them we are reluctant to release them into the wild again. We are trying to catch her but I think we are just upsetting her more, she must of been wild for a long time. What shall we do???

Sylv