I JUST TOOK IN A STRAY KITTEN....I NEED HELP!!

Hi! 

i recently took in a kitten who was abandoned by her mother....='(  she is a sweet heart and is great. I have had cats before but not this young...she is at least a week and a half or older because her eyes are open...but when she wakes up she cant open her eyes. I recently bought a eye rinse for mucus build up and crusty eyes...but idk if i should continue to use it or switch to something that is gentler. Im very concerned, because she is soo skinny! i can feel her bones and that scares me..i just want her to be healthy and comfortable...how do i get her to gain more weight? and i am feeding her PetAg kitten replacement milk....i just need lots of help!!! Thanks!!!!

two good sites are www.kitten-rescue.com, another is the fabcats site http://www.fabcats.org/owners/kittens/handrearing.html.

if you want something milder to clean the eyes with, you can try with saline water.

1 teaspoon of common kitchen salt in a litre water, boil up, let cool down to body temp...

they use it in hospitals, so it is no hokus pokus...

I hope the eye crustads are not coloured or smelly or something, no pus.  If so you must contact a vet immediately

Welcome to our TCS site and our Forums!

Tx a lot for caring!

Good luck!   *vibes*
 

ps I shall ask a mod move this tread to the Pregnant and kitten forum.  

but she is a stray kitten

but thank you!! ur info was very helpful! xD

VickyLovesCats said:

but she is a stray kitten

Click to expand...

Doesnt matter much. She is a little kitten above all.  

Your difficulties wouldnt not be with fostering her, your difficulties will be with taking care of her and make her thriwing.  When you are done, she will be fostered too....  EVEN if she were born out of ferale parents.

ps.  Do also weigh her every day.  As long as she gains every day more than some few grammes, you knew most things is OK.  If she dont gain, or even drops, sound the alarm bell.

Use a cheap kitchen scale, graded in grammes, or 1/10 ounces.

Good luck!

What country are you in?  In the UK Cimicat would be the normal cat replacement milk, and in the US KMR.

In either case you have to make it up very carefully - to strong or too weak are both bad for her.  You also have to feed very carefully with the kitten in the right position so minimise the chances of it going down the wrong way.

You will need to consult your vet in a couple of weeks about worming your kitten, and do check to see if there are any fleas - they need dealing with as well.  Your kitten needs feeding every 2 hours night and day at present, and you need to toilet her before & after each feed.

StefanZ gave you two great links about hand-rearing, this is a third:

http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

His tip about weighing is very important as well.