Tiny Stray Kitten is Very Hurt! Please Help!

Hi there,

My boyfriend found a stray kitten on the side of the road when he was at work. He is a delivery driver and it was trying to cross the road. It can't open it's eye because they are covered in black stuff that is hardened. I think it might be dirt and scabs combined. I know that one eye is able to slightly open, but the other eye is completely shut. The nose is also scraped up and there is a cut on its face. It was probably attacked by something. It looks to be about 2 or 3 weeks old. We have some CatSip that we are feeding it with a dropper and I know that I need to keep it warm and wet a towel and wipe it to get it to go to the bathroom. 

We have 2 other cats so we have this kitten in the bathroom. We can't afford a vet and animal control is closed for the night. Is there anything else that we can do? We aren't sure if the kitten will even make it through the night... Please help

Megan

The cat needs vet care obviously but hopefully you can get the kitten through the night. Animal control will euthanize a kitten in that condition unfortunately. They will not charge you a fee since the kitten is a stray and not an owner surrender though. You might try contacting a rescue but there are no guarantees that they will take the kitten.
Try using a damp warm cloth and holding it on the kittens eyes. Clean the scrapes gently I would just use a gentle soap and water on a cloth.
If you continue to care for the kitten it will need milk replacer as catsip is not a complete substitute for mothers milk.
But just try to get kitty through the night as comfortably as possible until you can figure out what to do.

luvmy4 said:

The cat needs vet care obviously but hopefully you can get the kitten through the night. Animal control will euthanize a kitten in that condition unfortunately. They will not charge you a fee since the kitten is a stray and not an owner surrender though. You might try contacting a rescue but there are no guarantees that they will take the kitten.
Try using a damp warm cloth and holding it on the kittens eyes. Clean the scrapes gently I would just use a gentle soap and water on a cloth.
If you continue to care for the kitten it will need milk replacer as catsip is not a complete substitute for mothers milk.
But just try to get kitty through the night as comfortably as possible until you can figure out what to do.

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This.  I doubt a rescue will take her and a shelter or animal control will euthanize.  She is not yours so if you can't afford a vet you can't but given what you have said I think that is what she needs. If you want to try to care for her in the medium tern you need kitten milk replacement as mentioned above.  Keeping her warm is the most important thing.  Good luck.

I agree with the others.  If the kittens survives the night, and you want to fight on and adopt it later (or adopt out) if everything goes well,

here are a couple of links for orphans.

www.kitten-rescue.com

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/kittens/handrearing.html

Look also at our forum for Pregs and Kittens, articles and threads there.

If you can get goat milk, it may be even better than kmr, esp if you can get raw goat milk.

Be sure it gets enough with water too, not get dehydrated.

The best homemade pedialyte is

1,5 soup spoon =15 g of dextrose (glucose sugar), you can also use honey or white caro syrup.

1 tea spoon = 3g of  kitchen salt

in 1 litre water,

   boil up, let it get body temp...

You can alternatively use rice water after overcooked rice, and add in the same tea spoon salt= 3 grammes, in one liter of this rice water.

Good for diarrhea-patients, but also good for prevention against dehydration.

If the kitten loses forces, you can try and perk it by having some wetted dextrose, or honey, or white caro syrup directly on the gum...

Tx a lot for caring!

   Good luck!

I can help with advice.

First of all the kitten is a bit older than you thought, if it was trying to cross the road. You can determine the age by it's coordination. Does the kitten walk on all 4 legs, back legs are standing up fully? Is he clumsy or coordinated? Can he run at all, even clumsily?

We need to determine the age so we know the correct amt to feed.

The eyes are not a big deal, but they will need terramycin eye ointment. You can find it cheap on ebay. (6-7.00 a tube)

Meanwhile a warm, very wet washcloth held on his eyes to soften the crust, then gently wipe. If it only comes off a little at a time, be patient and keep repeating until they are cleaned off completely, he will then be able to open his eyes.

Until the med arrives you will need to wipe them at least a couple times a day to keep them from crusting up again.

Bacterial eye infections are extremely common in kittens born outdoors, and it's nothing to stress about. They heal fast with the terramycin too.

You will need KMR (kitten replacement milk) and possibly a bottle, depending on the age we determine. Keep him warm but after a kitten is 3 weeks old they can maintain their own body heat, so don't cook the little babe

I will watch for your reply regarding his motor skills and will tell you his age and we will take it from there.

Welcome, Megan. Wonderful of you and your bf to open your hearts by rescuing and helping this baby. I agree with all of the advices above which are excellent ones. The warm soft cloth over the eye a few times a day with the added Terramycin ointment that Catwoman suggested will surely help. Viral eye infections are common in kittens and this little one obviously has been through a lot. Adding in mega vibes that the kitten will thrive and do keep us posted.

Hi,
Thank you all for the timely advice! I searched online and found out about how usin tea bags on the kitten eyes can help clear it up. I did that along with wiping with a wet rag and got some of the junk off of its eyes. We fed it cat sip every few hours and helped it go to the bathroom. We ended up taking it to a rescue that said they'd take care of it and take it to the vet. I hope that everything goes well with the kitten! I would have adopted it but 2 people and 2 cats in a one bedroom apartment is already a lot. Thanks for the help!!