My contribution:
1. Re "crashing" kittens (cold, seemingly near death): warm the kitten and give warm homemade pedialyte (use warm bottled water, or pure well water, if you have it - the chemicals used to treat tap water are harsh on a kitten's already weakened kidney system and they don't boil away. If you know a backpacker, they might be able to loan you a portable water filter).
If your kitten seems lifeless, gently blow across the nose, rub the chest and massage the paws & stomach. Give small drops of pedialyte at side of mouth at a sloooowwww rate - 1 drop every minute or so. If kitten doesn't respond soon, you can put corn syrup or sugar paste (small amount) on the inside of the lip (not too much because until your kitten is alert to safely swallow formula, there is a risk of causing hypoglycemia). Once the kitten shows signs of life, you can give it small amounts of raw egg yolk beaten with a little water or formula OR you can try peanut butter or peanut butter/egg yolk (my vet is the one who recommended peanut butter but my little ones seem to respond better to the egg yolk)
Gently stimulate the kitten to urinate. If stimulation isn't successful, try again after getting the little one to ingest fluids. Be careful not to irritate the delicate area.
Once the kitten is eating, feed small amounts of formula very frequently. the first day or so, give additional pedialyte to help keep the electrolytes in balance. Remember that patience is key at this time.
During my most recent rescues, I have had my best results using the "glop" formula found at www.kitten-rescue.com. I use canned goat milk. The commercial milk replacers have either caused diarrhea or hypoglycemia. I have had to dilute the commercial mixtures and feed more often. Last year, I used Ultra 24 Multi-Species Milk Replacer but this year, I have had 2 kittens "crash" while on that formula. With KMR & with JustBorn, I have had them get diarrhea.
For warming kittens, I have had good success with rice-filled socks heated in the microwave and also with good quality gel packs. I had a mud pack that also worked excellent.
What are your ideas and tips? I'm looking forward to reading them
