Mouse the Orphan Kitten

Let me first say that I've no experience raising kittens, of any age, and haven't even owned a cat in the past decade.

That is, until one morning three weeks ago when some higher power thought it prudent to leave a still-wet-from-birth kitten on our driveway. I opened the garage to take the kids to school and eeped, thinking it was a little gray dead mouse. And then it started mewing - and that's how Mouse came to live with us.

I truly and honestly did not think she would make it. I didn't have a clue what I was doing (thankfully my daughter's teacher had some experience hand raising kittens and walked me through some of the essentials). But I am also late in the third trimester of my pregnancy so that maternal instinct couldn't just leave this tiny and defenseless thing to die. She slept in a tiny Converse box with some fuzzy blankets and a sock full of rice heated up every few hours for warmth; she was eating well from the bottle. We had a bout with diarrhea for a few days but bounced back after I added a bit of pedialyte to her formula. By day 7 she was sleeping through the night.

I really don't want to jinx anything but Mouse seems to be doing so well. She's three weeks old, ears and eyes open, and eats about 7 tablespoons of KMR a day. She is getting pretty good at this walking thing. Her poops are solid and she doesn't need much stimulation to pass them at this point. Her favorite past time is napping in an oversized Mickey Mouse blanket near the screendoor, where the sun comes in.

So now...what? She has been ruthlessly chewing on the nipple lately and getting so aggressive during feeding that it is sometimes hard to get through. I believe she is teething. Is it time to introduce her to canned food? I've put milk on a dish a few times to see if she'll lap it up but she mostly walks around in it meowing loudly.

What about introducing her to litter? We are planning on keeping her, so I want to try to introduce good habits as early as possible.

I had to include a picture of her 'cause she's so darn cute. This is her milk drunk face from last week. Cheers, and thanks in advance for any advice moving forward!

My, what a beautiful baby! I can't believe you saved her after finding her in the state she was in. I've got three to four week old wild kittens that are being brought in by their mom to eat, you might have to put a tiny bit on her chin and let her taste it to give her the idea. As for the litter box, get a 'kitten' litter box, fill it with litter and set her in it. I've even picked up one of their paws and tried to help them dig, or dig right in front of their paws yourself to give her an idea. I'm sure she'll play a lot in it, they always do at first. maybe you could get a bit of her urine in the box somehow, that would help, even if it was on a bit of a rag.  I wish you both the best of luck!

I haven't provided care for such a tiny kitten before but wish to thank you for taking this tiny creature in to your home and heart. This is extra special for me as your little kitten is gray and white and named Mouse, and my 3 1/2 year old is a gray cat also named Mouse.  He was never small as was a much pampered only kitten with his mom but he still looked like a mouse to me.  I hope things go well for your little one now in your care.  I have attached one of the articles here on TCS which is about hand rearing kittens, and also an associated thread which was posted recently on the site and advice was given by @tulosai  for how to introduce kittens to litter.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/hand-rearing-kittens

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/275627/litter-training-kittens/0_100

Make sure the litter is not clumping!   As Mouse will probably taste on it.  You dont want to have clumping litter inside him...

Good luck!

ps.   And yes, orphans are easier to save than weak, dying kittens...  Mouse is an beautiful example.

I just raised an orphan kitten a year ago and I was exactly where you are. I had NO previous experience with cats but when it comes to any animal, I can't ignore suffering. She was 2 weeks old and I had to learn a lot of what to expect.
It looks like you've got a lot of understanding of how to feed him and poop him.
My little girl was so easy to house train. When she started peeing on her own, I would just pick her up when I noticed her starting to pee and put her in the tray. Once the litter had the smell of her, she went there instinctively. it honestly took me repeating that 3 times and she understood. I would also dig in the litter (you would have to use gloves just cos cat urine can have germs and parasites that I would hate you or your baby become exposed to) but because this kitten sees you now as her new mom, she needs you to show her what to do.
When she is about 6-7 weeks you can add wet food to the formula. If you abruptly change their food, expect gas and diarreah! I learned that the hard way by switching her food without doing it gradually and poor thing had to go back to the bottle because her stomach was too shocked. Kitten food is very rich and has a lot more vitamins and nutrients in it so it can upset the kittens belly for the first couple of times.
Oh and with chewing the nipple, that's normal. Her teeth are coming through and the plastic is nice. I can't tell you how many we had to buy. I think we had to replace them every 4-5 days.
Also fleecy blankets really help orphan kittens because it feels like their mothers fur. I always wore a fleece dressing gown with her in the pocket or when she cried I'd hold her and wrap her in it. Now, she's attached to it. She suckles on it and sleeps with it. It's like a baby blanket or a pacifier but she's 16 months old. She's not a baby anymore haha!
But your doing a wonderful thing.
Here's our girl when we first found her:

Here she is now (she recent had surgery so she has only one eye but that doesn't stop her!)

One more thing, the bond you will have with this cat once she's grown will compare to nothing you've had with another animal. You really bond bottle feeding her and making sure she's always warm and safe and she will respond by knowing you as her mommy.
Good luck!

Thank you thank you for all the wonderful responses! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions as we progress forward but your tips and links have been very helpful...I appreciate it!

Just thought I'd give a little update… at 6 weeks old Mouse is doing fantastic! She's pretty much weaned entirely off the bottle - it was messy for a day or two but I was shocked at how quickly she ditched her kitten formula for chow. She won't even drink from a bottle anymore. She's also taken to litter training like a pro! I'm considering actually toilet training her when she's bigger… she's a smart little cookie.

Thanks again for the helpful links and encouraging words. When we first found Mouse we did not think she stood a chance and now she's a joyful and intelligent little ball of fur. It's been a treat caring for her and watching her grow!

Below is a pic of Mouse and my 5 year old… fast friends!

SOCKS! I love cats with "socks" on them. good to see mouse thriving.

i have an 8-week old. she's already gotten very good at running and climbing (up onto my bed or up onto my pant legs or shoulders -ouch!- or higher places.) and she is able to jump back down to the floor w/o hurting herself.

i'd caution leaving small plastic wrappers or objects (guitar picks etc) around. little kittens seem to be drawn to that sort of thing.

Awww, what a sweet story but what is even more neat is that I have my youngest cat named Mouse, she was literally mouse sized. She is 6 months old now, solid black, I found her as a week old kitten. Bottle fed also. But I have prior kitten raising experience. Congrats on the sweet kitty. You did a great job.

What a cute and happy update!  Well done, Mouse is looking great, and she looks to have chosen her human BF very wisely.     I hope she continues to grow and thrive, and you see her develop in to a confident little cat over the coming weeks and months.  What a difference there is in her size now!  Well done.