Kitten found!

misstoviah

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We found a very small kitten at work yesterday and could not find any signs of other cats. It was very cold and unhappy. We scooped him up and warmed him and I took him home. I stopped by the vet and they said he looks healthy, doesn't have a temperature and looks to be about 3 weeks. We've been feeding him Nurse Maid every 4 hours. He's responsive, loves to cuddle and purrs happily. He walks well and will walk to you if you're away from him. He's been quarantined to the bathroom at home since we have Emma, a 4 year old cat and Dexter, a 10-month old Lab. I had been making him go to the bathroom by rubbing him with a warm cloth and it was making him pee. However, he pooped a big pile of poop last night on his own! No worms in it either. He had the poop all over him. He's not interested in the soft food or water I put out and doesn't take a whole lot at a time from the bottle but seems satisfied, purrs and falls asleep. He's in a cat crate in my office and sleeps mostly but moves around, scratches, cries and then falls asleep. What should I be doing? How much Nurse Maid should he be getting at a time. He's definitely not skinny and has a little round belly. So far, he's drank about 1-1.5 oz in 24 hours. Any information, links you could give me would be a great help.
 

ryelee's mom

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At the top of this page click where it says Read about Cats: Care
On the page it takes you to scroll down and there is a link on the left called Hand Rearing Kittens there is some great info there.
Good luck with your kitty and you are a wonderful person for taking him/her in.
 

amberthe bobcat

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Congratulations on your new kitten

If he is only 3 weeks old, he will still be on the bottle for a while. To get him interested in eating cat food, you may try blending some canned kitten food in with the nurse maid. You may need to strain it to remove any hard pieces that are in there, so they can pass through the nipple of the bottle. We did this with Amber, she was still on the bottle when we got her. Some people mix some types of cereal in the milk formula too. If she has a round belly, you may need to have a stool check at your vet. Most all kittens are born with worms and you may never see them in the stools. A plump round belly can be a sign of worms. They can easily be eliminated with the proper medication from your vet, do not use the kind found in pet food stores. As for how much to feed? I always fed them as much as they would take. They will stop when they are full. I have raised orphaned kittens a few times and every 4-6 hours seemed to work fine. If he is drinking large amounts of the Nurse Maid, I would start adding the canned kitten food in with it for more bulk and nutrition.
 
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