Tips for rescued 6-8 week old kitten?

So a friend and I were taking a walk along the train tracks about 5 days ago, 1 mile from my home. I was walking past a bush and i heard a tiny meow. I walked back and out crawled this little angel from the middle of the bush. She was meowing pretty weakly. I held out my hand and she crawled right into it began crawling up my shirt and clung to my shoulder. Her meowing began getting louder and louder until it sounded like she was crying. I picked her off my shoulder and checked her over. She looked pretty weak and somewhat emaciated and her fur was matted, it had just rained about 2 days before and she had a little pink spot on the tip of her ear where no fur was growing, not sure if that was an animal or person that did that, but it's starting to grow back now. I know about kittens and strays to some degree. I know that stray or feral cats typically hide from humans if they walk by, stay quiet, etc. This kitten was meowing, had her tail raised high and rubbing her face against me. I concluded that this kitten was probably domesticated to a degree and abandoned.

I took her to PetCo where my friend works and they said she's an American Shorthair and  guessed that she was around 6-8 weeks old. They gave me the milk formula and some wet kitten food. I took that and her home and mixed up some gruel and set it down in front of her. I mixed more of the meat than the milk formula just to see. She ate it right up. She then climbed my curtain to my bed and lied down on my lap. I'm now pretty certain she belonged to someone and was abandoned. She doesn't act frightened around people like I've seen most stray kittens do. She doesn't hide under the bed or in the closet. She wants to be by me. Someone's going to be here all the time so she isn't alone, but when will she be at the age where she can be left alone?

I've cared for young kittens before, but never a kitten abandoned by either people or orphaned by it's mother. What is the next step? The few sites i read say to mix some dry food in with the milk and wet food so I tried that and she's eating it as well just not as much as she was with the gruel. I put some water down but she's only just grazing at it, Should i keep a small bowl of the milk as well next to the food? Or start mixing the milk with water? I don't know how to go about the weaning process. I need step by step because everywhere i read is a different suggestion. I got a litter box also and she used it right after her first gruel meal, buried it and everything, without me having to show her.

I'm going to take her to the vet, but unfortunately I'm going to have to wait at least 2 weeks until my first paycheck at my new job comes through. My son loves her and we are going to keep her. Her name is Ari (pronounced are-ee)

So while I'm waiting on taking her in to the vet;

1. Step-by-step on how to wean and get off the formula/wet food, onto the dry food and to drink water, etc.?

2. When can she be left by herself?

3. Should i give her a flea and tick dry shampoo bath?

4. Earmite treatments?

5. Is there anything else I should know?

I will write some later on during the day.  Its night now here at my place....

Tx for caring

Good luck

Shaggy, (not an expert so if one overrides my opinion, that's ok) if you can get kitten milk replacement, that would be great. I'd buy canned kitten food and mix some kmr with it. Offer lots of fresh water, or the kitten milk. I've heard pedialyte can be used if kitten gets diarrhea, which is possible with a change of food.

Fleas--gentle wash in blue dawn dish detergent. Dry thororoghly. I'm not sure about ear mites. Unless they are severe, I'd wait til you see the vet.

Have you any experience with cats/kittens? (Edit: I see you do).

Her climbing the curtains reminds me so much of my rainbow kitty Tootsie, who I rescued at 4 weeks. She climbed my bedsheets to snuggle her first night, and we were 100% bonded for the 7 years she lived.

Can you post pictures? The experts here are pretty good at guessing ages going by pictures.

Thank you sooooo much for saving his/her life!!!!! Sending hugs to you and kitty both!!! Youll be stepping a little less for a while, I think, but it will totally be worth it!!

PS call the vet and ask if they know of any group who can help you with shots etc for kitty. With any luck, there are such groups in your area. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

As for her being left alone? I left Robin alone about a week after I found him, but in a kitten proofed room. Before that, I had to leave him in a large dog crate with litter and food. I was 25 years from my last kitten experience...somehow, we both survived. [emoji]128513[/emoji] You will be fine. But the sooner the vet visit the better.

misterwhiskers said:

Shaggy, (not an expert so if one overrides my opinion, that's ok) if you can get kitten milk replacement, that would be great. I'd buy canned kitten food and mix some kmr with it. Offer lots of fresh water, or the kitten milk. I've heard pedialyte can be used if kitten gets diarrhea, which is possible with a change of food.

Fleas--gentle wash in blue dawn dish detergent. Dry thororoghly. I'm not sure about ear mites. Unless they are severe, I'd wait til you see the vet.

Have you any experience with cats/kittens? (Edit: I see you do).

Her climbing the curtains reminds me so much of my rainbow kitty Tootsie, who I rescued at 4 weeks. She climbed my bedsheets to snuggle her first night, and we were 100% bonded for the 7 years she lived.

Can you post pictures? The experts here are pretty good at guessing ages going by pictures.

Thank you sooooo much for saving his/her life!!!!! Sending hugs to you and kitty both!!! Youll be stepping a little less for a while, I think, but it will totally be worth it!!

PS call the vet and ask if they know of any group who can help you with shots etc for kitty. With any luck, there are such groups in your area. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

As for her being left alone? I left Robin alone about a week after I found him, but in a kitten proofed room. Before that, I had to leave him in a large dog crate with litter and food. I was 25 years from my last kitten experience...somehow, we both survived. [emoji]128513[/emoji] You will be fine. But the sooner the vet visit the better.

Click to expand...

So hard to get a pic of an awake kitty

This kitten was clearly being raised by someone and got lost or was dumped. It's wonderful that you have taken the kitten in.

Kittens this age are weaned already from the mother, but need wet food about 4 times a day, and a bowl of dry kitten chow available at all times. If they get wet food mixed with kitten formula they will likely not drink much water right now, but it must still be available.

You asked about weaning from wet food mixed with formula. The kitten can probably eat the wet food without formula mixed in, but the formula has vitamins and minerals that are good for the kitten. A dry food only diet is not advised for a kitten this age.

A vet check with de-worming and ear cleaning, and possibly first shots, is a good idea when you get paid.

How precious!! Is it a he or she??? Let us know his/her name when you figure one out.

First, good on you for taking her in. Worms, fleas and mites can be a big concern at this age. I think 6-8 weeks looks right, just by the pictures, so it is probably ok to treat her for these things. Still, before you do, make sure you know her weight (many of these medications cannot be given if they are too small) and keep an eye on her energy. Parasites are extremely likely and can cause diarrhea or anemia which can quickly kill her. If she becomes dehydrated, it is an emergency and needs to be treated immediately. The absolute easiest treatment would be 'Revolution' - a topical ointment - but requires a vet visit and it can be a little pricey. She may be too young for it just yet anyway. Otherwise, there are plenty of over the counter dewormers (should be a priority), but just be careful not to give her too much. Drontal is a good option as it is broad spectrum, killing most intestinal parasites. There are also a few flea shampoos on the market for kittens, but it is easy to check her for fleas before you spend the money. Because she has so much white fur, you can just wet her down with a damp cloth. If there are fleas, you should be able to see some brownish smears appear. This is from the waste they leave behind - her blood actually. Watch out for intense scratching of the ears also, as this is likely ear mites. Otherwise, good luck to you. It seems like she's weaned, so KMR isn't necessary. Still, it shouldn't harm her either.

The kitten looks about six weeks old to me .

Thank you to everyone for the replies! Just gave her some regular dry food and she did eat a few bites. And I'm also leaving some wet food oit. She also started drinking the water regularly during the night. She's playing a lot now not as lethargic as she was the first few days. Borrowing some money from a family member so we can get her to the vet as sooner

Sounds really good .