Rescued an abandoned kitten yesterday & work full time

hello everyone. i'd love to receive your advice on caring for a kitten i found in my neighbour's yard yesterday afternoon. i think it's about 4 weeks old: eyes still blue, wobbly on its feet, seems dependent still for elimination (hasn't urinated or pooped yet).

currently feeding her whiskas cat milk replacement until i can get to a vet/pet store and get kitten formula. have been feeding her (checked the sex) each time she wakes & careful not to overfeed; burp her and wipe her bottom with warm moist paper towel. keeping her away from my two adult females.

my concern is this: i work full time (although i called in sick today so i could care for her and decide if i will take her to a shelter (but low and behold, we had a snowstorm in toronto last night and cold advisory today so i'm not comfortable taking her on buses to get to a shelter). i'm concerned that tomorrow when i go to work, it will be too long for her to go between feedings. i'm out of the house from 7am to 6:30 pm.

she is responsive, nibbles on my fingers, even feisty if i rub her too long; she doesn't fear my two adult females although they hiss and pant when they see her (i keep her in a hamper or cat carrier so as not to let them come in contact with one another).  i hold her when she wakes, keep her against my skin for little bits of time and keep her warm under blankets. tight now she's sleeping & has been since her morning feeding (gave her a gruel of whiskas milk w canned chicken food mixed to a shake consistency.)

i have a spare room i've been putting her in where she's safe and warm and plan on keeping her if i'm doing the right things and my work hours won't pose harm to her. 

i dread the thought of taking her to a shelter (none of the rescue orgs or vet offices i've called will take her.) apologies for the long post, but am i doing the right things by keeping her?

i don't have friends or family close by that can stop in during the day to feed her. i really want to do the right thing.

sorry for the long drawn out message. not much sleep last night and anxious.

by the way, my two adult girls were rescues too - they were fostered by someone else but i cherish them to bits.

would appreciate any thoughts. 

Does your neighbor have a mama cat that may be missing a kitten? You can usually return the kitten and the mama will take care of her. I'd definitely ask around to see if you can find a mom cat with similar aged kittens. That would be the easiest solution. Kittens don't usually wander too far from home. Especially at that age. 

You also could possibly become a foster home with one of the rescue groups? That way they may be able to provide you with help and medical cost. 

When you get kitten milk, I recommend KMR. (Not Hartz) Make sure you're weighing the kitten in grams every day on a kitchen scale to make sure she's gaining properly. And yes, 7am to 6:30 pm is too long between feedings.

Thank you for helping this baby! 

PS> I've also flagged this to be moved to the Pregnant Cat & Kitten section. You'll find more advice there. 

thank you paiger8

i will ask neighbours tonight as there is a feral colony in the area. one neighbour in particular is good at providing shelter in her backyard for them. 

one good sign is the kitten peed; was concerned about her becoming dehydrated. 

in the meantime, i'll get some of the kmr.

appreciate your prompt reply and redirection!

The kitten should have a heat source if possible that covers half her bed so she can move onto and away from it.  A heating pad on low, hot water bottle or even a sock filled w/raw rice, nuke for 5 minutes, should hold the heat for 3-5 hours.

Would the neighbor who feeds the ferals feed the kitten while you are at work?

I don't think it's better to put the kitten outside again. It will be socialized and adoptable now that it's fallen into your lap.

What would be amazing is if you could find mom and the litter and bring them all in.

It is too long for kitty to go without food while you're at work. Can you leave some of the mush down? Or some kitten kibble? It's important that the kitten has constant access to food.

Whiskas is a cat treat and is not at all nutritionally compete. Kmr or goat's milk is needed.

You can also start introducing litter boxes. They can be tiny, low to the ground, and use only non-clumping litter.

The kitten should obviously be contained to a kitten-safe space while you're not supervising. Thank you for rescuing this baby!

1.  Careful with giving her to a foster mom - unless you are sure the kitten is healthy, and or foster mom has immunitiy system above average - herself perhaps rescued semiferal, or at least, healthy, fully vaccinated, and allowed to go outside.

2. Careful with adopting to shelters.  Many shelters dont have resources of taking care of small orphans, and thus, they are simply pts.  They perhaps tell to you; ok, its OK, give him to us, we will handle this...  To not hurt your feelings.  And they do what they must do....

So be really sure they CAN foster and have places for fostering, before you admit a small kitten, or a shy semiferal.

3. In nature, not all kittens have the luxury of 24/7 momma care. To speak the least.  Momma must leave the nest and go get food, often hours away...  Of course, with such friends, they dont really need any more enemies. But suprising many do survive if not nothing bad happens.

So, now you had the kitten recover and land somewhat.

Have a nice comfortable nest, with a heating pad, give the kitten food water elimination etc before you go to work, and so do what you must, go to work.  Its not optimal, but what to do?  You cant tear yourself.

You can pehaps arrange something better, but if you cant so you cant.   Your best must do.

@bigbellaluna

thank you handsome kitty, talking peanut, stefanz!!!

it's truly a comfort to have access to caring experts and those in the know. 

after i posted my msg this afternoon i knocked on my neighbour's door this afternoon and she offered to come in at noon and feed her. (huge relief!) and i noticed this afternoon after her meal she slept for 5 hours. lol. i kept checking on her and she was out but i woke her at 7:30 to feed her, so that tells me she should be good until i get home at 6:30

fed her supper and played with her. set up my spare bedroom for her: carrier w blankets, basket with more blankets, and came back in now from the store and she was in the basket fast asleep. i had her in my bedroom last night beside my bed so i could hear her and sure enough, i woke to her cries and she was laying there watching me sleep. so up we got at 3:30 for her meal. that kept her til 7 am. 

i put a tarp down on the bedroom floor (unfortunately carpeted) and she went right for the corner (not covered by the tarp) and started to pee so i picked her up and put her in the litter (non clumping and shallow) and she did her business. for now i put the litter on top of the spot she peed on. 

she just woke up now so fed her, burped, washed and put her on my chest - she was purring, cleaning herself & licking me. when she quiets down after eating and sits there looking at me, i slowly close my eyes a few times and she begins to do the same. such a responsive little one.

i don't plan on any contact with my older girls for a few weeks. not until i get her checked out for sure. the older ones are my babies so i'm giving them tones of love, at least they've stopped hissing at the sight of her.

mama cat returned tonight but as much as it pains me, i'm not putting this one back out. she is tiny and there are tomcats, raccoons and dogs around, let alone the -10 celcius temp. i do wish i could get the mama and other babies as i'm sure there are more but that will have to wait for another day. it bothers me so much to know she's looking for her baby and homeless herself.  cant bear to think of her and the babies out in this cold. i'm literally hearing kitten cries now wherever i go (not actual cries) and it traumatizes me to think of kittens so defenseless and mamas having to protect their babies. ugh nature is one tough gig!

anyway, i do have to work and am relieved my neighbour will come feed her. my gut is telling me not to let this baby go to our city run animal services. they do what they have to do and i'm realistic. i will raise this one as best i can and get her to a vet for a check up shortly. when the time is right i'll adopt her out to someone i know and trust. 

thank you so much for giving me such sound and caring advice. it truly has comforted me!

i'll keep sending updates as we go along. 

goodnight all!

Please fo keep this baby, as you are doing a fantastic job! Please feed mama kitty when she comes around, and perhaps eventually you can help her and the other babies if she brings them around. Or even just get mom spayed. For now, you are saving this kitten, and doing well. Thank you! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

morning all!

i haven't had a chance to get on and send you an update. 

little one is now named stella,  as in street car named desire stella - she has a big personality for such a little body lol

we've had lots of progress in a matter of days. had tones of interest to adopt her and decided on a colleague of my brothers. out of all the interest, he presented the best home and promised veterinary care. 

so stella is now potty trained, eating soft food (wellness kitten) mixed with kmr (liquid not powder) and is on a routine. my neighbour is still kindly coming in 2 times a day while i'm out. my brother and sister in law came yest so stella is well socialized and engaging.

my two girls have stopped hissing at her although i still haven't let them interact. 

i'll keep her for 3 more weeks which should put her at 8-9 wks old then give her to her new owner. he is already in love with her via pics & videos we sent him.

i'm so thankful for the advice i've received here. i had quite the learning curve this week and do feel i couldn't have done it without the help here. 

some pics of stella from yesterday - she's grown a lot in one week!

1 - size of her beginning of the week

2-  playing yesterday after i combed her 

3 - wrapped her up so she could look out the window (yes that's snow in toronto in april )

4 - simplest toy - paper roll

5 - my brother holding her yesterday

She's such a cutie! So glad she'll be going to a great home! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

sarthur2 said:

She's such a cutie! So glad she'll be going to a great home! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

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thanks sarthur2! she is adorable and i'm relieved too that she will have a good safe home.

OMG, what a sweetie, and oh yah, STELLA, STELLA, I can just hear John Garfield ( I think that was the actor)  yelling out Stella's name in that movie.  Great movie, buy the way, and great choice of names.  It suites her, (wink, wink)

It was Marlon Brando in the original "Streetcar Named Desire" movie! [emoji]128521[/emoji]

Ah, Ha!  Thanks for setting me straight on that one, Sarthur2