found a stray kitten

HELP! My husband has found a small kitten, grey with blue eyes and we have no idea how old it is or what to do. It was laying in the dirt roadway of one of our hay fields all by itself, trembling and scared. My hubby picked it up(gloves on) and it seemed to settle down but he tried to feed it cat food(we feed the feral cats around the area) and kitty won't eat. Kitty is now in a box on a blanket and is very quiet. We don't know whether to leave it by our uninhabited ranch house in case momma cat is around or try to find a home or take to SPCA. We have two dogs so can't keep it. If kitty still has blue eyes does that mean anything as far as age?? Any ideas/help would be most appreciated!!

Thanks, Sharon G

sgood1 said:

 
HELP! My husband has found a small kitten, grey with blue eyes and we have no idea how old it is or what to do. It was laying in the dirt roadway of one of our hay fields all by itself, trembling and scared. My hubby picked it up(gloves on) and it seemed to settle down but he tried to feed it cat food(we feed the feral cats around the area) and kitty won't eat. Kitty is now in a box on a blanket and is very quiet. We don't know whether to leave it by our uninhabited ranch house in case momma cat is around or try to find a home or take to SPCA. We have two dogs so can't keep it. If kitty still has blue eyes does that mean anything as far as age?? Any ideas/help would be most appreciated!!

Thanks, Sharon G

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Yes, the kitten is surely very young, it wont manage on its own out there.  The best is if YOU raise it and foster. do you have a cage or a room you can isolate it in from your dogs?   If it doenst look sick, it hopefully isnt. So the isolation as such doenst need to be extreme.  and the dogs will soon enough understand he is under your protection, belongs to the family group, and wont attack it either.

Observe, many shelters and similiar, just pts kittens whom needs to be handraised.  They accept only kittens whom manage on their own.

Some of them DO have rescuers and fosterhomes, but not all!

www.kitten-rescue.com has much about helping and handraising orphans.

You have done a good beginning, a box with blanket. Nice and cozy.  He should have a heat source too, a heating pad of some sort.  The sick and abandoned are always freezing, no?

He was surely living on mommas milk, so he doesnt know what food is.  You must give him either  kitten mothermilk replacement  or goats milk.  (can youget raw? otherwise bottled etc goat milk is OK too.  Cow milk is not suitable, but in a pinch unpasterized fresh cow milk may probably do.

As he has had access to mom, he probably wont want bottle either. Or at least, not at once.  You will need to use some sort of syringe without needle, or dropper, or something.

And this may be tricky, although he isnt infant any more.  Tummy down, head up - you may rise him diagonally up if necessary.  In the corner of the mouth, slowly so you are sure he swallows.  If he swallows nicely, you can do it rather quickly. If he is weak or so, it may take time and patience.

Burp afterwards.

This is improtant, because faulty given kmr is a major danger to them, getting fluids in the lungs is deadly danger. Pneumonia kills them.

If you cant get kmr or goat milk immedaitely, you can begin with a little water.  Have sugar in it, caro white syrup or honey in the water. Also a little kitchen salt.  Making a sort of very basic home made pedialyte.  It gives fluids, some energhy and buys you time.

If he is very weak, you can even smear some water solution of this caro or honey on his lips and gum - it gives quick energy and perks him up.

This baby needs to be kept warm and fed.  Stephan's advice is spot-on.  If you are unable to feed her, please call the SPCA as soon as you can.

Hi Sharon. I looked up some info about determining a cat's age by the eye color (it sounds like it's not a breed that has blue eyes as an adult). Here is what I found:  

• If your kitten's eyes are just starting to open but still appear squinty, she may be in her second or third week of life. When kittens begin opening their eyes, the eyes are bright blue in color, regardless of what color their eyes turn later as they grow up.
• If you have an older kitten and you notice her eyes beginning to change color, she is likely around 6-7 weeks old. At this time, the irises will begin to transition to their permanent, mature color. Note that if the kitten is growing into a mature, blue-eyed cat, you may not be able to observe any color change to help you determine its age.

And also:  Determine the age of the kitten  to see if he or she needs to be bottle-fed or can start immediately on soft food:

• Eyes closed, ears folded over - kitten is 1 - 14 days old 
• Eyes are open, kitten moves around but is wobbly - 2 - 3 weeks old 
• Eyes are open, ears up, can walk around - 3 - 4 weeks old
• Running around and is difficult or impossible to catch - 4 - 8 weeks old or older.

• 1 - 3 weeks old - will need to be bottle-fed.
• 3 weeks and older - can be offered soft food, but may need to be bottle-fed.

So if the kitten's eyes are still blue, it would be under 6 weeks old.  As far as feeding I found this info:  Four-week old kittens will still need to be bottle-fed although some may start eating canned kitten food mixed with a little kitten milk replacer (see instructions for bottle feeding) .   Most 5 week-olds can eat canned kitten food and usually they start on dry kitten food at 6 weeks.  

I also read that instead of wet kitten food, in a pinch you can give Gerber chicken, beef, or turkey baby food (Not the chicken hot dogs with added onion).

As far as leaving the kitten--if you left it anywhere it should be where you found it, as the mother may have been moving her kittens. Is it well fed? Does it look well? I don't know how close the uninhabited house is to that site it was found--not sure the mom would find the kitten there.  I wouldn't leave the kitten if you couldn't keep a check on it to see if momma came back or not, though. Any predator could get it.  If you can't keep it, and the mom doesn't come back for it, I would take it to your local shelter. Thanks for rescuing this kitten!

Thank you for the reply!!  My hubby just called and he found the momma cat!!!!! He was holding kitty and reassuring him that he was no danger then set him down and kitty was very calm......he meowed a bit(kitty LOL) and momma cat came running from inside our barn making her own meowing sounds and proceeded to  nuzzle with her baby! My hubby just stepped back a bit to observe and the two appeared very glad to see one another.....momma cat picked kitty up by neck and trotted off to the barn where there is shelter, water and food. So seems like a happy ending so far. I just think kitty wondered from the "nest" when mom was outside the barn, then got scared when he heard my husbands pick-up approaching, and instead of moving he simply froze. Good thing hubby stopped to check to see what the gray "blob" was in the roadway, as it had initially appeared as if it was just a big clod of dirt and anyone else driving thru there would probably have hit kitty. Anyway, thanks for the help and suggestions! Hubby will continue to monitor progress of this little one and his momma as he goes to the ranch daily(we live 30 mi from ranch) and always leaves food and water

Sharon G

Shoot. I had a long message all typed out, but some of the info I copied and pasted made my post go to the moderator! In a nutshell, if the kitten has blue eyes, it is still under six weeks old. It still, however, may be old enough to supplement with  wet kitten food, or also Gerber chicken, turkey or beef baby food (only the ground  meats, not the hot dogs with added onion). It may be too young to attempt hard food.  

I wouldn't leave it outside on its own. It is a sitting duck for a predator.  If I left it anywhere it would be where I found it, as the mother may have been moving her kittens--but I would stay nearby to keep an eye on it, and would take it with me if momma didn't return. Even still, is momma a stray? Would she have trouble raising the kittens even if she did come back for this one?  If you can't keep it, it may be better to take this one to a pet shelter.

Oh!! Just saw that you found the momma!! Yay!! Thanks for caring for this little one!!

sgood1 said:

 
Thank you for the reply!!  My hubby just called and he found the momma cat!!!!! He was holding kitty and reassuring him that he was no danger then set him down and kitty was very calm......he meowed a bit(kitty LOL) and momma cat came running from inside our barn making her own meowing sounds and proceeded to  nuzzle with her baby! My hubby just stepped back a bit to observe and the two appeared very glad to see one another.....momma cat picked kitty up by neck and trotted off to the barn where there is shelter, water and food. So seems like a happy ending so far. I just think kitty wondered from the "nest" when mom was outside the barn, then got scared when he heard my husbands pick-up approaching, and instead of moving he simply froze. Good thing hubby stopped to check to see what the gray "blob" was in the roadway, as it had initially appeared as if it was just a big clod of dirt and anyone else driving thru there would probably have hit kitty. Anyway, thanks for the help and suggestions! Hubby will continue to monitor progress of this little one and his momma as he goes to the ranch daily(we live 30 mi from ranch) and always leaves food and water

Sharon G

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Tx for the update!  So the momma and kitty are already essentially your barn cats, and they do have some help and protection from you already, as a little repay they hold down the mice population out there?   Swell.   A win-win situation.

Something I forget to write out in the clear, what to do in the situation alike your post nr 1 - found kitten, not longer infant but very small and without momma - what to do?

Is, at exactly this age they are easy to foster and socialize.  You may perhaps begin with some hand feeding at first, because so far he has only known mommas milk, but after a few days he will begin to be used to more common kitten food too.

And as said, this way its easy to foster - you essentially just take care of them, the fostering goes by itself as they are essentially just small kittens, no ferales.

Socialization later on, at 8+w, is still fully possible, but takes more time and effort - and isnt not always 100% successfull, they may remain shy to strangers - even if 95% is good enough as long as the shy cat is one family cat,  without being forced to be nice to strangers and visitors.

What I mean, if its possible for you to foster and you are willing, its not sure you need to find the mom - even if you CAN find her, and are  sure she will take the kitten back.

THIS situation is one of the few exceptions where it may be OK to take young kittens from momma.  The other exception are pure emergencies when you and the kitten are in dire need.

Last but not least, this is also a nice exampel, semiferal mommas DO take back their kitten, even if they were handled by humans.

Your hubby took the precaution of having gloves on, not to leave too much scents.  Wise and good, but it wasnt really necessary.

As long as momma recognizes her own baby, she wont abandon it.

Mommy may have been moving her nest and because cats can't count, kitten got forgotten.  So glad you were able to facilitate a reunion!

If would begin the process of spaying and neutering the cats.  Otherwise, you will be overrun