HELP!!! Found four abandoned kittens!!!!

I just found four abandoned kittens in my neighbors barn...I don't know what to do for them...they are starving! What do I feed them???

My neighbor found four abandoned kittens in her barn today...their mother was hit by a car. She brought them to me and I'm at a loss. My vet clinic is closed on the weekends and the SPCA told me if I bring them in they will be put down as there is no one to care for them and no room. I don't want to see the poor things put down. The lady at the SPCA told me that if I tried to care for them myself I would only prolong their suffering by not giving them the proper nutriton. I called the local Vet technician at home and she said she has hand raised kittens the same age as these ones with minimal problems ( they are approx 10 days old, eyes just opened) She told me to mix 1 cup of homogenized milk with 1 tbsp corn syrup and 1 egg yolk, warm it and feed it to them with an eye dropper. I wanted to get kitten milk from the vet but as I said, they are closed. Will the kittens do okay for the next few days on this mixture? I stimulated their bottoms after feeding them and three out of four peed. Would their stools be solid or watery? Its hard to tell with little bums so small. They seem to be calmer now, they are all asleep. Any advice from someone whose done this before? What are the odds they will make it? I'm so afraid of doing something to harm them.

Please don't feed these tiny kittens human milk. There is a formula you can buy called KMR if there is a feed store near you, then this is where you can find it. The one problem with milk is it the only thing that goes in liquid and comes out solid. Most kitties will have problems (at that age) digesting that. Keep them warm, but don't use a human heating pad. Use soft cloth for them to sleep on, keep them in a place away from much noise.I use one of those heat lamps on the young ones, but I place the lamp far enough above them so they won't burn. Thank you for not taking them to the SPCA, they are so crowded this time of year, they would have no choice but to put them down. Feed them about once an hour, round the clock, small amounts, rub their tummies gently after they are done eating, and then using warm water and a semi-rough cloth, stimulate their bums so they can eliminate. I used to use cotton and soft stuff, but some of the kittens wouldn't defecate. I couldn't figure that out, until one of my cats came up and licked my face. Her tongue was like sandpaper! So a rough towel dipped in warm water will stimulate the one that isn't pooping right now. If you have any questions, this is a good place to come for answers. Also check your Private Messaging you will have a message from me. If you don't know how to use this, go to the top of the board where it says user cp? Click on that, then click on Private messaging and you will find it. Good luck again and thank you!!

I answered you in the Lounge, and will probably just move your thread over here. There are many capable people on here that can help you. If you can't find KMR you can get baby food, chicken flavor and water it down and use it instead of milk until your vet clinic opens. But honestly, cow's milk is really hard on such small babies.

Hi Melissa,
Hissy's advice is very good advice...she has been through this countless times!
You can also get KMR at your local petstore...although last week when I went to get some they were out, and I bought a milk replacer for kittens called Just Born, made by Farnam Pet Products.
I dont know whats available in Nova Scotia, but I'm sure theres some milk replacer for kittens under some name.

Good luck to you and your kittens

I have recently read somewhere that very few cats are actually lactose intolerant ! Other than the lactose sugar, the cows milk isn't hard but isn't nutritiously enough because of its phospshorous & calcium ratios & protein & fat percentages ! Humans need a 1/1 ratio of calcium/ phosphorous whereas cats need it in the 2/1 ratio. Or cats need much much more fat & protein than humans.

In TR we have raised many kittens with milk & egg yolk; there were not kitty formulas at the time or the ones present were very expensive.

Baby formulas are sold even in some grocery stores such as Wallmart, Target. If you can't find it this weekend, you can buy lactose free milk, put an egg yolk or two & a tiny bit of mayonaise in it. For the calcium, you can crush the egg shells very finely & add it to the milk. If you have children's multivitamin syrup, you can also give it in small amounts.

Their stools should be watery at this age.

A very nice Veterinarian opened up her office for me last night and gave me some KMR and a tiny nurser bottle for my little Missy ( I took the kittens to a SPCA volunteer who was willing to care for them, but ended up coming home with one...a little grey tabby we named Missy.) She is doing well, I feed her every four hours and she sleeps peacefully in between. After she eats I stimulate her to pee and poop, she pees every time, but has only pooped once and that was during the night on her blanket. I feel bad that she is all alone now, but I knew four kittens was too much for me. Missy is kept in a box on soft warm blankets in a heated room, so I think shes warm enough. I put a small stuffed animal in her box and she curls up in a ball by it to sleep She doesn't seem to like her nurser bottle much...she doesn't suck on it, she sort of chews it. I try to lay her on a towel and feed her but she just mews and crawls away so I have to hold her and put the nipple in her mouth. I've tried an eye dropper and a syringe too, but she doesn't like any of them. The only way I can get milk into her is to put the eye dropper by her mouth, hold her head still (gently of course) and she laps the milk up as I slowly squirt it out. She mews as she does this, does this mean shes unhappy? How do I know when shes full?

When they are that young, the best thing to do is to take a heated towel (from your dryer) make sure it is not hot, but warm. Fold your left (if you are right-handed) arm at the elbow, place the towell around your arm. Place kitten on her back in the crook of your arm and feed her that way. She will chew, that is normal for suckling young ones, and she will also let you know when she is full. That is the easiest way to feed her, and she will feel safe and secure being snugged up like that

Thanks for the tips Missy is doing very well...I have found a way to feed her that she seems to like. I hold her so that her back is against my chest and she is resting over my arm, with her chin resting on my forearm. She is eating 2.5 tsp per feeding. She seems full after this much, turning her head away. She had a big poopie last night when I was stimulating her with a warm cloth. Silly, but I took that to be a victory! From what I've been told, that is one of the more common complications with kittens this young, they don't eliminate properly and get sick. Missy is doing so much better than I would have ever hoped Keep the advice coming!