Feral Kitten

[KC14]

Late last night I found a feral kitten, I’m guessing that s/he is about 4 weeks old, s/he is currently in a carrier in my bathroom. I’ve never adopted a kitten before and I’m unsure how to proceed. I bought wet and dry kitten food as well as kitten formula. I gave him/her 2 tablespoons of kitten formula last night before bed per the box instructions and some water but throughout the night she was meowing and moving around and managed to up end both liquids into the carrier (and I don’t think she drank any of it). Now s/he looks like s/he is shivering but s/he won’t let me anywhere near him/her or the front of the carrier so that I can clean it out and give him/her some warm blankets. Does anyone have any advice about caring for this kitten in general and for getting him/her out of the carrier long enough for me to dry it out? S/he is terrified and I want to earn his/her trust but also want to make sure she is properly cared for and not cold/hungry either.

 

[Sarthur2]

Please warm the kitten immediately by putting a heating pad set on low under a blanket in the carrier, or a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel.

At 4 weeks the kitten is too young to eat solids quite yet.

Please offer kitten formula through a bottle or syringe every 2 hours for today, then every 4 hours once the kitten is drinking well.

Wrap the kitten in a towel or blanket to hold or feed it. It will struggle, but grip it firmly with only the head sticking out.

The kitten may transition to dry and wet food in the next couple of weeks, but right now it is cold, scared and hungry.

Spend time with the kitten, put the carrier in your bedroom, and put a soft stuffed animal in for cuddling. Kitten should calm down over the next few days.

Thanks for taking it in!

Can you post a picture?

KC14

 

[KC14]

I can post a picture later today, I may have gotten the age wrong, it’s just my best guess based on the internet. S/he won’t allow me near him/her though, how would you recommend I feed him/her? S/he is still very very scared and hisses if I get to close to the door of the carrier though s/he will close his/her eyes if I talk to him/her for a long time and then I can get closer if I move slowly but I haven’t tried actually touching him/her yet.

 

[StefanZ]

Wrap her up in a towel alike a burrito if necessary.

Observe being this defensive "ferale" she is prob older than 4 week, 6?
But this means also its not the same desperate hurry to get something into her.

 

[Sarthur2]

Put some Gerber turkey baby food on a dish inside the carrier. The kitten needs to eat.

As suggested, wrapping the kitten in a towel is the best way to handle the kitten right now.

 

[KC14]

Here s/he is. My friend thinks s/he’s probably closer to 6 weeks?

 

[KC14]

S/he came out of the carrier and has been hiding over on the corner for most of the day. S/he ate some wet kitten food so I put some more out but it doesn’t look like s/he’s touched the water yet.

 

[KC14]

S/he calmed down a lot when I put him/her in a towel burrito earlier but I’m not sure how often I should be doing that if s/he can eat on his/her own?
I have a vet appointment early tomorrow morning to get him/her checked out and find out the gender and age for sure. Are there any specific questions I should ask the vet while I’m there?

 

[maggiedemi]

She looks old enough to eat pate canned food and kitten chow dry food. Are you able to pet her yet?

 

[KC14]

I could only pet him/her when s/he was in the towel burrito. S/he still hisses every time I get too close

 

[maggiedemi]

My former feral Demi was about 6 weeks old when I found him. I petted him with a long handled duster. 3 days later he was in my lap.

 

[KC14]

That’s good to hear! I’ll keep spending time with him/her and trying to engage. S/he’s hiding in the corner of my bathroom and won’t come out but I put food and water over there and s/he’s eating but not drinking water as far as I can tell? Should I be worried about that or do something differently to encourage him/her to drink water?

 

[maggiedemi]

If she's eating canned food, she'll get some water from that. Some people even add more water to the canned food. Cats aren't huge water drinkers, but yeah always make sure she has a clean bowl of water.

 

[KC14]

It's a boy! His name is Leo and the vet says he's 6 weeks old. Looks like he may be coming down with an upper respiratory infection unfortunately but we have another appointment in a couple weeks to check on everything. So Leo pooped for the first time since I got him 2 nights ago, he has litter on his paws but he pooped on the floor instead and it's bloody? Something to call the vet about or wait and see? Also litterbox training advice?

 

[Sarthur2]

How is Leo doing now? Is he pooping normally? Did the vet give antibiotics for his URI?

 

[KC14]

Leo was doing great but last night he started behaving strangely? He stopped eating and has maybe eaten a tablespoon of wet food since yesterday around 4pm. He doesn’t want to play and doesn’t meow a lot. He mostly finds one spot on my bed and has just been sleeping all day. Should I be concerned? I’ve only had Leo for a week now but it’s unusual behavior for him (that I’m aware of). He’s been pooping normally and the vet didn’t prescribe medication but Leo has stopped sneezing so hopefully it’s cleared up on it’s own.

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like he is not feeling well.

I think you should take him back to the vet tomorrow.

 

[KC14]

I’m going to, first thing in the morning. I don’t know if I’m overreacting or not but better safe than sorry because I’m really worried about him at this point.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree! Please let us know what the vet says.

It sounds like he may have a fever. Do you have a clinic open today?

 

[KC14]

No unfortunately. My vet opens at 7am tomorrow though so I'll be there right at open to see if they'll take me as a walk-in. Does anyone have any suggestions for in the meantime? Leo isn't any warmer than usual though I'm not sure how reliable that is to tell if he has a fever or not