Found a stray kitten- Help!

[tulosai]

Tulsoai and Catwoman, obviously kitten formula is necessary, but kmr itself has cow's milk powder in it. If it caused most unweaned kittens diarrhea, I'm sure they would make it with goat's milk powder or whatnot.

@catwoman707

can doubtless explain why better than I can but it is not the same AT ALL.  Giving cows milk to kittens is a very very bad idea. Please see reputable sites like ASPCA http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/newborn-kitten-care for reasons why this is not okay.  I appreciate that it worked for your kitten but you were very very lucky and simply should not advise people who might not know any better to give it to their kittens. Kitten milk replacer, a homemade substitute like catwoman707 described, or goats milk (though this is not  perfectly ideal either and I only ever suggest it in if all else fails scenarios, typically when the poster is outside the USA or other developed countries) are the only things that should be offered to young kittens where mom's milk is unavailable or not sufficent. I am not meaning to be harsh, but you simply don't have correct information.

 
Hi guys! Thanks for all thereplies!

Last night after posting this I gave her chicken and fish and she LOVED IT. She ate it all very fast. So I'm guessing she just had no idea that the wet food is ...food. hehe.

She is older than I thought and at an age where she can begin to be socialized.  In sum  I agree with StephenQ's advice here. With that said, I just wanted to say a note on the food.  You should get her transitioned to wet food as soon as possible.  Feeding bits of chicken or fish on their own is not nutritionally adaquate over the long term. While as a stop-gap measure it is okay, she should not be kept on this diet long-term or really for more than a few days.

With that said, some people do feed their cats raw.  If you are interested in that, we have a whole forum on it, but you have to understand it's much more complex and time consuming than simply feeding the cat raw meat- you also have to feed organs, calcium sources, and many other things.

Glad to hear you are getting on well with her 

 

 

[catwoman707]

Hi everyone, well so great to hear back from you regarding this little kitten, and yes, what you described of her she is a girl.

My guess is approx 6 weeks, so that's another great update! Considering this, I do think rather than put her back, you should keep her with you, get her socialized well and vaccinated and spayed a bit later, she will make a darling companion.

I ADORE the name Bunny for her!  

In answer to a couple things, KMR is formulated to duplicate a mom's milk very, very closely.

The fact is, KMR AND mom's milk both contain about 4% lactose, which does cause soft poop/diarrhea, kittens who are nursing or bottle fed KMR will never have a solidly formed poop until they are off of it. This is the lactose however there are many other ingredients that are specifically created to load them with nutrients and many other things they will absorb and provide for healthy organ growth along with everything else, where-as cow's milk on the other hand is in now way the correct ingredients for a cat/kitten's system, so when given cow's milk, the lactose causes diarrhea and is giving nothing for them to absorb, very improper diet formulation and will cause a dibilitated kitten and cats too actually, quite fast.

In short it's like removing what's good and replacing it with nothing good for them. I hope this makes sense, cat's have a very specific makeup, quite unique, as in how they develop crystals in their urine, and the acid balances, and so on.

As for Bunny, my fave for weaning kittens is Royal Canin Babycat, as well as canned pate foods, chicken or turkey are really best. This is because the fish contain mercury, which builds up and can wreak havoc in time, plus when they get used to the fish taste, it's near impossible to get them to eat anything else.

Babycat I love because it is literally loaded with all the good stuff, including L-lysine. I have taken in litters of kittens who's mom was in very poor condition, due to malnourishment and having litter upon litter, just raping her system of any bit of nutritional reserve she had for her own healthy and wellness.

So she has malnourished kittens, and her milk doesn't give much either, so they come with very sparse, dull fur, dull eyes, very skeletal looking bodies and a pot belly, with ribs protruding.

Very sad to see, but I can turn all this around with Babycat and canned once a day, pretty darn fast too. They respond beautifully.

If you are not interested in Babycat for her, that's fine too, at this point you want her to be eating balanced food for her.  Chicken and fish works fine for a day or 2, but she really does need the right balance, so a decent canned food is fine. Simply smash water into it and you will know for sure she is getting plenty of water, which is extremely crucial.

It does seem that mom is infact alive and well, since this kitten is in such good, clean shape. You really could do her a huge favor and have her spayed asap.

Socializing? As @StephenQ  said, it's all about their tummies!! Only feed her from your hand, make her come to you for it, and when she does, pet her all over. If she backs off the first or second time, do not put the food down for her. Wait and offer it again in about 4 hours. She will NOT starve herself, and kittens metabolize food very fast, so she will be very hungry and willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how frightened she is.

Once this is achieved well, pet her then pick her up.

You will also want to hold/handle her as often as you possibly can.

6 weeks is super easy to tame

 

[fluffybeard]

Thanks Catwoman and tulosai for the info! That makes sense!

 

[stephanietx]

@ifoundakitty, most feed stores have KMR or something similar.  You can call and ask.  In the meantime, dilute the canned food with a bit of water and either syringe feed her or put it on a plate for her.

 

[ifoundakitty]

Hi guys!

Thanks for all the comments!

Bunny is doing great, she's been playing with me and getting less afraid with every passing day. I've kept her separated from my other cats but she does appear very healthy, no fleas and very good breathing. I'll be bringing her to the vet in a few weeks once I get my tax return back.

She's been eating wet food mixed with salmon and I've been giving her bits of chicken. Pooing and peeing normally and she's been covering her business in the litter box, which I'm impressed with. I figured it would be hard for her to learn to cover it but it's clearly a very natural instinct. She also scrapes her blanket into the litter box sometimes too lol. Very dedicated to hiding that poo apparently.

I think I saw the mother cat the other day but I can't be sure. I wish there were free spay and neuter clinics anywhere around me, I'd bring her in for a spay. I'm not 100% sure it was the momma cat I saw, I saw a semi fluffy white cat running to the barn but there is another (male) stray here that is white. It didn't look like him but it was quite far away so my eyes might have been playing tricks on me.

If there's one kitten, there must be more. I'm going to be contacting cat rescues in the area and see if there's any way to get cheap spay and neuters for the strays. I know there are none accepting cats (at least none that are no kill) because when I discovered the strays that have been living here, I called to see if I could find them homes. They said the best thing I could do would be to feed them and offer them some kind of shelter. I've been feeding them ever since and they happily live in the shed.   Where I am spaying and neutering is quite expensive, it was $220 (or around there) when I got my youngest cat spayed. My older cat was bought as an adult from the SPCA so she had already been done.

I'll keep updating you guys.