Found stray kittens, not sure how old.

[Sondos J]

Hello! I have found five kittens and a mama cat around the block, and i have the space to take in one kitten. I am not sure how old the kittens are, and whether they need to stay with their mama for longer.
i will post about the kittens in a local cat group, so hopefully the other kittens can be rescued.
TLDR: Help me identify whether i can take in this kitten.
(Open to questions and educate me please if you feel i need to know certain things)

 

[Sarthur2]

Is anyone feeding the mama cat? Put some wet and dry food out and see if the kittens will go for it.

They look to be between 6-8 weeks. Are they socialized?

Although kittens should ideally stay with mom for 10-12 weeks, If no one owns the family the kittens can probably go to homes now.

Someone needs to spay the mother cat. Can you see that this happens as well?

In fact, if you could bring the whole family inside for now, it would be ideal.

 

[Sondos J]

The mama cat is occasionally fed, and she doesn’t seem to mind me being around her and her kittens, and they all eat the wet food i place for them.
they seem a bit timid, i can’t really pet the kittens or get close but i can with the mama.
They dont seem minding the place they’re in, it’s a bit sheltered so i might wait a week or two before bringing a kitten in.

I will look into neutering the mama, and look for organizations to help me.
Thanks for the reply!!

 

[Sondos J]

Hello,
I have recently found a family of 4 kittens and a mama but one of the kittens looked weaker.
I took the cat in and it didn’t eat for more than 12 hours.

I managed to give it a couple of chunks of kitten food but that’s it.
The kitten cant walk and after the vet visit just now the vet confirmed that she is not walking because she’s very weak and under weight.

i have weighed the cat around 615 grams where it should be double that.

the cat is refusing the bottle milk i am feeding it and not eating kibble that i am feeding it from my hand.
I am extremely worried and don’t know what to do to help it eat.

 

[Lola'sMom]

One trick I used in the past when my kitten arrived to me under weight - mix in a little baby food with the kitten wet food. Try a couple different flavors. I just put a spoon dab in there for flavor and she took to it. Soon she was eating just her normal kitty food. Did the vet offer more help or guidance? If cats go too long without eating other complications emerge.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[StefanZ]

Hello,
I have recently found a family of 4 kittens and a mama but one of the kittens looked weaker.
I took the cat in and it didn’t eat for more than 12 hours.

I managed to give it a couple of chunks of kitten food but that’s it.
The kitten cant walk and after the vet visit just now the vet confirmed that she is not walking because she’s very weak and under weight.

i have weighed the cat around 615 grams where it should be double that.

the cat is refusing the bottle milk i am feeding it and not eating kibble that i am feeding it from my hand.
I am extremely worried and don’t know what to do to help it eat.

Have you tried with giving it food by syringe? Having momma, he was probably using to eat from momma....

So bottle perhaps wont work either. Syringe is the usual in such cases. Or a dropper if you dont have a syring.
In the corner of the mouth, slowly. Till the kitten gets the hang of it and suckles itself.

You can also try with having kmr or goats milk on a little sponge, say such as used for make up. And let the kitten suckle from this.
This works for some.

You can always give some extra energhy by putting a droplet of white caro syrup on its gum, beneath the lips.

Also, the kitten is surely much dehydrated; but it will be the same trick; water or kmr via this syringe / dropper.
Often and as much it will take.

Be sure the kitten is warm. You can also massage it with your fingertops or a soft teeth brush... Talk softly and make crooning noises...

 

[StefanZ]

ps. do not use cow milk - may cause diarrhea. (raw cow milk probably safer)

Kmr, kitten mothermilk replacement, or goats milk, are both much safer.

You can also try with yoghurt. Best full fat unflavored youghurt.

 

[Sarthur2]

Get a can of powdered KMR (any brand but Hartz). PetAg, GNC, and Royal Canin are good. Buy unflavored pedialyte and mix it with the powdered formula instead of using water. Also, pick up a few jars of Gerber turkey or chicken baby food to have on hand. Pick up a 5mL syringe for free from a pharmacy.

Hold the kitten in an upright position and give milk through the syringe. If the kitten fights it, go slow and hold the scruff and let the kitten taste and swallow the drops. Keep this up every 1-2 hours until the kitten is used to the syringe and eating well.

Once the kitten is taking formula well you can try the baby food in the syringe or on your finger.

It sounds like this kitten needs tender loving round the clock care for a few days to get its strength up, and I am surprised the vet did not give fluids or try to feed the kitten formula.

Can you bring the mom and the other 3 kittens inside? At 2 months old the kitten still needs its mom and siblings.

Please keep us posted and would love a picture!

Sondos J