Need help with a kitten - rescued from wild monkeys

[levi68]

She is so adorable! And so so lucky to have crossed paths with you!

You've done a marvelous job so far

It's just an incredible story, thank you for sharing it with us.
 

 

[orientalslave]

Please do not give her a bottle on her back.  I can see it's cute, but it's all to easy for the milk to go down the wrong way.

As to the chicken breast, buy whole raw chicken, gently poach it, chop it up a bit and offer with the liquid you poached it in.  Also offer commercial wet cat food in a shallow dish.  If the kittens eyes are blue it's under 5 weeks, if they are changing colour then 6-7 weeks.

What will happen when you are no longer on holiday?

 

[buddha2013]

I try turning her to the side now when feeding her. When she is on the tummy she keeps on crawling and always loses the rubber tip after one attempt.

I gave her some cooked ham pieces yesterday from a sandwich. She really seemed to like the taste but instead of chewing it she sucked them in causing some heavy blurps.

I will try to teach her to drink milk from a cup so she becomes more independent from me.

Her eyes are not exactly blue, they are between grey and blue.

What will happen after my holidays, that's a good question. I cannot take her with me as I will go on a motorbike trip to northern India soon.

I met the owner of a guesthouse and a few other female tourists who stay there at least a few more weeks and would be willing to take care. The owner agreed to take her but who does not want to "have" such a cute kitten (the owner is an animal lover though, she raises baby birds when they fall from trees so she is probaly a good choice). But taking a kitten and taking good care are 2 different stories. There is another female cat too at the guest house, she and Lucky met each other already.

Not sure yet what I am going to do with her, I just want the best solution that most likely leads to a fulfilling cat life...any ideas anyone ?

 

[orientalslave]

Try her on her tummy with her front legs stretched out on a roll of towel.  The towel is like the mother's body and you position the rubber teat where her nipple would be - between the kitten's front paws.  I've tried without success to find some photos showing this.

 

[buddha2013]

Now almost all positions are ok already when feeding. She recognizes the feeding bottle already but still needs to get used to everything being a bit different now.

I found something she likes eating: sticky rice with a little coconut milk

She drinks so much milk hat her belly has visibly grown already. Should I always give milk when she wants it ?

Does a cat mom  provide access to teats without limits ?

 

[orientalslave]

The sticky rice and coconut milk won't give her the nutrtion she needs.  She needs to wean onto something suitable for cats, whose natural diet is small rodents and birds.  Commercial wet cat food, so long as it says 'complete' on the packing is probably easiest.  It's possible to make your own but you need the right recipe so it really includes all the nutrition a cat needs.

The mother gives unlimited access to start with but as the kittens start eating meat some start to limit access.  Others still happily feed hulking great 3-month old kittens!

 

[StefanZ]

The sticky rice and coconut milk won't give her the nutrtion she needs.

True, but you can use it as a treat. Or a "minor part" alternative to milk, or meat, now when she is beginning to wean for solely milk.

Btw, this could be probably useful for a cat with stomach problems. No enough nourishment for long term, but to help them manage through the immediate crisis.  Just add a little salt.  

Eggs are good!. Especielly if you dont have problems with salomonella in eggs there.  Raw egg yellow "yolk" is very nourishing, you can mix it into almost anything.  Dont give raw whites.  Boiled eggs are OK, may be whole.

If you have salomonella in eggs there, its best and safest to boil them.  Cats arent very sensitive to salomonella, much lesser than humans, but who wants to risk anything?

So boiled and minced eggs should be safe and useful in any variation.

Melting in butter is useful in some variations of homemade food. Gives both a lot of animal fat and some animal proteins. 

Just some ideas!

 

[buddha2013]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will offer her a few different foods within the next days. Plenty of food available in Thailand.

Not sure about the eggs. I personally avoid everything with chicken because most of them come from factory farming.

Still no poo yet but no signs of a problem/pain. She is mostly in a good mood.

She drinks and pees like a champ.
 

 

[buddha2013]

Update: Lucky is very healthy and happy. She eats boild rice, chicken and wet cat food already.

She socializes with all people in the guest house and we do time-sharing in caring.

There is another female cat here but they do not get along very well.

We will introduce another female cat today. If this works out well Lucky will find her new home at the other place (too many people in a guesthouse, too easy to step on a baby like her).