Possibly abandoned kitten?

[weakoctober]

Hi all.

The past few nights I have heard a kitten meowing excessively for hours on and off. Usually for the better portion of an hour at a time. Obviously this tugs at the heart strings so last night I went obsessively searching and found what looks to be around a 4-5week old kitten that was hanging out in my neighbors engine. She appears to be in decent health but it was difficult to get a good look at her. While in the process of looking - and making sure she wasn’t stuck or something - she shot out and ran around my house and into my backyard. I followed but she continued to run so I assume she is not accustomed to people at all and didn’t want to scare her further. I left out some moist cat food and tried to ignore her cries, which mostly came from my neighbors car but she also seemed to wander a bit around my house as well.

Tonight the kitten moved over to my car, and she did at one point approach me as I sat statue-still a couple feet away trying to figure out what to do, but as soon as I spoke she fled. A couple of times tonight she has crawled down from inside the car and we’ve stared at each other for a few minutes but she always crawls back up and has appeared to move to my boyfriend’s car now. (I already alerted my neighbors to check for a kitten in their car, by the way.) I left out some food and at two points tonight as I’ve been obsessively observing from my window, I saw a cat approach the car cautiously, eat the food I’d left and leave while the kitten cried in increasing desperation. I’m not sure how to approach this situation. We do have a large stray/feral cat population but I would have assumed the mother would have come back by now? I have tried to leave the area for a couple hours but it seems she’s sticking around this area. Was hoping the cat I saw today was the mother, but I’m not too sure. I have adopted/rescued a very young kitten before so I feel confident I could take care of it but only if it is really abandoned. Any tips? And if it really does appear to be abandoned, how can I go about approaching/catching it? Just looking to do what is best for the kitten!

 

[weakoctober]

Looking back through the photos of my cat, I actually might say this kitten is closer to 6 weeks of age possibly? Though still quite small.

 

[weakoctober]

Okay all, so I may have made a rash decision but I am hoping it is for the best. My neighbor came out and after a couple of hours we retrieved the kitten. They are absolutely tiny. Much smaller than I thought, though their eyes are not blue. The deciding factor was grasping the kitty and feeling their bones and seeing gross stuff in their eyes and what I assume are mites in their ears, if not just dirt. I am taking them to my vet in the next hour. They’re currently in a cat carrier in a room separate from my cat and munching on the tuna that finally lured them out. I hope I made the right decision! Also, a very bad photo.

 

[klunick]

Okay all, so I may have made a rash decision but I am hoping it is for the best. My neighbor came out and after a couple of hours we retrieved the kitten. They are absolutely tiny. Much smaller than I thought, though their eyes are not blue. The deciding factor was grasping the kitty and feeling their bones and seeing gross stuff in their eyes and what I assume are mites in their ears, if not just dirt. I am taking them to my vet in the next hour. They’re currently in a cat carrier in a room separate from my cat and munching on the tuna that finally lured them out. I hope I made the right decision! Also, a very bad photo. View attachment 357708

Saving a life is never a wrong decision!! Good luck with the little one. Let us know what the vet says. A good ear cleaning, some meds for the eyes, and regular feeding should get this guy/girl healthy in no time!!

 

[weakoctober]

She is currently inside but vet called to check up and says she is all healthy. Just need to bring back a stool sample to check for parasites and they’re bathing her to check for fleas (also because she’s so dirty!). So hopefully I’ll have a nice little before and after photo for y’all! Also, vet called her a little “jellybean” so maybe that’s a name option? We named our other rescue cat Nugget as our vet loved calling her a little nugget

 

[weakoctober]

Oh also! Would love some advice on getting her adjusted. Not sure if she was a stray/feral or just dumped by someone. She’s about 6 weeks old according to vet. I will be keeping her separate from my other cat for quite some time I’m sure, in a room by herself. I’m sure a lot of things will be experimental since I don’t know what background she is coming from. I am particularly worried about socializing her. But if anyone has had similar experience and can let me know how to best make the lil bean more comfortable, I’d be appreciative!

 

[fionasmom]

I have done this more times than I can probably remember as I only deal with ferals unless an abandoned pet happens to come along in the mix and needs help.

You are really kind to have helped her. Watching an adult cat eat her food as she desperately cries for it would have put me over the edge as well.

It seems as if you know quite a bit about cats and certainly had no trouble getting her captured. At this point, you are getting to know her and I would continue with the separate room and visits to let her feel comfortable with you. At 6 weeks she should be very easily socialized. With cats that young, I have often kept them with me as much as possible, depending on your lifestyle, other cat, house arrangement. I have found that you can go faster than with an adult stray or feral who might be frightened or rescued from a bad experience and needs time to settle in. Socializing her with your other cat is the next step and there is a lot of information on TCS about that if and when you need it. When I rescued baby Jamie he was about that old, starving and filthy and I was basically able to run him down and grab him from a wall he was trying to climb. It seemed as if he just accepted me as mom and we went on from there.