Found a litter of tiny kitties, no teeth yet, in our back yard. Mama not right there, but we have a large feral cat population in neighborhood, so could be nearby. Kittens covered in fleas. I think at this age they need their mama, even out in the wild, more than they need human help, right? I'm so torn. they're so tiny, I just want them to be safe.
__________________
peace and moonpies
Logan, proud parent to Cass, the anime nut and Walt, the American Idol.
"If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Because if there is no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world." ~ Angel
Maybe call a local rescue group to ask them what to do?
I would find a way to get them inside, even if you can't find mama.
I could bring them in sans mama and feed them by hand, I just don't know what's best for them; the mama milk that has to be better than kitten formula, or being safe in our house away from fleas and predators.
well, the question is if there is actual mama milk. Is mama around? If mama is not around, then kitten formula is better than nothing.
I will tell you this about that. We tried hand feeding a very young kitten (I think maybe two weeks) and she lived one day. If you do decide to bring her in, get a special bottle for her. But, really, mama is best at this age.
__________________
Jonathan
Louisburg Cider Mill
October 2009
"Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law?
Jesus said until him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And, the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments have all the law and the prophets."
Location: The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Posts: 35,106
well, i think i'd risk them not being w/ their mama, esp. if she is feral. you can help the babies & give them a chance @ a nice life
i'd bathe them in a gentle soap & try to get off as many fleas as possible.
one of our year old cats we have now, we adopted fromthe humane society last summer.. she was a wee bitty thing *maybe* 2w old, she had no mama so we were able to adopt her. she is thriving, so it is possible to help them.
well, i think i'd risk them not being w/ their mama, esp. if she is feral. you can help the babies & give them a chance @ a nice life
I agree w/this, but have no basis for it other than it just seems right to me. The info we have is a set of very young kittens, w/no mom around, in a feral cat population, and covered in fleas. I just think their odds are better to be brought in. Mama may not have much in the way of milk if she's wild anyway. And why did she leave them? She must really have to hunt just to survive herself.
I am currently mama to two kittens that were found at about 10 days old, eyes still closed. There were 6 of them, born to a feral mama who left them, found drowning in a windowwell during a nasty storm (well, 7 but one was already dead). I have been caring for them since they were 4 wks old. They have been bottle fed by a friend and myself and all are thriving.
My suggestion is to make your own formula, as the formula that you buy for kittens in a can gives them horrid diarrhea.
Here is the recipe we used, we got it from our vet.
You can get little bottles and tiny nipples from petsmart, or order them online in bulk. The starter set its about $5 and you get one bottle and 3 or 4 different nipples. Once they start teething, they will really bite the nipples up.
Cut a decent size hole in the nipple, and slowly squeeze as they drink.
2 12 oz cans evaporated whole milk (or is it 14oz? I can't remember,20either one is fine)
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (like Knox, I buy Kroger brand)
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp full fat mayo
2 tbsp full fat yogurt
2 tbsp molasses or corn syrup or honey
You microwave 3 cups of water till it boils. Add the gelatin and sti r till dissolved. Slowly add the egg yolks while whisking. Add remaining ingredients, whisk, and refrigerate.
It firms up like jello in the frig, Just use a small syringe to suck it up and squirt it into the bottles, then microwave them, or scoop a little into a small bowl and use a funnel to put into the bottle.
Let me know if you have any other questions. When they are this little, they will need to eat as much as they will take, every 2 to 3 hours around the clock. We had one that needed to be tube fed for awhile, because he couldn't suck.
Also, get natural, no clump litter, so if they eat it, they don't choke. Also, just a couple minutes after they eat, hold them over the litter and gently stroke their belly so they go to the bathroom there.
We also took an old fleece blanket and cut into smaller blankets for them to snuggle into.
Just a couple pictures to show you them. They are 10 wks old now. These pictures are when they were about 4 wks old.
This is Marvin. The only long hair of the litter:
And this is Kip. We kept two of the boys:
You are wanting to do a wonderful thing mama, but it is a LOT of work.
__________________
Chris
Mama to 4
Do what you can reasonably, and leave the rest to God" ~Fr. Joseph Quigley
Alex, my 12 yo who is growing up SO quickly
Well, the weather decided for me. I put them back outside in a box near where we found them, but an hour later is started to rain. Mama had moved one kitten and left the other two in the box. Mama is just a baby herself, poor thing. I bathed the kittens and they were so, so infested. I don't know if I even got half the fleas off of them.
I have humane traps because I've been working with Cat Haven to trap/spay/release our feral cat population, which is rampant after years of my neighbor feeding them. I'm gonna try to trap mama tonight and take the whole family to the vet in the morning.
Chris, thank you so much for the advice! I so, so hope these babies make it. Cassie recently had a huge disappointment in her life and when we found the kittens she told me she thought it was a message from the goddess, something else to focus her energy on instead of being so sad.
I have humane traps because I've been working with Cat Haven to trap/spay/release our feral cat population, which is rampant after years of my neighbor feeding them. I'm gonna try to trap mama tonight and take the whole family to the vet in the morning.
We took Dazy in. He had been abandoned at about 10 days old. His eyes had just opened that day judging by the look of them. He looked so scraggly. I bottle fed him and wiped his little body parts for weeks before trying baby food. He really has some interesting quirks, but don't we all? He's going to be 4 years old this year. I am totally his mama and he imprinted on the boys and thinks he is one of them.
__________________
Steph
dolls to the Amazima doll project made by the GBH group
I'm glad that the mama cat showed up. Your plan to use a humane trap and get them to a clinic sounds perfect. I've done the whole kitten thing, but with the mama there 24/7, and she did a TON of work. The feeding was a lot of it, but she also groomed them almost constantly, and (sorry...TMI) took care of all of their waste. Our kittens didn't need to use a litterbox until they were about 4-5 weeks old; until then, mama took care of that.
Linear Mode
