# Wow...kitten advice?



## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I have officially adopted out the litter of 4 that I caught a few weeks ago. A wonderful couple decided to take 3 of them!

However, just as I send some out some come in i guess. I came home from running some errands and found a kitten in the middle of my backyard! I observed it for a bit. I know who the mum was as I've been keeping an eye on her. She's been moving the poor little guy all around, from where she gave birth, to my cat shelter, to somewhere else, to my other cat shelter, away again, and back to the big shelter.

I couldn't believe that after carrying him around all that way she would just leave it, but she has. I waited around 2 hrs (which i know really isn't enough time). I began to be worried because there is a pit bull in my neighborhood that the owners don't confine properly, and it had begun sniffing around my fence. Since my fence is broken and I couldn't just watch and let the little kitten get eaten, well...Here I am.

So, I have a kitten. It's eyes are opening, one a little more than the other (so cute!) and it's ears are beginning to stand up. I'm guessing it's somewhere around 9-10 days old, which would fit the timeline for the female.

I've gotten nutrience kitten formula, and i have a friend who's bringing me some Just Born. Is there anything else i should be feeding it at this stage?

I've read as many articles as i could lately about kittens, just in case something like this did happen to this first time momma, so I've got her in a kennel with a heating pad set on lot covering half. She's on top of a towel in the kennel. But I was wondering if there's anything else i should do.

Luckily my work will let me bring her, i called and asked. Good thing i work at a petstore...

Soo, generally...any suggestions on young kitten care???


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Sounds to me like you've got it all in order. I love the Just Born milk replacer. Best advice I can give is to buy at least two nursing bottles and several nipples so you can have a supply clean and ready while others are washing or drying. I like the PetAg(?) brand. It has "Ag" in the name.
The box, towel and heating pad kitten can move off of sounds great and I also think it is great that your job will let you bring the kitten so it can be fed often.
I bottle raised a litter of 5 who were orphaned at 9dys old and I found 2dys later when they were 11dys old. I did what you are planning to do and they did great and thrived.
Good luck, and piccies would be nice. :wink: 
Heidi


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

i do have a question. I've been trying to get it to nurse, but I've had no luck so far. She's licked my fingers when i spill the mix on myself, but isn't interested in the bottle. How do i get her to catch on?

I would love to put up pictures, but i just lent my camera to my sister for her vacation...I'll see what i can do though.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I had one who was difficult to get firmly onto the bottle and here is what I did;

I took one of the extra nipples (I think I had a half dozen) and enlarged the hole slightly. When I fed this kitten, I would squeeze the bottle a tiny amount to deliver a bit more milk. This encouraged him to eat and reminded him of what to do (suckle). I used the softest nipple with the most 'give' to it. 

Great care must be taken when doing this, as if the hole it too large or the squeeze of the bottle too firm it can deliver too much milk and cause problems. The possibility for tragic results is present...

There could be several reasons for the kitten being slow in taking the bottle; unfamiliarity, nipple too firm, taste/smell of the nipple material and even the different taste of the milk. Just be persistent and I am sure eventually the kitten will get the hang of it.
h


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

i did get her to eat today, I got some advice from some people who have done this before they showed me exactly what to do. They also suggested to try using a syringe, and once i tried that i've had a lot better time. She's catching on quickly, and i'll switch her to a bottle soon.

She doesn't seem to like the taste too much, is there anything i can add so she'd like it better? I've heard goat's milk yogurt can be good for digestion and maybe she'd like the taste? I'm not going to try it unless i know it's ok, but I'd like her to enjoy eating, I think it'd help.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I don't know... I do know I felt the Just Born flavor most closely resembled a mother cat's milk. 
Yes, I have tasted both because I was curious.  

I do not know if changing the formula will help or be detrimental (cat milk replacer to a goat milk) and cause tummy upset? I would probably be inclined to mix Just Born with KMR and eventually switch over to the KMR. You could ask others about their experiences with goat milk for kittens and see if it would give you better results. I do not know about it.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

She's eating well now, i'm feeding her about every 2-3 hours. Over night i wait 6, she doesn't seem to be having a problem with that. Her eyes are fully open, and she's learned how to purr (so cute!).

I do have one question...how di i play with a 2 1/2 week old kitten?? and she is teething, what can i get her to help? I've been letting her nibble on my fingers because she seems to like the texture of those better than a nipple without a hole in it. I know I shouldn't let her chew on me, but it seems like it really helps her sore mouth. Anything that might work better?

Also, when should i start to switch to lapping from a bowl/semi-solids, ect?

She is so cute...i wish i could post a picture...


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Myself, I'd probably just let her nibble on my fingers. Kittens do a lot of nursing and I think that is what she is simulating (mouthing, at least) when she is chewing on your fingers. I do think she should grow out of it as she matures.
You can try to introduce her to KMR in a dish whenever you want, but expect a Mess. Yes, with a capital "M". :wink: Myself, I would wait until 4-5 weeks and just introduce solid (canned, pureed) foods. I've always just bottle fed until they were 6-9wks old and stopped when they showed interest in stopping or were well past weaning age. I found it too messy to get them to drink KMR from a dish. I spent more time cleaning kittens than it would have taken to just bottle feed them.
Glad to hear she is doing well!
h


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