Cat People? I need HELP!
 

Okay....here is my problem:

I found a kitten (about maybe 4 weeks old) under my deck in front of my house. I don't know how she got it in there. The space was barely big enough for my hand. When it was crying, I searched for it. I could only see it's little head and when I touched it to get it out, it went further back under there.

I just tapped on the edge of the board and it came back again. I waited until it was far enugh out so I could grab it's little teenie head and drag it out from under there.

OMGosh!! Both eyes are full of pus! They were sealed shut with pockets of it underneath each eye that looked like stuffed chipmunk cheeks. Little nose is crusty too. I am heart broken and devastated. I hate people that don't spay and neuter and then let them run wild to starve! This baby is a bit emaciated, too.

I took it to the vet. They say I can come pick it up in about 30 minutes. Oh....I really don't want a cat. But I just can't leave this baby like this. So...I don't know how often to feed it and I suppose they will tell me how.....but do any of you have any sage advice for me? I so don't know what the heck I am doing. I have hand raised birds, but never a kitten this small.

Please help me save it's little life.

Sammi

Oh I think there was someone on here who had a litter of kittens that they nursed back to health! I can't for the life of me remember who!

I would call the local pet supply store or animal shelter and ask for a suggestion. I have no idea what you're supposed to feed it. But you could probably feed it with an eye dropper. I think its every 2-3 hours.

I really don't know much about this. I hope someone else can help you out! Best of luck, and THANK YOU for taking in this kitten!

The puss you saw was probably mostly to do with there eyes cleating up which eye drops always worked for that. Feeding requires every 2 to 3 hours with formula you can buy. Luckily at being at 4 weeks its about to go on hard food but you can try wet food. It should pick up on kitty litter soon. There is the possibility is that you will have to wipe its wee wee parts and behind to make him go potty. The mother does it in the beginning. It really too bad I've several by hand at 4 weeks.

Sorry for bad grammar and misspelt words I'm using my phone at work and checking trucks lol!

I'm sure you'll get all the help you need from the vet. They will be able to give you a good idea on how old the kitten is.

Let us know how it goes.

I was bottle feeding a litter that I just sent to a rescue now that they were eating on their own. I fed them KMR with a bottle. I fed the kittens every 4 hours usually as much as they wanted. And when they were under 4 weeks I rubbed their butts with a warm wet rag to make them go to the bathroom everytime I fed them. If it's eyes are matted it probably has an upper respiratory infection. The vet will probably give you Amoxicillin drops to give to it everday.

Yep. They said I have to be a butt rubber, too.

She/he is about three weeks. She got Clavamox (oral) and Terramycin Opth. Ointment. This one little stray kitty has cost me ver a hundred so far. I sure hope this is all it needs for now.

My Sassy got so excited she was quivering. I only let her sniff it through the carrier and then after I fed it, I let her sniff it. She was most interested in it's little ears.

I guess I will feed it again at ten this evening and get up at four for the next feeding. I sure hope I am able to make it healthy.

I truly do not want a cat. After I get it big enough I will try to give it to someone who does want one.

I discovered the other four from the litter on the side of my house. I have asked my neighbor if she will help. She was wanting them for a friend but now that they are sick she doesn't seem quite as interested. I bought her a bottle and some milk and will share the medicine withher if she will help. I have to wait and see what her decision is. If whe won't, I guess I'll have FIVE kittens. Oh MY!!

Lord, help me! :(

Thanks for all the responses I got. I was in a bit of a tizzy. :p

She probably has a respiratory infection which is really common in kittens, especially unvaccinated and uncared for ones. The antibiotics ought to clear it up.

I would keep in her in a small area...like a hard pet carrier, large box, crate, or small exercise pen. Put a litterbox in there with low sides so it is easy for her to crawl in. She should pick up on the litterbox quickly if you start putting her in there. Also, if she's got teeth you can start feeding her food. You can get kitten food and mix it with some kitten formula to get it soft for her. If she can't eat that, you might have to bottle feed for another week before she's ready to eat real food. Be sure to take a warm, most cloth or cotton ball and rub her bottom to help her go to the bathroom. They usually start going on their own about this age, but stimulation there will help with that too.

God bless you whatever you decide. We took in a kitten -- Toby -- nearly two years ago. He was barely weaned.

We weren't in the market for a cat, already having one, and an anti-social one at that. And a Yorkie. And a tiny house. We kept him in the bathroom. Brought him out and introduced him to both Ozzie and the rest of the house very slowly.

I wanted to find him a home but it was too late. My mother was enamored with him so we were stuck with him.

I've grown to love the little bugger, though he can be a real pain in the butt.
That said, could you pass this up? :)

(Just got this picture TODAY. It was on a mystery roll of film in my manual camera that got abandoned when I went digital last year!)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:This is what I was going to tell her :) Great post Michelle.

I have her (him?) in a carrier. It wants out! I take it out frequently and pet it and let it walk about. Sassy is very interested. I am very careful. :p Sassy wants it to play with her. She stomps her front paws at it. So I am watching v-e-r-y carefully.

The neighbor put the other four back out with their mother. Now I will have to battle to get them medicated. She is ferral and I was so wanting to acclimate them to humans so they could be placed. I know that at six weks feral kittens are something to be reckoned with. Their little teeth and claws are very sharp!

I am going to do my best for all of them.

Sweet photo. :)

I am hoping not to become too attached (fat chance!). Cats like to get into everything, I remember. Plus, Yorkie pee-poop is just about as much as I can handle. I know they go in a litter box but the way I feel about litter boxes is...UGH!

My son found a kitten under the neighbor's porch about that age. We took it to the vet and he had fleas, worms and ringworm!! He was a mess! I dunked his little lips into a bowl of milk and he caught on right away so I didn't have to use a bottle. I used a pet taxi and a small foil pan as a litter box. I kept him confined to the kitchen and left him in the pet taxi at night. With the ring worm and fleas, he didn't get to go very far and my kids had to cover up to hold him. I did not want a cat either!!! However, that was 8 years ago and now Oliver is a healthy, beautiful, spoiled cat! He and Sebastian are best friends and they even sleep curled up in the chair together! Best of luck to you!!

Well....the story evolves...

I should start at the VERY beginning:

When I first discovered the kittens in the beginning (a couple of weeks ago), they were right where her yard meets ours. They were in a hedge that straddles our property line and we had cut the shrub back to accomodate some work we were having done in the yard. She told her little girl "Well, honey, you were sad because your friend always had kittens and now you have kittens". I was very okay with that. So they were always out there with the kitties. Good. Made me happy.

I had put food there for the mother and she came over and did some stuff....put a box there so the mother could put her kittens in the box if she wanted to ????? (which she didn't) and they were always out there with them. Then the mother cat moved the kitties and I haven't seen them until today, which is what I wrote about earlier.

I have that one little kitten in my house that I took to the vet. I had rescued the other four and had asked the lady next door if she wanted to keep them at her house or what. She took them and put them in her garage and I went to the vet. While I was there I bought kitten formula for her to feed the kitties that she had. And a bottle for her as well. When I got home I got it all ready and took it to her. Put the hole in the nipple and everything first. Then I went to her garage and medicated their little eyes with antibiotic ointment and gave them a dose of the oral antibiotic. She wouldn't do it. Said it was icky. Eeeuuuu. She was going to bring them to me in the morning so I could do it again. I was good with that.

AND THEN....she came and told me that her husband tried to feed them and only one would eat so she gave them back to their feral mother. :eek:

Aaaarrrggghhh! :mad: They are sick! They need care! Their eyes aren't as bad as the one I took to the vet but they are all matted with pus. Antibiotics! They need antibiotics!

Now I don't know if I am going to be able to find them in the morning. The mother may very well move them again. If she doesn't, I guess I will just try to watch for when she goes away. Then I will rescue them again. I surely don't want a fight with a feral cat, now do I? Sheesh!

Remember that I said I didn't want a cat? Well...looks like I may have FIVE!! Oh my gosh!! Five.

:confused: I sure hope I can do all five okay. :(

You are SO sweet to try! If they are meant to be spared, the way will clear for you to get to them. Perhaps they wouldn't make it anyway. (Not trying to be crass, just realistic. Believe me when I say I'd be doing what you are.)

If nothing else, you did your good for the universe by taking on this one. He/she was sent to you. I think it's the Japanese who say that if you save a life, you become responsible for it. Boy is that ever true!:)

May God bless you for all your efforts.

Thank you! I appreciate your response.

Here is the current info:

I have to wait for the mama kitty to leave because she growls and hisses at me. I am afraid of her. When she is gone, I rush out there with the antibiotic ointment for their eyes and hurry up and get them doctored. :D The only bad thing is that they are now beginning to hiss at me too. And growl. Their hisses and growls are not nearly as intimidating as hers. BUT...I am guessing that by the time a week has passed, they will be a force (of claws and teeth) to be reckoned with as well. Right now, even though I know they can't hurt me, there is something about that little explosion of air that bursts out of them that make you instinctively withdraw the hand. LOL Mini breath explosions. I had to laugh at myself over that one.:p

I actually ended up with two of them here in the house. The other one I brought in wasn't as sick as the first one, but is much smaller. They are skinny. I am trying to fatten them up. I bathed it and got off a few fleas. They are both black so the fleas are hard to see. I don't want Sassy to get fleas so I have them in my bathroom. My best friend is a rescuer of all distressed kitties, and she is coming in a few days to show me how to de-flea them. She is a real cat lover and very experienced in all of this. I can't wait for her to get here.


Meanwhile....live and learn, eh? They are so tiny!

Thanks again. :)

aww best of luck with all of this! As they get older, you might want to try putting on gardening gloves or something really THICK like that so momma can't get you. :p

Best of luck. Thank you for helping these babies!

That's a really good idea, and Thank You! I almost peed myself today in a small skirmish with her and them. LOL

Grief! That rough, huh?:)

Hang in there, St. Francis!:cool:

LOL :p

You can scruff them to pick them up when they are hissy. If you handle them every day they will calm down. Kittens tame down fast. Dawn dish detergent is the best thing to wash kittens in to get rid of fleas.

Yep...that's what they are alright...hissy. :)

I am not really afraid of the kittens. But mom...now she has some very sharp looking fangs. She like to show them to me. :eek:

I actually tried to ignore her and go to them anyway...but....had second thoughts on that. She wanted to attack me. :( I did medicate them twice yesterday but she has been there all day, today. I am afraid if I upset her too much, she might move them and then I would have no chance at all to try to help them.

Thank you all so much for your supportive words. I tremendously appreciate every one that posted.

Bless you all.

Sammi

wow i just read this whole thread and i'm at the edge of my seat! i hope you get the other three in your house! can you post pictures of the two that you have? how are the feedings going?

I have begin them on some very soft food I got from the vet. They don't want the bottle anymore so I put the kitty formula in a small bowl. I go to them frequently to show them the food and milk again. They generally partake every time I do this.

Miss Sassy is extremely interested in them but her interest scares me a little. She isn't exactly mean but sort of bossy acting. Leaping at them and the like. So I have to be a hawk.

I brought them into the kitchen where I could put them behind Sassy's gated off area so they could wander around. Lost one! :eek: Panic time! I looked under the fridge,,,cover on that, no way it could fit. Looked under the stove. Nope. Nowhere they could get anywhere like that. Hmmm. Didn't consider it going right through the barrier. After I found it the first ime in the living room, I watched the second time and caught it. So, that won't work for them until they grow some. :p


Photos as requested, coming up. Tiny babies! The one of Mama was at the end of her display. You don't get to see ALL the teeth like I do. :eek:

Mommy looked so fierce in the 2nd picture :) The greyish kitten on the far left in the last picture looks beautiful!

She does look fierce there, but you should have seen the full display! Yowzer!

Do you want that little grey one. I'll ship. :D

ETA: Totally free. All you pay is shipping. LOL

Awwww ... They're pretty cute. Looks like Sassy has some siblings. :)

They are beautiful!

Mommy looks like my old cat Muffin...and the little grey one in the middle looks like my old cat Smokey when he was a baby. I want him/her. :p