EMERGENCY!!-- help a lost kitten?

Question

We found a kitten and took care of it. But we're not sure if it's abandoned.

We want to leave it in the same spot outside so the mom can come back and gat it but it's raining. Even if we cover it, the ground's muddy and it's cold.

HELP???

Answer 1

Please keep it inside. Does it eat by itself? If so, feed it and take it to the vet for de-worming and de-fleaing, and then keep it. Its mum would leave it eventually soon. If it doesn't eat, you need to keep it worm and buy baby kitten formula and bottle feed it. either way, don't leave it out in the rain alone. It will be panicked, especially now that you took it in. Keep an eye ou for the mum, if you see a cat meow near where you found it show her the kitten, but don't just abandon it out there.  

Answer 2

Just because it is on it's own it does not mean that the mum is not coming back.  A lot of mothers will leave their kittens to go off and hunt. Especially if it is from a feral cat. Or the mum could be ill or injured somewhere.

i would call your local vet centre or animal shelter right away and they will be able to give you sound advice over the phone.

Answer 3

OK revising my answer since you gave me more info to go on:

If the kitten is crying alot, it is hungry!

If you cannot get a milk replacement for this baby, can you get a plain flavored electrolyte replacement for human babies? Here in the US it's called Pedialyte, not sure what it would be called where you are. It should be readily available in any grocery store. Just make sure it's non flavored and the kind suitable for babies, not grownup humans.

You MUST keep this baby warm! At this age they cannot regulate their body temp themselves and can become hypothermic VERY fast and die from this in a matter of hours. Keep this wee one on a hot waterbottle filled with WARM (not hot) water, or if you have a heating pad, you can use that set on the lowest setting. Do not set the baby right on ANY heat source, make sure to keep it wrapped in a soft towel or small baby blanket.

If you can get the milk replacement or pedialyte, give the baby this by mouth. It will not lap it up on it's own, you have to use either a baby bottle for animals or an eyedropper. Just remember they have small mouths so don't try to squirt too much in at once or the baby can choke. Just a little at a time. Try to have the milk replacement or pedialyte warm, the baby will accept this better than cold.

After eating, you have to help the baby go to the bathroom. At 2 weeks of age, they must be stimulated to go. Mom cat would clean and groom them after they eat, so you must do this for the baby now! Since she seems to be in pain when you handler her, I would assume she hasn't used the bathroom in a long time! Take a cotton ball (I believe you call it "cotton wool" in Australia?) and moisten it with warm water and gently wipe/massage the kittens genital area (under the tail) for a few minutes. The kitten should wee and poo for you. Just clean it off and then wrap the baby up and put her back on the hot waterbottle/heating pad.

If you don't have a hot waterbottle or heating pad, fill some rubbergloves, soda pop bottles, anything you can fill with warm water and seal up and use those.

You can also give the baby a "friend", single kittens do better when they have a "friend". And I don't mean go find another kitten! lol Just put a small stuffed animal in with it so it feels secure and thinks it has it's littermates with it or it's Mom.

Since you say you cannot keep this baby, just do these things until you can find a shelter or other suitable rescue source to take over for you.

I've raised 3 neonatal kittens now. One was 5 days old! My 3rd is now 5 weeks and living in my bathroom and is doing wonderfully. She is even litter trained!

So I've done this more than once and have a bit of experience. If you need more help, email me privately again.

Answer 4

ok so take it in since the mother probably wont come back for it and keep it warm try giving it warm milk and then as soon as u can put a notice up in the paper  

Answer 5

just purchase some goats milk and feed it, keep it warm in  a box , fill up a few soda bottles with hot water so the kitten will be warm inside. Keep the kitten for a week or two  they are very easy to care for. you'll eventually adjust and will keep it most likely becaue of its adorableness

Answer 6

Depending upon the age of the kitten, it may have already been weaned (able to eat solid food rather than the mother's milk.)  If it has tolerated solid food, without being sick, it's probably okay to assume that it has been weaned, and therefore will survive without Mama Cat.  I adopted an alley cat around 6 weeks old, quite small, but he's fine now, past a year old, and no major problems since being taken away from his mother.

If it has not been weaned, it's possible for you to put out dry or wet cat food for the mom cat, and reintroduce your kitten then.  If mom never comes back, and you can adopt, please do.  Occasionally, a new kitten can be introduced to another, already nursing mother cat, but not always. Contact your local pet store or vet about getting an eye-dropper/kitten bottle feeder and formula.  You're going to have to feed him if there are no other options.

Otherwise, please contact your local humane society or no-kill animal shelter, and ask about your options.  Usually, you can bring the kitten in and make a donation, and the little one will be taken care of until it's adopted.  

Adopting my two cats has been wonderful and rewarding.  Good luck.

Answer 7

The mother will not come back for it; if she was no where to be found earlier, it's likely she abandoned it. I don't know how old it is, but PLEASE do not put it back outside, covered or not. Kittens under a few weeks old cannot regulate their own body temperatures. They need to be kept warm (which is why they are usually huddled with their siblings). If you put it back outside, especially in the cold, it will go into hypothermia and die.

If you do not want to care for it, bring it to a vet or a local animal shelter. If you would like to keep it, call one of those and ask what you need to do. They'll give you step by step instructions.

In the mean time:

Keep it someplace warm, be sure to wash your hands before you touch it (their immune systems are very weak and can die easily), and rush to the store to get kitten supplement milk. You'll need to be feeding it very frequently (read the box for amounts and times).

That is, of course, if it's a young kitten. If it's 8+ weeks old then give it some kitten food and try to find a home for it. The mother won't take it back.

Once a mother abandons her kitten, she will not want it back! She abandons them because she thinks they're sick, or because she has too many kittens to care for, or she's too young. Trying to give it back to the mother will not work, and you're basically ridding the kitten any chance of survival by abandoning it yourself.

Answer 8

i would just suggest keeping the kitten. or finding it a suitable home. there is a chance the kitten is completely abandoned.

although if you really feel that you need to let the kitten free. wait until tomorrow or something. no kitten should be left in the cold rain. thats cruel.

but just think. almost anyone will take a free kitten. if you can put flyers up around your area. atleast if you give the kitten away you know it will be safe.

Answer 9

Take the kitten indoors and phone the RSPCA also you could put up 'lost kitten' posters around your local area describing it's characteristics. If you live in the UK regester it on this site http://www.animalsearchuk.com

Hope you find it's original owner, Good Luck

Mr Bee

Answer 10

why dont you put a notice up where you found it ,to say that you have found it. you never know it might be a childs and they might be upset about it.if no one comes forward about it then you can keep it.good luck

Answer 11

It won't go back to it's mother now.

If you can't keep it, give it to someone who can.

AND if it's raining outside DONT put the kitten out!!

It'll most likely, very likely die!!

Answer 12

the mother has many other kittens to take care of. you are doing a good thing taking care of this one. the mother cat will concentrate on all the others that she has.

you're doing a great job! enjoy your new kitty!

Answer 13

the same thing happened to me.

But i fed it... HUGE mistake.

she wouldnt leave and for three days she stayed outside because my parents said we had dogs and we couldnt have another animal in the house.

then these dogs scared her, so i took her in and adopted her, but my allergies got so bad we had to take her to a cat adoption center.

in your case, if you cant have cats, take it inside and take it to an adoption center as soon as possible. they dont charge you if you tell them its a stray and you found it

Answer 14

You can't keep it and there is no way to get it back to its mother. Use your brain - what other choices are there? You have to give it to another human being, yes? This means either giving it away privately or through the human society. You don't have to worry about it being put to sleep - everyone wants kittens, it's adult cats that are hard to adopt out. Please get it to the society as soon as possible (that means minutes or less than 3 hours, not days or even tomorrow) if you can't feed it. You don't want to starve it, and kittens need to eat a lot.

Answer 15

Well what if it was someones pet? You should ask everyone in the neighborhood if they know about it. If not put up signs for a week.And after a week if nobodies claimed it i would either leave it outside on a nice day or take it to a vets to see if its got a microchip. One more idea you could advertise it in a new paper and hoe somebody takes it!

Hope i helped!