Have you ever raised a kitten?

Question

I found a very cute kitten yesterday afternoon. Kitten is about a week or a week and a half old. The kittens eyes are open. I have kitten formula and kitten bottle. I nuke the the bottle so the formula is worm. The kitten does eat (drink) from the bottle, and I help the kitten go potty by rubbing the kitten's butt with a worm rag.

Is there anything else I should know or do with the kitty to help him/her along?

Have any of you raised a kitty from such age? If so, how did he/she turn out? Does he/she cling to you, or act any different from another full grown cat, does the cat act friendly, mean or scared. Please let me know what to expect how my kitty may act when he/she if full grown.

Thank You...

Answer 1

I have never raised a kitten from such a young age, but I have raised them starting when they were roughly four weeks old. However, I have seen many of my peers and co-workers at the animal shelter I work at do this over and over again. You are doing great! The only suggestion I can think of is to make sure the kitten is warm. You can expect your new little kitten to be very attatched to you in the future because you hand-raised it, as this happens in most cases. Also, it would be a good idea to call your vet and ask for suggestions as well. Best of luck, thanks for being such a caring cat owner!

Answer 2

First off, good job on taking care of this kitten!

You seem to be off to a good start.

Be sure to stimulate the kitten to go potty after every meal. At this age, you should be feeding the kitten every 2 hours.

Kittens of this age cannot keep themselves warm, you have to make sure to keep him or her warm! You can use a hotwater bottle wrapped in a towel or a heating pad set on the lowest setting, wrapped in a towel. Make sure the kitten can move away from the heat source incase it does get too warm. If you don't have either of those, you can use a soda bottle filled with warm water.

Also it's good to let them have a "friend", if you have an old stuffed animal around they can snuggle with it helps them tremendously!

Be sure to have the kitten in a quiet area and keep it in a box or cat carrier so it can't wander off or get stepped on. I've seen it happen and it's so sad.

I have 2 adult cats that I raised from bottle babies. My male was 5 days old, eyes closed. Very small. He's now 13lbs and as intellligent as they come. He is very close to me, but not needy. The female is now 11lbs and I got her as a 2 week old. She is my little shadow, but she isn't overly clingy. Number 3 is currently living in my bathroom getting stronger by the day. I think she will do fantasticly.

Again, good job on taking in this wee one and all the challenges that come with raising a neonatal kitten.

It would be a good idea to weigh the kitten everyday if you have a scale that weighs such small amounts. It's a good way to make sure he/she is eating and growing well.

Also watch out for signs of an upper respiratory infection, which a lot of kittens get when they are born outside. If he/she shows signs of an URI, you MUST take them to a vet. If you see sneezing, runny nose, goopy eyes ... then a vet must evaluate the kitten and prescribe antibiotics.

Best of luck with your wee one!

Answer 3

I just happen to have done the same thing only 4mos ago. The little monster came wandering into our yard, my arms and heart.  I had to use a dropper with the kitten formula, as I didn't have a bottle. We got the bottle and it was wonderful. I went through a roll of film on his first month with us.

Yes you have to teach him to go to the bathroom with the warm rag. I learned this, right after you give him the bottle, take him to the littler box and rub his little paws in it, I'm sure you're doing that.  

Just love him. He'll tell you how he wants to be treated. I have two full grown adult cats and it didn't take too long for them to hang out together. Although, I didn't leave him with the older cats alone at first. Who knows what they may have done, as "Tiburon" (tiger in spanish) was sooo little. Now he's almost as big as they are, so its cool now.  

You just have to be careful that you don't step on him.  I stayed in the livingroom with him at night, the first few nights he was with us, and had a box with a towel in it, a low box so he could come and go as he pleased.  When I had to leave the house for a few hours, or go to bed I'd leave the TV on to Animal Planet,Nik and or the Public Childrens Programming. Just for some background noise.  

They are amazing and loving creatures. Yes, give him lots of love. He will act a little scared sometimes by loud noises and all. I use my food processor and blender daily and it used to scare my kitten, but he got used to it quickly.

"Him"  is a BABY, so just pay attention to that. If he wants to run under the couch from a loud noise, he'll come out, don't worry.  With love, care and the proper food, and exercise, he'll be fine.-----

Don't be alarmed at how much he sleeps, with each cat nap, they grow.  Be happy he chose you to be his new mama!

Answer 4

i wood say try to act like a motheer to it cause only a week old

Answer 5

Young kittens need lots of attention and they probably would become attached to you because you're the "mommy figure."  My best advice is to take it to the vet.  Have them tell you what you should do for it.  Also, it can get test for worms and other problems, since you found it.  It sounds like you're doing a great job, but you should really check with a veterinarian to make sure there aren't more things to do.  Good luck.

Answer 6

I breed Maine Coons.  The best thing you can do is find a nursing female to adopt it.  Be careful with the food.  Don't force feed it from a bottle or dish; it could aspirate and get pneumonia. At a week and a half you may have to tube feed the kitten.  CFA has info on that.  Just warm the KMR or Espilac (sp?) under your tap; nuking it could burn the kitten.  Our kittens all stay with us for at least the first twelve weeks so they get socialized by their mom and siblings but in your case the kitten could be extra clingy or even a wool/ear/finger sucker.

Answer 7

i have a kitten right now

you should not give them milk

after about a month or they get worms

they go to sleep a lot so don't worry if he goes to sleep a lot



also if you are going to change anything (like the formula you use)

do the change slowly, cats can sense change real well.

start playing with it and because it's a kitten, you need

to spend quite a while with him/her

Answer 8

Be very careful using the microwave to heat the formula it can cause hot spots.  It really isn't necessary to heat it, warm water works just fine.

Make sure the kitten stays dry and warm at all times.

I have lots of experience with kittens that young, and some do turn out a little different.

With out them having the benefit of littermates and mom to teach them different socialization skills they sometimes bite a little more than others and are a little more aggressive in their play.

You will also have to show her how to use the litterbox when she is ready.

http://www.acfacats.com/orphan_kittens.h...

http://www.catsplay.com/thedailycat/2002...

Answer 9

kittens get in to everything so keep a close eye on it as it grows up. Make sure you feed it often but not to often. Also it should have a nice comfortable, warm place to sleep at night. Also right after you feed it put it in a litter box so it can be litter trained. My cats that I've hand raised are a little bit clingy but not to clingy.If you have any more questions just ask.

Answer 10

i have 3 right now.

make sure to feed it every 2-3 hrs. make sure it stays warm, you can buy special heating pads for kittens you warm up in the microwave. put a stuffed animal in the crate or whatever you are keeping it in so it has something to snuggle up to. be careful heating the bottle. using a plastic bottle with a long nipple is probably the best. if the kitten is having any trouble drinking squeeze the bottle a tiny, tiny bit. make sure it is going potty. ive seen lots of kittens grow up without a momma at the humane society where i work and they usually turn out just fine. most do have littermates though. there was one single kitten and she was a brat, but we snuggled her and held her and forced her to socalize with other kittens and she turned out okay and got adopted. once it gets old enough if you know anyone with kittens have playdates, lol.