I found a 4wk old abandoned kitten... help!!

Question

The long story ... this morning my son and I found 2 dead kittens in our back yard. It looked like they had been killed by another animal from their injuries. It broke my heart .. we named them and buried them. This evening we were sitting outside when we heard a noise by our shed. My son went to investigate and found a 3rd kitten trying to find its way into our shed. She was covered in dirt and leaves and had not been cleaned or fed for some time. We did not hear or see any momma cat and had not this morning either. We brought her into the house and called my vet's office and talked to the the person on emergency duty. He told us to get some kitten replacement formula which I did right away. My son cleaned the kitten and made a bed for her in an old wicker picnic basket with a lid. I mixed the formula according to directions and we fed her. I lined the bottom of her basket with a fluffy bath towel and put some smaller washcloths in there for her to snuggle up to. I also snagged one of my dogs soft play toys and put it in there. Is there anything else we should do? Will she sleep ok n there? Should we feed her during the night?

Answer 1

The only thing I would be able to say on this is that if she has trouble with the formula try goats milk instead. When we took in abandoned kittens (they were about 4 weeks too) they had a hard time making the transition from their mother to the Mother's Milk stuff.

Otherwise you're doing great! Like everyone else said, feeding intervals of about 4 hours works best, and just try to keep her comfortable and happy.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Oh bless your heart. If you have a hot water bottle I suggest sticking that in there under a towel to mimic littermates/mom's warmth. Also a clock that ticks as a replacement for heartbeat. I would feed her every 4-6 hours.    

Answer 3

If she's four weeks, she should do just fine with being fed at night before you go to bed and then first thing in the morning. Feed her at about 4 hour intervals.  

Answer 4

you can use homeopathy to help with trauma & fright. most stores carry one called arnica which i'd give 2nite (a pellet in water, use a dropper if it doesn't drink, just a drop of two is enough. that will arrest shock, keep things from getting worse. also buy aconite in case arnica doesn't help all the way. poor thing, im so glad you found it and am sorry to hear about the other two but that was sweet for you to name and bury them. our vet uses homeopathy and acupuncture but not everyone does but its safe and really really helps.

Answer 5

I'm not sure about the feeding but i assume maybe once through the night see if she wants a little. Try putting  a ticking clock under the bedding it simulated the heart beat of the mother cat might make her relax a little more. Porr little thing

Good luck with her :)

Answer 6

she should always be near you in the night because if she wakes up and starts meowing its one of three things:

shes scared, shes hungry, or she needs to use the bathroom.

itd prolly be better for you to keep her snuggled against you.

dont bathe her with anything but water as of now and make sure you keep her wrapped up afterwards.

Answer 7

It sounds like you're doing the right things. The kitten may need to be fed through the night. Usually every 4 hours at that age is best. The milk goes bad after 24 hours, so make sure you make a new bottle everyday. Try to find out if the kitten is pooping and peeing on it's own. It might be old enough, but very young kittens need to be stimulated in order to do their business. Also at that age the kitten should be starting to be weaned. You might want to pick up some kitten food and offer it to the little kitten soaked in milk.

Check out these sites for further assistance:

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

http://www.hdw-inc.com/tinykitten.htm

http://www.rescueguide.com/orphkits.html

Good luck! It's hard work!

Answer 8

Kittens need to be with their siblings in their first few months (maybe just two months). So when he starts nibbling yelp and move your arm. Then he should soon learn not to bite. So, to answer your question: feed him accordingly, make sure he stays warm, don't handle him too much because that might be bad (but handle him alot during the day I mean don't wake him up from naps), make sure it's in a safe place, e.t.c.. You should do what everybody else says, too. I know this because my cat had kittens and we had to take care of them for a while, also I plan to save animals one day (for the A.S.P.C.A.) and know about animals because I love them and have many.

Answer 9

feed her acording to the label on the food. also she should be fine, you seem to be doing very well by the kitten, just keep her happy and she should be just fine. good luck :)