Taking care of abandoned kitten?

We found a kitten by itself walking along a busy road last night. I have absolutely no idea what to do...we bought a 60cc bottle that has one of those slow drip nipples and filled it with cat formula....

The kitten has teeth and its fairly active, so Id assume its at least a month old. I think we are going to take it to the humane society soon, but I didn't know what else we could do to help it? How much formula does it need? How can you tell? Can it have solid food? What kind?

I know there are tons of cat lovers on here, help me out plz!! For kitty's sake!

We need to figure out how old it is.

How big is it, say if you measure it from nose to where its tail starts? (ie not including the tail)

edit: or post a pic, I've just been looking after 3 kittens for 12 weeks.

he/it's fucking tiny, thats all i know.

less than a foot? maybe 8 inches?

The first thing I would do, honestly, is take him to a vet for a look-over.

Oh man. I think you have a chance.

I rescued 4 abandoned newborn kittens about 4 or 5 years ago. Their eyes weren't even open and it is doubtful they even got a taste of mother's milk.

Long story short, we had to sleep in shifts, nursing and feeding them and one by one, they all died. It was by far one of the saddest experiences of my life.

This guy sounds like he'll be ok. Take him to a vet asap and buy some formula for him. The vet should have a recommendation. In the meantime, keep him warm, clean and well hydrated.

Godspeed... and post pics!

just take it to the humane society and let them take care of it, it will be in good hands.

  On 9/12/2011 at 9:47 PM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

he/it's fucking tiny, thats all i know.

 

less than a foot? maybe 8 inches?

As others have said, take kitty to the vet.

However 8 inches from nose to bum means kitty is probably at least 7 or 8 weeks old.

Thats probably good news cos it means he/she is probably old enough eat solids and drink and so on.

Make sure the kitten has water available to drink. Does it drink water if a bowl of water is put infront of it?

If you try to give it milk, remember it has to be special milk for cats (cows milk with some of the lactose removed). They can drink a bit of regular cow milk but only a little.

See if it eats cat food if it is put infront of it.

If that doesn't work then you need to use a bottle with a teat, etc.

edit: oh ok you're already doing that, cool.

Here's a link about rescuing kittens, gives tips on how to work out its age:

http://www.krazyfork...ned_kitten.html

Can it run? If its running that means at least 5 to 7 weeks.

i havent seen it run, it can walk fairly briskly if needed.

we are gonna try to get him to the vet first thing tomorrow

  On 9/12/2011 at 9:02 PM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

we are going to take it to the humane society

this sounds ominous for the cat

  On 9/12/2011 at 9:56 PM, jefferoo said:

Oh man. I think you have a chance.

 

I rescued 4 abandoned newborn kittens about 4 or 5 years ago. Their eyes weren't even open and it is doubtful they even got a taste of mother's milk.

Long story short, we had to sleep in shifts, nursing and feeding them and one by one, they all died. It was by far one of the saddest experiences of my life.

 

This guy sounds like he'll be ok. Take him to a vet asap and buy some formula for him. The vet should have a recommendation. In the meantime, keep him warm, clean and well hydrated.

 

Godspeed... and post pics!

I hate this.

I rescued 4 tiny puppies from a ditch (in a box) in winter when it was minus 35 celsius outside. one of them was so frostbitten he died in my car on the way home. It was around christmas so the vet was not really an option. when i finally got in to see him when he was open the message was grave. he basically told me that i did the best i possibly could have but i was just too late in my discovery of them. fucking heartbreak. but i was honestly more angry at the fuckhead who decided that committing the act was an alright thing to do.

as an upside though i think your kitty is gonna be a-ok!

Yeah 8 inches long sounds old enough to be able to live without its mum.

The main thing kittens get from their mum from 7 to 12 weeks is life skills, learning how to hunt and chase and fight and groom.

Which is to say that by about 7 weeks they've got the basics of eating, drinking and pooing figured out.

Which is to say that it will be mainly ok, but may be a little confused.

we still haven't seen him/her poop or pee yet, its been drinking milk and sleeping, some playing, thats about it so far....we put down a bowl of water but we can't get him to drink...is this bad? i

m trying to dig up toys for him, tennis balls only work for so long...

  On 9/13/2011 at 1:13 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

we put down a bowl of water but we can't get him to drink...is this bad?

may not be, he might just be full from all the milk.

Or sometimes cats can smell the chlorine in tapwater and it puts them off a bit.

its good to leave water there for him incase he does want it though.

  On 9/13/2011 at 1:13 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

we still haven't seen him/her poop or pee yet

look everywhere

  On 9/13/2011 at 1:13 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

we still haven't seen him/her poop or pee yet

If kittens are very young, they need help peeing

  Quote

http://www.krazyforkats.com/documents/finding_a_lost_or_abandoned_kitten.html

 

After the kitten's stomach is full, it is necessary to stimulate her to help her eliminate. A kitten does not have the ability to do this until they are 4 weeks old. Stimulate by taking a warm washcloth, kleenex or paper towel and gently massage the anal region in a small circular or back-and-forth motion. You may want to hold kitten over a towel or sink while stimulating her. COUNT TO 60 to make sure the kittens goes. They will always pee before and after feedings and should poop 1 - 2 times a day.

... but your one sounds older than that.

Can you weigh it or measure its length a bit more accurately?

put it in a cage and when it gets old and fat you can eat it

  On 9/13/2011 at 2:13 AM, MAXIMUS MISCHIEF said:

put it in a cage and when it gets old and fat you can eat it

What are you, a fucking Austrian?

So it's not old enough that i would have socialized yet ?? (They do this with their siblings) Which means that it could very likely become a problem cat to own? (saw it on TV)

just give it away, do you really want a cat?

  On 9/13/2011 at 2:10 AM, zazen said:

  On 9/13/2011 at 1:13 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

we still haven't seen him/her poop or pee yet

 

If kittens are very young, they need help peeing

 

  Quote

http://www.krazyfork...ned_kitten.html

 

After the kitten's stomach is full, it is necessary to stimulate her to help her eliminate. A kitten does not have the ability to do this until they are 4 weeks old. Stimulate by taking a warm washcloth, kleenex or paper towel and gently massage the anal region in a small circular or back-and-forth motion. You may want to hold kitten over a towel or sink while stimulating her. COUNT TO 60 to make sure the kittens goes. They will always pee before and after feedings and should poop 1 - 2 times a day.

 

... but your one sounds older than that.

I was going to say the same. With my kittens, we had to dip paper towels in warm water and gently rub their privates. It totally works for the little ones. Even though this one seems a bit older, my thought are that it still wouldn't hurt to try. It's not as messy/nasty as it sounds.

  On 9/13/2011 at 2:35 AM, yek said:

just give it away, do you really want a cat?

this, especially with money problems.

nah, i don't plan on keeping it...it was on the road alone at night so we figure we would watch out for it for a few days until we went to the humane society or found someone to take it.

peed twice so far, so thats good.

:sup:

  On 9/13/2011 at 1:13 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

m trying to dig up toys for him, tennis balls only work for so long...

a piece of string will work for an indefinite length

cats love string