Help--kittens--I dont know what to do
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Help--kittens--I dont know what to do
| Sat, 06-26-2004 - 9:28pm |
I just received a shock. Four little boys knocked on my door and begged me to take three very dirty, little kittens. Apparently the mother cat has died and the human mother kicked the kittens out to died. The boys knowing my love for cats(these boys have played with my kids before) sneaked the kittens over here knowing I would help. I'm more then willing to help but I dont know what to do. I called the lady that I brought my second cat from, but she cant take them until 10:00 am tommorrow. So I just have to get these kittens through the night. I made a cage out of a platic box and put a heating pad on the bottom set on low. I put in some rags. I dont have any kitten forumla or bottles and the stores that do carry that sort of stuff are closed. The lady said to go buy evaropted(sp?) milk and add some water and feed them that. But I dont know how much of each and she didnt either. I guess I will have to use my fingers to feed them, too? Also, what else should I do to get them through the night? They are little. I'm not good at guessing the correct age but their eyes arent open and they are covered in something gross.

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Oh dear. Bless your heart for caring enough to try to save them.
I'm guessing these kittens are no more than a week or two old, since their eyes aren't open. If they are covered in something gross, then it sounds like the mother cat didn't even have a chance to clean them after birthing them, which means they could possibly only be a day or two old!
I've read that you can get really little kittens to eat by dabbing a clean rag or cloth in the milk, and then touching it to their nose. They will suck on it like they would their mother's nipple. I've also read that you have to wipe them down with damp cloths, to simulate the mother bathing them, or they will never learn to groom themselves. But if you are turning them over to someone else in the morning, then I would just worry about feeding them for now.
I hope someone else will see this and give you some more advice! You could also try posting this on the Kittens board.
Good luck and bless you for taking them in!
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I did bathe by advice from a different lady. We have two boys and a girl.
If the kittens are under 4 oz. (I imagine these are since they're so young) you feed them about a teaspoon of food every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks.
Where are you located? Maybe another poster is in your area and can come over to help you.
The evaporated milk you have is probably fine for tonight, but I will give you the rest of the info. on what to feed these kittens from the book. Powdered queen's milk can be purchased in a pet food store, but if that is not an option you can make your own formula using:
2 cups whole milk
2 raw organic eggs
2 tablesspoons protein powder
6 drops liquid vitamins for children
Beat mixture with fork or whisk. Warm the formula to bath water temperature (101degrees). feed kittens in a doll bottle or pet nurser. I think an eyedropper will do too.
It sounds as if you are doing great, if the kittens are eating.
Cynthia
I don't think the recipe should be used at this young age (if at all) - raw eggs (even organic ones)
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