I don't know if it just the lack of sleep or what, but I'm so glad this forum is here that I could cry! I recently took on a litter of feral cats on the day they were born, and it has gone so rough. I'm in a place that has no animal shelter, no pet supply store, and few people willing enough to even provide a lift to the next town over that does have one. Over the past week I've almost wanted to put them down myself because I thought I couldn't do them justice. Bless all of you, and I've got 3 itty bitty kitties who thank you too. Now that I can see that other have gotten a little help here for the same things that concern me, I can have a little peace. Thank you all so much!
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Introductions
God bless you!
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Posted 1 year ago by Encarnacion #
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Oh and click on the pink tag, 'orphans', to see previous posts and advice on handraising kittens. I'll also give you these very good websites, they are full of useful information on hand-rearing:
http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm
http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15
http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml
http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html -
Welcome to TDK Encarnacion, bless you for taking on those wee kittens. I hope we hear more abut the 3 itty bitties, maybe even some pictures.
Posted 1 year ago by Moonshadow_NZ #
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Welcome to TDK, Encarnacion. Those little ones will love you forever for saving them.
Posted 1 year ago by paulajeanne #
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Welcome to TDK, Encarnacion. How wonderful that you are caring for these babies. I think that you'll find TDK to not only be a loving community, but one with members with lots of knowledge to share.
Posted 1 year ago by WillowandWindismom #
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A very warm welcome from me too.
Posted 1 year ago by Pollys_Mum_in_UK_2605 #
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Thank you all for the welcomes and tips! Before coming here I read the fanciers page above and got quite desperate, as I did not have what is recommended there. When I first found them, I'd been giving them undiluted evaporated milk, and when they were not growing on that I mixed in some vitamins ground up from a pill for humans. Naturally this made them a little reluctant to empty their bowels, so after reading here I gave them little drops of olive oil. Yesterday I finally got some liquid formula, which they seem to be thriving on. YHWH bless you!
Posted 1 year ago by Encarnacion #
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That's wonderful news! I'm assuming it's kitten formula, not human formula? Kitten replacement milk is the best thing to give them. If you can't get that, you can feed them on glop (see recipes below). If you are using human formula, you need to make it up to double strength as it is not strong enough to raise kittens on at normal human strength.
I'll give you some links for recipes for glop:
http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm
Or, from the messybeast.site:'If commercial kitten formula is not available, a suitable feed mixture for healthy kittens is 1.6 ml evaporated milk, 1.6 ml cooled boiled water, 1 level teaspoon glucose, 1 small egg yolk (no white at all). One recommended by a veterinarian is 3 oz condensed milk, 3 oz water, 3 oz plain full fat yoghurt, 3 large or 4 small egg yolks (no whites).
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Another recipe for glop from messybeast:
KITTEN GLOP
Kitten Glop is a suitable feed mixture for healthy kittens and is also good for lactating queens. Most recipes refer to American brand names which are not understood outside of the USA/Canada. I have converted these to generic terms and noted alternatives.
Ingredients
1 envelope unflavoured gelatine
water per gelatine package directions (approx 12 oz)
1 12 oz can whole evaporated milk (not skimmed) See notes
3 tablespoons plain yoghurt (not low fat)
3 teaspoons clear corn syrup See notes
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 or 2 raw egg yolks (optional) See notes
NotesIf you have canned goat's milk available, use this instead as it reduces the likelihood of lactose intolerance problems. Sheep's milk is even higher in fat but not generally available in cans.
Some recipes use 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons plain yoghurt and omit the corn syrup entirely.
Clear corn syrup (e.g. "Karo" brand in the US) is a concentrated glucose solution. It contains 15% - 20% dextrose (glucose), a mixture of other types of sugar and may be flavoured with vanilla. Dark corn syrup is made with molasses and is more strongly flavoured. Glucose solution may be used instead.
Raw eggs can be a source of salmonella. Do not use any egg white in the mixture, it can prevent other nutrients from being digested.
Kitty vitamins and/or acidophilus are sometimes added. Only add vitamins if the diet is deficient in them - vitamins can be dangerous in too high quantities (hypervitaminosis) and vitamin imbalances affect development.
Method
Boil the water and mix in gelatine powder. Add the other ingredients in the following order, mixing well after each addition: half of the canned milk, corn syrup (if used), mayonnaise + yoghurt, egg yolk (if used), remainder of the canned milk. Use either an egg beater or a blender set to low speed.
Serve the glop at room temperature or slightly warmed since the kittens will be used to warm milk. Warming the mixture makes it more pungent and therefore more appetising. Do not pour back unused portions into the stored mix as it may introduce contaminants.
Glop sets into a jelly when refrigerated. It can either be stored in the fridge in a covered container for up to 2 weeks or frozen into individual portions in ice cube trays and defrosted as needed. Freezing it is very convenient.
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Thank you again JCat! It is KMR canned liquid formula, the one and only thing they had at the pet shop in the big city. (I should 'splain where I live here: I live in a little town in Mexico, it has no real pet shops, and I have no car to get around to the next town over that does. However, every other Tuesday I go on my company's grocery shopping steeple chase in the big city. Thanks to YHWH, the one veterinarian's shop actually had the formula, though it was $5.50 USD a can.) I got three 8 oz cans of those, which I'm hoping are enough to last until they can be switched to gooshyfood in about 2-3 weeks, which I will probably make myself. As soon as they can eat kitty kibble and/or catch prey, I'll find some homes for them. I don't plan on making any sort of a hobby out of this, as I simply don't have the resources to care for more kitties*, but it has been very rewarding, and your help here has been amazing.
JCat, you mentioned using formula for human babies. That I can get, but what kind of stage would you recommend? Also, their eyes have been getting schmutz in them, and I've had some success in flushing it out with nonmedicated eye drops, perhaps others in the same situation could benefit from that.
*see my profile for what I do, and know that a great majority of my salary has been forwarded to a more eternal plane, so there is not much to spend on this one.
Posted 1 year ago by Encarnacion #
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May God Bless you, Encarnacion, for what you do, as well as for these little babies.
Posted 1 year ago by paulajeanne #
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Encarnacion, the KMR -- if you don't run out and can keep getting it -- is hugely preferable to the human baby formula, which is really only good for emergencies or if you can't get anything else. (I'd imagine the first stage, for tiny babies, made up to double strength would be best if you are going to use it.) I'd also go with the home-made glop before the human formula.
Great tip about the eye drops. You can also bathe kittens' eyes, very gently, with cold tea.
You are definitely a hero! Thank you so much for saving these babies!
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Ok, thanks for the bucket loads of heads up, everyone! I'm hoping I don't run out of the KMR, but if I do, I'll try my hand at the glop. Would it be recommended to add any vitamins to it? Out of curiosity, what does the gelatin do (nutritionally speaking) in it? Also, thanks for the tea tip, JCat, I'm a tea addict so I've got lots of that.
As to my being a hero, Christ is the true hero here, I'm just a schmuck following his example. Now, if anyone on the California/ Baja California region would like another adorable kittycat and thus reap the rewards of my following His example, let me know. >^..^<Posted 1 year ago by Encarnacion #
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Encarnacion, no, I don't think I'd go adding any vitamins to it, especially if they're not specially formulated for kittens.
Gelatin is made from calves feet and apparently it is protein-rich and full of amino acids. (Didn't they used to give calves foot jelly to invalids in Victorian times?) Also, it makes the glop set, though I don't know if that's why it's in there.
Good luck with the little ones and, as MS says, we would love piccies (hint, hint!)
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Well, I *finally* get a chance for an update. I'm just about out of the KMR. After finally obtaining all the ingredients, I made some of the glop last Thursday according to the recipe above, and they love it! I've got enough for two more batches when this one runs out. My three week old kits are growing okay and developing little personalities. I'm a little concerned they are not heavy enough, but they seem to be performing every developmental stage about right on schedule, according to the messybeast article. They are about 9 inches/ 23 centimeters from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, but I don't have a scale other than my estimation and my hands. I've gotta also obtain new batteries for my camera, but let me describe them in words:
Lucienne looks a bit like "Alice" (Sept. 4) on the main page, and is very calm when she wants to be, but man can she broadcast when necessary. Her all-black back but white underside reminded me of the Armani suits of her namesake.
Janette is by far the calmest of the bunch, when the other two are going on about something or other she has it together. She is a true calico and LOVES to be brushed (more on that later), so I imagine her as having the fashion sense of her namesake.
Nicholas, by far the most outspoken, adventurous, angsty and greedy of the bunch, reminds me of her namesake the best of them all. Yes, Nicholas is a girl, the name just stuck, and I call her Nicola and Nicky too. She is sort of a striped calico.
As to the namesakes, since they are draining quite a bit from me, I thought it only fair to name them after my favorite trio of vampires from the TV show "Forever Knight".
As of now they are starting to teethe and are just starting to seem apt to using litter rather than toilet paper wads. They also love suckling on their dewclaws, it is so adorable to see that. Oh, and the brushing thing! They like to get their backs brushed with this bristle brush I had but never used on myself, and when done right after a feeding, it is instant bliss. Who knew? Speaking of feeding, they are a little hungry bunch, so I've gotta go. Good night to you all, thank you all SO MUCH, and YHWH bless you!Posted 1 year ago by Encarnacion #
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Oh, I am SO looking forward to photos, they sound gorgeous! - well done you for doing a fantastic job with them :o)
Posted 1 year ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #
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