Duchess – our child with fur

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  • 5 September, 2010 at 2:57 am #40128
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    Hi I’m new to the Daily Kitten, and I’m hand raising a new kitten that my boyfriend found in a warehouse without any mother in sight. We’d like to keep her and raise her since we think she has a good chance. I would like any advice anyone can give me. I’ve already had some very helpful advice from some of my kitten/cat fostering friends, but I would greatly appreciate the advice anyway. My only problem is she doesn’t seem to pee, she has peed twice before I had her [she’s was with my boyfriend when he found her and I’m not sure if it was in fright or she felt like peeing]. Thanks, and any advice is appreciated.

    5 September, 2010 at 3:10 am #593412
    nawlins catmom
    Participant

    Welcome to TDK, Liz! Hand-raising a kitten is a lot of work, but is very rewarding! I am sure you will get lots of great advice here…. just keep checking back to see what others may have posted. The weekends can be a little slow, and it is a holiday in the US – Good luck and post a picture when you can!

    5 September, 2010 at 3:13 am #593413
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Hi Liz,here is a good blog with almost all you need to know about hand raising kittens.

    http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html

    Has pics too. 🙂 If you have any questions feel free to come back,we’re not vets but there are many knowledgeable people here. Love to hear more about your kitten and we love pics here too. 🙂

    5 September, 2010 at 3:30 am #593414
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Do you know how old the kitten is Liz? Is she walking,eating kitten food yet?

    5 September, 2010 at 3:38 am #593415
    nawlins catmom
    Participant

    Buttercup, Liz is my daughter, and the kitten is walking and climbing, with eyes open and ears erect. We think she is ~3 weeks… maybe the runt, as she is tiny… A loud voice, however! Liz is feeding her with KMR right now, but I think is going to try the kitten food tomorrow… I am sure she will be back soon and respond… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

    5 September, 2010 at 3:50 am #593416
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    Thanks Buttercup this was a great article, it mentioned some more things I didn’t realize. I really appreciate it. I haven’t been rubbing her down with the slightly wet cloth. Nor with the heating pad….Should I put one in? I’ve been trying to keep her pretty warm, but I’m afraid she may slip under the heating pad and touch it. She’s a very adventurous kitten.

    5 September, 2010 at 4:17 am #593417
    jcat
    Participant

    Hi, DM, Duchess sounds like a real cutie and she looks like a beautiful wee bundle of fur. If your mum hasn’t already told you, try the kitten food on a very shallow dish or plate, warmed slightly and drizzled with KMR — and be prepared for a big mess 🙂

    Kittens seem to love heating pads (or hot water bottles wrapped in towels but then you have to refill them…) and as long as there is room for her to crawl off if she gets too hot, she should be fine. The blog Buttercup gave you is lovely, isn’t it? I’ll add a couple of websites, just in case you feel like overloading on information 😉

    http://www.messybeast.com/handrear.htm

    http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15

    http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml

    Look forward to hearing much more about Duchess and seeing more pix!

    5 September, 2010 at 4:30 am #593418
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Hi NAC and Duchess’Mom,welcome,welcome!!!!

    5 September, 2010 at 5:25 am #593419
    nawlins catmom
    Participant

    JCat, thanks for the encouragement and for the additional links! How close are you to Christchurch? Any ill effects in your area from the earthquake? Stay safe!

    5 September, 2010 at 5:34 am #593420
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Jcat has wonderful info about cats and kittens all ages. I’ve taken to borrowing her advice in places and attributing it to her I hope she doesn’t mind. When I see a new kitten thread and jcat has replied I don’t worry.

    5 September, 2010 at 5:53 am #593421
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    Thanks JCat for all of the information!! Very helpful, I appreciated it very much. I am a little worried about the peeing though, I haven’t been able to read all articles yet but I will tomorrow. I cannot tell if she has peed or not, but I don’t want to force her either [one of the article says not to because of skin damage] I’m hoping she has since it’s been over a day since I know she has peed [she may be peeing in the towel and I can’t tell]. but that is my biggest conern.

    Buttercup: thanks for your support, it’s very kind, I’m new at the hand raising, but with all of the advice and the actual hands on learning. Although I must admit, she is truly a cutie.

    5 September, 2010 at 6:03 am #593422
    Buttercup
    Participant

    Good luck Duchess’Mom,I’ve had the best luck with getting kittens to pee by placing a warm washcloth on them after I’ve feed them. You’re right about not persisting in making her pee. She might be a little dehydrated so she might not need to go yet.

    5 September, 2010 at 6:13 am #593423
    DuchessMom
    Participant

    She’s been drinking a lot, well at least I think she is. Although it says she’s needs to be fed every 4 hours, she seems to want to eat more often. And when she is fed, she definitely drinks, [granted she has a little belly] it does look like it is full. She also seems to be a much happier kitten. Can kitten pee not smell at this age?

    5 September, 2010 at 6:40 am #593424
    Buttercup
    Participant

    No it might not smell at all and if she is well hydrated it could be clear too instead of yellow. She sounds like she’s doing well,she’s lucky to have you.:)

    5 September, 2010 at 8:41 am #593425
    jcat
    Participant

    According to Skyron, kitten pee is very hard to notice, it is clear, dries fast and doesn’t smell so she could very well be peeing in the towels. She is very, very lucky to have you!

    BC, you’re way too kind! 🙂 Skyron and Anncetera are the hand-raising experts. I’ve only raised a handful and work at the shelter and I totally rely on advice from the experts too. Of course I don’t mind you passing it on and you don’t have to attribute it, we’re all just trying to help the kitties.

    Nawlins Catmom, thank you so much for being concerned! I am at the bottom of the North Island, and Christchurch (which is our biggest city after Auckland) is halfway down the South Island, and the two islands are separated by Cook Strait. (A very deep stretch of water that takes three hours to cross by boat.) So MS, KK and I are a long way away. But I guess we all have friends and family down there so we’re all very relieved no one has been killed. There is a lot of damage but nothing that can’t be coped with 🙂

    Duchess’ Mom, you are very, very welcome. People who rescue and hand-raise kittens are our heroes 🙂

    5 September, 2010 at 1:45 pm #593426
    Skyron
    Participant

    you could try putting her in a litterbox and doing scratch-motions with her feet. Usually when I have a 3+ week old baby that refuses to pee when stimulated, its because momma-cat has potty trained them already. Just please dont use clumping litter, it will cause a blockage in her intestines, as kittens ALWAYS eat the litter the first time they see it. Let us know how it goes?

    5 September, 2010 at 2:11 pm #593427
    SoxsMom
    Participant

    Welcome to TDK DM!!! How are you today? You know you have resources and support here, also you have a pretty fantastic Mom! I sure am glad you are here. I hand raised Deuter and his brother–they are now 16lbs. (Deuter) and 20lbs. (Nike). With some time and TLC Duchess will be a wonderful part of your family.

    5 September, 2010 at 2:27 pm #593428
    MadcatwomanintheUK
    Participant

    Hi DM, welcome to TDK! I’ve been TDK/Facebook friends with your Mum for a wee while now, nice to have you as part of our family :o)

    5 September, 2010 at 3:02 pm #593429
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Welcome to TDK, DM! Duchess is a cutie! I have no advice to offer, but our experts have almost all chimed in so you’re in good shape, I think. Bless you for taking care of this little one.

    5 September, 2010 at 4:28 pm #593430
    WillowandWindismom
    Participant

    Hi, DM – I just wanted to add my welcome to TDK. I have never hand raised a kitten but it looks like you’ve already gotten a lot of very good advice!

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