A tiny cute sandy coloured kitten maybe 4 weeks old. We live in montreal and it is 0.c outside.
Our dog, gently in his mouth, found it somewhere and brought it in.
We need advice. My family have decided to care for it.
please help
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Introductions
HELP My dog brought in a feral kitten
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I got my Molly at that age. They transition quickly to eating from a saucer. Kitten Milk Replacement is good. I gave a bottle for a little while but mostly because she liked it. Canned food works good and you can thin it with KMR. Also can soften the dried food. My rescue kittens had their mama but they quickly started eating whatever she did. they were about 4 weeks old. Other people will be on that know more than I do. My kittens liked to have fresh water, also. My Molly (this was 11 years ago so memory is fuzzy. Also keep it warm but give it a way to get away from the heat. I had a nine month old cat with Molly who mothered her, so I had help.
Posted 1 year ago by Cat talk rules #
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I also should say welcome to TDK. It is slower on the weekend I know there are people on here who have a lot of experience with kittens. I love kitten loving dogs. I've a couple although they never brought a kitten home just adopted the ones I had.
Posted 1 year ago by Cat talk rules #
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It's important to give kitten a warm place with something to snuggle like a stuffed toy or even a bundled up old tee shirt. If you have a heating pad, turn it on low and let kitten snuggle there but be sure to have it arranged so kitten can crawl off the heating pad if it gets too warm.
KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement)is good at this point. If it seems to give the kitten the runs, then thin it some with water.
If you bottle feed, do NOT hold kitten on its back like a human baby. It's too easy for kitten to choke that way. Best is for kitten to be fed while crouched on its feet or to hold it upright for feeding. At four weeks old, it probably can lap from a saucer.
Other TDK members with lots of experience raising tiny feral kittens will be on the forum tomorrow and can give you lots of excellent advice and links. In the meantime here are some links to information on the internet.
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Thank You for that advice. We have no idea how long it was outside for. It was the sweetest thing i have seen in a long time. Our dog is a blond Lab and so is the kitten. It did drink a little kitten formula and it is very sleepy.
Its eyes are watery. I hope it makes it. We are taking it to the vet tomorrow. -
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By four weeks old it should be able to go about four hours between feedings if I recall. Also, be sure to stimulate it to urinate and defecate using the triangle method.
Here is a video link on feeding and stimulating a kitten. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKTR6ciQTwg&feature=related
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Oh, here is the video on the "triangle method" of stimulation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufFWLmpIu08 -
What a sweet dog you have. I hope kitty makes it and she and your dog will be wonderful friends.
Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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What a wonderful dog you have and what a wonderful family you are. You have gotten some great advice above. If you click on 'orphans', you will see lots of previous threads on this subject with more good advice. These are also great sites on raising orphaned kittens, most from much younger than yours, it is a great advantage to have your little baby already four weeks old, her chances are that much better!
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Here are the sites. One of them is a blog with pictures:
Links to good kitten-raising sites:
http://feral-kitten-rescue.blogspot.com/2008/10/feral-kitten-how-to-story.html
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.htmlWelcome to TDK. A vet's visit is definitely a good idea. We will try to help all we can (though we are not vets)!
Baby kittens' digestive systems cannot work until they are warm so don't try to feed it until it is warmed up.
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Welcome to TDK Sandy, what wonderful dog you have.
I can't add anything more as Marnet and Jcat have given you some great advice.
Please keep letting us know how it's going with the kitten.Posted 1 year ago by Moonshadow_NZ #
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You guys have been so helpful. We took shifts(daddy and daughter) and stayed up all night keeping kitten warm and he/she has got an appetite back. We will swing by the vets today. I have checked some of the links a few more to go! Not sure about doing the pooping thing!!! I guess if push comes to shove.
Thanks once again.
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Not to step on anyone's toes or offend anyone, but I wouldn't worry too much about the pooing just yet. It may have been with the momma cat and gotten separated so perhaps your kitten has already pooped for the day. My kitten Duchess was separated from her momma because she lived in a warehouse where it was dangerous [we never found any other kittens or the momma]
Pooping is getting rid of excess material that cannot be formed into pee, for example, we pee water out, but we cannot pee broccoli out, so broccoli would come out as poop. your kitten is eating KMR, which in essence is mostly water plus vital ingredients so your kitten may not poop everyday. Duchess peed everyday and pooped perhaps every 2nd-3rd day and was perfectly fine. However, if your kitten doesn't poop for 5-7 days something may be wrong.
Everything everyone has said is great advice to take, and they helped me very much with my own kitten when I came onto this board for help/
I raised a 3 week old kitten and bottlefed. Duchess she almost an 8 month old kitty now, she loves eating, playing with her brother and of course attention.
When Mr. DM found her, she could already pee and poop by herself, but I didn't realize it because she had blankets and no litter box yet, but once I put one in, she just pooped and peed in it, already knowing what to do.
I don't know what the set up is yet, but a warm place [as I'm sure you've already made and people have stated] that is small, such as a bathroom or a guest room that isn't used. For the longest time I used a large laundry bin because Duchess couldn't climb that well until she was about 8 weeks then she moved into a large dog crate [we don't have any doors in our house so she wasn't safe wondering the whole house by herself as she was very tiny].
If you do decided to use a litter pan, it can be a small disposable box [like a shoe box] but no clumping, the kitten could eat it. I just used shredded paper and it worked perfectly. I then moved to pinewood and then finally litter.
Also, like someone else said, the kitten may think your dog is it's new mommy, so that may be very helpful in keeping it warm, kittens if I remember right can't regulate their body temperature just yet and need to have a warm source.
Other than that, I think you're doing a great job and in very capable hands. Can't wait to see a picture of your kitten :)
Oh and Welcome to TDK!
Posted 1 year ago by Duchess&&Gabriel #
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To add to what DG said, if your allowing your dog to help mother the kitten, its possible the dog might be licking the kitten's butt as well which is a good thing. Perhaps if you want wipe the kitten's butt a couple times a day with a warm but damp soft dishcloth. At 4 weeks the kitten should be ok with pooping unless there is a serious problem. Let doggy be with the kitten. The body heat will help and it seems like your dog knew enough to save this little guy. I so want to reach through the computer and give your dog lots of love and kisses and tell the dog how wonderful it was to do what it did :) I do hope kitten stays with you! I hope you can share pictures of your kitten and its doggy saviour :)
Chey
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Welcome to TDK!!! I have no experience with this but you have already gotten so much good advice. I just want to say that you certainly have a very special dog. That is the sweetest story!!!
Posted 1 year ago by WillowandWindismom #
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I have to disagree about making dry food wet so it is easier to eat. That is really a recipe for mycotoxin soup. Don't mix dry food with anything that is liquid - whether it be water, gravy, milk, canned food, etc as it causes way to much bacteria growth.
How about simply feeding canned food instead. First off, it is much lower in carbs and has a much higher meat content, which is needed for cats because they are carnivores. http://catinfo.org/ has information on why canned food is much better than dry as well, I think, as a listing of grain free brands. http://ibdkitties.net/CommercialFood.html also has a list of grain free brands (although some do contain rice).
I had to take six 4 week old kittens from their feral mother and raise them as it was the only opportunity that I had gotten to get the mother fixed (I had caught her before and she escaped). The kittens were able to eat watered down canned food - I used brands like Nature's Variety Instinct, Before Grain, and EVO (although I wouldn't use EVO anymore because they were bought out by P&G which has a bad reputation for their pet food and animal cruelty).
I also gave them a "soup" which they loved. I used one (raw) egg yolk, a jar of Beech Nut Baby food (either the 1st stage beef, chicken, or turkey flavors), and then ~4 ounces of raw goat milk.
They also were all fed a partial raw diet. http://rawfedcats.org/nature.htm explains the basics behind that. This is what they most loved and the two kittens I kept from that litter are now eating an all raw diet.
Posted 1 year ago by furryfriends50 #
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FF50: About mixing dry and wet....I feed my cats dry with wet on top and they eat it right away, is it dangerous to keep doing that? It has been easier for me to do that instead of separating like I had because of my surgery.
Posted 1 year ago by Duchess&&Gabriel #
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FF50 stop using scare tactics like that its unnessisary. We do not all agree with how you feed your animals and wetting dry food will not instantly cause bacterial growth. Even if its raw food if its not eaten in an hour it will have bacterial growth and cause illness. Commercial food is not the devil and is fine for the most part. Yes some are better than others but comming here on this thread with someone who is totally new to raising a kitten is not the place to go OH NO YOU CANT PUT WET STUFF ON DRY FOOD IT WILL CAUSE BACTERIAL GROWTH. Please just stop it and watch how you phrase stuff. It is fine to do that as long as the food is eaten promptly. For even the first phase of growth in bacteria takes 30 min at ideal temps and room temp is definitly not ideal for infectious bacteria, body temp is.
Posted 1 year ago by TheKnittingNinja #
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FF50, did I remember to tell you that I changed the dry food that I give my girls to Wellness from Science Diet? Thank you for telling me (us) about the differences in the dry foods. I was afraid that they wouldn't like it, as they are not big on change, but they do seem to like it.
They will canned food in the morning but Windi would truthfully be happier with just a can of gravy!
Posted 1 year ago by WillowandWindismom #
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Just got back from the vets. HE.......has a cold.He is 3-4 weeks old. So its a little touch and go for now. The good news is we have a dedicated little girl and a big soft dog who are loving him, some medicine, the heat blanket, formula, a little can of food and a whole load a new friends on TDK.
All we need to help KITCAT get on his little kitten feet.
Thanks to all.......... I will update soon :) -
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Hi Sandy. That's good that Kitcat has been seen by the vet. I'm sure with all the attention and love you're giving him he'll get well soon. I'm glad you've found the advice and support here so helpful - it's a great bunch of people with a wide range of experience with cats. I look forward to updates from you.
Posted 1 year ago by KapitiKats in NZ #
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Thanks TKN. I agree that it is not helpful to terrify new-cat owners with statements which are often poorly substantiated.
Raw food carries its own risks, which I have never seen detailed on this site. In all fairness, both sides should be presented. Technically, a "mycotoxin" is a toxin produced by fungi; as these grow on grain/legumes, it wouldn't be found in an all-meat diet, while it might be found in grain-based dry foods. If I remember my college microbiology correctly, though, it mon't happen immediately. So, if they consume the food immediately, D&GM, it should be fine.
However, raw diets are certainly NOT sterile! The following abstract is from
Bacteriological evaluation of commercial canine and feline raw diets Weese et al Can Vet J. 2005 Jun;46(6):513-6
"Twenty-five commercial raw diets for dogs and cats were evaluated bacteriologically. Coliforms were present in all diets, ranging from 3.5 x 10(3) to 9.4 x 10(6) CFU/g (mean 8.9 x 10(5); standard deviation 1.9 x 10(6)). Escherichia coli was identified in 15/25 (64%) diets; however, E. coli O157 was not detected. Salmonella spp. were detected in 5/25 (20%) diets; 1 each of beef-, lamb-, quail-, chicken-, and ostrich-based diets. Sporeforming bacteria were identified from 4/25 (16%) samples on direct culture and 25/25 (100%) samples using enrichment culture. Clostridium perfringens was identified in 5/25 (20%) samples. A toxigenic strain of C. difficile was isolated from one turkey-based food. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 1/25 (4%) diets. Campylobacter spp. were not isolated from any of the diets."
While it is true that most cats infected with Salmonella experience a subclinical infection (i.e. they don't show symptoms), cases of fatal feline salmonellosis have indeed been reported in the peer-reviewed literature.
Stiver SL, Frazier KS, Mauel MJ, Styer EL. Septicemic salmonellosis in two cats fed a raw-meat diet. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2003 Nov-Dec;39(6):538-42.
Enjoy your kitten Sandy! Glad that he is eating and feeling better now that he is nice and warm. Kitten respiratory/eye infections are common, usually a short course of antibiotics clears them right up.
Posted 1 year ago by Kiplings_cat #
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With respect to everyone and differing strong opinions about raw vs canned vs dry food diets, THIS IS NOT THE THREAD FOR THAT ARGUMENT.
Sandy is a new member who came looking for advice on how to care for her tiny feral until she could take it to the vet and find out there exactly what is and isn't needed and recommended in how to feed and care for the kitten by the veterinarian she already trusts with the care of her dog.
We should all of us focus in THIS discussion thread on answering her questions about basic tiny feral kitten care. Let's face it, as long the kitten is nourished, hydrated, warm, and safe, it really doesn't matter which version of cat diet it gets in the first few days as long as it is hydrated and nourished. Sandy can ask for or not ask for further detailed advice about which type of food is best as she wishes.
So lets please take this "cat fight" to another discussion thread and let the competing viewpoints politely make their respective cases there and not drag a newcomer into an old debate that neither side is apt to budge one bit in their respective opinions.
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