3 Week Old Orphan Baby - Mittens

[StefanZ]

I see the other dog is accepting her in full even if not a personal friend.

 

[Blue Bug]

It's hard to tell how much the kitty is growing because the puppy is growing too. I had a miniature schnauzer growing up, and I agree about the patient thing. Does kitty have a name now? Did kitty ever try to nurse from Lucy?

Little Kitty doesn't have a formal name yet. Every name we think of just doesn't seem to fit right. I'm sure she will give us a name for her soon enough

Believe it or not, but the puppy is a terrier/collie mix. She behaves more like a terrier most of the time, but has been so very sweet to the little kitten.

Kitten has not tried to nurse Lucy, she would snuggle her head into Lucy and then fall asleep.

 

[Blue Bug]

I'm so happy to hear how well Mittens is doing! You'll know when she's done with the bottle. My Lucy bit off the tip to her bottle and then was more and more ravenous for her wet food, which I was giving supplementally.
It's amazing how friendly Mittens and puppy Lucy are being towards one another. They are so adorable! It makes all the difference in the world down the road, when you don't have to worry about them being aggressive towards one another as they get older and more independent. Mine are best of friends, and I routinely come home to them cuddling on the couch.

She does try to chew on the nipple sometimes and then licks at it, but nothing savage yet lol. She does enjoy her wet food now, but will still meow and get all cuddly towards me when she wants her bottle.

I'm so happy that the kitten (the name Mittens didn't seem to work for her) and puppy have each other and that they are so bonded already. My biggest worry was that the little kitten would not have a 'sibling' growing up, but I'm pretty sure that Lucy will fill in just fine

 

[Blue Bug]

I see the other dog is accepting her in full even if not a personal friend.

Yes, the older dog is accepting her just fine. He's not as friendly or playful as the puppy is. He was raised with our two adult cats, so he knows not to mess with kitties lol. He has a very healthy respect for cats

 

[Blue Bug]

Baby cat has a 'name' finally. She is called Lil'Kitty. Every other name we tried just doesn't stick or fit.

We had her at the vet yesterday as we had an emergency with our puppy over Christmas and had a follow up and brought Lil'Kitty along as she is approximately 8 weeks old now.
Unfortunately she is FIV+. Poor little girl has been through so much already in her short life.
She will be a indoor only cat now. Our two adult cats go out in the mornings and evenings for a few hours and are kept in at night.

The vet didn't want to give her any vaccinations. She will get her rabies vaccine at 16 weeks.

My concern is that she will be living with two other cats. They are up to date on all vaccines and FIV-. Are we risking Lil'Kitty catching something from the older cats?
Is not vaccinating her the safest thing for her?

Our vet didn't suggest rehoming her in a home with no other cats. She did mention that our older cats could become FIV+ if Lil'Kitty and them ever get into a serious fight. Our male cat is approximately 8 years old (he was a stray I found 4 yrs ago) and is the most gentle giant, never fights anything and just gets along with everyone. Our adult female is a rehome and is 5 yrs old. She can be cranky at times but mostly keeps to herself.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? How do you keep all kitties safe from each other?

 

[talkingpeanut]

It’s almost definitely a false positive caused by nursing off of mom and getting her antibodies. Have her tested again when she is 6 months old. You are correct that she should stay inside until that point anyway, because she will need to be fully vaccinated, spayed, and old enough to have street smarts if you’re going to let her out.

Are your resident cats spayed and neutered? FIV is spread by serious bites between cats who are intact and either fighting or mating. If your kitten had had such a bite, you would have known.

I really don’t think you need to worry.

 

[Blue Bug]

It’s almost definitely a false positive caused by nursing off of mom and getting her antibodies. Have her tested again when she is 6 months old. You are correct that she should stay inside until that point anyway, because she will need to be fully vaccinated, spayed, and old enough to have street smarts if you’re going to let her out.

Are your resident cats spayed and neutered? FIV is spread by serious bites between cats who are intact and either fighting or mating. If your kitten had had such a bite, you would have known.

I really don’t think you need to worry.

Thank you! We will have her retested.
Yes, the older cats are neutered and spayed.

I'm certain that Lil'Kitty has never been bitten. We have had her since she was approx 2 weeks old. She didn't have any bite marks or scabs then.

 

[Blue Bug]

I forgot to mention;

Lil'Kitty is spending a lot of time running around the entire house. She goes into her own room at night and when we are away from home.
So she has access to the big kitty litter boxes that contain clumping clay litter. I switched all the litter boxes to non clumping litter a few weeks ago and our adult cats refused to use it, so I had to switch back to clumping. I have placed a small litter box with non clumping beside the big boxes for Lil'Kitty but she will only use the box boxes even though they are all high walled.

So far she just goes in, does her business and leaves. I have not seen her trying to play with the clay. I guess she's going to be fine at this point. The non clumping litter hasn't been used in about 2 weeks now.

 

[ileen]

Please post a recent photo of Lil'Kitty when you are able. I was just told at a grooming place that people can be carriers of FIV & if you visit a home with FIV+ cats, you can bring it home to your FIV- cat if they don't have the vaccine. Is that true?

 

[Blue Bug]

Please post a recent photo of Lil'Kitty when you are able. I was just told at a grooming place that people can be carriers of FIV & if you visit a home with FIV+ cats, you can bring it home to your FIV- cat if they don't have the vaccine. Is that true?

Oh my. My vet said the opposite. People, dogs etc can not carry & transmit FIV or get it. It is Feline specific. It is also transmitted by puncture bite wounds etc. Not likely transmitted without fluid exchanged from the infected cat.

I'll add some recent photos below

 

[Blue Bug]

She is one of the dogs now. I imagine she will have some strange behaviors when she older as she spends all her time hanging out with the doggies lol

 

[ileen]

Those first five photos are spectacular! Thanks for posting. I would believe a vet over a groomer. They wouldn't do Luciano's nails because he didn't have the FIV vaccine after I got him in his carrier & schlepped him there. They told me on the phone no appointment necessary and didn't mention anything about paperwork from the vet about vaccines. It was a wasted trip & I won't be going there again despite the $10 discount they promised if I return.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with Talking Peanut. Almost all kittens will test a false positive until they are 6 months old.

Do not give her a rabies shot until she is 6 months either. She can have her regular kitten vaccines.

You have very little to worry about!

It's wonderful that she is fitting in so well. She's adorable!