Adopting A Kitten In A Developing Country.

[dontcallmekoko]

And when I say developing, I mean with all of the cultural biases against cats that often comes with.

Hi there! I literally just made an account here. I'm not much of a forum person, I prefer to read advice from a distance without ever registering or commenting myself. I'm making an exception now because there's no way I won't pull out all the stops to give this kitten a good home.

I live in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (a small city in a small African country) and a stray cat got itself caught in a glue trap for rodents in my dad's compound. She's around 3 months old and her mother seems to have relocated with the rest of her kittens--this kitty's the only one left.

I immediately looked up the proper way to clean that horrendous glue off of her and managed to get her totally clean. I am a bit worried about her tummy--it seems a bit bloated so I suspect she might have worms. I'm currently feverishly searching the city, exhausting my personal contacts with pets (I know literally one person who has a cat) in search of a veterinarian so I can get her vaccinated and hopefully fixed. So far the contacts have all led to dead ends. Luckily, there are supermarkets that do sell kitty litter and cat food here (just a few years ago that definitely wasn't the case) but I know that kittens need food a little different.

She's staying at my dad's until I can take her to a vet (I live with my mom who pretty much hates cats and won't let her in until she's got her shots) so right now he's feeding her scraps. I guess the point of this post is to ask for any advice you all might have? Worst case scenario, I may not be able to get her fixed (I don't know that the few elusive vets that do exist here know how to operate) and what then? Should I be making her kitten food? Will there be more obvious problems of raising her well in this sort of environment? I'm determined to make her as comfortable as possible.

Any input is massively appreciated! (And sorry this is so long lol)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm going to ask around and see if I can find someone who has experience in this sort of situation. It is a tough one, and I don't have the answers. All of our articles seem to deal with more developed countries. But we have members all over the world, so maybe I can reach someone. AND, once one person on here answers, more seem to follow! I'm glad that you found us, and thank you for what you have already done and are trying to do for this kitten!

 

[StefanZ]

indie-n-button has described similiar solutions in

 

[Norachan]

Hi D dontcallmekoko

Thank you so much for helping this kitten. I'm going to post a more detailed reply later, but for now I just wanted to provide you with a few links.

Does this store ship to your country?

Pets Megastore : discount medical supplies for pets

Is it possible for you to order stuff off the internet? If you can I recommend Profender to treat worms and Frontline to treat fleas and ticks.

Profender

Frontline Plus for Cats

The wormer is sold according to weight. I think for a small kitten you should go for the smallest dose of wormer. You just have to put a few drops of liquid on the back of her neck, it's quite easy to apply.

Some of these articles are for younger kittens, but they might give you a few ideas.

Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life

I Found Abandoned Kittens - What Should I Do?

I'll be back soon!

 

[StefanZ]

India/Pakistan. Local butchers, goats milk are your friends. Online shops for dewormers.

 

[StefanZ]

Ps. How did you hot rid of this glue?

 

[stephenq]

I read about your country, wow a tough place to live for many. The internet has failed me, i can find nothing. You might try the airport, i found references to pets being examined and if needed, referred to a local vet. Maybe customs and immigration knows some vets. Do you have a zoo, they should have a vet.

Perhaps try the consulates of major countries and see if they know of in-country vet hospitals they can refer you to.

Maybe the stores who sell cat food can refer you to other cat owners? Put up signs at local churches, etc for cat owners and vets?

This is a bad situation, i'm sorry. Strongid T is a good de-wormer, its a liquid, you only need 1ml, given gently in the mouth, once a week for 3-4 weeks should take care of worms.

 

[momto3cats]

If you can get cat food, but not kitten food, maybe you can feed cat food plus meat scraps for the extra protein.

Are there wormers for livestock that you can buy? Strongid T is intended for horses but commonly used for other animals, including cats and kittens. The same stuff can be found under many other names, in the US at least. Look for a wormer that has Pyrantel as the active ingredient. Someone here can help you work out how much you would need to give your kitten.

 

[LTS3]

A raw or home cooked diet may be easier than trying to find commerical cat food. There's a forum here on TCS where eyou can get info on how to make such a diet properly for cats Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food A mix of meat, bones, organs, and liver in the right ratios can be a great diet for cats. I'm sure meat is readily avaiable in your country and possibly offal and bones too.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I read about your country, wow a tough place to live for many. The internet has failed me, i can find nothing. You might try the airport, i found references to pets being examined and if needed, referred to a local vet. Maybe customs and immigration knows some vets. Do you have a zoo, they should have a vet.

Perhaps try the consulates of major countries and see if they know of in-country vet hospitals they can refer you to.

Maybe the stores who sell cat food can refer you to other cat owners? Put up signs at local churches, etc for cat owners and vets?

This is a bad situation, i'm sorry. Strongid T is a good de-wormer, its a liquid, you only need 1ml, given gently in the mouth, once a week for 3-4 weeks should take care of worms.

I would have never in this world have thought about contacting customs and immigrations, OR zoos! Lord, I love all of you guys!

 

[dontcallmekoko]

Wow, way more replies and much quicker than I expected! My internet access isn't great so I wasn't really able to reply until now. Thanks so much for the response, guys! I'll try my best to respond in turn now.

Oh and! I finally found a vet yesterday! Set up an appointment for this weekend

Thank you, Norachan ! I checked out the reference links and I think they'll prove really helpful. As for ordering stuff online, this country is sort of, like, off the map in that regard... I honestly can't think of any websites that deliver here, even ones that cater to international shipping. That and I don't really have a way to pay for things online right now, but thank you for the suggestion.

StefanZ Awesome, I'll definitely check out local butchers. I don't think sheep's milk is a thing here, we've really become reliant on powdered milk for almost everything--I wanted to find fresh milk just for myself when I first moved here and no one I know has any idea where to buy such a thing. It's only in recent years that liquid milk has been sold in our grocery stores and even then it's that super, super pasteurized stuff that can last for months on a shelf before being opened. So, definitely imported.

As for how I got the glue off: warm water, cooking oil, dish soap, and patience! Wikihow said vegetable oil and cat shampoo but I just used what I had to work with. (My well-meaning but ultimately crazy father actually tried getting it off with freaking laundry detergent before I got there. Mental.)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Oddly, peanut butter works well for things like that, as well. And it will unglue a small child's head from his pillow if the glue is silly putty. At 5 am. I know these things.

 

[dontcallmekoko]

stephenq Trying the consulates was a good call! The way I finally got that number was through my cousin who works at the American embassy, she asked around. momto3cats I'll see if I can find Strongid T here, that sounds promising. If not, though, I do have some family still living in the U.S., so I'll see if I can some medication to be brought here on someone's next trip. Though fingers crossed she won't need any! And LTS3 there's definitely commercial cat food available, but it all seems kinda... sus? Lol, I'm definitely going to try my hand at homemade for a while, at least until she's grown out of kittenhood.

Thank you all so much! Annnnnd, I need a moment to post a before and after picture of this sweetheart...

 

[dontcallmekoko]

Oddly, peanut butter works well for things like that, as well. And it will unglue a small child's head from his pillow if the glue is silly putty. At 5 am. I know these things.

True! Funnily enough I was babysitting my cousin's kid today and he slept with gum in his mouth last night--so I was very literally just talking about peanut butter to get something sticky out of a child's hair xD

 

[Willowy]

They'll probably have OTC pyrantel de-wormer at the pharmacies there for children; hookworms are common in tropical countries. It's all the same stuff, but some products have different concentrations---just do some googling to make sure you get the dosage right with the concentration you're able to get. Most medications are the same for humans and pets, just the dosage will be different. Be sure to do an internet search on anything you plan to use, before you use it, to make sure it's safe for cats and the right dose.

With food I'd probably go with homemade. A lot of the commercials foods available in developing countries aren't so great, so as long as you do your research into providing the best diet, homemade will probably be better.

If you can't find a place to get her spayed, see if you can find megestrol acetate; it may be available OTC there. It can be used as birth control for cats. Google for more info on that.

I think this is THE best resource for people who live in developing countries or rural areas: Merck Veterinary Manual

 

[dontcallmekoko]

And here she is!


Her fur was really matted and weird for the first two days after her extended oil bath lol. But sure enough, she's looking much better now! My dad's family is keeping her outside but they're making sure she gets fed every day. She's really sweet and loves being around people :]

 

[Willowy]

Hmm. 75% of red cats are boys, and I gotta say this baby's face looks kinda boyish. Are you sure it's a girl? If you post some booty shots we'll all give it a guess .

 

[dontcallmekoko]

W Willowy
Oh my gosh, awesome! Thank you so much, this is all extremely helpful. I'll make sure to look for pyrantel, there are plenty of well-stocked pharmacies here. And I've been increasingly worried that it would be impossible for her to be spayed here, so I will definitely look into megestrol acetate. Phew, that's a relief lol

And huh. That's a good point.... hm, I don't know if I'll be seeing the cat before this weekend, but at the very least the vet will know for sure lol.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

LOL, we live for booty shots. I have a vivid mental picture of all of us, hunched over our computers, anxiously examining a kittens fanny, then discussing our findings at length. It happens far more frequently than you would suppose!