Deformed Kitten, No Mother Near

[SugarCube]

Today i went out to my shed and was shocked to find a very small kitten hidden behind some boxes! Its almost the size of my hand and has a weird face, its eyes seem to pop out of its skull and its neck is crooked. Its extremely thin and i can trace almost every bone in its tiny body, but it has quite the voice! I dont have neighbors and iv'e never seen any strays around, i also live about two hours from town and the vet i called said to just come and put it down but i really want to give it a chance! Is there anything i can do for it?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Can you post a photo of the kitten?

You will want to bring it inside and put it in a box with a heating source. A sock filled with raw rice and microwaved for 5 minutes works.

You will also need kitten milk replacer and a needleless syringe.

 

[abyeb]

Thanks for caring!

I think like it sounds like the kitten might have hydrocephalus? Feline Hydrocephalus and "Hydro Cats" -- 7 Facts | Catster

Yes, please bring the kitten inside and feed KMR and pedialyte through a syringe. Goat's milk works as well, if you can't find KMR.

 

[surya]

You need to get some milk replacer and a bottle or a syringe. I have found these items at Walmart or pet supply stores. Keep the baby warm. There are a lot of good video's and information on the kitten lady website:
Supplies

 

[SugarCube]

Alright i have placed the kitten inside a box with a heated rice sock along with two others i found under another box! I dont have any milk replacer but i will run and get some soon, The siblings seem to be fine but all of them are really skinny. The deformed kitten is almost three times as small as the other two!

 

[talkingpeanut]

Please post photos if you can.

It would also be helpful to get a small kitchen scale.

 

[surya]

Are you sure the mother is not going to come back to feed the kittens? She maybe out looking for food.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I would also think mom would be coming back. Pictures of the kittens would help.

 

[SugarCube]

I currently do not have anything to take pictures with, my phone is charging! I will keep a look out for the mother and place some dog food near where i found the kittens.

 

[SugarCube]

Sorry for such a bad photo, i tried!

 

[surya]

I believe I would put the kittens back where you found them and watch from a distance for the mother. You can't feed them yourself anyway until you get the supplies.

 

[SugarCube]

I sent my brother to get the supplies, I'll take the kittens back out and put them around the boxes. My dogs are free roam and have killed stray cats before so hopefully they did not get a hold of the mother! I have put my dogs up right now so they dont frighten the mother if she is still around.

 

[Ulcerates]

I think the mother placed them there. My cat does this all the time with her 4 kittens and she does move them out of the house alot, Maybe just wait for the mother to come back? i doubt that someone would go to your shed just to put kittens in it. But you should get syringe asap.

 

[SugarCube]

I have had teenagers drop puppies in the building beside the one i found the kittens in before, so it would not be a surprise if someone planted them there! I'm going to check my camera feed for the last 24 hours and see if anything was going on. Maybe i can see if the mother has been around as well.

 

[orange&white]

Yes, I would put them back and grab a lawn chair and your favorite beverage so you can sit at a distance and watch to see if the mother returns. If she isn't back by a little after dark, then you do want to bring them inside, or you can care for them inside the shed as long as your dogs or any other predators can't get to them.

If mama comes back, you'll want to devise a plan to trap her along with the kittens and set them up with a safe indoor place for the next few weeks.

 

[SugarCube]

Woah that was fast! I was just sitting down on my porch watching the shed and reading the responses on this thread when this skinny female cat came right up to me and started meowing! She looks like she has milk and is very friendly, she went straight to the dog food i sat out for her when i walked out with her to the shed! She has no collar or anything but i honestly think shes way to sweet to be a wild, What do you guys think? If she allows me i may move her and the kittens inside because rain is able to get though the cracks in my shed and i wouldn't want my dogs getting to the mom cat!

 

[orange&white]

That's super news! Yes, yes...move them all inside.

 

[desert82]

Awe what a precious baby.Yes absolutely. If you can get all of them inside that would be great. They will have a much better chance of survival. Also the one that is deformed she may not take care of and only tend.to the others but with them all inside you will be able.to monitor that and step in if needed.

 

[surya]

Yes, keep the dogs away and bring them inside. Mom will be starving and will need lots of good food. Then you'll have to deal with flea treatment.

 

[SugarCube]

She is now feeding all of them including the deformed one, i will move them inside as soon as i fix a spot for them! If they all do well then i may end up keeping them as inside cats, But of course i will take the mother to the vet and check for a chip before i make any final decisions!