Found kitten last night!

[BeccaT]

Last night at around 8:30pm, me and my husband had some of his family visit, and upon answering the door and talking to them outside, we heard a little kitten crying in a nearby bush/tree area. It took us at least an hour to capture the little guy, but he was constantly hurting himself by running into cacti and the thorns on the trees/bushes. We eventually captured him and here he is!

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I thankfully still had this large pet play pen from when our Annie was a baby and set it up for him in the guest room. He spent the night here with a nice big blanket, some wet kitten food, water, kitten milk replacement and a litter box. He slept very well thankfully and overall seems to be eating and drinking just fine. He's incredibly sweet and affectionate towards humans now that he knows we're not here to hurt him. My problem is this is my first time taking care of a stray kitten. He can't be more than 3 or so weeks old, surely? I'm fairly sure he has a cold because his nose is very runny and he keeps sneezing. I'm not 100% sure if he actually used the litter box yet but he was in it at some point. I'm also not sure if he's at an age where he should be on kitten milk replacement stuff, but he clearly has been looking for his mother in some way as this morning when we went in to see him, he was kneading a lot on the blanket and I assume was searching for a nipple with his nose/face.

I want to take him to the vet but my husband works during the day and I'm unable to drive. We have 2 cats of our own at home that I would love to introduce him to once we know he's well, at least to get him socialised and find some kind of comfort in two female cats that would (hopefully?) take to him. Whether we can keep him or not is unlikely as my husband doesn't want a third cat, but my main focus right now is to make sure he stays safe and well fed.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do for him while I'm unable to leave the house and take him anywhere to get checked out?

 

[Margot Lane]

Love him. Talk to him. Probably goes w/out saying. Plus, your husband DOES want a third cat, he just doesn’t know it yet.

 

[BeccaT]

Love him. Talk to him. Probably goes w/out saying. Plus, your husband DOES want a third cat, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Haha, hopefully he changes his mind! He's very clearly infatuated with this little guy already. But we have 2 females for a reason as well, he was adverse to males because of spraying and UTIs. But he's incredibly sweet and my dream is for our 2 girls to take to him like he's their own and everyone gets along.

 

[BeccaT]

Small update: We managed to get him a vet appointment for tomorrow, but otherwise he still seems fine and is even using the litter box just fine! Hopefully we can introduce him to our ladies sooner rather than later so that he won't be cooped up in his pen and he can get some socialising in.

 

[tabbytom]

for taking him in.

I'm also not sure if he's at an age where he should be on kitten milk replacement stuff,

Yes, you can feed him with a milk replacer called KMR. You can either mix it with the wet food he's having or if he does drink, he can drink it direct from the plate. This milk will help him gain back the lost nutrients from his momma.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do for him while I'm unable to leave the house and take him anywhere to get checked out?

You can leave hi. in the play pen and have one or two of your clean unwashed, non perfumed garments and leave them with him. This will help him recognize your scents and so that he'll be more confident when you are near him as he can smell familiar scents. Play some soothing cat music and you can find them in Youtube.
At this age, he'll tend to sleep more and make sure the play pen has a cover so that he doesn't climb out when you are not around.

As for socializing, best is to let him finished his vet visit and when he's back, use a soft towel and gently rub the back and face of your cats and then use the same towel and gently transfer the scents of the two cats on him.
After you have done the scent transfer, whether if you are introducing now or later, repeat the procedure again before they meet. You don't have to let the kitten out as yet during the meet up session. Just let the other cats sniff around the play pan first and once the other cats sense familiar scents (after the scent transfer) it'll be easier for the introduction but just go slow and observe their body language.

 

[Gunther4ever]

Last night at around 8:30pm, me and my husband had some of his family visit, and upon answering the door and talking to them outside, we heard a little kitten crying in a nearby bush/tree area. It took us at least an hour to capture the little guy, but he was constantly hurting himself by running into cacti and the thorns on the trees/bushes. We eventually captured him and here he is!

View attachment 454982View attachment 454983View attachment 454984
​

I thankfully still had this large pet play pen from when our Annie was a baby and set it up for him in the guest room. He spent the night here with a nice big blanket, some wet kitten food, water, kitten milk replacement and a litter box. He slept very well thankfully and overall seems to be eating and drinking just fine. He's incredibly sweet and affectionate towards humans now that he knows we're not here to hurt him. My problem is this is my first time taking care of a stray kitten. He can't be more than 3 or so weeks old, surely? I'm fairly sure he has a cold because his nose is very runny and he keeps sneezing. I'm not 100% sure if he actually used the litter box yet but he was in it at some point. I'm also not sure if he's at an age where he should be on kitten milk replacement stuff, but he clearly has been looking for his mother in some way as this morning when we went in to see him, he was kneading a lot on the blanket and I assume was searching for a nipple with his nose/face.

I want to take him to the vet but my husband works during the day and I'm unable to drive. We have 2 cats of our own at home that I would love to introduce him to once we know he's well, at least to get him socialised and find some kind of comfort in two female cats that would (hopefully?) take to him. Whether we can keep him or not is unlikely as my husband doesn't want a third cat, but my main focus right now is to make sure he stays safe and well fed.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do for him while I'm unable to leave the house and take him anywhere to get checked out?

I'd say looking at his face in the pics he has already settled on calling you Mom.

 

[BeccaT]

Kitten is doing wonderfully and is the sweetest little guy we've met. He's very playful, affectionate and is still eating and drinking well. The vet gave him a clean bill of health too. It's looking more likely that we're going to be keeping him but only if our two ladies accept him. So far there's been hissing and growling from both of our ladies towards him, but no actual harmful swatting and the little kitten seems very interested in the 2 of them and clearly just wants to play. I think they'll adjust eventually as they each make their own little progress each day.

Perhaps this thread can be moved to somewhere more appropriate for introducing a kitten to adult cats?

 

[tabbytom]

Perhaps this thread can be moved to somewhere more appropriate for introducing a kitten to adult cats?

He looks so much like my boy! Has he got a name yet? If not, give him a name and start calling him by his name so that he can respond to you.

I think it's ok to continue here so that the it's easier to follow up rather than to start another thread all over again.

Hissing and growling and no harmful swatting from the ladies is pretty normal as they had discovered that someone new Is in their territory and is also telling the newcomer who's boss and as long as there's no actual attack or fighting, I think it's quite easy to do the introduction since they have already met.

It's easier on the newcomer's part as he is still very young and he's at a new place. The only problem to tackle is the two ladies. You can do some scent swapping like have some towels and let the newcomer play on to soak up his scents and use the towels to leave it where the ladies like to rest and also maybe around the room/house. This way it'll get the ladies get use to his scent and slowly treat it as newcomer is already part of the house.

Yes, do it step by step and observe every move so that it's easier to progress from there. Since they have met each other, let them continue to interact. Most likely the ladies will lay down rules for him to follow and he'll learn fast since he's still very young.

Do keep us updated and show us photos/videos of the interaction if possible as photos and videos are easier to read the signs than reading just the text.
Feel free to ask any questions and we'll try to guide you along.

 

[mani]

BeccaT you might find you have a few questions about this little one, and putting them all here, unless they're obviously a very separate question, will likely get you the answers you need. As tabbytom said, it's good to have all the ongoing information in one thread and this is a good general forum for that.
We have a lot of information about introducing cats..

How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat [A Guide] - TheCatSite

Discover our expert advice on how to introduce a kitten to an older cat. From understanding feline behavior to practical step-by-step guidance, we help ensure a smooth transition to a multi-cat household.

thecatsite.com

Introducing Cats To Cats: The Expert's Guide To A Smooth Transition - TheCatSite

Introducing cats to cats can be a delicate process. This article offers a step-by-step guide on safely integrating a new cat into a home with a resident cat. Learn about vet visits, isolation, playtime and more to ensure a smooth transition.

thecatsite.com

He's a gorgeous little guy.. I'm so thrilled you're keeping him.

 

[BeccaT]

Thank you everyone for your responses, I think keeping everything here is a good idea.

This was the general setup for having his bedroom door open for the two ladies for at least a day or two. They treated that draft excluder like a barrier

They'd come up to his room on their own accord and just watch. The hissing and growling has slowed down since then, thankfully. The only time now that they really hiss, growl, or even swat (the ONLY time they swat at him) is when he catches them by surprise, like if he comes up behind them unexpectedly and spook them. I think Annie (tuxedo and first adopted, yet youngest of the 2 adults) has tried to initiate some play time with him, her ears aren't back and her tail is all over the place and her eyes are still big but I think they still need to establish boundaries as he's MUCH smaller and weaker than them both. He definitely is curious about both of them though and wants to be able to get close without any hostility, but he seems to be very good at reading their body language and knows when to back off before they even make a sound or move.

He's still mostly in his own room and pen when we can't supervise them, but he has ventured out into the rest of the house and the two adult cats are somewhat adjusting to him being in their space. They mostly watch him and sometimes run from him like I said, they only swat at him when he startles them thankfully and has never been hurt by them.

Sadly, he still doesn't have a name yet. My husband is reluctant to name him until we know Annie and April can accept him. Although, we're still open to suggestions for male names beginning with A! But I think no A names will suit him sadly, but that's okay. So far I've taken to calling him "little man", "little monkey" (he likes to climb a lot) and "little gremlin" (he seems to like hoarding his toys under the guest room bed!) and can rarely ever keep still, so we'd love to give him a name fitting of his personality.

 

[tabbytom]

They'd come up to his room on their own accord and just watch. The hissing and growling has slowed down since then, thankfully. The only time now that they really hiss, growl, or even swat (the ONLY time they swat at him) is when he catches them by surprise, like if he comes up behind them unexpectedly and spook them. I think Annie (tuxedo and first adopted, yet youngest of the 2 adults) has tried to initiate some play time with him, her ears aren't back and her tail is all over the place and her eyes are still big but I think they still need to establish boundaries as he's MUCH smaller and weaker than them both. He definitely is curious about both of them though and wants to be able to get close without any hostility, but he seems to be very good at reading their body language and knows when to back off before they even make a sound or move.

That's great to hear! All parties are curious about each other and they are making progress.

Sadly, he still doesn't have a name yet. My husband is reluctant to name him until we know Annie and April can accept him. Although, we're still open to suggestions for male names beginning with A!

Cat Names

 

[BeccaT]

That's great to hear! All parties are curious about each other and they are making progress.



Cat Names

I'm trying to give all cats as much exposure to each other as possible with supervision to make sure they know this could become the new normal! So far so good, as I'm writing this, he's running around the main part of the house with the black cat watching and the tuxedo chasing him occasionally, with her tail upright which I interpret as a good sign.

Personally, my name picks for him are: Jasper, Toby, and I LOVE Pepper from that list! I also love Anakin and Anduin for A names (both very nerdy, my husband dislikes both) so I reckon he may not end up with an A name. BUT the A names weren't a conscious decision, either. Thank you for the list!

 

[tabbytom]

I'm trying to give all cats as much exposure to each other as possible with supervision to make sure they know this could become the new normal! So far so good, as I'm writing this, he's running around the main part of the house with the black cat watching and the tuxedo chasing him occasionally, with her tail upright which I interpret as a good sign.

Yes, give them more time to adjust. So far, it looks like they are accepting him. As long as there's no growling, yowling, fires hissings, flattened ears, puffed tail or aggressive stance, in due time, they should well accept him.

Personally, my name picks for him are: Jasper, Toby, and I LOVE Pepper from that list! I also love Anakin and Anduin for A names (both very nerdy, my husband dislikes both) so I reckon he may not end up with an A name. BUT the A names weren't a conscious decision, either. Thank you for the list!

Other suggestions is to name the cat by his character, fur pattern or something that is significant or special about him.

I had no name for my boy in the beginning as he was a rescue when I brought him to the vet the very first time and I named him my name as they need a pet's name for registration. I was wondering what to name him and it struck me, he was rescued in the month of January and therefore he was named January and I had his name changed at the next visit to the vet

 

[BeccaT]

Yes, give them more time to adjust. So far, it looks like they are accepting him. As long as there's no growling, yowling, fires hissings, flattened ears, puffed tail or aggressive stance, in due time, they should well accept him.


View attachment 455606
Other suggestions is to name the cat by his character, fur pattern or something that is significant or special about him.

I had no name for my boy in the beginning as he was a rescue when I brought him to the vet the very first time and I named him my name as they need a pet's name for registration. I was wondering what to name him and it struck me, he was rescued in the month of January and therefore he was named January and I had his name changed at the next visit to the vet

April is also named April because that's when we adopted her! Our vet said "I hope it's not based on her birthday because I'd say her birthday is in March" haha. I'd absolutely call them July if they were female, but maybe that doesn't matter? I do love names that are of the month. Hopefully he'll have a name by the end of next week at the latest.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

So glad everything's going well!

You could always call him Julius ...

 

[catapault]

Alfie is a nice name . . .

 

[cmshap]

I can speak to some of the symptoms you described.

I also found a random cat that just showed up, and I took him in. He is 10 now, and I've lived with him for the last 9 years.

When he showed up, he had respiratory problems (among other problems)... sneezing, coughing, snotty nose, etc.

Multiple vets have told me that sometimes, cats who are sick early in life will have chronic problems forever.

I treat him with a 10-day course of zeniquin about once a year. But his sneezing and snottiness always comes back. He's lived a healthy, happy life regardless of these issues, but it's always been a challenge.

I don't completely understand why cats can develop chronic infections like this, but I'd love to hear from anyone more knowledgeable about this.

 

[BeccaT]

I can speak to some of the symptoms you described.

I also found a random cat that just showed up, and I took him in. He is 10 now, and I've lived with him for the last 9 years.

When he showed up, he had respiratory problems (among other problems)... sneezing, coughing, snotty nose, etc.

Multiple vets have told me that sometimes, cats who are sick early in life will have chronic problems forever.

I treat him with a 10-day course of zeniquin about once a year. But his sneezing and snottiness always comes back. He's lived a healthy, happy life regardless of these issues, but it's always been a challenge.

I don't completely understand why cats can develop chronic infections like this, but I'd love to hear from anyone more knowledgeable about this.

The vet said he didn't have a cold and it was just because he's getting used to a new environment and new smells etc. which we did experience with our 2 ladies when we first adopted them, too. But he does often have gooey eyes but he isn't sneezing a whole lot, nor does his nose seem to be running. We're taking him to a different vet in about 2 weeks for his vaccinations and we're hoping they'll give him a proper examination because the first vet did hardly anything.

Thank you for this information though, I hope the next vet will take more care in checking him out so we can hopefully get rid of this cold of his, if he has one.

Another day today of letting him roam around the house. Annie seems to be taking to him more, she's trying to initiate some kind of play with him with her tail up and her ears forward, her body language doesn't seem threatening. April on the other hand keeps going up to him or in front of him and puffing her tail and arching her back. I know this is normal but I hope it stops soon.

 

[cmshap]

Thank you for this information though, I hope the next vet will take more care in checking him out so we can hopefully get rid of this cold of his, if he has one.

I had to go to multiple vets before my cat was treated the right way. The first couple basically said "his sneezing/nasal discharge will never go away." The vet that I settled on listened to his lungs and said "his lungs sound terrible" and prescribed meds that cleared him up.

But like I said, he has a chronic bacterial infection that always comes back. From what I understand, this can happen when a cat gets sick early in life. My cat was lost outside for a while before I found him, and he got very sick while under one year old. Sometimes, the damage done results in chronically recurring infections.

At least, that's my limited understanding of it.

Zeniquin has been the best drug for him by far, but it's an antibiotic so it isn't for viral infections. These chronic infections can be caused by bacterial and/or viral infections, and it all depends on the individual case.

 

[BeccaT]

Kitten update!

We've decided to name him Kylo (we've been re-watching Star Wars and it's the only name my husband agreed on) and he's doing very well here. He's incredibly energetic and feisty which can be hard for us to manage, but the ladies have taken to him enough to be able to co-exist with him and no longer hiss or swat at him. We're still unsure if we're keeping him unless the ladies really take to him as we really don't want to bring another cat into the home if they're merely acquaintances. He tries to play with them a lot and most of the time they want nothing to do with his high energy behavior, which is a shame for him. Sometimes they play with him though but I don't think they've figured out how to properly play with something so small yet.

I have a lot of love for this guy already, though. He's quickly become my little buddy and he seems very attached to me so I hate the idea of sending him away, but I'd rather all cats live in a happier and more fulfilling home than one where there's some animosity and he can't get his energy out by playing with the others. We even caught him cuddling up to the grumpier (at least grumpy with other cats) of the two under the bed but this is the only time I've seen them this close. They mostly try to avoid him and only really come out to spend time with me and my husband when he's in his own room.

Sadly, we think he's given our tuxedo Annie some of his cold. Despite the fact the first vet we took him to saying he didn't have a cold, our poor Annie (who is 2 years old today!) has lost her meow and we put it down to her sometimes stealing the kitten's food and catching whatever virus he has. Thankfully, she seems 100% herself in every other way, just with a missing meow and we're taking her to the vet this afternoon before it gets worse, and Kylo is going to the vet in 2 weeks for his vaccines.

I'll update again on whether we decide to keep him or not as I'm incredibly torn as I've grown very attached to him, but it wouldn't be fair on the ladies nor him if they don't want to live with each other.