Help, I found a feral kitten.

[catsknowme]

Awww....such a cutie!! You have exceptional instincts for helping this kitten. He is adorable....and smart! Our fellow member Hissy has an excellent website: www.kitten-rescue.com that has recipes for formula and a homemade pedialyte. You can lightly touch his gums and see if they feel tacky - if so, it would be a good idea to give him some pedialyte for dehydration. Using a plastic eyedropper might be another way to feed him. I have a 4 week old whom I am training to eat off of a baby food jar lid - I tilt it toward her face at about a 30° angle. She laps up a little bit and then I switch to syringe feeding her with the eyedropper. I put my little ones in a nest with a skicap and absorbent cloths plus a heated cornmeal sock as a bed buddy, all inside a small carrier that is on top of a K&H small size heated pet pad. The sleeping nest should be warm so I cover the carrier with a towel but our lows are in the 30s these days & we heat only with a woodburner in the livingroom.
Thank you for the pictures - so much fun to see each other's kitties.
As for your challenges with the phone, does your state offer free TDD/TKK phone services? California does and I have seen deaf people use it. The state even provides the specialized phone free of charge. My daughter has left brain damage which causes a severe speech problem so I know only too well the frustrations of communication difficulties.

 

[Taphie]

Awww....such a cutie!! You have exceptional instincts for helping this kitten. He is adorable....and smart! Our fellow member Hissy has an excellent website: www.kitten-rescue.com that has recipes for formula and a homemade pedialyte. You can lightly touch his gums and see if they feel tacky - if so, it would be a good idea to give him some pedialyte for dehydration. Using a plastic eyedropper might be another way to feed him. I have a 4 week old whom I am training to eat off of a baby food jar lid - I tilt it toward her face at about a 30° angle. She laps up a little bit and then I switch to syringe feeding her with the eyedropper. I put my little ones in a nest with a skicap and absorbent cloths plus a heated cornmeal sock as a bed buddy, all inside a small carrier that is on top of a K&H small size heated pet pad. The sleeping nest should be warm so I cover the carrier with a towel but our lows are in the 30s these days & we heat only with a woodburner in the livingroom.
Thank you for the pictures - so much fun to see each other's kitties.
As for your challenges with the phone, does your state offer free TDD/TKK phone services? California does and I have seen deaf people use it. The state even provides the specialized phone free of charge. My daughter has left brain damage which causes a severe speech problem so I know only too well the frustrations of communication difficulties.

Thank you for the information. Right now, I have him in a cardboard box with several towels. I have him in the office because there is a gate to keep out my mom's chihuahua. He's just too curious about the kitten and I want to do proper introductions when the kitten is bigger. Also, the office is a good place for a quarantine until his vet visit since I have another cat. He should be okay in there until I can get some supplies tomorrow. I live in Florida, it was 90 degrees today, and the office is still warm. I think Walgreen's sells a pet warmer. I will go there and see if they have it. If not I will get a heating pad.
Kitties and heating pads just go together. That's how I acclimated the shelter cat I adopted. I wrapped my unwashed t-shirt around a heating pad on low for her to lay on in her safe place. I wanted my scent to be comforting to her. I've been bonding with her when this kitten showed up and needed me.

 

[Sarthur2]

Get a small syringe as well in case the kitten does not take to the bottle easily. Walgreens should give you one for free at the pharmacy. Best of luck today!

 

[Taphie]

I got him a baby bottle and he promptly chewed off the nipple! Freak out on my part, but I read this is a common occurance and to watch him as he should pass the nipple. Ugh! I mixed the kitten formula with canned kitten food and fed him with a spoon. He ate off the spoon. Now, I'm worried about him swallowing the nipple.

 

[Jcatbird]

Yeah. It’s going to mean checking his little poops. It’s a soft thing and hopefully will pass but you will need to watch for it. Did he go potty when you used the cotton ball? That’s so cute that he turned over for you to get his tummy! Good baby!

 

[CatLover49]

View attachment 304766

Oh my..sooo cute

 

[Sarthur2]

One of my kittens chewed the tip off a nipple and swallowed it a few years back and she’s fine. Kittens will pass it in the stool.

 

[Taphie]

I took the kitten to the no-kill shelter where I adopted my other cat and had a vet tech check her out. She is healthy! She is a girl. (My kitten sexing skills suck.) She's also close to 6 weeks. They too said she should pass the nipple and to check her poop. The vet tech said she's had that happen to her with foster kittens. No, she has not pooped yet. The vet tech said that is normal for feral kitten's not to poop for a couple days due to the stress of being brought inside and to just keep an eye on her. I made a vet appointment for a week from Saturday at the shelter's clinic. The shelter also said they can do her spay when she is old enough. They said she has to weigh four pounds for the spay.

 

[Jcatbird]

Wonderful news! I’m so glad she is healthy!! Everything sounds like the visit went very well. So now that you know it’s a girl, you just have to figure out her name. Lol That’s always fun. She’s certainly a little dream kitten. So sweet and pretty. BTW it’s not easy to tell the sex when they are that little. Lol I’ve made the same mistake myself. You’ve made amazing progress!

 

[Taphie]

It's been on my mind that my little feral kitten has siblings. No, I can't take them in, but every time I look at her I think about her siblings. If there is one, there has to be more. I see adult cats pass through my backyard all time. Obviously, they are breeding more and more unwanted kittens. So, I found a TNR program in my area, told them about the situation, and asked what I can do to help these cats.

 

[Jcatbird]

That is excellent. I had a colony here that was expanding and getting the breeding stopped is crucial for all. I’m glad you contacted the group because chances are, that baby does have siblings somewhere. There is a lot you can do to help the colony. Stopping breeding is first and foremost.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thank you for all you are doing for this kitten!

It seems things are currently well under control on THAT front, so I'll just mention that I have moderate to moderate-severe hearing loss, and if you are in the USA, you should easily qualify for a CaptionCall Phone. Mine does an excellent job of translating spoken words to written, and the screen is easy on the eyes. While I DO hear, and can manage my cell phone, ALL of my doctors know to use the CaptionCall phone number so that I don't miss any information. CaptionCall Phone

 

[Taphie]

I recently moved in with my mother. She is elderly and recently had a bout with breast cancer. It was caught early, but still it took so much out of her. My mom has ONE ethernet jack in the whole house and her router has one port. So, I had to have another ethernet jack installed for the CaptionCall phone. I just haven't gotten the actual phone yet.

The kitten can climb out of the box, so I put her in the bathtub with towels toys, a cuddle buddy, food and water at night and when I'm not home. But I found out she can climb out of the bathtub as well. Kittens! Now, I'm just going to set up the bathroom as her safe room. She did explore the house like Magellan running all over checking everything out. I love watching her just be herself.
My mom wanted to name her Socks, but it's too generic of a name and doesn't fit her.

Oh, and she now has pooped out the nipple. Though, when I did try to put in the litter box she started eating the litter! Ugh! Kittens!!

My other cat, Suki (Beloved in Japanese. I gave her an Asian name because she's Siamese) is a cat that has some issues. She's a very sweet, gentle soul, but she mostly hides under the bed. She acts like a cat that's been mistreated, fearful of any sound or movement. I've had her a couple of months and I knew going in that she is going to need rehab and work on her trust issues. Yes, baby steps of progress have been made and I plan on it taking a year for her to blossom into a confident cat I know she can be. Did I mention she has IBS? But having a little kitten tear through the house that's a confident cat from the start is pretty nice.

 

[Ruby3440]

Kittens definitely learn to climb early. Our littlest could climb out of his box at about 4 weeks. Just be careful because a house is so big compared to a little kitten.
Eating litter is normal for little kittens! You just have to make sure to use non clumping liter for her as the clumping can cause problems if to much is eaten.

Both of your cats sound adorable! I somewhat love trying to breakthrough scared cats because it's so rewarding when they open up (and like you and not the others of your family at first)

Anyways good luck with all of your cats and that little kitten!

 

[Taphie]

Kittens definitely learn to climb early. Our littlest could climb out of his box at about 4 weeks. Just be careful because a house is so big compared to a little kitten.
Eating litter is normal for little kittens! You just have to make sure to use non clumping liter for her as the clumping can cause problems if to much is eaten.

Both of your cats sound adorable! I somewhat love trying to breakthrough scared cats because it's so rewarding when they open up (and like you and not the others of your family at first)

Anyways good luck with all of your cats and that little kitten!

Thanks. I don't let her explore without keeping an eye on her. Plus, it's fun to watch her. I have non-clumping clay litter for her, but do want to use the pine pellets eventually.

 

[Ruby3440]

They are definitely really funny when exploring. Especially when they are just starting to run. We went through that about 2 weeks ago with our little one. Since we have 5 kittens 5 weeks older then him we kind of just let him have free roam and he would go everyone running it walking with a little hop after he discovered he could do that. That litter sounds fine! Some kittens just think it's hard food and eat it while some just accidentally eat it when discovering that is where they go to the bathroom.

 

[Jcatbird]

Maybe the new kitten can help Suki adjust. Once things have settled with the kitten and all is well, you may find that the kitten inspires Suki and they become support for each other. I have had kittens make a huge difference with cats that had trauma issues as well as older cats.
I’m very glad to hear that the nipple passed. I figured it would but confirmation is good news.
It sounds like she is a very bright and happy little one there. I’m so glad you were able to save her.

 

[Taphie]

Maybe the new kitten can help Suki adjust. Once things have settled with the kitten and all is well, you may find that the kitten inspires Suki and they become support for each other. I have had kittens make a huge difference with cats that had trauma issues as well as older cats.
I’m very glad to hear that the nipple passed. I figured it would but confirmation is good news.
It sounds like she is a very bright and happy little one there. I’m so glad you were able to save her.

Yeah, I was hoping the kitten would be good for Suki. I'm not sure if Suki has ever had kittens (the shelter vet estimated her age at 3 and she was spayed at the shelter), but when I was trying to find videos for cats for her to watch, there was a video with kittens crying and she perked up and intently stared at the screen at the kittens.
The kitten (I named her Stormie since she was found in a rain gutter and she is gray and white) loves to be held and cuddled. When I cuddle and pet her, if I stop petting her she will let me know that's NOT acceptable and lets out a sharp "Meow!"
I set up a safe room for Stormie and basically made a kitten playground for her in the room. She has lots of cat toys and cat things to climb on and in.

 

[Taphie]

 

[Taphie]