Help With Found Kitten!

[ewheeler]

Hey all! My husband found an abandoned kitten in a tire off a dirt road yesterday. She is small, very small, but not a newborn. We have three other rescues that we've found at very young ages but it's been a while so I'm asking for advice. We can't afford to take her or him to vet for visit until payday. We are in GA and it was hotttt yesterday. The baby was scared and bony. I didn't have any KMR or ingredients for homemade, but I got a couple cans of wet kitten food. She ate a 1/4 can last night and this morning ate a half. We have her isolated in our bathroom in a basket with blankets to keep warm, along with litter pan and water. She has a small, healing wound on her hind leg by her tail. It smells, but I believe it it was deeper than the skin, which doesn't seem to be the case, it's already abcessed. My questions are: until we get to vet, should I give her KMR? How can I clean her off? And if she has about 6 teeth, canines and the rest just breaking, what do you think her chances of making wil be? I just need reassurance. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[talkingpeanut]

When will you be able to get her to the vet?

Thank you for taking her in! Can you leave dry kitten food down for her 100% of the time? And then continue feeding the wet food meals throughout the day? You could also try offering some kitten milk replacer in a dish. I'm sure she is dehydrated.

Do you feel that she needs a full bath?

 

[Sarthur2]

Clean her injury with warm water and hydrogen perixide. If it still smells it signals infection and will require antibiotics.

She sounds like she has a good chance of surviving since she is eating well.

I agree she needs access to kitten chow and water, in addition to the wet food. Have you set up a small litter box for her?

Thanks for rescuing her!

 

[ewheeler]

I don't think she needs a bath. The wound is an old one, it smells. It's not oozing, swollen, or hot. I have a saucer of water and the wet food. I haven't offered the kitten dry food yet bc I just want her to rest and eat. I know bc she's been out in the elements at least the wet kitten food has moisture in it.

I guess I'm just worried about her. My husband saw her and said he couldn't just leave her there. So she's now in a nice, cool bathroom with warm blankets and food. Praying that she's not sick but just scared.

 

[Sarthur2]

I suggested just cleaning the wound to get rid of the smell and to see how it's doing after it's cleaned.

 

[ewheeler]

Clean her injury with warm water and hydrogen perixide. If it still smells it signals infection and will require antibiotics.

She sounds like she has a good chance of surviving since she is eating well.

I agree she needs access to kitten chow and water, in addition to the wet food. Have you set up a small litter box for her?

Thanks for rescuing her!

I don't think she needs a bath. The wound is an old one, it smells. It's not oozing, swollen, or hot. I have a saucer of water and the wet food. I haven't offered the kitten dry food yet bc I just want her to rest and eat. I know bc she's been out in the elements at least the wet kitten food has moisture in it.

I guess I'm just worried about her. My husband saw her and said he couldn't just leave her there. So she's now in a nice, cool bathroom with warm blankets and food. Praying that she's not sick but just scared.

Clean her injury with warm water and hydrogen perixide. If it still smells it signals infection and will require antibiotics.

She sounds like she has a good chance of surviving since she is eating well.

I agree she needs access to kitten chow and water, in addition to the wet food. Have you set up a small litter box for her?

Thanks for rescuing her!

I will offer the dry food tonight to her and leave it out ! Yes, I made a shallow pan/litter box, bought small tin one so she could easily get in and out. She has some poop on her tail and I didn't bother with it bc she was so exhausted and scared last night. I fed her this morning before I left and she ate more. I am praying that even if she doesn't go to the box to use the bathroom that she will go

 

[ewheeler]

I suggested just cleaning the wound to get rid of the smell and to see how it's doing after it's cleaned.

So warm water? I've always read that hydrogen peroxide isn't good for cats injuries. But there are always posts that say it is and then it's not. And how? Do I just use a clean syringe with warm water and flush the area? There are no holes, just like she got skinned. I just want to get the elements off of it so she can get some air on it.

 

[Sarthur2]

Syringe or put her leg under the faucet or in a bowl of warm water. Whatever works. Plain water should clean it fine.

 

[Willowy]

Poor little thing! I'm glad he found her in time. She appears to be at least 7 weeks old so she doesn't NEED to have KMR, but I have found it useful to provide extra nutrition for kitties who haven't had a very good start in life. Wouldn't hurt anyway.

Saline water stings less than regular water and has mild antibacterial properties. You csn google for the proper ratio of salt to water.

 

[ewheeler]

You think she is that old? I'm on way home now as hubs sent new pic of her looking much better! I bought some KMR n a bottle but am wondering if she needs the bottle

 

[Willowy]

With what you say about her teeth, she could be 5 weeks old, but baby kittens have little roundy ears and hers are so big. Is her tail long too? Baby kittens have little stubby tails.

And if she's eating the canned food with no trouble then she must be old enough for solids. Since you already got the bottle, you can try offering it---if she's too old she won't take it---but she'd probably be OK with just adding the KMR to her canned food.

 

[ewheeler]

You were totally correct! She didn't care for the bottle and she has at least 6 teeth on top. She's clearly been traumatized and it's been a mere 24 hours since being brought indoors. She ate some wet food mixed with KRM, maybe a tablespoon or more, and took about a teaspoon of the KRM. I don't know if she's still getting used to new environment, or is sick. She's covered in fleas and has poop stuck to her tail. The wound is healing and not oozing. She's a tiny bag of bones. I don't know if I should push the food with her, or leave it out. She's in our half bathroom snuggled in warm towels right now. She was purring when I petted her. What do I do? Leave her be? Or push?

 

[catsknowme]

You can use warm saline water to de-flea her. The salt immobilizes the fleas and eventually kills them. I use a cheap plastic comb and a small bowl of water; just dip the comb then comb her fur. The fleas are draining her much-needed nutrition out of her. You can use warm baking soda water and cotton balls to clean the poop off. Some people recommend Dawn dish liquid in a basin of warm water for bathing a kitten but since Dawn's fragrance sets off my asthma, I worry that it will also irritate a kitten's delicate nasal passages. Plus, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used as a degreaser in commercially prepared dish liquids so why not be economical like the manufacturers and use baking soda? You can call a vet and see if they will give you general information, such as using coconut oil or an antibiotic ointment on that wound. I have an old-fashioned country vet who is passionate about feral colony management so she gives huge discounts on feral cat treatment and gives remote advice.
I highly recommend handling the kitten as she needs close personal contact and affection. Kittens are born into litters so are naturally designed for frequent physical contact. The bathing and de-fleaing will be part of that.
Kudos to your husband and you for rescuing that little cutie - she is an adorable little tiger! I love the 'M' on her forehead. Please keep us updated!

 

[ewheeler]

You can use warm saline water to de-flea her. The salt immobilizes the fleas and eventually kills them. I use a cheap plastic comb and a small bowl of water; just dip the comb then comb her fur. The fleas are draining her much-needed nutrition out of her. You can use warm baking soda water and cotton balls to clean the poop off. Some people recommend Dawn dish liquid in a basin of warm water for bathing a kitten but since Dawn's fragrance sets off my asthma, I worry that it will also irritate a kitten's delicate nasal passages. Plus, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used as a degreaser in commercially prepared dish liquids so why not be economical like the manufacturers and use baking soda? You can call a vet and see if they will give you general information, such as using coconut oil or an antibiotic ointment on that wound. I have an old-fashioned country vet who is passionate about feral colony management so she gives huge discounts on feral cat treatment and gives remote advice.
I highly recommend handling the kitten as she needs close personal contact and affection. Kittens are born into litters so are naturally designed for frequent physical contact. The bathing and de-fleaing will be part of that.
Kudos to your husband and you for rescuing that little cutie - she is an adorable little tiger! I love the 'M' on her forehead. Please keep us updated![/Q

You can use warm saline water to de-flea her. The salt immobilizes the fleas and eventually kills them. I use a cheap plastic comb and a small bowl of water; just dip the comb then comb her fur. The fleas are draining her much-needed nutrition out of her. You can use warm baking soda water and cotton balls to clean the poop off. Some people recommend Dawn dish liquid in a basin of warm water for bathing a kitten but since Dawn's fragrance sets off my asthma, I worry that it will also irritate a kitten's delicate nasal passages. Plus, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used as a degreaser in commercially prepared dish liquids so why not be economical like the manufacturers and use baking soda? You can call a vet and see if they will give you general information, such as using coconut oil or an antibiotic ointment on that wound. I have an old-fashioned country vet who is passionate about feral colony management so she gives huge discounts on feral cat treatment and gives remote advice.
I highly recommend handling the kitten as she needs close personal contact and affection. Kittens are born into litters so are naturally designed for frequent physical contact. The bathing and de-fleaing will be part of that.
Kudos to your husband and you for rescuing that little cutie - she is an adorable little tiger! I love the 'M' on her forehead. Please keep us updated!

 

[ewheeler]

I will! I've been watching the tutorials on dawn and bathing. Got the warm towels and dawn. It's unscented. Our vet was like that until he retired and sold the practice to people who are in the business of making money, who knew. Lol. He used to care for any animal we rescued on the house. We live out on property which is a beacon for animal dumping. I'm beginning to dislike the human race more and more. This little baby didn't ask for this. Thank you for the advice!! What are your thoughts on the lack of eating? I know cats purr when they're in pain, but she reacts to when I love and pet on her, a far cry from yesterday when my husband got her and all she did was hiss. I'm worried about her not eating enough.

 

[ewheeler]

*** update***
Bathing went amazing! Fleas fell off dead thanks to dawn. I wrapped her up tight and dried her! The amount of flea dirt and dried blood was agonizing for me!! She seemed to perk up as well. I'm sure that had nothing to do with her newfound love of bathing. However, after hour long dry and snuggle session, I added dry kitten food to her wet/KmR and she gobbled the kibble up!!! Hooray!!! I also made a warm saline mix and flushed the wound, it is obviously healing and must've burst a few days ago. It leaked a bit when I flushed it but is dried up nicely so far. She actually looks like a kitten now!!! She was even kneading and purring after the whole fiasco. I'll continue to update. Thanks everyone!!

 

[catsknowme]

Those fleas were agonizing her - so glad that you were able to get rid of them! Wonderful news about her eating. I will have to look online for unscented Dawn - we dont have fleas here but it would be a nice addition to the emergency kitten kit that I keep in my car.

 

[ewheeler]

 

[Sarthur2]

Glad you finally cleaned her up and de-flead her and cleaned her wound.

Good she also began eating dry kitten chow.

It sounds like she is relaxing and so are you! Progress is good!

 

[ewheeler]

Glad you finally cleaned her up and de-flead her and cleaned her wound.

Good she also began eating dry kitten chow.

It sounds like she is relaxing and so are you! Progress is good!

I took her to vet this morning! We moved money around bc we wanted to make sure she is improving and the injury is healing. Turns out she is a SHE and is 6 weeks old. She has an URI, and the wound hasn't abcessed yet. 160$ later, we are on the road to recovery!