It can't be more than 8 weeks...

[skipthestorm]

A couple nights ago while I was leaving work. I heard meowing and investigated and found a very young kitten. He (we think its a he) can't be much more than 8 weeks if that.
He's eating on his own if you mash the wet food up and he won't drink water so I bought some kitten milk and he drinks that. He dug in like he was starving (he probably was) and we've been offering him food and letting him eat until he walks away. We haven't been letting him eat too fast and he's finally stopped crying that he's hungry.
Sadly he's kept in quarantine away from the family because he hasn't been vet checked yet and I don't want him giving anything to my cat or going after my sugar gliders (although he's probably too small for that).
My question are:
-How often should we feed him and how much?
-Is there anything else we should do for him?
He's already in a warm and safe location and we spend about an hour or two with him when we feed him.
He's scheduled to go see my vet on Tuesday. The soonest I could get him in.

 

[mrblanche]

Bless you for saving the little waif!

If he's able to eat, and is peeing and pooping in a litter box, you can feed him all he'll eat.

Spending time with him will make him more "lovable," and will help him socialize properly. Have him tested for the "big nasties" before you let him socialize with your current animals.

 

[skipthestorm]

I'm wary of feeding him all he'll eat because he's so small and I'm not fully sure of when his last meal was prior to me feeding him the night he came home.
The big nasties and the possibility of parasites is one of the biggest reasons he's kept away from the other animals.
Thankfully the only "damage" I saw on him was a bur on his back. There are no signs of anything else (other than worms) that I can see.

 

[rafm]

Thanks so much for picking up the little guy. I'd feed him as much as he'll eat.

As far as anything else you could do....does he have some toys to keep him entertained? It sounds like you've done everything you can do to this point.

Except pics.....we need pics!

 

[fleshflowers]

I did read somewhere once that cat's will not eat all their food if they are full, unlike dogs who I've seen eat a whole bowl of food in one sitting just because it was there. I don't know the truth about all cats, but my kitten does not eat all of her wet food in one sitting if she gets full from it, and sometimes she will eat it all if she was hungry enough. I wouldn't worry about over-feeding the kitten..

 

[babydk]

What a satisfying warm feeling saving a little guy like that. In late July my hubby heard a "MEW..MEW" from under the house a couple doors up and found an orphan. We took her in-and began giving her KMR from a bottle as she was only 3 weeks old. She is now 9 weeks old..triple or more that size, and she runs around like she owns the place.

When she was ready, she walked up to the bowl my Maine Coon eats out of and began scarfing down his food. I fugured she let me know she was hungry and got her some Babycat wet food.
I put it down on the floor with the other cats food and she eats and drinks whenever she wants now. Of course....she still will jump in my lap and purr when she is really tired and still wants her bottle at those times.

 

[jbsmomto1]

what everyone else said..I used to have gliders as well, Joey was my first, Abby my 2nd, used to live in my bra by day and in her cage by night. Joey was amazing, but the bond i had with Abby was incredible. Many nights she woke me up barking lol...My own fault though for getting up and playing with her lol.

 

[nekochan]

I think you've got it down pretty well, until you can get him to the vet. He should be wormed so ask the vet about that if they don't suggest it first. You should also ask the vet to check for fleas.

When I had young kittens, I pretty much gave them as much food as they wanted but if he is underweight it may be better to keep with smaller portion but frequent feeding at first.

I have sugar gliders too.

 

[skipthestorm]

She got a VERY clean bill of health from the vet.
She is leukemia negative, FIV's negative, flea free, mite free, and worm free (after a de-wormer of course). She's a healthy 5 weeks old now and doing very good. Now that she's in a slightly larger kennel we are able to leave food in with her at all times and she is eating healthy, although she still prefers her milk over anything else and she lets you know when she's out.
She wants to interact with my large tabby but he wants nothing to do with her. She's still too small to be out of the kennel un-supervised, but we are anxiously awaiting the day she can emerge from the kennel for good.
Overall, she's doing absolutely great and loves feathers and string.

 

[mrblanche]

That's good news! Five weeks is just barely old enough to be able to eat on her own, etc. Sounds like you saved a life.