Kitten Rescued From Wall (video!)

[azpops]

The two maintenance guys who were absolute heroes and worked like dogs to tear the structure down (with only a hammer and chisel for fear they would hurt the kitten) were Rodney and Omar. I've considered a portmanteau of their names but the best I can come up with is Romar, which is A LOT worse than Grover.

I am open to any and all suggestions!

I'd vote Roma, as well. Great tribute to her two rescuers, in addition, if there is a great lunch place / sandwich shop. Pick up couple of gift cards from the eatery, then tell Rodney and Omar this is from Roma.

All the best, and YOU are one of the best, BTW.

Pops

 

[trudy1]

So she’s crying and you pick her up? Sounds to me like somebody’s being trained....

Wonderful thread it’s good to read about a great ending

Nothing happens by accident that this baby found you. Thanks to you from her...I’ll say it because she can’t.

 

[Furballsmom]

She sounds like a Bella

 

[lavishsqualor]

I'm trying to figure out what might have happened to that kitten. You know, the one I was worried about who was not eating very much and being wobbly on her feet. Because the thing is, I see no sign of that kitten anywhere.

No sir-ee.

The kitten I do see is running all over my house like greased lightening and eating me out of house and home! That's the kitten I see.

Suffice it to say little Bella Roma is doing substantially better. She's eating really well and zipping around my house (supervised, of course) to beat the band. Plus, she got a clean bill of health today at the vet's. She took the liberty of pooping on the exam table but my vet quickly brushed off her questionable manners and proclaimed it the healthiest kitten poop she'd seen in a while. She even called in one of her vet techs to take a look at it.

Bella Roma had a demure, "Aw, shucks, it was nothing" look on her face the whole time.

This kitten is so different from Atticus and Thirteen! Thirteen was brought to me by maintenance at only hours old. I had her for a full month before Atticus came along and Atticus was probably about six weeks old when he was left on top of my car. Neither Atticus nor Thirteen ever did much biting. Maybe a little as they teethed but nothing like this kitten. This little kitten bites constantly. And she lunges and then bites! Like a pit viper! I have a scab on my eyelid AND on the tip of my nose as proof. She uses her paws too. I'm really hoping she grows out of this quick. I can't even put her on my chest when I'm lying down or I'll end up bloody. And it isn't just flesh that she bites. It's everything, her litter-pan, her cat bed, you name it and she bites it. She even bites poor Atticus, my saint of a three-year-old gray tabby who's taken to sleeping with her.

This morning she got way too big for her britches and tried to swipe at and bite Thirteen, my three-year-old female tuxedo, and let me tell you--it was the smack down to rival all smack downs. It was better than Gaga vs. Madonna! Thirteen didn't hiss or growl; she just quietly raised her paw, took a few practice strokes in the air and then honest to goodness, knocked little Roma Bella almost into next week! Then Thirteen looked at Atticus as if to say, "Don't you even THINK about going over there to comfort her!" Once Bella Roma recovered her faculties she ran and hid under a pillow!

I sure hope Thirteen can teach this kitten to stop biting!

 

[maggiedemi]

Bella Roma. I like it! Yes, Thirteen will help teach her some manners.

 

[Norachan]

What a little champ! Pooping on the table like that for the vet too. That made everything so much easier for him, I bet.

Glad to hear Thirteen is teaching her some manners. Kittens usually learn not to bite by playing with their siblings, but I guess your two older cats will soon teach her how to behave.

Maybe she'd like some kitten chew toys? I had some of these for my kittens, they loved them.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yep, she’s teething. Toys will help.

 

[msaimee]

I'm glad she's made a full recovery. All she needed was some time to recover from the dehydration Yep, the two older resident cats will assume the parental role and teach her manners. She is lucky to have found a home with other cats. Long ago when I had a very young kitten who was a biter, I actually used a baby teething ring with her. But I'm sure that kiitten toys for biting will work great! Sounds like Bella is going to be the spoiled baby in the family. I have one of those too

 

[lavishsqualor]

I put a few of Atticus and Thirteen's rubbery chew toys in her playpen. Hopefully that will satisfy her need to chew. She's got fluffy, plush type toys in there but nothing that she can really sink her teeth into, so thank you guys for the suggestion!

She's great in every other respect. She even uses her litter pan like a champ but the biting is off the charts. And it's the head-bob/lunge thing that she does when she bites that makes it so bad. She'll be purring away on my chest and then BOOM! She's got her teeth sunk into the tip of my nose!

I hope Atticus and Thirteen will teach her. Atticus usually just gets up and walks away when she starts biting and swatting, and Thirteen will bop her upside the head and then do the same thing. Thirteen is still not happy at all. I was really hoping they'd be better friends by now but that hasn't happened. Thirteen will jump in her playpen every once in a while and sniff her but there's not been any grooming of her like Atticus has done.

Fingers crossed that the biting will stop and that Thirteen will adapt.

 

[Norachan]

It's early days yet, it's only been about a week hasn't it? Thirteen will come round.

Try squealing like a kitten when she bites. I'm sure she doesn't realise she's hurting you. Kittens learn from each other how hard to bite when playing, so if you act like another kitten she'll get the idea.

 

[Sarthur2]

Or try hissing! That worked for me with my kittens.

 

[lavishsqualor]

She wouldn't stay in her playpen last night. She kept crawling up the walls of it (which are netting), so I finally just stuck her in with Atticus who sleeps in a small dog bed on top of our bed. This morning I woke up and she'd gotten back in her playpen where she'd used her litter pan! She's so smart and I'm so proud of her.

Thank you all so much for the chew toy suggestion! She's been going to town on the ones I stuck in her playpen, and I think they've helped her. Either that, or Thirteen knocked some sense into her.

I know that kittens are notorious for eating a lot but my god! She eats so much! She ate a little under two and a half ounces of raw food just now and was sniffing around for more! I wasn't going to put her on raw until she got older but she got a taste of Atticus's food on Friday and that's all she wants now.

Thirteen wouldn't eat her own food this morning. She sniffed at it, looked up at the kitten and walked away. She's also taken to growling at Atticus. Even when they were playing, Thirteen has NEVER growled at Atticus. Before the kitten came I'm not even sure she's ever hissed at him. If she doesn't eat tonight I'm going to be worried.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens do eat a lot! Give her as much as she wants. It’s next to impossible to overfeed a growing kitten.

Thirteen’s nose is clearly out of joint. Amazing how the entrance of a tiny kitten can throw household dynamics out of whack.

I can assure you that Thirteen will eventually accept the kitten, AND she will eat when she gets hungry enough. You still might want to tempt her with something special like tuna or baby food. Does she have access to dry food all the time?

In fact, the kitten should have 24/7 access to kitten chow now as well.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I can assure you that Thirteen will eventually accept the kitten, AND she will eat when she gets hungry enough. You still might want to tempt her with something special like tuna or baby food.

Thank you for giving me hope! I'm serious, I know it's silly but it bothers me to see Thirteen unhappy, even if it's just temporary. I've been responsible for Thirteen's care from the time she was merely hours old, so I don't want her to feel threatened or unsafe. It's reassuring to hear from someone you trust that all will be well, so a big thank you for that, Sarthur2!

As far as kitten chow is concerned, neither Atticus nor Thirteen have ever eaten any dry food, not even as kittens. I think back in the day when they were kittens I saw all dry as evil, lol. I'd be happy to supplement the kitten with dry but if I did, the minute my back was turned, Atticus would inhale it. I've been hanging around close to home the last week, so I've been able to feed her every four hours. I'm going to have to figure something out though. There are a few neighbors I can pay to feed her during the day if need be.

Thank you again for your input! It's very much appreciated!

 

[Norachan]

Yes, they do eat a huge amount, don't they? She's got a lot of growing to do, she needs the calories.

Have you tried a Feliway diffuser in the house?
https://www.feliway.com/us/Products/FELIWAY-CLASSIC-Diffuser
That might make Thirteen a bit happier.

Most of my cats are pretty tolerant of foster kittens and new additions. The only one who really doesn't like change is Susy. When she starts getting upset I mix half a dose of Zylkene Home in with her wet food for a few weeks. That usually does the trick.

 

[msaimee]

You might want to consider leaving the kitten chow out 24/7. She has a lot of calories to make up from the days she spent trapped inside that wall at such a young age. It will be okay for Atticus to eat the kitten chow for the next several weeks, it has extra protein which shouldn't hurt him (unless he is morbidly obese) . It might be a nice treat for the other cats, and something positive they can associate with Bella's arrival.

 

[lavishsqualor]

Kitten chow it is! I'll pick some up today. Hopefully, Thirteen will eat it. She's on an official hunger strike. This morning would have marked twenty-four hours with only minor bites of her food. When she sniffed at her AM food, looked at the kitten and then ran away to hide (again) I gave up and hand fed her. She doesn't like to be hand fed but she doesn't fight it at all. I called my vet and she suggested prescribing Thirteen some gabapentin to ease her through the transition . . . I'm just not so sure I like the idea of medicating her. But if it will help her and get her to eat I can live with it. I even served her rabbit this morning which is her end all FAVE and she turned her nose up at it. Then I sprinkled a ridiculous amount of Nature's Variety Instinct toppers on it and she still rejected it. That kitten, though, was only too happy to eat it.

Any suggestions on which chow to purchase?

 

[msaimee]

I usually use Purina Kitten chow, they seem to love that. There aren't too many brands to choose from when it comes to kitten chow, but I bet they are all pretty tasty. If you leave the dry food out 24/7, it will be very likely that Miss 13 will eat it, at least when you're not around to watch her pout. Make sure she has her own bowl that is separate from where the kitten usually eats. When you have multi cats, it's helpful to have separate feeding stations.

 

[Sarthur2]

Purina kitten chow is fine.

Blue Buffalo Blue Wilderness makes a grain-free chicken first-ingredient kitten chow that is excellent.

Also, Royal Canin makes a mother and baby cat chow that many members also like.

 

[lavishsqualor]

The gabapentin was not a success. Thirteen was drunk as a skunk and couldn't even jump onto her cat tree or normal perch areas. Plus it gave her diarrhea and she pooped all over herself. I will say that bathing her and blowing her dry after her accident was much easier than normal, so I can see the gaba's appeal for groomers and vets; however, the gaba didn't mollify her dislike of the kitten. In fact, Thirteen lumbered into the kitten's playpen all drunk-like and scratched the litter out of the kitten's litter pan (which is nothing but a pie pan), then proceeded to smack the kitten around, totally unprovoked! The kitten was sleeping, for heaven's sake. And Thirteen still won't eat! I had to hand feed her again this morning.

I've got some Fortiflora coming from Amazon today so I sure hope it helps. I've never used it before because I wasn't keen about the animal digest in it, but these are desperate times. Nothing else has worked.

I hate having to go back to the vet, but I suppose I should rule out any medical issues. Ugh.