Took In A Foundling This Morning

[vince]

I just got back from the vet with Orange, the tabby kitten I found crying on the driveway this morning. I need some direction as to how often to feed her and other general care. She'll eat wet food, but I haven't had her long enough to find out if she'll eliminate on her own. She gets around well, plays with me a little and grooms herself some. She has some teeth and her eyes are fully open. The vet said she weighed 1 pound, 12 ounces. I was guessing four or five weeks of age. Anybody have any better estimates?

The other cats hissed at her when I bought her in. I put her in the largest bedroom closet in a box with a bath towel, a rug, a little box with litter and some food and water. There's a ticking clock on the wall outside the closet and a radio playing.

Her crying aroused the interests of the other cats, although she quieted down fairly quickly. I'm not sure whether the interest of the others will be a problem or not. Is this a decent arrangement for at least the next few days?

I have meds for her eyes and nose and I have de-wormer to administer. She also was given flea meds and was checked for feline leukemia and FIV, which were both negative.

She'll be spayed when she's big enough.

You suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Katie M]

I don't have any suggestions, but I want to say for taking her in.

 

[Willowy]

At that weight, she's probably about 7-8 weeks old! Unless she's particularly well-fed . Did the vet have a guess on her age? I wouldn't think she'd need any special accommodations at this point. Just focus on getting her meds into her and do the usual kitten things (wet food 3-4 times a day, dry food all the time, shallow litterbox with non-clumping litter, etc.).

 

[Kieka]

I'd agree that the weight lends her towards being 7-8 weeks at least. My girls was that weight at 4 months old and my boy was it at 6 weeks. So it can vary but it lends towards older. The general rule of thumb is 1 pound per 4 weeks for most kittens. She can be spayed at 2 pounds if you want to do early spay.

The good news with her potential age is there isn't much diet wise. Feed her as any other kitten which is usually recommended as dry 24/7 and wet meals. Kittens need a huge amount of calories and you can't overfeed.

You do want to be careful with behavior items. Don't play with hands because while it is cute and safe now, she will get bigger and stronger. When she does it will be a hard habit to break. You also want to keep boundaries with behavior now and not let things slide because she's cute and little. Enforcing no cats on counters, bed times, and other routines are so much easier when young. Plus you are taking over for Mom and teaching proper behavior in play.

Schedule and routines really make a difference. If you establish now that at night you play , feed, bedtime routine and sleep you will find that you have fewer problems with her as an adult. My cats know that bed is for sleep and when I am down there will be no more play. A habit I started young by not playing in bed and ignoring attempts to play.

 

[vince]

The weight vs. age information was helpful. Thank you.

I've had lots of cats, but never such a young kitten. The other cats reacted with frighteningly loud hisses when they got a look at her. I put her in her closet, which will be her safe room for a few days until I can get other arrangements made here for a larger safe room.

I was hoping the other cats (both fixed males, around three years old and generally pretty accommodating) would be able to help me in the future with the behavior education process.

At this point, she's been eating about 1/2 teaspoon of soft food each time I feed her. Does this sound about right? She eats readily.

Will check with the local Humane Society, which offers inexpensive spaying, to see what their requirements are.

 

[Notacrazycatlady]

You might be surprised when the eventual introduction happens. I took in a stray 3 month old kitten and every time he cried or meowed from his safe room those first days, one of the other cats would hiss and growl. Even when he caught a glimpse of the kitten, he'd hiss. It took a good week and a half after Leo, the kitten, and Riddle, the hisser were out at the same time (supervised) but I saw Riddle actually initiate play with Leo. They're not best buds, but Riddle never actually tried to attack Leo. I think the hissing was a pre-emptive "don't mess with me," sort of thing. After reading the horror stories others here have about cat introductions, I was relieved when my cats settled into peaceful co-existence without any drama--the kitten turned out to be the troublemaker for me with his food aggression.

So basically, prepare for the worst outcome but you might get the best.

 

[Willowy]

Half a teaspoon seems like too little. Is that all she can eat? At this age let her have as much as she'll eat in a sitting. I have never measured how much my kittens have eaten but I think around a tablespoon or 2 per sitting is more common at that size.

 

[vince]

I've only had her since this morning, so all I know is what I've seen since then. She eats whenever I bring her some soft food, and if it's not all gone in an hour or so, the other cats get it and I put out some dry food until the next feeding. That's how I've been handling it. I put out a little milk in the bottom of a dish and she tried it, but got it up her nose. She sneezed it out okay, but I wonder if she was ever given her food in a dish. I think she was feral-born.

Behavior seems okay. She's alternately sleeping and exploring the closet. I let her walk around the adjoining room for a few minutes with supervision. She seems inquisitive. She will purr and smurgle on the rug I put in the closet, and will purr a little when petted.

 

[vince]

Orange is not eating well. In addition, I think either the vet's office didn't get the weight right or I didn't hear it right. Sure doesn't feel like 1 3/4 pounds worth of kitty. I have an electronic postal scale that I'll try once I get a new battery for it. I think it's good to a kilogram or so.

I made up some slurry of milk and wet and dry cat food this morning, which she ate more readily, about 2 teaspoons worth. Will go to pet store to see what they think about feeding. Maybe I'll take her so they can see (wish I wasn't so technologically-challenged or I'd attach a picture).

Seems most of the postings here are in metric units. Would it be better if I did that?

 

[vince]

Postal scale didn't work, so I weighted her with an old, relatively inaccurate kitchen scale I have. It says 1 pound, 3 ounces, which seems more in line with what I thought she weighs.

Got KMR and made mush with it and cat food. Seems that's what she needs, although feeding time is a mess, since she hasn't yet quite figured out how to eat from a dish.

Things seem to be going better now.

 

[Kieka]

Glad to hear she is doing better. Just keep offering her as much food as she will eat.

 

[ileen]

Maybe the vet said she was one pound, 3/4 of an ounce. Has she been using the litter box? It's not too hard to post a photo here, click on upload a file at the bottom of your post & follow directions. As long as you have photos on the same device, should be straightforward.

 

[vince]

Orange doesn't use the box yet. I'm working on that, making scratching actions with my finger in front of her, taking her paw and making the same actions. Might try a dirty paper towel I used for a clean-up under the litter to entice her into eliminating in the box.

She seems to be too calm to be feral. I think she was more likely abandoned. She plays with my hands and feet, and I got her a crinkly ball, which she likes. Purrs real loud, too. Louder than the other two adult cats combined. I like that.

Can't seem to get pix off the phone and onto my computer. If I could get that figured out, I probably could post them here.

 

[golondrina]

Hi Vince, some times putting a piece of the cat's poop in the litter box does the trick. Perhaps you would like to try. Good luck.

 

[vince]

She has a lot more energy this morning, running around and playing, trying to bite my fingers. Also saw her urinate in the litter box. One hurdle down. Still hasn't had a BM since yesterday. I hope she gets over the diarrhea she had.

 

[NY cat man]

She has a lot more energy this morning, running around and playing, trying to bite my fingers. Also saw her urinate in the litter box. One hurdle down. Still hasn't had a BM since yesterday. I hope she gets over the diarrhea she had.

Baby steps perhaps, but forward steps nonetheless. Good luck with Orange.

 

[vince]

An update:

Opened the E-mail receipt from the vet. It says 1.13 pounds, which translates to about 1 pound, 2 ounces (didn't know scales in Imperial units weighed in decimals). I weighed her at 1 pound, 4 ounces today on the old kitchen scale. That's about 28 grams since the last weighing 2 days ago. Seems okay.

How long does the "10 grams a day" rule go on for?

Orange seems to have figured out what the litter box is for. That's good.

I generally let her out to play for about 45 minutes (usually, she's back in her bed by that time), feed her and put her back in the closet for a few hours. I get up at night once or twice anyway, so I feed her then as well. Is that a decent routine for a five week-old kitten?

Introductions between her and the two others are going reasonably well. Chesterfield is doing better. He seems interested and will watch her. She tries coming up to him and tries playing with his tail. That's his limit at this point, as it gets him to hiss. Once, he swatted at her. That's to be expected, I guess. The biggest problem right now is that Chester eats all her food if I don't keep an eye on him. Sir Eats-A-Lot is still all out of sorts. He just hisses, growls and runs away. I would have thought he'd be the one to be more outgoing. Still, it's not too bad after only 72 hours.

Will update in a few days as things develop. Thanks to all for your help.

 

[vince]

One week update:

Got another electronic scale. She weighs 1 pound, 4 1/2 ounces/580 grams. I think this is probably more accurate than the other scale, which seemed to give a slightly different reading each time. It is difficult to keep her still enough on the scale to get a stable reading.

She has taken to the litter box well. Stool is firming up with no obvious sign of worms.

Orange eats mostly dry food, but likes cooked chicken meat. Doesn't seem to like canned soft foot much. She doesn't drink water yet (I keep a dish available in her closet), so I keep giving her a tablespoonful or so of KMR at each feeding.

Her eyes have cleared up. I'm still giving her amoxicillin per doctor's Rx, but she doesn't seem to have any URI symptoms any more.

Motor skills are improving. She has been grooming herself with mixed success and has started using the ramp-type scratcher in the room that the other cats use. She's out of her closet about 2/3 of the day and has the run of the bedroom.

Chesterfield has taken to playing with her. He seems to be giving her "behavior lessons" during the play sessions. Sir Eats-A-Lot will sniff and will allow minimal contact, but is still a bit ill at ease with her. I think they will eventually get along, but I'm not ready to allow unsupervised contact by either just now.

Orange looks like she might be long-haired. She has some tufts at her ear tips and seems to have quite long fur. No toe tufts yet. She does have slightly folded ears that don't show any sign of straightening.

Will let you know how things are going after vet visit next week.

 

[war&wisdom]

Photos?

 

[vince]

Technologically-challenged. Can't seem to get the pictures out of the phone and onto the computer. Maybe a trip to the AT&T office for help might be in order. I'll try again, though.