Hand rearing my kitten...
Jane Bernhardt
I have a 5 week old kitten that I have been hand rearing for the last 3
weeks. At the moment she's just starting to eat 'mushy' food evey other
feed time which I think is pretty good progress. She's also just started
sleeping through the night (6 to 7 hours). She's in much better condition
than she was when I first got her. ( I live on a plot and the dogs on the
property brought her to me because her mother and siblings were dead). At
the moment I still have to 'encourage' her to go to the toilet with damp
cotton wool. I was told that using a litter box would come naturally to her
but.....
Has anyone ever been through this before? What can I do to help her use the
cat litter box(/ Ice cream container)?.
Donna-Lee Phillips
Jane--
At 5 weeks old, the mother would still be licking the kitten. While you
don't have to go that far, the kitten should still have her bum wiped
with a cotton ball. I use baby oil because it's soothing. Normal kittens
raised by a mother would be JUST beginning to use the litter box now,
but if she is weak and hand reared (no pun) she probably isn't developed
enough to poop on her own. The litter box will come naturally, but a bit
later for this kitten. You aren't just "encouraging" her. If you didn't,
she would very likely NOT go, bind up and die. We lost one kitten this
way because we didn't know enough to wipe him after every meal.
In a couple of weeks, or when her stools seem more solid, you can
"encourage" her in proximity to the litter box. And of course YOU will
have to show her how to bury it.
A healthy litter of kittens first using the box is hysterical, although
probably not for the kittens. They really don't want to make the effort,
and they squat screaming their tiny heads off for the first couple of
sessions. Usually the mother will help any kitten who really needs it,
but the chorus of little complaints is funny.
You can expect an orphan with a rough start to be a month or more behind
normal developmental stages until she is perhaps older than a year. Just
be patient. It's worth it.
DL
Odette Brown
Hello,
This info will help you.
Good luck.
Odette.
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From: Sharon Talbert <stal...@u.washington.edu>
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CARING FOR THE ORPHAN KITTEN
A general note about taking in strangers. Always, always isolate a
rescued cat or kitten from your pets for at least ten days and until it
has been examined by your veterinarian and tested for lethal disease; even
a tiny kitten can pack a killer virus or parasite. Make the kitten
comfortable in a room that is frequently visited by you and that is
separate from your other pets, and wash your hands with an antibacterial
soap between visits to the new animal and your household. Consult with
your veterinarian, so that you are able to weigh the risks against the
many blessings of taking in an orphan kitten.
The following, numbered sequence could be applied generally to an
orphaned kitten of any age but is particularly important for the frail
newborn. Less detailed instructions for older kittens follow. Good luck
to foster mothers everywhere.
1. Determine the Kitten's Condition
Any kitten, even if it seems fine, should be seen by your vet as soon as
possible. Take a fresh stool sample with you, so the vet may check for
intestinal parasites. If a fecal cannot be done by the time of the
appointment, take a stool sample as soon as you can. Remove as many fleas
as you safely can (with a comb for newborns; do not bathe, spray or powder
a kitten before it is six weeks old).
If the kitten is lethargic or cool to the touch, you may have a
life-threatening emergency (such as exposure or distemper). Get the
kitten on a heating pad or other primary heat source (see item 2) and get
it to a veterinarian right away or consult an emergency veterinary
clinic. Do NOT feed a chilled newborn -- you will kill it. Instead,
administer slightly warmed Pedialyte (an infant rehydrating fluid,
available in any grocery or pharmacy), using an animal nurser, syringe,
or dropper. Feed the kitten only when it is warmed and indicates it is
hungry.
If the kitten seems over-warm and is breathing rapidly, it may be feverish
or suffering from heat exhaustion. Contact your vet or an emergency
veterinary clinic immediately for advice if you can. To help lower the
kitten's body temperature, try wiping it down with a cool, damp cloth;
then administer Pedialyte. Get the kitten to a veterinarian as soon as
possible.
If the kitten is active and screaming lustily for its mother, go quickly
to item 2; you will find that a heating pad will help calm the kitten
while you prepare its first meal.
2. Make the Kitten Warm and Comfortable
A newborn kitten is not capable of generating or maintaining body warmth
and must depend on its mother (and now you) to sustain warmth and life.
Keeping a newborn orphan warm (even on a warm day) is a priority, more
important initially than feeding. Bundling up the kitten will do no
good; it has no body heat of its own to retain. And putting the kitten
near a space heater or other heating element is neither sufficient for
the long-term nor safe. Wrap a heating pad, set at low, in a towel or
flannel and place it in a box, leaving room for the kitten to crawl off
the pad as needed. (Emergency, short-term measures: If you don't have a
heating pad, put the kitten on a wrapped hot water bottle or snugged
against a tightly sealed and well stablilized jar of warm water. Or put
the kitten next to your body -- next to the skin if possible. Then go
out and borrow or buy that heating pad.)
Empty the Bladder. Newborns cannot evacuate their bowel or bladder
unassisted. The kitten you have found may be in excruciating pain or in
danger of going toxic from having to retain its own body waste. You
should help the kitten at least empty its bladder before proceeding with
feeding or even the trip to the veterinarian. With the kitten on a towel
in your lap, rub the kitten all over with a rough, dry washcloth. (At that
point, the kitten may roll over or otherwise present its bottom to you.)
With a generous handful of soft tissue (also to be kept handy at all
times) gently stroke the kitten's behind, keeping the tissue in contact.
The kitten will oblige by urinating a rather amazing amount. Simply
rotate the tissue until kitten stops urinating or the tissue is soaked,
whichever comes first. (Did I mention to keep a waste bag handy for this
procedure?)
Another method to stimulate evacuation is to use a tissue or wash cloth
moistened with warm water instead of a dry cloth or to apply a moistened
Q-tip (hold the kitten over a sink or a folded towel if you use the latter
method).
The Den
Newborns should be shielded from direct light and contained in their den
until they are at least three weeks old. Remember to try to provide the
kitten an area in the den where it can crawl off the heating pad if it
gets overheated. A small airline-style carrier doubles very well as a
den and a taxi, though the kitten will soon outgrow it. A pair of large
nested boxes is a good den, as long as the kitten cannot crawl out. If
you are fostering a single kitten, provide a surrogate sibling in the
form of a small stuffed toy or bundled sock.
3. Prepare the Feeding
The Formula. There are several good milk replacers on the market,
available in liquid or powder form (my personal favorite is called Just
Born). The ready-mix liquid is more convenient. Be sure the product is
engineered for kittens and that it is fresh (some have a short
shelf-life). Milk replacers can be found in any pet supplies store, most
veterinary clinics, and even in some variety stores. In an emergency or
for the short-term, you can make up your own formula from tinned or
powdered goat's milk (see below). If the kitten seems weak or ill and you
cannot get to a veterinarian right away, you should administer slightly
warmed Pedialyte before offering the milk replacer.
Mona's Homemade Goats Milk Formula. Mona Myers, a certified bird
rehabilitator in Seattle who has in the past rescue orphan kittens,
swears by this formula and prefers it to the ready-made products. You
might try her recipe if the kitten is not responding well to the
commercial product.
Use tinned or powdered goats milk. (Either should be kept in the fridge
when opened>) For a newborn or a kitten suffering from exposure,
substitute Pedialtye for water to reconstitute the powdered goats milk.
(Stick with the Pedialyte formula for the first week or so with a weak
newborn, then switch to boiled water as the base.) Warm a measured
amount of the liquid slightly and pour into a bowl. Using a flour
sifter, sift the goats milk powder into the liquid, blending with a wire
whisk. To every 8 oz of goats milk, whether tinner or reconstituted, add
1/3 dropper Avitron and 1/3 dope Avimin (available in pet supply
stores). Finally, add 1/4 tsp acidophilus culture and 1/4 tablet
(crushed) papaya enzyme (these last ingredients are found in health food
stores; acidophilus culture must be refrigerated).
This formula is best after being refrigerated for at least an hour, but
it can be warmed (in hot water or microwaved a few seconds in a dish, not
in the nurser) and served immediately.
The Nurser
While you are purchasing the milk replacer, find a good nurser. Most of
these look like a baby bottle in miniature; I prefer the model with a
pointy nipple. Pierce the nipple with a large-gauge needle (heated with a
match) or ask the veterinarian to prepare the nurser for you. The nipple
is constructed of tough stuff and is difficult to pierce; whatever you do
do NOT cut the nipple with a knife or scissors, however tempted you may be
-- you may kill the kitten if you make the hole too large and flood its
lungs.
Other possible nursers are a 6-cc syringe or the king of squeeze bottle
used to dispense droplet medication (ask your veterinarian or pharmacist).
These do present some risk, as the formula must be forced into the
kitten's mouth, again increasing the risk of flooding the lungs. Last
choice is a dropper, the slowest of the slow, but better than nothing
until you go out and buy a nurser.
The Feeding
Heat the formula (in hot water) until it is comfortably warm. Test a
stream on the inside of your wrist, first shaking the bottle to even out
the temperature. Within easy reach, set a rough washcloth, paper towel,
and a box of tissue. Also keep a cup of hot water nearby (but not where
it could tip onto the kitten) to warm the nurser as needed. Then lay an
old towel, the fluffier the better, across your lap. Hold the kitten
belly-down, steadying and guiding the head to the nipple with the same
hand that is holding the bottle. (This is just my technique; you may find
another that works best for you.) Try to center the nipple in the kitten's
mouth, over the tongue, and apply just enough pressure on the nurser to
bead out a bit of formula on the nipple. If this is not enough to induce
the kitten to begin suckling, squeeze a tiny bit into its mouth and wait
for it to swallow before (gently!) squeezing again. This can be even
trickier than it sounds, particularly if the kitten is desperately hungry.
Convincing a frenzied kitten to slow down and suckle is no easy task.
Another kitten may be put off by the strangeness of the offering and so
will resist feeding or may be too weak to take the nipple immediately. Be
patient and calm and persistent, applying careful pressure on the nurser
to keep the formula coming at a natural rate without squirting it down the
kitten's throat. Watch the ears: If they start to bob, the kitten is
getting just the right amount of formula. If formula bubbles out the
nostrils, pull back immediately -- you are drowning the kitten.
Do not overfeed, especially at the first meal. A series of small meals
is better than one large one. And don't get crazy, trying to follow the
complicated instructions on the formula container. Feed the kitten until
it settles down and its tummy is full but not distended, then gently
remove the nipple and rub the kitten gently but briskly all over with
that rough dry washcloth. (Remember, you are a momcat now; your baby
needs the stimulation provided by that tough-love tongue all mother cats
have.) If the kitten doesn't immediately begin to complain and nuzzle for
more milk, it is fed. Continue rubbing or patting until you get a burp.
If you don't get a burp right away, try putting the kitten over your
shoulder like any other baby and patting it gently on the back. Then
return it to the heating pad for about 15 minutes before going to the
next step. (Or to the next kitten, if you are caring for a litter.)
Frequency of feedings. Feed a newborn every four hours or on demand. Do
not overfeed.
A note on tube-feeding. The feeding process can be greatly speeded up by
feeding per catheter directly to the stomach. Consult with your
veterinarian and insist on a training session before attempting to
tube-feed. I do not recommend tube-feeding on a daily basis; kittens need
nurturing, physical contact in order to thrive almost as much as they need
nourishment.
4. More on Empyting the Bowel and Bladder
I recommend emptying the kitten both immediately before and 15 minutes
following each feeding. With any luck, you have already emptied the
bladder. Evacuation of the bowel will probably not happen at the first
attempt and may take a day or two. When it does happen, don't be
horrified at the toothpaste consistency and mustard color -- this is
normal for a newborn. (A grayish stool should be cause for concern,
however.) Once bowel movements have begun, you should see one movement for
every feeding.
Diarrhea. If diarrhea (on constipation) develops, consult your
veterinarian for adjustment of the formula or amount of feeding.
Kaopectate can alleviate the symptoms of diarrhea, but your veterinarian
should nevertheless be consulted, as kittens dehydrate quickly.
5. Maintenance
Weigh the kitten on the first day and re-weigh and record the kitten's
weight at least every other day. Use a postage scale or food scale or
baby scale (the bathroom scale is not going to cut it). Observe the
kitten's daily progress closely. if there is failure to thrive, weight
loss, signs of distress, lassitude, or change in body temperature,
consult your veterinarian at once. Be alert for changes in behavior; if
a newborn kitten persistently crawls away from the nest or (in the case of
a litter) seems always to be on its own, consult your veterinarian at once.
Toddlers
A kitten's eyes should be completely open by ten days old (they begin to
to open at seven days). By three or four weeks a kitten is mobile and able
to eat at least some solid food. The kitten is also ready for the
litterpan as soon as it can toddle to it (I recommend four weeks).
Den and Living Space. Toddlers should be encouraged to play and extend
themselves, but they must be contained in a safe, small room. Do not give
small kittens the run of your home or apartment, particularly if they are
in the process of being socialized! Start newborns with the denning box,
then at about three weeks allow them out of the box to explore a small,
kitten-proofed room that is warm and secure. A spare bedroom is a good
living space, a bathroom is fine, as long as the lid is left down on the
toilet and floor isn't too cold (newspaper is a good insulator if that is
the case). Provide a den (the carrier or nesting box) as safe haven and
sleeping place.
Solid Food. By four weeks old or a bit sooner, your kitten can be
introduced to solid food. Start with a slightly warmed moosh of formula
mixed with strained meat babyfood (chicken or turkey) and formual, offered
on a saucer or small plate. (There is a transitional cereal offered by
Just Born you can mix into the mess as well.) Be sure not to overheat the
stuff in the microwave -- only a few seconds is all it needs, and be sure
to mix it with your finger so that you get all the hot spots. You may
have to put a bit of food on the kitten's nose or in its mouth to get it
going, using your finger or a plastic spoon. Within the week, add a
good-quality kitten chow (I prefer Iams), softened in warm water, while
phasing out the formula, both by nurser or in the solid food (moisten
with water, as necessary). By the time the kitten is six weeks old, it
should be scarfing down straight kitten chow and drinking water on its
own. Wean gently and gradually though; you don't want a thumb-sucker on
your hands.
The Water Dish. By four or five weeks, the kitten should be taking water
on its own as well as food. Provide a low, heavy dish, so the kitten can
walk in it, dip its paws and otherwise perform the scientific experiments
typical of all felines. If you can, place the dish in a corner or other
low-traffic area and handy but not too close to the food dish. You may
need to help the kitten by providing it with an opaque rather than a clear
dish and by wetting its nose with your finger and leading it down to water
level. Given the kitten has been lapping up its moosh-meals for a while
by now, drinking water shouldn't be too great an adjustment.
Litterpan. Kittens are like any other toddler; they play too hard and too
long and then desperately need to relieve themselves, so be sure a
litterpan (or litterpans, in a larger room) is handly at all times. Start
with a pan small enough and low enough for a toddler to get into (and out
again) with no trouble; a good starter pan is the cut-down box used in pet
food stores for display of small tins. Very little training is necessary.
Put the kitten into the litterpan 15 minutes or so after a meal, perhaps
stimulating it by guiding its paws into a digging motion. If the kitten
hops right out, put it right back in again, at least for a time or two.
That and the ocasional remainder is all you should have to do. If there
is an accident, put the fece in the litterpan to help redirect the kitten.
Use newspaper rather than plastic on the floor. And do NOT use clumping
litter for a young kitten! Kittens are likely to eat litter, and the
clumping stuff can block the intestine. I recommend a pellet-style
litter until the kitten is at least eight weeks old, and even then watch
to be sure the kitten is not eating the stuff. When the kitten is five
or six weeks old, it is ready for a full-size litterpan; simply provide a
brick as a stepping stone if necessary (I wrap the brick in an old towel).
Preschoolers (eyes starting to turn color)
Orphans should be started on their distemper shots (done in a series of
three) at six weeks. (Note: A kitten who did not receive at least the
first three days of its mother's milk should be started on shots at four
weeks.) The kitten should be tested for FeLV (or even FIV, if it is from a
high-risk feral colony or of unknown background), and should also have its
stool tested for intestinal parasites. Innoculation against FeLV (feline
leukemia) will have to wait until the kitten is at least ten weeks old,
but test anyway. A kitten testing postitive should be held for at least
two weeks (I recommend a month) and then tested a second time, to rule out
a false postitive result. Starting an animal on the FeLV series without
first ruling out whether the animal is a carrier is irresponsible and
reprehensible!
By now your foster kitten is gobbling down kitten chow by the bowlful and
drinking water on its own. That's all any weanling kitten needs, if the
food is good quality and the kitten is healthy. By the time the kitten is
eight weeks old it is ready to go to a loving, responsible home -- if you
are strong enough to let it go.
And if you do adopt out your kitten, please consider spaying or neutering
it first, before it starts making kittens of its own (which it can by six
months of age). A healthy kitten can be safely spayed/neutered as early
as eight weeks of age (minimum weight two pounds).
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
University of Washington
With thanks to Adawna Windom, DVM,
and Mona Myers, BLE (Bird Lady Extroidinaire)
--
"Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap,
Some say that knowledge is something that you never have
Some say that heaven is hell, some say that hell is heaven"
--
**** Odette Brown ** I love Cats *****
*** La Belle Province ** Quebec ** CANADA ***
************** My home page at **************
http://www.igs.net/~rathey/odette1.htm