Rescued a kitten...

[ZEKESMOM]

or should I say wild cat. Actually my mother in law rescued it today while I was at work. We manage a retirement mobile home park and one of the old couples that live here called to say a cat had been crying under their trailer for 2 days!!!! So this is what I came home to...

It's a little girl and I am thinking she is between 3-4 weeks old....so I made a trip to the pet store and bought kitten formula and a bottle....all after 9 hours at work...try to feed the little monster with the bottle I bought and she wanted no part of it ended up using an eyedropper. She has a set of lungs on her that would challenge any human infant LOL
She is settled in for the night....I hope. Oh we have named her Bell and will be calling the vet tomorrow to see about getting her checked and shots...will get her spayed when she is big enough.
Oh....my cat Billie is not pleased with this "intruder" being in the house. Have to keep Bell in the bathroom in a cozy box for now.

[SarahMB]

Aieeee, I'm in love!!!
You'll have to keep us updated on that little one!

[tigerlily]

I can hear the little "me-u's" from here. What a little cutie, and she doesn't know how lucky she is. CONGRATS!

[ZEKESMOM]

Thank you but I don't know about the "little meuws" sounds more like MEOW MEEEEOOOOW MEEEEEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW

[tigerlily]

LOL! She's a girl who knows what she wants, and isn't afraid to ask for it. I like it!

[Entropy]

Yes, definately keep your current cat away for now, be sure to have all the blood tests done on this cutie, you don't want to have to deal with FIV or anything along those lines.


She's adorable though! And do you mean Bell as in 'Liberty Bell' or Belle as in 'Beauty and the Beast' ?

[recycling goddess]

we rescued some 4 week old kittens last fall. we put the kitten formula in a bowl and kept touching their noses with the milk till they lapped it up themselves.

best of luck!

we also used soft food (nutro and nutrience) on a spoon and assisted them to eat. they had never eaten food before we got them so we had to teach them to eat. it didn't take much at all... just a nice relaxed atmosphere and lots of hands on feeding.

[Blu Mongoose]

Cute!! And look at those claws!:eek: She is definitely not happy with having her picture taken.

[slartibartfast]

She's adorable! Definitely older than 3-4 weeks, I'd say closer to 6. At that age, you will have a lot of trouble getting her to bottle-feed, as she's read for solid food.
I'd offer her a dish of gruel made of formula mixed with canned kitten food. KMR also makes a weaning formula called 2nd Stage or 2nd Steps, something like that, that you mix into a thick glop and that works well. You can also use a little human baby rice cereal mixed in for thickener. Put dry kitten food in a ziplock baggie and add enough water to just get it to begin to float, then stick in the refrigerator overnight and you will have soft pellets that she can start learning to eat.
She will also be old enough to lap water out of a dish and use a litter box, so make sure you offer both. You can cut down a cardboard box to her size and line it with a trash bag to make a starter litter box.

When I have kittens that age, I use appliance boxes as enclosures...you can get them from appliance and hardware stores, or ask on Freecycle. Several layers of newspaper on the bottom, and put a plastic sheet underneath the whole thing, as she will undoubtedly knock her water over. They are tremendously messy little beasts when they are transitioning. Plus, the box keeps them confined near their litter and food, so they don't accidentally starve themselves, or potty under the couch. I also provide them with hides...take a small box and cut a hole in the side and place a folded up towel in it for her to sleep on. Mine always go in there to sleep; they feel much safer when they are hidden.

Around 7-8 weeks, if they are eating dry food regularly and using the box consistantly, I allow them full house privileges.

Definitely get her tested for FeLV/FIV ASAP, as well as intestinal parasites. Small stray kittens almost always have coccidia, which can cause diarrhea and failure to thrive if not eradicated and if you have other cats, they can get it from her. If she's over six weeks, she can get her first shots too.

[bubie66]

Hi! My name is Teresa and I'm new here. Good job with the rescue! I rescue special needs kittens/cats. I have a tortoise named Mousaka, approx 4 yrs old. My specialty is really cats, but my 14 yr old son wants a snake, which I know nothing about, so I joined this group. I know you mentioned you have a cat already, so you probably know exactly what you're doing with little Bell, but God forbid you should ever run across any problems or illnesses, I'd be more than happy to help. I was just wondering what you plan to feed this little guy and what you feed your other cat. KMR is a great start, have you started on solids yet?