We Have Abandoned Baby Kitties and I am Stressed

[JCMach1]

These are just a little beyond two weeks... three max as their eyes open, but their ears don't stand yet.

When I have had orphans this young in the past they have always died. :(

I tried the no kill shelter, but they couldn't take them as they are completely full.

So, it's on me, my family and a small dropper.

[HopeHoops]

1. Good luck. That's not an easy task and they're constantly hungry at that age.

Well, when they aren't passed out in a cluster that is.

[LaurenG]

2. There are baby bottles for kittens

I had a wee one many years ago and he did quite well. You will need to feed them often and rub them down with a soft cloth as well. Baby kittens are much like human babies except they don't have diapers. You are a good person and I hope the babies do well.

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

[Kali]

3. do you have access to a pet store?

Esbilac makes a kitten formula milk replacer - going to be much better for them than cows milk, if not start googling for what to add to cow's milk to make it more suitable. I forget, sometimes you need more fat other times some other nutrient, depends on the animal.

[Arkansas Granny]

6. A vet one time recommended the following as a formula for kittens using cows milk.

1 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 T. dark corn syrup

I've used this for kittens and it worked quite well.

[clyrc]

8. We don't have access to dark corn syrup

Thank you for the suggestion, though.

[Kali]

16. can you get glucose?

or just add some sugar - I'm sure it is to boost the calories more than anything.

[Arkansas Granny]

19. This is just Karo syrup. It should be available at most grocery stores.

[Kali]

17. I should write this down somewhere so I don't have to look it up.

Thanks!

[Sweet Freedom]

4. Check the shelters.

About 8 years ago, a litter adopted us for a weekend and we finally found the mother had been picked up by animal control, so you may want to check local shelters for lactating momma cats. Of the six kittens she had, three survived.

My favorite is sleeping at my feet as I type. :)

Good luck!

[hippywife]

5. You should be stressed, mister!

Abandoning baby kitties like that!

Sorry...couldn't resist the wording of the thread title. Hope all goes well. How many are there?

[clyrc]

7. Lol, you would think Mr. Writing Studies could have worded that better!

There are two little males, so small and so frantic for mom. We are going to try and get formula soon.

[hippywife]

12. I hope he took it as intended.

I had no idea what he did for a living. LOL I really do hope you are able to take care of them. Are you all back together in the UAE or is he still here with the kids? I lose track of time.

[JCMach1]

20. Ha, was stressed!!!

[JCMach1]

13. two little black and white kitties...

[clyrc]

9. The worst part, aside from the awful crying,

is being afraid that our other animals will kill them. Our two cats are very territorial creatures, and our dog is part hunting dog. Keeping the kittens alive until they can defend themselves is a challenge.

[A Cooper]

10. You are a good caring person

I agree with the other poster that told you to purchase a kitty baby bottle and milk for kittens. It worked for me one time and I am sure that it will help you also.

Good Luck.

[JCMach1]

14. Not so easy here... no petsmarts around every corner...

[JCMach1]

15. Not so easy here... no petsmarts around every corner...

[kimi]

11. Oh, best of luck!

This is so kind of you. I hope the kitten formula works out.

[myrna minx]

18. All of my best to you.

:grouphug:

[Ikonoklast]

21. You MUST stimulate them to eliminate waste, or they will die.

Their mother did this by licking their genital area; use a warm washcloth and gently rub their little hinies until they pee and poop.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

They cannot emilinate waste by themselves, they need help to do so.

[haele]

22. Any rescues around? someone might have a lactating momma-cat

or a pregnant momma about ready to drop. Even a momma dog might be willing to help out in a pinch.

If not, and if you can't get kitten milk:
mix about 2 cups goat's milk and 1 tablespoon plain yougurt (or one can evaporated milk, 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons plain yougurt),
3/4 cup water, and
2 tablespoon karo syrup.
If they're 2-4 weeks old, feed about two/three tablespoons warmed (at least room temp) in a dropper or a kitty bottle (newborn's bottle?) every 2 to 3 hours. 4-6 weeks, you can feed them more and wait a bit longer between feedings, but no more than 5 hours.

Make sure that soon (no later than 5 minutes) after feeding, get then to a shallow litter pan, and use a warm, damp facecloth and wipe their butts over the kitty litter. When they start to pee or poo (it will be runny and smelly), make a scratching motion over the poo. They will need to poo twice a day at least - optimally, after every feeding. If you're unable to get them to poo, take them to a vet immediately.

I learned this when the apartment manager of the place I was staying at while working on travel called me up because "You're the only other person here with cats" to care of a neighbor's rescue kitten when she got taken out by the EMTs with a heart attack. Poor thing was about 3-4 weeks old; after unsuccessfully trying to get her to eliminate for two days, I to the closest vet to get her an enema and to find someone who had a cat with kittens that could foster her - if I paid the vet bills.

She was still surviving when I (and the boyz) left for home a couple months later. But with kittens that young, it's always touch and go.
Good luck.

Haele

[Crystal Clarity]

23. That's what I was going to suggest

The most ideal thing would be to find a feline or even canine 'foster mom'.

I used to volunteer at an animal shelter and we had a similar situation. A shelter staff member had found a box of 4 half starved kittens near her home that someone had dropped off, and no mother cat w/them. It was 'kitten season' and the shelter was full, but she was willing to keep and find homes for them if she could borrow 'Sally' a momma cat whose last kitten had just been adopted.

After some discussions among the shelter board members, they agreed to 'lend' Sally out on a trial basis. It worked out beautifully. The kittens soon recovered and began to thrive under Sally's care, and true to her word, the shelter staff member found homes for all of them... including Sally who got to go w/one of the kittens to a great home.

Anyway the point of this story is, maybe you could call the shelter again and run this idea by them. Many shelters already have 'foster care' programs already in place. This would only be a slight variation of that. Or if that wouldn't work out for whatever reason (yours or their's) perhaps they'd allow you to bring the kittens in for at least one of their 'meals' p/day. Getting another momma cat to nurse kittens that were not her own was never a problem.

Of course all of this would probably be an inconvenience for you but my guess is that eye dropper feeding isn't a piece of cake either.

Just throwing this out there as another possible idea for whatever it's worth....

I hope everything works out ok and thank you for caring so much about these baby kitties. :-)

[carlyhippy]

24. We rescued a 3 week old 4 months ago

Those sound younger than our baby, they sound about 2. Her eyes were open and ears not quite up. There are baby bottles for kittens, and hartz makes a really good formula in a can or powder form (go buy up all the cans you can find at the store and ask them to order more, you are gonna need all you can get).

Oh yeah, and the suggestions about rubbing their hineys with a warm wet washcloth, this is very important. They won't go if this is not done.

I was feeding ours every 4 hours, give it a week or two, it will get better! Thank you for rescuing these little babies.

[sammytko]

25. I raised one that still had the umbilical cord attached.

She is right here, big and sassy. Just turned a year old.

I used the powdered KRM - kitten replacement milk. It's sold at Wal-Mart. You can get the bottles there also. I think the bottle is better than the eyedropper. Keep them warm. I put mine in a small crate with a heating pad on the lowest setting.

I used a wet q-tip to rub her behind to help her pee and poop. Be sure you have them wrapped in a rag or something. Its amazing how much they can pee.

I wasn't fanatical about feeding her every 4 hrs. She did just fine. Like I said she is huge. She got along well with my 4 dogs and 2 cats. I let them look at her through the cage all the time. They got used to it.

[applegrove]

26. Awwww. Poor lucky little critters. And good for you. But you must show pictures. Them is the rules.