I found a kitten on the way home.. what should I do?

Question

As I was driving home tonight, I found a small black and white kitten on the side of the road. I love animals, so I took her in and have been helping her ever since. Her eyes are goopy and she's a little dirty, but I've cleaned her up the best I can. She's sleeping on a pet bed wrapped in some fluffy towels. Is there anything else I can do besides take her to the vet in the morning? What's the best thing to do.. should I keep her with the towels around her (loosely) or should she be exposed to air? Are there any other methods for cleaning her that I should take? What about food and water.. what's the best thing to do? She's old enough to walk a little clumsy and can cry and hiss, so I'm assuming she's at least a week or two old.

Answer 1

Well first of all God bless you for taking care of the kitten.

She'll need to be given milk from a bottle. You can buy kitten replacer at the pet store, and you can also make your own. There's a recipie at this site as well as other info on how to take care of a stray kitten:
http://www.homeatlastrescue.org/html/aboutcats/kittencare.html#feeding

And I'm sure you know to take her to the animal shelter as soon as you can. They'll know how to take care of her. Hope that helps!

Answer 2

i got my cat the same way almost she was a stray and i took her in and she just had kittens and they can walk from the beginning they just don't to much because they sleep so much. my cats didn't start hissing till about a month and a half, if u want to keep her, make sure u get her medicine and special food from the vet in case she has not been weaned yet which most likely she hasn't if she is really that young, are her eyes open yet, you said they were goupy but if they are open she's probably at least weeks too. If you don't want to keep her i would try to find her a home independantly, because most shelters have rules about how long they will keep an animal before putting them to sleep depending on ur area and how many strays are in that area. for example where i am strays are a huge problem and all animals given to the shelter have 5 days to find a home before they get put to sleep, which isn't long enough to make sure an animal is healthy and house worthy (not ferral) in my opinion so they really have no fighting chance here. my best advice is just take her to the vet and see what they say. most places have an on call or emergancy pet care center pull out ur phone book and call around, most answering machines will give u an on call vet and u can ask them more. and also make sure she is staying warm, with blankets towels or whatever because she is probably not old enough to regulate her body temperature yet, and thats why kittens always sllep under or near mama to absorb her body heat. also check ur library or websites for advice or more information

Answer 3

If the kitten is only 1 or 2 weeks old I would call the vet right away. She needs to be fed through a dropper or attempted to be intermingled with a cat who has a litter and hopefully she will except her. In the mean time, perhaps a small dropper of milk w/a pinch of sugar (not even). If she is hissing it sounds as if she may be older and should be able to tolerate kitten chow that when you add a touch of water should give a milky substance and soften the food. Feed it to her by hand along with a dropper of water or drips from your finger. I had to do that with a kitten who would not wean of his mother, so I became it''s mother until he was ready. Keep it warm and snugly and secure but not so snugly that he can't move around. But your best best is to get a hold of a 24 hour vet hospital considering the demeanor and possible age. They should be able to take it from there. Good luck.

Answer 4

She may be old enough to lap, so if you can get a can of soft cat food (no fish) and mash it up with a little water until it is a consistency she can manage, you can get some food into her, at least for tonight. At that age, a few hours without food or hydration can mean the difference between life and death, so it's important that you try. If she's so young her eyes are not open, and/or she's not able to lap, she may need to be bottle-fed. You can go to a pet store and get kitten milk replacement (KMR) and a bottle, but you must be very careful; she can suck the formula right into her lungs if the hole in the nipple is too large, which will kill her. Putting it into a dish and getting her to lap it up is best if you can. But, don't use cow's milk! They can't digest it.

You can wipe her eyes off with a damp cloth, and give her something to snuggle into that will keep her warm and snug, since she would be piled up with her mother and siblings if they were there. She may cry, and want to be held next to you, so you may not get much sleep tonight. Good luck!

Answer 5

If she's able to walk and hiss, she's probably closer to 3 or 4 weeks old. Keeping the towels loosely around her is fine: If she's uncomfortable, she'll kick them off. You can use a damp cloth to clean her eyes.

You might try feeding her a little kitten food mixed with canned milk (not creamer or regular milk) or perhaps kitten formula. Offer her water too: At worst, that shouldn't hurt her. A vet should be able to help you with any health problems that the wee might have.

Congratulations and good luck!

Answer 6

At two weeks old the kitten canot do solid food, or even softend food, she needs moms milk. If you do not have the experience of how to feed the little girl, then you need to get her to the local shelter, rescue, etc. If you know what your doing, then getting moms milk from a pet shop and feeding er every three hours with a eye dropper is the very least thats needed. She needs to be checked for All kinds of things immediatley - so keeping her needs vet help. Infections, parasites and her feeding are just three of the tings you need to work on...

Answer 7

our cat just had kittens a month ago, and they can walk clumsily and hiss. I think probably the kitten you found is at least 3 weeks old. (most likely 4 ) because kittens eyes do not open until they are 2 weeks old. I think having it in a towel is good because it is so young and it should be snuggling with its mom and siblings. The towel is warm like its mom. she normally would still nurse but sense her mom is not here, you can bye a kitten bottle and kitten formula from the pet section at a grocery store. Good luck.

Answer 8

From what you are describing this little kitten should be checked out by a vet. at 2-4 weeks kittens are not yet completely weaned from their mother and she may need kitten replcement milk. The Vet should be able to confirm her age and health. After that it's up to you... If she needs to be bottle fed you will need to understand the commitment you are under taking. My 9 week old kitten was orphaned at approx 1 week when I found him and his letter mates (he was the only survivor) I need to feed every 4 hours by bottle until he was about 5 weeks. Since I worked I chose to have him stay at my local vet during the day (kitty daycare - so to speak) If you are willing to undertake this then more power to you and bless you. If you aren't sure, ask you vet about foster care for her. You seem to really care for the little kitten so I have no doubt that you can handle this:)

Answer 9

Try the kitten formulas out there to see if she will take a bottle or a saucer. Wash your hands well because she may have an eye infection that can spread to others., Offer food every 3 hours if necessary.The vet should take it from there. keep her environment free from drafts. Keep her environment clean. Get a warm water soaked cotton ball and stimulate her lower belly,genitalia and anus to encourage elimination before and after meals.. They tend to get constipated. Good luck There is a lot of work involved but can be done.

Answer 10

Don't wrap the towels around her, she needs to be exposed to the air as much as possible! She isn't old enough to eat cat food yet, but maybe if you soften it! Just put some water in a bowl and guide the kitten to it! If you clean her be very carefull, she is still very young! Good luck!