Please Help! I Have A New Born Kitten?

Question

I just picked up my kitten tonight from a friend who found him. He's roughly about 4 weeks old. VERY, VERY young. It seems he has a cold, eyes are very watery and sneezing. Both of his front paws are scraped. Despite this, he is unbelievably friendly! Absolutely the WARMEST and GREATEST kitten I've ever come into contact with. What do I do with him before morning when I take him to the vet?? How can I make him comfortable? What do I feed him? I just need some basic answers here. He looks sickly and I'm scared.

Every single one of you that have responded are awesome! I feel a ton of weight lifted off my shoulders.. Thank you very, very much. He's doing great so far, I warmed up the milk (it was cold before) and he's very happy :)

He's so much more relaxed right now, and of course I'm keeping him very warm. He's on a blanket-bed I made and getting drowsy. Wonderful!! Thanks to all of you again for responding. You've made this experience so much more the better (and calmer for me).

Answer 1

If you can find kitten formula, that would be awesome, but most places to get it (like feed stores) are closed now. I would get some evaporated milk and feed the kitten that... with an eyedropper or similar device if need-be.

Also, keep the kitten warm. At night, young kittens usually cuddle up with each other and their mom, so being all alone without enough generated body heat could exacerbate the problem.

If you have a humidifier in the house, get it going. Don't use any vicks or anything menthol, though.

Clean the front paws if you can. Dirt and other nasty stuff in the cuts can lead to infection.

Basically, keep him comfortable and warm as best you can. The kitten may be sickly, but isn't in any danger before morning.

Answer 2

I don't want to alarm you but I've been reading some of the answers and am a little worried you may have taken some of the advice from well wishers who didn't really know what was best. The thing you need to worry about most right now is keeping this little thing hydrated. Once a kitten becomes dehydrated its system weakens and makes it vulnerable to colds and pneumonia. It happens very quickly (matter of hours) Milk is the worse thing you can give it because it could end up with diarrhea which will dehydrate it. Some people mentioned kitten milk. This is a substitue mothers milks that comes in a little carton like fruit juice and a lot of grocery stores and WalMart have it. If you can get some immediately it will help get it through the night. If its young enough to feed with an eye dropper then if it gets diarrhea you must get some water into it and get it to a vet as quickly as possible.

Answer 3

I've had 2 cats that were 3 weeks old each and had no mother.
First...
Go to Petco, Petsmart, or any leading pet store and buy the kitten formula (newborns) and also a needleless syringe. Mix it with water and heat for about 10-15 seconds so it is lukewarm. Put a small amount into the syringe and slowly squeeze some of it into the kittens mouth. Try to give the kitten some water too (just a little though).
Second....
Keep the kitten warm by wrapping him/her in a warm blanket.
Third....
Take the kitten to the vet tomorrow for a check-up and more advice by a veterinarian.

Hope everything goes well!

Answer 4

Just incase, you probably need to put an antibiotic gel, like neosporn, on his paws so the dont become infected. If its not to late, go to a place like Petsmart or Pets Co., and get him a small bottle and some kitten formula. If you feed him that he will either fall asleep or leave the nipple, if he fallas asleep take the bottle away so he doest drown in the milk. Make sure you wipe his tears away and all the mucis (if any) around his nose. When you go to sleep, have him sleep with you. He'll be much more comfortable and warm, like with his mother. Before you take him to the vet jsut make sure you but antibiotic on his paws, wipe everything off his face, and maybe even feed him.
Well, I hope he gets better.

Good luck and God bless.

Answer 5

You can pick up a little bottle and kitten milk at Wal-Mart. Don't feed him regular milk, it really messes up a kitten's digestive system. Your little kitten probably has an upper respiratory infection and the vet will give him amoxi-drops.That will fix him right up. I find kittens a lot - in trash bags that people tossed out while driving down my country road. I discovered that if I take a cloth bag, fill it with rice, and warm it in the micro-wave, it will keep the kitten warm and happy - especially if you have a piece of old flannel to tuck around him. And if your kitten's eyes are stuck together, gently hold a soft cloth or cotton ball that has been wet with warm water over his eyes until the crap dissolves and his eyes can open. Rubbing can damage his eyes. Good luck with your kitten.

Answer 6

All I can say is keep the kitten warm. Put it in a box with some clean rags in a warm spot. And go to a pet store to see if there is something you can feed it until you get to take the kitten to the vet. If it's too late to get to a pet store, try and keep the kitten hydrated by giving it some room temperature water. too cold is not good. and too hot is not good either. You don't want to burn the poor thing. Room temperature is good. Good luck. I hope the kitten will be OK. Take care

Answer 7

I found a kitten in the exact same condition once. She was also VERY friendly and playful. I had some left over meat that I cut up really, really small and mixed and mashed with water. She went crazy for it. Mine also had an upper respiratory infection which sounds like what your kitten has. Take her to the vet in the morning and just keep her warm until then. Also check for fleas. My husband and I combed her with a flea comb the next day and we got over 100 fleas off of her, poor thing. Do enjoy him, though, this is absolutely the cutest age.

Answer 8

You can also warm up goat milk that is available in cans. It is easier on the kitten and more like his mother's milk. You need to feed him often and get to a vet asap. Also there may be a local chapter of an SPCA that can help you. A member here took in a little bitty skinny one that had been left in a flower pot at the mall. She had also taken in a mother with kittens. The mother cat took in the other baby and it florished. It was very lucky to be alive. You need to get specific instruction on the care of a very young kitten. You need to feed it every three hours until you get to the vet tomorrow morning. You'll see it's little tummy fill. Then lightly rub the kitten like a mother cat does. After eating she licks them all over to get everything moving. It is important.. LOL

Answer 9

the mum needs and may were on a accurate high quality kitten food all by way of the being pregnant and till the kittens are weaned. this can help insure she continues to be healthful and the kittens besides, plus no to teach to have adequate breast milk. a useless ringer for human beings they choose the more effective vit, mineral, protein, and calcium. The kittens will be ingesting milk from the mum for weeks, and about 5 wks they commence to objective to nibble at it, some commence ingesting on there own at 6 wks others take an total 8 wks. keep the food out 24/7 and lot of unpolluted water, DON"T supply cows milk it reason diarrhea and dehydration. best of success

Answer 10

If he is only 4 weeks old chances are he is not ready for dry food. You can go to a pet store and by milk for kittens. If pet stores are closed where you are I'm sure walmart would carry it. It should come with a little bottle for the kitten.
As for the watery eyes and sneezing. I would think you could take a clean damp cloth and dry his eyes. They will mostly continue to water but at least it should build up.