Trouble feeding an orphan kitten?

Question

I found an orphan kitten by the house. The eyes aren't open yet, and it was bloody and wet when I found it. I located the mother, a stray cat that had been hanging around for a few days, but when I introduced the kitten, she grabbed it and tried to choke it to death by biting it and swinging it around, so I'm caring for it. I've had it in the house for 2 days.

I bought kitten replacement formula and a small kitten bottle, but he won't feed from the bottle. I've been using a small syringe and giving it a drop at a time for it to feed. She takes about 1/2 a millileter each feeding every 2 hours. How can I get her to nurse from the bottle? Also, what is the best way to stimulate it to "relieve" itself? It hasn't for the past day, and even though I've tried gently rubbing the stomach, it doesn't seem to work. I don't want it to become impacted. Thanks for any advice (I've never cared for an orphaned kitten this young, so I'm inexperienced).

Sorry, I should've mentioned this...our vet is not available on weekends, and this rural area only has one...I won't be able to do anything until Monday.

Yeah she was definately trying to choke it...My sister has raised cats and kittens, so what this cat did wasn't "motherly" because there was blood and a small puncture on the kitten's neck when I took him away from her...I tried a few more times to get her to take the baby and she growled, hissed, and swiped at it

Answer 1

Just keep doing what your doing as far as feeding it every two hours. Make sure you gently rub the area from the end of the tail to the middle of her tummy. Mothers have to lick the area to get the kittens to pee for awhile so you'll have to do that and do it often maybe that's why she's takin in so little food. Some people use a soft cloth and gently rub the area it will catch the moisture and you will see it work that way. I would try a warm not hot wash cloth. Good luck and I will get out my books and email more info as I find it. You are one wonderful person for doing this . God bless

Answer 2

First things first............. God bless you for taking in the baby. Second, and a very close second, take a cotton ball, wadded up toilet paper, old, clean rag, wet it until it's fairly wet, and rub it over the urinary outlet. This kitten has to pee, soon!! Do the same for the bowels. The movements of your hand should mimic the mom cat's tongue, short firm swipes. I don't think that kittens use those pet bottles all that easily. The only luck I've ever had was with a syringe. The vet should have a call number, that you can leave a message at; any vet worth his degree will at least return your call. I'm hoping that the replacement milk will work. The vet should be able to tell you if you will need something more. The rejection by the mom cat does not automatically mean that there is something the matter with the kitten. Sometimes the cat does not know what to do with kittens, especially if it is her first litter. Again, God bless you in this endeavor to save one of His creatures. Regardless of the outcome, you stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for this tiny life. That's an awesome thing to do. Hugs to you!!!

Answer 3

Kittens that young aren't strong enough to suck from a bottle. Even with the bottle, the formula still drips, drop by drop into their mouths.
So, if you want to try the bottle you have to CUT a hole into the nipple. When you hold it upside down, it should drip slowly.


YOU ARE DOING EXACTLY RIGHT!!!
If the dropper is working, use that. And the baby needs feeding every 2 hours until it's about 3 weeks old. Then they can go all night without a feeding. At 4 weeks, mix some canned kitten food with formula until it's liquid and rub a little on the baby's lips.

Get a warm wet wash cloth and rub the baby's tummy in circles moving downward (toward the butt) as you go. Then rub over the bottom. You don't have to be super gentle. The mama will be sort of rough to "get things going".

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

You may need to have her tube-fed (at a vet's clinic) for a little while, but if she's taking it drop wise, that's a good start. You might try more frequent feedings if you can--her stomach is still small, so she can't take much at a time. But you might try working in the bottle and the dropper at the same time so that when she works on swallowing the formula from the dropper, she gets the kitten bottle a bit, too.

As for the constipation, you're on the right track. You need to rub her vigorously on the tummy and wipe at her behind until she poops. My best advice is to treat her like an egg. You can rub at her pretty vigorously, but not so hard that she'll crack. They're pretty sturdy, so you're not likely to hurt her much just with the rubbing--just don't push down too hard. If you feel like you're really squeezing her, that's too hard. You should be able to tell by the tension in her stomach under your fingers how much pressure you're putting on. Think of it like a balloon and that point where you feel like it's going to pop.

You definitely need to have her seen by a vet. Raising orphaned newborn kittens is extremely difficult--even at the vet's office we don't always manage to save them.

And they're right about having her examined. If the mother is rejecting her, chances are decent that she's got some other issues, so a vet needs to look her over.

Answer 5

This happened to me, but the mother was probably not trying to choke it, that is how all animals carry their young, but if the mom was being a little aggressive, then keep it around, and make the two get used to each other. I did this with all my cats, and now all of them get along! I tied a ribbon around their feet (not hard) they have to sit and look at each other until they are used to each other! It sounds a little wrong, but believe me, after a long time of this, they will be the best of friends. The kitten was taken from it's mommy too soon, so it won't eat, give it lots of love, and pet it lots, it will eventually do better. I know how hard this is, but just try. If my advice is no good then, take the poor strays to the vet!

Answer 6

Its a difficult job to raise a kitten really.I tried to raise a kitten like the one you mentioned.We used to feed it from a small plastic bottle with a dropper attached.(Eye drops).The kitten used to start suckling the bottle and I used to gently apply pressure on the bottle to pump in milk (cows) into her mouth.Real slowly or the kitten chokes.But inspite of our care the kitten did not survive beyond 7 days.Then there was a second kitten which we had rescued from the clutches of a monkey.The kitten survived for three months and died of worm infestation.In yet another case,a cat had abandoned her two kittens.We are raising them and they are now more then 11 months old but their health is weak.In comparison to other normal kittens the one raised on goats or cows milk become diseased and frail.Anyway try to feed the kitten diluted cows mild which should be lukewarm or else the kitten wont take

Answer 7

definately keep the kitten inside and keep using the medicine dropper to feed it...i have taken in many orphaned kittens before and the medicine dropper is much more effective than a bottle and you are doing the right thing by feeding her every 2 hours or as needed and you will know because she will cry when she is hungry and keep her as warm as you can and she is too young to use the litter box so make sure you have plenty of clean towels to keep under her and around her ...good luck sounds like you are doing everything right...email me if you have any questions

Answer 8

First off, I'd take her to a nearby vet. Explain, I'm sure they'd take her off your hands, or offer to show you how to get her to nurse.

Next, if for some reason you can't do that, try a pair of rubber gloves! I heard once you can feed new born kittens/pups with rubber gloves with a pin prick in the finger... put a few drops of formula in there and see if she will nurse that way.

Good luck!

Answer 9

my advice on making it relieve itself would be to try using a damp warm soft cloth and make sure to rub its rear end as well, rubbing downward not up. Make sure the stool is normal and not bloody or anything odd! what has my attention though, is
If the mother cat tried to hurt/kill it, there may be something wrong with the kitten. If I were you I would take it to the vet asap!
I hope this helped!

Answer 10

1. Keep feeding it with the syringe.
2. After feeding, rub his bum (not his stomach, but his behind) with a wet cloth (their mum leaks them to stimulate that).
3. Keep it very warm, under a lamp or by a heating source.
4. Consult a vet.
5. Good luck. I have to warn you that it is hard to help this little fellow survive, but it is not impossible, so it's worth the effort. Thank you for doing it.