Can someone give some advice on caring for kittens?

Question

Ok, my 13 year old son found 3 kittens in a storm drain which was too dangerous to leave them there, so he rescued them. We think mom is around somewhere and we have a trap from the humane society set to try and catch her to get her back to her babies. So I have a couple questions:

How often do I have to feed these guys in the mean time? They appear to be aprox 5 weeks old. We're using a dropper with canned milk. Is this what I need to do? If not, suggestions please!

Pet's Inc is the humane society in SC and they told me they can't take them because they cannot be tested for leukemia until 9 weeks of age. They gave me the cage to try and catch mom so they can test her. Once they can test her and make sure she's ok, they'll take them all. Any information on this subject would be appreciated.

Be nice people! I'll report any suggestions that are stupid, cruel or sick!

Answer 1

That's crazy of the humane assoc. They'd risk the kittens dying because they can't be tested yet???

The directions of the package should say how often to feed them. I had to do that one time when my cat died who had just had kittens. I fed them about every 4 hours. Sounds like you're doing the right thing with the canned milk and dropper. I got a bottle though instead of a dropper. They had those by the canned formula in the pet aisle.

I hope you're able to find the mother cat. That's an awesome thing you're doing!

Answer 2

I would use a kitten bottle & KITTEN formula. What you have should work, but it will take longer. At 5 weeks, the kittens should be fed 4.3 fl oz of milk per day, or 8cc per ounce of body weight. They should have 5-7 feedings a day.

At about 6 weeks, here are some tips for weaning:
Mix the kitten formula with baby food into a gruel and get the kitten to eat if off a dish or spoon. works well too.

Mix canned kitten food with

Gradually reduce the amount of formula each day until the kitten is eating just kitten food.

At about 8 weeks of age, begin mixing in dry food with the canned food and again, transition slowly to dry kitten food.

Keep a heating pad on low under a blanket for them to stay warm!
Well, hope that helps!
Emily

Answer 3

I am currently caring for orphaned kittens. Here is a website that will help you. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1388&articleid=912 It also has a recipe for homeade kitten formula. The formula works great, my kittens are very healthy. I hope all goes well and you find the mother. I will make a suggestion. Instead of taking the kittens to a shelter, you should try to find them homes when they are old enough. You can't trust shelters anymore. They will take in the moher and kittens, but they may put them to sleep even if they are a no-kill shelter. I used to work at a humane society that was suppose to be a no-kill shelter. They shipped the animals to another shelter that did put animals to sleep. There are way to many animals (especially cats) out there anymore, they just don't care. It's so wrong. Good luck.

Answer 4

At 5 weeks you could try putting them on kitten food, I have kittens under 4 weeks old and 2 of the 4 have tried cat food just like mom eats today so at 5 weeks they should be able to eat kitten food. They may also be able to drink from a saucer, my kittens are 3 1/2 weeks old and the mama feeds them about every 4 or 5 hours (I haven't timed it just a guesstimate).

Answer 5

I would suggest you take the kittens, in a box, and put them near the location your son found them. I think Mama will hear the kittens and come running. The easiest and safest way to care for kittens is to find their Mama! You will have to keep watch, though! If a tom finds them, they would be toast.

Watch to see if they are urinating and defecating on their own yet. You may have to stimulate their tummies and bottoms with a cotton ball. This is something Mama usually does with her tongue.

I think, at five weeks, they can probably go about 4 hours between feedings...and 6 or 8 hours overnight.

Best of luck to you all!

Answer 6

I'm glad your son rescued the kittens. Good job! Please go to your local pet store, and ask about products for such young kittens-formula etc. I once worked in an office with some too young to leave mama cat kittens, and they had to be fed every two or three hours, and you also need to use a damp washcloth to wipe their bellies to help them know to go potty. After they eat, etc. Again, your local pet store can help you on this information, or even a local vet can help with these questions, etc. Hopefully mama cat can be caught soon. And, when reunited with her babies, will also help with the litter box training, and how to clean themselves, when they are old enough to start learning this. The mama cat is probably missing her babies, and she is the one who trains them on everything about feeding, cleaning, litter box training, etc. So please, feel free to ask your local pet store personnel, or vet office personnel. I can tell you that they will be doing a lot of sleeping, cats can sleepup to 18 hours per day. And, as they get a little older, it will be fun for them to be playing. Kittens, as you are probably aware of already, usually don't get weaned from their mama until 8 weeks. The use of a dropper for feeding those kittens is a good idea. The canned milk is good too, but the pet store/vet is the best place for information on what is best to give them. Thank you for rescuing and caring for these helpless little ones! You are doing an awesome job! Take care.

Answer 7

We had a cat die while she was in labor. We had the kittens then to take care of, I believe we fed the lil guys 3 times a day just as you were saying with a dropper and canned milk. There isn't much more you can do. Make sure you keep them in a warm place and keep em clean. We had a dog that used to try to play daddy with them, so that was nice for helping.

Answer 8

My previous cat had kittens, she had 6 of them... And when they would no longer eat from mom, we usually fed them 2 - 3 times a day with kitten milk. You can get it from any store that sells pet food! Wal-Mart is really cheap. A dropper is good! From my experience they would usually be a fit fussy, but once they ate they generally slept... Then I'd wait a bit and feed them again. I'd say maybe every 3 - 4 hours. But more then likely, you'd know when they're hungry.

Answer 9

Relax. At 5 weeks old, your kittens should be eating and toileting on their own. You can moisten some kitten food if they have trouble eating it. Just watch for any signs that they picked up an illness from being in the storm drain. They should be playful and curious when they're awake. If they develop any respiratory problems (sneezing, coughing), eye infections, diarrhea, or lethargy, you'll need to have a vet check them.
Have fun! Young kittens are a joy.

Answer 10

Ok first of all, not canned milk...might give the guys dirrahea or dehydrate them. You need to get kitten formalu. If they are 5 weeks old, they should be peeing and dirting on their own, but in case they aren't, you need to help them to pee and have a bowl movement too, but tickling their belly by the back area. They will always pee, but not alway have a bowl movement. But again if there are 5 weeks, they should be going on there own. I would suggest getting kitten chow and try getting them eat it, if too little to chew, you have the kitties, you can tell by their teeth, you might want to wet their food with either their formalu or with warm water. Keep fresh water out for them too. And a litter pan also if there are older enough to use one. Good Luck.