Kitten won't take milk...?

Question

We have a feral cat (not even year) who got pregnant. My dad was watering the plants when she darted out of garden and all he heard was little mews. Turns out the cat [Erin] gave birth to one little kitten, dad took it in and tried to give it room temp milk, but it wouldn't take it. We have it wrapped in a blanket right now, by the back door, seeing if Erin will come back to feed it. What should we do if she doesnt?

Answer 1

I hope you aren't feeding them regular human milk, because this will do more bad than good.

You shouldn't have touched the kittens, just because the mother roamed off somewhere doesn't mean she wasn't going to come back.

Go to a pet store and get "milk" specially made for raising baby animals and a dropper or any other specially designed tool (such as a bottle/nipple made for animals). In the meantime, keep them very warm and safe.

Try feeding them as soon as you have bought the "milk", make sure to keep it at room temperature. It might take a little to make them eat but keep at it, try gently opening their mouths and putting in a drop of milk (A DROP, you don't want to put too much and have them choke on it).

If they don't eat today or the mother hasn't come around, take them to the vet tomorrow.

Answer 2

Keep an eye out but don't handle the kitten again unless you absolutely need to. Hopefully Erin has returned by now. If not, please don't give the kitten dairy milk, it isn't healthy. You can get KMR, which is formulated specifically for kittens, from a vet or a pet shop. They also have special bottles & nipples to fit the kitten's mouth, or you can try a medicine dropper. You'll also need to stimulate the kitten with a damp washcloth on the lower tummy so he'll go potty-- normally the mama cat does this by licking. Good luck & I hope Erin is spayed when the kitten/s is/are weaned.

Answer 3

Kittens and cats are lactose-intolerant. They cannot digest cow's milk. Go to the pet supply store and get some KMR formula, which means kitten milk replacement. She needs to be fed every 4 hours, and keep her if you can on something furry. She will do better. After you feed her, get a cotton ball and dip it in tepid water (body temperature water), and very gently wipe the kitten's anal area with it. Momma cats lick their babies' excrement and urine away, and the kitten cannot eliminate waste without this stimulation.

Do not leave the baby waiting for mom to come back. Keep the baby with you and be nurturing with it. Keep it warm and be soothing. The mother may have abandoned her baby because she perceives a problem with it that you cannot. But some queens do abandon their young. You want to avoid something called "failure to thrive", which just means that the baby gives up and dies. That is why you want to stimulate it to focus outward.

If mom does come back and seems to be looking for her baby, put just a little teeny dollop of butter on the kitten, so the mother will lick the butter off and thereby put her scent on it, and then perhaps nurse. But don't wait to nurture this baby.

If you can't get to the pet supply store, get some Lactase, lactose-free milk, preferably 2%, and add a raw egg yolk to about a cup of milk (yolk only - not egg white, as kitties cannot digest raw egg white). Put this in an eye-dropper or babydoll baby bottle, and feed this to her, just a little drop into her open mouth. And remember that kittens don't feed on their backs like human babies. They feed upright, on all fours, nestled against that furry belly. So hold her on all fours in something furry and try to deposit a couple of drops of formula or Lactase into her mouth, and see if she swallows, then give her a little more. Be sure and wipe her hinder with the cotton ball when you are done. She has meconium in her intestines and she needs to expell that, and get the ball rolling at that end too.

If this little one makes it, you will come out of this experience with a healthy respect for momma cats.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Go to Petsmart they have eye droppers and moms milk in carton or can you can't give them regular human milk They have to have mothers milk with all the antibodies etc. GO get the proper milk while your wanting for mom the baby could easily die. Or call a vet maybe they know an other mom that just had a litter.Good luck

Answer 5

Put kitty back where you found it, but monitor it to see if mom comes back for it, she probably will - she's probably just frightened. Don't handle kitty much, as mom needs to smell the kitty, not your smells, in order to recognize it. If mom doesn't come back for the baby, you need to feed it KMR kitten milk replacement, not cow's milk - they can't survive on cows milk. Go to this website for good info on caring for a rescued kitten: www.kittenrescue.org
I hope mom comes back, because bottle feeding an orphan kitten is a tremendous amount of work as they must be fed very frequently, round the clock, you must keep them very warm in order to digest their food, and you must massage their bellies & rears in order to stimulate them to pee & poo. Mom cat will do a much better job of it than you, so don't hang out in the garden any more than necessary which could keep mom away. Good Luck.

Answer 6

the fact that you touched the kitten might make the mama cat abandon it. if that is the case you will need to feed it special milk you can get from the vet. also if you decide to raise it, you will also massage its tummy to get it to go poop. baby kittens can't do this for awhile by themselves. you will need to feed it about every 3 to 4 hours for at least two weeks.you'll need to keep it warm and clean. i hope that the mama cat will accept it because it takes a lot of work to raise a kitten.

Answer 7

NO! Don't touch it because the mother cat doesn't like people touching her first born. All you have to do is provide a little basket near a dark area and everyday your mother cat should go over there and feed it by herself. She has nipples doesn't she?

Answer 8

Try baby formula, or Walmart even sells kitten milk, and it's not as expensive as baby formula. If none of these work try calling the vet.

Answer 9

you need to get some proper kitten formula and a dropper or sirenge. when the kitten is hungry it will cry and will take milk.

hope your cat comes home to look after it.

good luck.

Answer 10

go to the pet store and get some kitten Replacer Milk. and bottle feed it to her, you should probably get her into the vet as soon as you can to get her checked out and they can answer any of your questions.