I found a baby kitten right beside train tracks, she/he's tiny. What should we do?

Question

Picture: http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/SalSuicide/smallcat.png

And

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p267/SalSuicide/smallcat2.png

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I know you'd usually leave a baby cat be outside, but she/he was right on train tracks, I couldn't just leave her/he there. Even If I was soposed to, I can't go back and change what I've done. So, what should we do? For tonight were planning to keep him in a box (we already found out he/she likes being cuddled up in a blanket, she/he has fallen right asleep).

Questions:
How would you feed her/him?
How do you tell It's gender?
What's the best way to take care of him/her?
About how old is he/she?

We won't be keeping it for a long time, we might end up giving ito my uncle. But for now, what should we do?

It doesn't look like It would be months old at all... weeks to me. It looks bigger in those photos but he/she is so small. fits in a hand.

We can't bring it anywhere tonight. We can't buy anything now either. I hope cow milk will do. :S

Answer 1

How precious is that little animal! You absolutely did the right thing by picking him/her up. There's all sorts of horrible things that can happen to a baby who is that little from getting hit by a train to getting killed by wild animals. You saved its life, so do NOT feel any sort of guilt.

As for your questions, the kitten appears to be about 6 weeks old. It's kind of difficult to tell the gender at that age, unless he's a boy and decides to pull the "little lipstick" out. Keep the kitten inside: put an alarm clock in the box with it (that can simulate the mother's heartbeat), make sure it has lots of padding in the box, it may be more comfortable in the room with you too, make sure it has plenty of water, most kittens will use a litter box with no training (check it's poop to make sure there are no worms; don't worry, if they are there, they'll be on top, so you don't have to dig around), and it should be old enough to eat some wet kitten food (if you are going to feed it dry kitten food, make sure to mix it with a bit of water).

Take it to the vet in the morning or the SPCA. I rescue animals, and vets will usually work with you on any payments if you tell them that you found the animal. The vet should also be able to tell you the gender, but it can even be difficult for vets to tell at this age. At the SPCA or your vet, they should be able to check it for fleas, worms, and Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS. It's important to check for these if you have other animals in the house. Some vets won't even charge you, if you explain what happened. If, for some reason, your uncle does not want it, I have had really good luck taking kittens I have found to PetSmart and giving them away in the parking lot.

Answer 2

She's beautiful and fortunately she looks quite healthy. I'd say she was 5 or 6 weeks old.

Since you say you can't go anywhere to get any supplies tonight, you'll have to make do with what you have on hand.

If you have any cottage cheese, she could eat that. Cow's milk is not good for cats because they have a hard time digesting it, and you don't want to give your kitty diarrhea, but if you have any canned condensed milk (not the sweetened kind) you can dilute it 1/3 milk to 2/3 water, or half and half.

At this age the kitten should be able to eat on its own and not need a bottle, though you may have to put some milk or food on your finger and let it eat that way.

Make her a nice nest like other answerers have described to you.

Thank you for saving her.

Answer 3

There is replacement formula sold at many pet stores. I'd wager you could also find it at Walmart and possibly Walgreens or CVS (which are usually 24 hour). He/she looks young enough that it would appreciate a little bottle (eye droppers and oral syringes work too {go slow with an oral syringe since kitty has less control of the flow}).

But he/she looks about 4 weeks old, might be able to lap formula from a bowl. Look at the link below for more info on aging the kitten. I suggest a bottle for a little while, just for comfort's sake. Nevertheless, get the formula tonight.

Keep him warm, a blanket is good. Might also try a warm water bottle under the blanket.

Determining gender is a tough even for the experts. You might have to wait a couple weeks for further development. But here is a link to help you with that: http://www.cat-pregnancy-report.com/kitten-gender.html

There is a wealth of info on the link below, definitely check it out. Good luck and God bless

Answer 4

From the pictures I can tell that it is more than 2 - 2 1/2 weeks old. That's because its eyes are wide open. From its size, I would say its 4 - 5 weeks old. At this stage it should be able to lap warmed pet milk. You may have to dip its nose gently in it to give it the idea.
About this time its also ready to start some solids, whether that's canned kitten food, watered down with milk, or some dry Kitten food moistened with milk, is up to you. Try introducing the food 2 -3 times a day.
As to its gender, I would suggest that its more likely to be male, as ginger cats are rarely female.
Hope that's some help to you.
If you have any doubts, contact your local vet, or animal shelter, for further advise. It wouldn't hurt to get the animal checked out anyway.

Answer 5

It needs food, right now. Don't wait until morning. It appears to be weaned, in which case Purina Kitten Chow should make it very happy. But if it's not yet weaned get some kitten milk formula (available at most well-stocked grocery or pet supply stores). You may need a bottle with a kitten nipple to feed it. Cow milk is bad for kittens. Big no-no.

In the morning, call your local vet and make an appointment to bring it in for a check up, chances are it has fleas, worms, heaven only knows what else. The vet can also give you some good pointers on how to best care for your new friend.

Good luck giving it to your uncle. Kittens are notorious for their ability to quickly establish an unbreakable bond with people like you!

Answer 6

Actually cow milk is not good for cats. most supermarkets are open late and they sell kitten milk where you buy cat food. That should do for tonight and then tomorrow you could call a vet and ask for more advise. If your uncle is going to take it then that is great as animal shelters and pounds will put animals down if they are not adopted within a week. If it fits in your hand I would say it may be 2 maybe three weeks at the most. Kittens grow fast.

Answer 7

It's eyes are open so it isn't a NEW newborn. It looks like it may be old enough for soft kitten food. My kitties started at around that age but milk was still their primary diet. Try to get it to eat soft food. It will be a lot easier for you. The whole adorable little "kitty drinking out of a bottle" thing works great in the movies but is a pain to accomplish in real life. Try dabbing a little of the sauce on his/her lip so it gets a taste. Then he/she will chow! Make sure the box is tall enough so it can't crawl out and keep a blanket in there for it. If it takes to the milk or soft food, then great. If it doesn't eat much of either then take the kittie to a vet or somewhere where the people will know how to care for it.

Answer 8

I just found a smaller one in the woods behind the house yesterday. Yours looks pretty healthy so it should eat some canned cat food. Some folks say don't give them cows milk but I do. Ours had diahrea and was in pretty bad shape . She is doing much better now. You just have to look between it's legs to tell it's gender. Keep it in the laundry room in a box turned sideways with an clean old towel in it. Get a small litter box and always make sure it has plenty of food and water. Yours looks to be about 4 to 6 weeks old. Ours is a calico girl. We've already got three but we're going to keep her.

Answer 9

I have seen a lot of kittens at shelters and I think this little gal (yes, I sense it's female) is four weeks old. She will not be able to eat much on her own for a week or so.

It is really best to get it to a vet or a humane society tomorrow as they can tell the age by its tooth development and it's important to do that because the feeding is dependant on her age.

Go to http://kittenrescue.org and click on Kitten Care and go to the kitten handbook. A vet office should have the KMR for bottle feeding or a nearby pet store will have it.

That's one beautiful kitten!

Answer 10

Awwww! =]

Bottle feed her at this point. You can probably get cat formula at an animal shelter or maybe a very large pet store.

Turn her over and move her hair out of the way and I think you can figure it out ;] trust me

Treat it as though you were her mother, don't give it a complete bath, maybe just use a washclothes. If she sucks on your neck, shes hungry, or really any part of your body...

She looks like he or she is almost a month or not very much over a month.