New Born Abandoned Kittens - How To Care For?

[icequeen]

My neighbour has just called me and showed me 2 new born (I think less than a day old) abandoned kittens in her garden, she came home at dinnertime and the mother wasn't there and hasn't been back since. We have fed them some milk through a syringe and put them in a box with a blanket and teddy to keep them warm, they are still in the spot where we found them but if the mother doesn't come back soon we think we will have to bring them inside and try to care for them. The only thing we can think to do is to keep them warm and try and feed them, does anybody know what else to do? I don't want to let them die if I can help it.

[londonthai]

try to find the mother - call her, show her food and catch her, to reunite with kittens.

kittens need mother till 8 weeks, to learn all the basic life skills. A surrogate mother will do, if only accept those 2.

[eek]

One thing I recall reading about newborn kittens is that their mothers lick the kittens bottoms to stimulate them to defecate. If they seem to be not defecating then I suggest gently use a warm damp cotton ball. (Actually reading the articles below, it mentions this too, but says you need to gently massage the tummy too and basically mimic the licking action with your hand).

Im not sure what steps you should take so i googled "how to take care of new born abandoned kittens" and it came up with a number of good links. Two good ones seem to be: http://ezinearticles.com/?Newborn-Kittens,...s&id=545842 http://www.theforumsite.com/forum/topic/Ta...NT-INFO-/194135

Best of luck! Please post how they get on.

[eek]

try to find the mother - call her, show her food and catch her, to reunite with kittens.

kittens need mother till 8 weeks, to learn all the basic life skills. A surrogate mother will do, if only accept those 2.

Also, i totally agree with londonthai. My posts is what to do in the worse case scenario (not finding the mother or another cat surrogate).

[eek]

A GREAT link here..pls read: http://www.kittenrescue.org/pages.php?pageid=15

Also seems its a bad idea to force them onto the mother if she is adamant about not wanting them:

What to do if your cat rejects her kittens after giving birth:

Usually, an animal who rejects her offspring, does so because she senses something is wrong with it, or there could be something wrong with her, emotionally or physically. In Melody's case, Susanna sensed something was wrong with her, and refused to take care of her, and on two separate occasions, tried to kill Melody (she tore my screen out to get to her at one point; talk about a CAT BURGULAR!). In Ambush's case, his mother's "humans" didn't want the kittens. They were kept in the back yard, in an upside-down laundry basket, and she was beaten for trying to save them. I honestly don't know how all seven of the kittens lived trough it. They were taken in and nursed by the people I got Ambush from, but their mother ran away, and nobody was ever able to catch her. So whether your cat rejects her kittens, or she's unable, for any reason, to take care of them, don't try to force the issue; it could endanger their lives! All you can do is try to take care of the kittens and be sympathetic to the mother; remember, it's not her fault! source: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/2969/baby.html

She also goes on to say:

How to nurture a kitten:

Well if you've made it this far, you've already figured out the most important steps of taking care of an abandoned or orphaned kitten, or any pet for that matter:

1) love

2) patience

3) love

4) instinct

5) love

6) attention

7 through 1,000,000) LOVE!!!

[monty]

Ouch, 1 day is extremely young

Unfortunately I guess the chances are very slim.

But if you want to try do follow next guidelines:

DON'T use regular cow's milk. It can kill the very young ones.

Go to a vet or a pet supply shop and buy "milk replacer". This is a white powder, to be dissolved in lukewarm water (body temperature), and feed them that. Start out with a syringe if needed, but as fast as possible use the special feeding bottles for kittens (again available at the pet shops).

That way you'll easily get a feel for what the kitten needs, without over feeding.

You'll have to feed them approximately every 2 hours, 24/7! Yes, also right through the night! After 2 to 3 weeks you can start to ween them of milk and get them to eat soft cat food, with a bit of dry food.

As per the above post, defecating is a problem. The easiest way is with the corner of a kitchen towel dipped in warm water, and rub on the belly and anus of the kitten. This is probably the closest to the mother's tongue licking them.

I fostered a kitten form when it was about a week old, and it turned out a very healthy cat!

Another problem is later on in their life, where they have to start to pick up "cat behavior". In my case this was not a problem as I had already other cats some of them just a few months old and others 2 years. They became playmates very quickly and got their "cat lessons" from their older house mates...

Good luck, if you pull it of you'll end up with the most affectionate pets you'll ever have!

[Mosha]

Look around for a family with a good natured cat. Ours has fostered many times. People are alwas dumping kittens on our land. It does my bloody head in. Our other cats look at Bonny as though she has lost the plot. She is just a natural mother. As long as her kids are still home, she cares for them

[tomartoh]

hello icequeen. its been said clearly and concisely by monty. all i can add is that we followed those methods and we saved 1 out of 4 kittens whose mother was killed when they were 10 days old. it wasnt the biggest that survived, that one died first.

the survivor grew up thinking of himself as one of the family and was a lovely friendly cat, living for 15 years

best of luck but be prepared for the worst as unuasual to hand rear veery young kittens

[icequeen]

thanks so far everyone, they have made it through the first night and are much more lively than when we first found them, we are feeding them a milk and egg mixture as advised on one of the links but I will go down to the vets shortly and get some milk replacement.

The mother is still nowhere to be seen, she is not my cat but a stray I know her and have seen her many times when she was pregnant but I don't believe she has an actual home. I will keep you updated.

[monty]

Good luck!

It's really worth it when they pull through, but keep in mind they might not make it!

[eek]

Yes, best of luck! Thanks for the updated, and again, please keep us posted.

[icequeen]

Well, good new everyone - panic over!

Another neighbour came to visit me about an hour ago with a thai lady from the next soi, it seems the kittens belong to her cat who has about 5 other kittens so the reason why she dumped these two is still a mystery. But they are now reunited with their mother and they started to feed with the others when I put them there so hopefully this story will have a happy ending.

[eek]

Wonderful news. Tnx.

[Mosha]

Yes, best of luck! Thanks for the updated, and again, please keep us posted.

Ah the old move the kittens every 2 hours one. I forgot that one, yes our "natural mother" does that one if we let her. We always let her birth in the house, but try to make it somewhere of our choosing. She has a bad habit of always leaving one behind during a move. Not always the same one, so it's not as though she is trying to get rid of a particular one.

[thetravellingcat]

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=3736808

moar funny pictures