Birdie Pets

Kittens mother died

Question:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

please see a vet about your new little friends. If you need a hand or some questions answered, please drop me a e-mail and I’d be glad to give you my number, or give me yours and I’ll give you a call if cost is a problem. Good luck…your in for a real treat! Jack

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth

About 3 weeks of age. > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own

A bit later than this. > 3. When can they ear cat food

_Please_ consult a vet.  These are tiny kittens who need specialist care.  Your vet can give you the advice you need to look after these orphan kittens until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Miche Miche Campbell     <*> Captain of the Starship Yentaprise These are not necessarily the opinions of the University of Otago You say Chaos like it’s a *bad* thing! Visit the home of The Jews Brothers, New Zealand’s premier Klezmer band!  http://www.rouge.co.nz

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

x-no-archive: yes Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.rescue,rec.pets.cats.health+behav Organization: University of Washington I hope this blurb helps those who find themselves promoted to momcat.  I don’t pretend to know all about the care of kittens, however.  Consult your vet at the soonest opportunity!                      CARING FOR THE ORPHAN KITTEN A general note about taking in strangers.  Always, always isolate a rescued cat or kitten from your pets for at least ten days and until it has been examined by your veterinarian and tested for lethal disease; even a tiny kitten can pack a killer virus or parasite.  Make the kitten comfortable in a room that is frequently visited by you and that is separate from your other pets, and wash your hands with an antibacterial soap between visits to the new animal and your household.  Consult with your veterinarian, so that you are able to weigh the risks against the many blessings of taking in an orphan kitten. The following, numbered sequence could be applied generally to an orphaned kitten of any age but is particularly important for the frail newborn.  Less detailed instructions for older kittens follow.  Good luck to foster mothers everywhere. 1.  Determine the Kitten’s Condition Any kitten, even if it seems fine, should be seen by your vet as soon as possible.  Take a fresh stool sample with you, so the vet may check for intestinal parasites.  If a fecal cannot be done by the time of the appointment, take a stool sample as soon as you can.  Remove as many fleas as you safely can (with a comb for newborns; do not bathe, spray or powder a kitten before it is six weeks old). If the kitten is lethargic or cool to the touch, you may have a life-threatening emergency (such as exposure or distemper).  Get the kitten on a heating pad or other primary heat source (see item 2) and get it to a veterinarian right away or consult an emergency veterinary clinic.  Do NOT feed a chilled newborn — you will kill it.  Instead, administer slightly warmed Pedialyte (an infant rehydrating fluid, available in any grocery or pharmacy), using an animal nurser, syringe, or dropper.  Feed the kitten only when it is warmed and indicates it is hungry. If the kitten seems over-warm and is breathing rapidly, it may be feverish or suffering from heat exhaustion.  Contact your vet or an emergency veterinary clinic immediately for advice if you can.  To help lower the kitten’s body temperature, try wiping it down with a cool, damp cloth; then administer Pedialyte.  Get the kitten to a veterinarian as soon as possible. If the kitten is active and screaming lustily for its mother, go quickly to item 2; you will find that a heating pad will help calm the kitten while you prepare its first meal. 2.  Make the Kitten Warm and Comfortable A newborn kitten is not capable of generating or maintaining body warmth and must depend on its mother (and now you) to sustain warmth and life.   Keeping a newborn orphan warm (even on a warm day) is a priority, more important initially than feeding.  Bundling up the kitten will do no good; it has no body heat of its own to retain.  And putting the kitten near a space heater or other heating element is neither sufficient for the long-term nor safe.  Wrap a heating pad, set at low, in a towel or flannel and place it in a box, leaving room for the kitten to crawl off the pad as needed.  (Emergency, short-term measures:  If you don’t have a heating pad, put the kitten on a wrapped hot water bottle or snugged against a tightly sealed and well stablilized jar of warm water.  Or put the kitten next to your body — next to the skin if possible.  Then go out and borrow or buy that heating pad.) Empty the Bladder.  Newborns cannot evacuate their bowel or bladder unassisted.  The kitten you have found may be in excruciating pain or in danger of going toxic from having to retain its own body waste.  You should help the kitten at least empty its bladder before proceeding with feeding or even the trip to the veterinarian.  With the kitten on a towel in your lap, rub the kitten all over with a rough, dry washcloth.  (At that point, the kitten may roll over or otherwise present its bottom to you.) With a generous handful of soft tissue (also to be kept handy at all times) gently stroke the kitten’s behind, keeping the tissue in contact. The kitten will oblige by urinating a rather amazing amount.  Simply rotate the tissue until kitten stops urinating or the tissue is soaked, whichever comes first.  (Did I mention to keep a waste bag handy for this procedure?) Another method to stimulate evacuation is to use a tissue or wash cloth moistened with warm water instead of a dry cloth or to apply a moistened Q-tip (hold the kitten over a sink or a folded towel if you use the latter method). The Den Newborns should be shielded from direct light and contained in their den until they are at least three weeks old.  Remember to try to provide the kitten an area in the den where it can crawl off the heating pad if it gets overheated.  A small airline-style carrier doubles very well as a den and a taxi, though the kitten will soon outgrow it.  A pair of large nested boxes is a good den, as long as the kitten cannot crawl out.  If you are fostering a single kitten, provide a surrogate sibling in the form of a small stuffed toy or bundled sock. 3.  Prepare the Feeding The Formula.  There are several good milk replacers on the market, available in liquid or powder form (my personal favorite is called Just Born).  The ready-mix liquid is more convenient.  Be sure the product is engineered for kittens and that it is fresh (some have a short shelf-life).  Milk replacers can be found in any pet supplies store, most veterinary clinics, and even in some variety stores.  In an emergency or for the short-term, you can make up your own formula from tinned or powdered goat’s milk (see below).  If the kitten seems weak or ill and you cannot get to a veterinarian right away, you should administer slightly warmed Pedialyte before offering the milk replacer. Mona’s Homemade Goats Milk Formula.  Mona Myers, a certified bird rehabilitator in Seattle who has in the past rescue orphan kittens, swears by this formula and prefers it to the ready-made products.  You might try her recipe if the kitten is not responding well to the commercial product. Use tinned or powdered goats milk.  (Either should be kept in the fridge when opened>)  For a newborn or a kitten suffering from exposure, substitute Pedialtye for water to reconstitute the powdered goats milk.   (Stick with the Pedialyte formula for the first week or so with a weak newborn, then switch to boiled water as the base.)  Warm a measured amount of the liquid slightly and pour into a bowl.  Using a flour sifter, sift the goats milk powder into the liquid, blending with a wire whisk.  To every 8 oz of goats milk, whether tinner or reconstituted, add 1/3 dropper Avitron and 1/3 dope Avimin (available in pet supply stores).  Finally, add 1/4 tsp acidophilus culture and 1/4 tablet (crushed) papaya enzyme (these last ingredients are found in health food stores; acidophilus culture must be refrigerated). This formula is best after being refrigerated for at least an hour, but it can be warmed (in hot water or microwaved a few seconds in a dish, not in the nurser) and served immediately. The Nurser While you are purchasing the milk replacer, find a good nurser.  Most of these look like a baby bottle in miniature; I prefer the model with a pointy nipple.  Pierce the nipple with a large-gauge needle (heated with a match) or ask the veterinarian to prepare the nurser for you.  The nipple is constructed of tough stuff and is difficult to pierce; whatever you do do NOT cut the nipple with a knife or scissors, however tempted you may be — you may kill the kitten if you make the hole too large and flood its lungs. Other possible nursers are a 6-cc syringe or the king of squeeze bottle used to dispense droplet medication (ask your veterinarian or pharmacist). These do present some risk, as the formula must be forced into the kitten’s mouth, again increasing the risk of flooding the lungs.  Last choice is a dropper, the slowest of the slow, but better than nothing until you go out and buy a nurser. The Feeding Heat the formula (in hot water) until it is comfortably warm.  Test a stream on the inside of your wrist, first shaking the bottle to even out the temperature.  Within easy reach, set a rough washcloth, paper towel, and a box of tissue.  Also keep a cup of hot water nearby (but not where it could tip onto the kitten) to warm the nurser as needed.  Then lay an old towel, the fluffier the better, across your lap.  Hold the kitten belly-down, steadying and guiding the head to the nipple with the same hand that is holding the bottle.  (This is just my technique; you may find another that works best for you.) Try to center the nipple in the kitten’s mouth, over the tongue, and apply just enough pressure on the nurser to bead out a bit of formula on the nipple.  If this is not enough to induce the kitten to begin suckling, squeeze a tiny bit into its mouth and wait for it to swallow before (gently!) squeezing again.  This can be even trickier than it sounds, particularly if the kitten is desperately hungry. Convincing a frenzied kitten to slow down and suckle is no easy task. Another … read more »

Response:

Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions 1. When do they get teeth 2. When do they start to poop on thier own 3. When can they ear cat food Please need anwsers to these questions

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

Sharon Talbert’s excellent article on caring for orphaned kittens is at:     http://campuscats.interscapes.com/articles/orphancare.html Do scroll down; information on toddlers (the age your kitties are at) is lower on the page. The first milk teeth should begin to appear between three and four weeks of age, starting with the incisors, followed by canines and premolars. The last premolar arrives around six weeks.  Kittens do not get molars until their adult teeth (one reason they often can’t handle dry food). Adult teeth will begin to come in between three and four months, and end at about seven months. They should be able to poop on their own in about another week, but I’d not really expect this to be reliable for another week after that.  Try introducing them to the box when they’re about four weeks old, but don’t put alot of litter in it because they will eat it, and don’t expect them to use it reliably for another week or two after that.  I always found that it was best to continue stimulation — then putting the kitten in the box — to six weeks of age, but then when I was fostering I usually got the fragile ones. I’d introduce them to *soft* kitten food — tinned — in about a week. Start them off with a little of the kitten food watered down with the formula into a weak gruel.  I’d usually just smear a little of it out of the dish — a large flat plate, so that it was hard to spill if a kit- ten stepped on it — on their lips.  Start out with offering this twice a day or so, in between nursings.  When they get the idea and start to eat more than they smear all over themselves (usually around five weeks of age), then you can begin switching them gradually off the bottle and onto the gruel, gradually reducing the liquid content of the gruel until they’re eating the kitten food full-strength, so to speak.  Do take your time, since trying to hurry it up usually only results in bad diarrhoea and stressed, sick kittens.  How long it takes depends on how quickly they get the concept. Stacy Scott

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

please see a vet about your new little friends. If you need a hand or some questions answered, please drop me a e-mail and I’d be glad to give you my number, or give me yours and I’ll give you a call if cost is a problem. Good luck…your in for a real treat! Jack

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth

About 3 weeks of age. > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own

A bit later than this. > 3. When can they ear cat food

_Please_ consult a vet.  These are tiny kittens who need specialist care.  Your vet can give you the advice you need to look after these orphan kittens until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Miche Miche Campbell     <*> Captain of the Starship Yentaprise These are not necessarily the opinions of the University of Otago You say Chaos like it’s a *bad* thing! Visit the home of The Jews Brothers, New Zealand’s premier Klezmer band!  http://www.rouge.co.nz

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

x-no-archive: yes Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.rescue,rec.pets.cats.health+behav Organization: University of Washington I hope this blurb helps those who find themselves promoted to momcat.  I don’t pretend to know all about the care of kittens, however.  Consult your vet at the soonest opportunity!                      CARING FOR THE ORPHAN KITTEN A general note about taking in strangers.  Always, always isolate a rescued cat or kitten from your pets for at least ten days and until it has been examined by your veterinarian and tested for lethal disease; even a tiny kitten can pack a killer virus or parasite.  Make the kitten comfortable in a room that is frequently visited by you and that is separate from your other pets, and wash your hands with an antibacterial soap between visits to the new animal and your household.  Consult with your veterinarian, so that you are able to weigh the risks against the many blessings of taking in an orphan kitten. The following, numbered sequence could be applied generally to an orphaned kitten of any age but is particularly important for the frail newborn.  Less detailed instructions for older kittens follow.  Good luck to foster mothers everywhere. 1.  Determine the Kitten’s Condition Any kitten, even if it seems fine, should be seen by your vet as soon as possible.  Take a fresh stool sample with you, so the vet may check for intestinal parasites.  If a fecal cannot be done by the time of the appointment, take a stool sample as soon as you can.  Remove as many fleas as you safely can (with a comb for newborns; do not bathe, spray or powder a kitten before it is six weeks old). If the kitten is lethargic or cool to the touch, you may have a life-threatening emergency (such as exposure or distemper).  Get the kitten on a heating pad or other primary heat source (see item 2) and get it to a veterinarian right away or consult an emergency veterinary clinic.  Do NOT feed a chilled newborn — you will kill it.  Instead, administer slightly warmed Pedialyte (an infant rehydrating fluid, available in any grocery or pharmacy), using an animal nurser, syringe, or dropper.  Feed the kitten only when it is warmed and indicates it is hungry. If the kitten seems over-warm and is breathing rapidly, it may be feverish or suffering from heat exhaustion.  Contact your vet or an emergency veterinary clinic immediately for advice if you can.  To help lower the kitten’s body temperature, try wiping it down with a cool, damp cloth; then administer Pedialyte.  Get the kitten to a veterinarian as soon as possible. If the kitten is active and screaming lustily for its mother, go quickly to item 2; you will find that a heating pad will help calm the kitten while you prepare its first meal. 2.  Make the Kitten Warm and Comfortable A newborn kitten is not capable of generating or maintaining body warmth and must depend on its mother (and now you) to sustain warmth and life.   Keeping a newborn orphan warm (even on a warm day) is a priority, more important initially than feeding.  Bundling up the kitten will do no good; it has no body heat of its own to retain.  And putting the kitten near a space heater or other heating element is neither sufficient for the long-term nor safe.  Wrap a heating pad, set at low, in a towel or flannel and place it in a box, leaving room for the kitten to crawl off the pad as needed.  (Emergency, short-term measures:  If you don’t have a heating pad, put the kitten on a wrapped hot water bottle or snugged against a tightly sealed and well stablilized jar of warm water.  Or put the kitten next to your body — next to the skin if possible.  Then go out and borrow or buy that heating pad.) Empty the Bladder.  Newborns cannot evacuate their bowel or bladder unassisted.  The kitten you have found may be in excruciating pain or in danger of going toxic from having to retain its own body waste.  You should help the kitten at least empty its bladder before proceeding with feeding or even the trip to the veterinarian.  With the kitten on a towel in your lap, rub the kitten all over with a rough, dry washcloth.  (At that point, the kitten may roll over or otherwise present its bottom to you.) With a generous handful of soft tissue (also to be kept handy at all times) gently stroke the kitten’s behind, keeping the tissue in contact. The kitten will oblige by urinating a rather amazing amount.  Simply rotate the tissue until kitten stops urinating or the tissue is soaked, whichever comes first.  (Did I mention to keep a waste bag handy for this procedure?) Another method to stimulate evacuation is to use a tissue or wash cloth moistened with warm water instead of a dry cloth or to apply a moistened Q-tip (hold the kitten over a sink or a folded towel if you use the latter method). The Den Newborns should be shielded from direct light and contained in their den until they are at least three weeks old.  Remember to try to provide the kitten an area in the den where it can crawl off the heating pad if it gets overheated.  A small airline-style carrier doubles very well as a den and a taxi, though the kitten will soon outgrow it.  A pair of large nested boxes is a good den, as long as the kitten cannot crawl out.  If you are fostering a single kitten, provide a surrogate sibling in the form of a small stuffed toy or bundled sock. 3.  Prepare the Feeding The Formula.  There are several good milk replacers on the market, available in liquid or powder form (my personal favorite is called Just Born).  The ready-mix liquid is more convenient.  Be sure the product is engineered for kittens and that it is fresh (some have a short shelf-life).  Milk replacers can be found in any pet supplies store, most veterinary clinics, and even in some variety stores.  In an emergency or for the short-term, you can make up your own formula from tinned or powdered goat’s milk (see below).  If the kitten seems weak or ill and you cannot get to a veterinarian right away, you should administer slightly warmed Pedialyte before offering the milk replacer. Mona’s Homemade Goats Milk Formula.  Mona Myers, a certified bird rehabilitator in Seattle who has in the past rescue orphan kittens, swears by this formula and prefers it to the ready-made products.  You might try her recipe if the kitten is not responding well to the commercial product. Use tinned or powdered goats milk.  (Either should be kept in the fridge when opened>)  For a newborn or a kitten suffering from exposure, substitute Pedialtye for water to reconstitute the powdered goats milk.   (Stick with the Pedialyte formula for the first week or so with a weak newborn, then switch to boiled water as the base.)  Warm a measured amount of the liquid slightly and pour into a bowl.  Using a flour sifter, sift the goats milk powder into the liquid, blending with a wire whisk.  To every 8 oz of goats milk, whether tinner or reconstituted, add 1/3 dropper Avitron and 1/3 dope Avimin (available in pet supply stores).  Finally, add 1/4 tsp acidophilus culture and 1/4 tablet (crushed) papaya enzyme (these last ingredients are found in health food stores; acidophilus culture must be refrigerated). This formula is best after being refrigerated for at least an hour, but it can be warmed (in hot water or microwaved a few seconds in a dish, not in the nurser) and served immediately. The Nurser While you are purchasing the milk replacer, find a good nurser.  Most of these look like a baby bottle in miniature; I prefer the model with a pointy nipple.  Pierce the nipple with a large-gauge needle (heated with a match) or ask the veterinarian to prepare the nurser for you.  The nipple is constructed of tough stuff and is difficult to pierce; whatever you do do NOT cut the nipple with a knife or scissors, however tempted you may be — you may kill the kitten if you make the hole too large and flood its lungs. Other possible nursers are a 6-cc syringe or the king of squeeze bottle used to dispense droplet medication (ask your veterinarian or pharmacist). These do present some risk, as the formula must be forced into the kitten’s mouth, again increasing the risk of flooding the lungs.  Last choice is a dropper, the slowest of the slow, but better than nothing until you go out and buy a nurser. The Feeding Heat the formula (in hot water) until it is comfortably warm.  Test a stream on the inside of your wrist, first shaking the bottle to even out the temperature.  Within easy reach, set a rough washcloth, paper towel, and a box of tissue.  Also keep a cup of hot water nearby (but not where it could tip onto the kitten) to warm the nurser as needed.  Then lay an old towel, the fluffier the better, across your lap.  Hold the kitten belly-down, steadying and guiding the head to the nipple with the same hand that is holding the bottle.  (This is just my technique; you may find another that works best for you.) Try to center the nipple in the kitten’s mouth, over the tongue, and apply just enough pressure on the nurser to bead out a bit of formula on the nipple.  If this is not enough to induce the kitten to begin suckling, squeeze a tiny bit into its mouth and wait for it to swallow before (gently!) squeezing again.  This can be even trickier than it sounds, particularly if the kitten is desperately hungry. Convincing a frenzied kitten to slow down and suckle is no easy task. Another … read more »

Response:

Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions 1. When do they get teeth 2. When do they start to poop on thier own 3. When can they ear cat food Please need anwsers to these questions

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

Sharon Talbert’s excellent article on caring for orphaned kittens is at:     http://campuscats.interscapes.com/articles/orphancare.html Do scroll down; information on toddlers (the age your kitties are at) is lower on the page. The first milk teeth should begin to appear between three and four weeks of age, starting with the incisors, followed by canines and premolars. The last premolar arrives around six weeks.  Kittens do not get molars until their adult teeth (one reason they often can’t handle dry food). Adult teeth will begin to come in between three and four months, and end at about seven months. They should be able to poop on their own in about another week, but I’d not really expect this to be reliable for another week after that.  Try introducing them to the box when they’re about four weeks old, but don’t put alot of litter in it because they will eat it, and don’t expect them to use it reliably for another week or two after that.  I always found that it was best to continue stimulation — then putting the kitten in the box — to six weeks of age, but then when I was fostering I usually got the fragile ones. I’d introduce them to *soft* kitten food — tinned — in about a week. Start them off with a little of the kitten food watered down with the formula into a weak gruel.  I’d usually just smear a little of it out of the dish — a large flat plate, so that it was hard to spill if a kit- ten stepped on it — on their lips.  Start out with offering this twice a day or so, in between nursings.  When they get the idea and start to eat more than they smear all over themselves (usually around five weeks of age), then you can begin switching them gradually off the bottle and onto the gruel, gradually reducing the liquid content of the gruel until they’re eating the kitten food full-strength, so to speak.  Do take your time, since trying to hurry it up usually only results in bad diarrhoea and stressed, sick kittens.  How long it takes depends on how quickly they get the concept. Stacy Scott

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

please see a vet about your new little friends. If you need a hand or some questions answered, please drop me a e-mail and I’d be glad to give you my number, or give me yours and I’ll give you a call if cost is a problem. Good luck…your in for a real treat! Jack

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth

About 3 weeks of age. > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own

A bit later than this. > 3. When can they ear cat food

_Please_ consult a vet.  These are tiny kittens who need specialist care.  Your vet can give you the advice you need to look after these orphan kittens until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Miche Miche Campbell     <*> Captain of the Starship Yentaprise These are not necessarily the opinions of the University of Otago You say Chaos like it’s a *bad* thing! Visit the home of The Jews Brothers, New Zealand’s premier Klezmer band!  http://www.rouge.co.nz

Response:

> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

x-no-archive: yes Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.rescue,rec.pets.cats.health+behav Organization: University of Washington I hope this blurb helps those who find themselves promoted to momcat.  I don’t pretend to know all about the care of kittens, however.  Consult your vet at the soonest opportunity!                      CARING FOR THE ORPHAN KITTEN A general note about taking in strangers.  Always, always isolate a rescued cat or kitten from your pets for at least ten days and until it has been examined by your veterinarian and tested for lethal disease; even a tiny kitten can pack a killer virus or parasite.  Make the kitten comfortable in a room that is frequently visited by you and that is separate from your other pets, and wash your hands with an antibacterial soap between visits to the new animal and your household.  Consult with your veterinarian, so that you are able to weigh the risks against the many blessings of taking in an orphan kitten. The following, numbered sequence could be applied generally to an orphaned kitten of any age but is particularly important for the frail newborn.  Less detailed instructions for older kittens follow.  Good luck to foster mothers everywhere. 1.  Determine the Kitten’s Condition Any kitten, even if it seems fine, should be seen by your vet as soon as possible.  Take a fresh stool sample with you, so the vet may check for intestinal parasites.  If a fecal cannot be done by the time of the appointment, take a stool sample as soon as you can.  Remove as many fleas as you safely can (with a comb for newborns; do not bathe, spray or powder a kitten before it is six weeks old). If the kitten is lethargic or cool to the touch, you may have a life-threatening emergency (such as exposure or distemper).  Get the kitten on a heating pad or other primary heat source (see item 2) and get it to a veterinarian right away or consult an emergency veterinary clinic.  Do NOT feed a chilled newborn — you will kill it.  Instead, administer slightly warmed Pedialyte (an infant rehydrating fluid, available in any grocery or pharmacy), using an animal nurser, syringe, or dropper.  Feed the kitten only when it is warmed and indicates it is hungry. If the kitten seems over-warm and is breathing rapidly, it may be feverish or suffering from heat exhaustion.  Contact your vet or an emergency veterinary clinic immediately for advice if you can.  To help lower the kitten’s body temperature, try wiping it down with a cool, damp cloth; then administer Pedialyte.  Get the kitten to a veterinarian as soon as possible. If the kitten is active and screaming lustily for its mother, go quickly to item 2; you will find that a heating pad will help calm the kitten while you prepare its first meal. 2.  Make the Kitten Warm and Comfortable A newborn kitten is not capable of generating or maintaining body warmth and must depend on its mother (and now you) to sustain warmth and life.   Keeping a newborn orphan warm (even on a warm day) is a priority, more important initially than feeding.  Bundling up the kitten will do no good; it has no body heat of its own to retain.  And putting the kitten near a space heater or other heating element is neither sufficient for the long-term nor safe.  Wrap a heating pad, set at low, in a towel or flannel and place it in a box, leaving room for the kitten to crawl off the pad as needed.  (Emergency, short-term measures:  If you don’t have a heating pad, put the kitten on a wrapped hot water bottle or snugged against a tightly sealed and well stablilized jar of warm water.  Or put the kitten next to your body — next to the skin if possible.  Then go out and borrow or buy that heating pad.) Empty the Bladder.  Newborns cannot evacuate their bowel or bladder unassisted.  The kitten you have found may be in excruciating pain or in danger of going toxic from having to retain its own body waste.  You should help the kitten at least empty its bladder before proceeding with feeding or even the trip to the veterinarian.  With the kitten on a towel in your lap, rub the kitten all over with a rough, dry washcloth.  (At that point, the kitten may roll over or otherwise present its bottom to you.) With a generous handful of soft tissue (also to be kept handy at all times) gently stroke the kitten’s behind, keeping the tissue in contact. The kitten will oblige by urinating a rather amazing amount.  Simply rotate the tissue until kitten stops urinating or the tissue is soaked, whichever comes first.  (Did I mention to keep a waste bag handy for this procedure?) Another method to stimulate evacuation is to use a tissue or wash cloth moistened with warm water instead of a dry cloth or to apply a moistened Q-tip (hold the kitten over a sink or a folded towel if you use the latter method). The Den Newborns should be shielded from direct light and contained in their den until they are at least three weeks old.  Remember to try to provide the kitten an area in the den where it can crawl off the heating pad if it gets overheated.  A small airline-style carrier doubles very well as a den and a taxi, though the kitten will soon outgrow it.  A pair of large nested boxes is a good den, as long as the kitten cannot crawl out.  If you are fostering a single kitten, provide a surrogate sibling in the form of a small stuffed toy or bundled sock. 3.  Prepare the Feeding The Formula.  There are several good milk replacers on the market, available in liquid or powder form (my personal favorite is called Just Born).  The ready-mix liquid is more convenient.  Be sure the product is engineered for kittens and that it is fresh (some have a short shelf-life).  Milk replacers can be found in any pet supplies store, most veterinary clinics, and even in some variety stores.  In an emergency or for the short-term, you can make up your own formula from tinned or powdered goat’s milk (see below).  If the kitten seems weak or ill and you cannot get to a veterinarian right away, you should administer slightly warmed Pedialyte before offering the milk replacer. Mona’s Homemade Goats Milk Formula.  Mona Myers, a certified bird rehabilitator in Seattle who has in the past rescue orphan kittens, swears by this formula and prefers it to the ready-made products.  You might try her recipe if the kitten is not responding well to the commercial product. Use tinned or powdered goats milk.  (Either should be kept in the fridge when opened>)  For a newborn or a kitten suffering from exposure, substitute Pedialtye for water to reconstitute the powdered goats milk.   (Stick with the Pedialyte formula for the first week or so with a weak newborn, then switch to boiled water as the base.)  Warm a measured amount of the liquid slightly and pour into a bowl.  Using a flour sifter, sift the goats milk powder into the liquid, blending with a wire whisk.  To every 8 oz of goats milk, whether tinner or reconstituted, add 1/3 dropper Avitron and 1/3 dope Avimin (available in pet supply stores).  Finally, add 1/4 tsp acidophilus culture and 1/4 tablet (crushed) papaya enzyme (these last ingredients are found in health food stores; acidophilus culture must be refrigerated). This formula is best after being refrigerated for at least an hour, but it can be warmed (in hot water or microwaved a few seconds in a dish, not in the nurser) and served immediately. The Nurser While you are purchasing the milk replacer, find a good nurser.  Most of these look like a baby bottle in miniature; I prefer the model with a pointy nipple.  Pierce the nipple with a large-gauge needle (heated with a match) or ask the veterinarian to prepare the nurser for you.  The nipple is constructed of tough stuff and is difficult to pierce; whatever you do do NOT cut the nipple with a knife or scissors, however tempted you may be — you may kill the kitten if you make the hole too large and flood its lungs. Other possible nursers are a 6-cc syringe or the king of squeeze bottle used to dispense droplet medication (ask your veterinarian or pharmacist). These do present some risk, as the formula must be forced into the kitten’s mouth, again increasing the risk of flooding the lungs.  Last choice is a dropper, the slowest of the slow, but better than nothing until you go out and buy a nurser. The Feeding Heat the formula (in hot water) until it is comfortably warm.  Test a stream on the inside of your wrist, first shaking the bottle to even out the temperature.  Within easy reach, set a rough washcloth, paper towel, and a box of tissue.  Also keep a cup of hot water nearby (but not where it could tip onto the kitten) to warm the nurser as needed.  Then lay an old towel, the fluffier the better, across your lap.  Hold the kitten belly-down, steadying and guiding the head to the nipple with the same hand that is holding the bottle.  (This is just my technique; you may find another that works best for you.) Try to center the nipple in the kitten’s mouth, over the tongue, and apply just enough pressure on the nurser to bead out a bit of formula on the nipple.  If this is not enough to induce the kitten to begin suckling, squeeze a tiny bit into its mouth and wait for it to swallow before (gently!) squeezing again.  This can be even trickier than it sounds, particularly if the kitten is desperately hungry. Convincing a frenzied kitten to slow down and suckle is no easy task. Another … read more »

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Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions 1. When do they get teeth 2. When do they start to poop on thier own 3. When can they ear cat food Please need anwsers to these questions

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> Got 6 kittens about 3 weeks old..questions > 1. When do they get teeth > 2. When do they start to poop on thier own > 3. When can they ear cat food > Please need anwsers to these questions

Sharon Talbert’s excellent article on caring for orphaned kittens is at:     http://campuscats.interscapes.com/articles/orphancare.html Do scroll down; information on toddlers (the age your kitties are at) is lower on the page. The first milk teeth should begin to appear between three and four weeks of age, starting with the incisors, followed by canines and premolars. The last premolar arrives around six weeks.  Kittens do not get molars until their adult teeth (one reason they often can’t handle dry food). Adult teeth will begin to come in between three and four months, and end at about seven months. They should be able to poop on their own in about another week, but I’d not really expect this to be reliable for another week after that.  Try introducing them to the box when they’re about four weeks old, but don’t put alot of litter in it because they will eat it, and don’t expect them to use it reliably for another week or two after that.  I always found that it was best to continue stimulation — then putting the kitten in the box — to six weeks of age, but then when I was fostering I usually got the fragile ones. I’d introduce them to *soft* kitten food — tinned — in about a week. Start them off with a little of the kitten food watered down with the formula into a weak gruel.  I’d usually just smear a little of it out of the dish — a large flat plate, so that it was hard to spill if a kit- ten stepped on it — on their lips.  Start out with offering this twice a day or so, in between nursings.  When they get the idea and start to eat more than they smear all over themselves (usually around five weeks of age), then you can begin switching them gradually off the bottle and onto the gruel, gradually reducing the liquid content of the gruel until they’re eating the kitten food full-strength, so to speak.  Do take your time, since trying to hurry it up usually only results in bad diarrhoea and stressed, sick kittens.  How long it takes depends on how quickly they get the concept. Stacy Scott

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