[acerlt]

I've sent you a private message

[Jim F]

Thank you for the words of kindness, Gail. It's been a lot of work but we keep plugging along and someday we will have them all vaccinated, spay/neutered and the kitty population here stabilized.
So sad about Tolly, that cancer is a heart breaker. I'm sure he had a very good life because he was lucky enough to be with a person that cares about cats the way you do.
Yes the abandoned kitten was from the feral cat, Kate. She was back yesterday at feeding time, came out of the kitty house where she had left the kitten. Her other kittens are still gone to where ever it was that she moved them too. I'm sure she abandoned the one kitten because it was sick and wouldn't have survived. Nature can be cruel but, at least in the wild, there wouldn't be any use in expending resources on a no-viable offspring. I'm hoping that we can get the eye infection cleared up soon and try to get baby reunited with mommy and siblings. Rather doubt she will accept it back after it had been away and smells of people and medicine, but would like to try. The kitten is taking in the replacement milk better now and the eye is looking to be much improved. Also able to get it to pass urine, didn't know about that but luckily the need and technique was printed on the label of the replacement milk container.
Jim

[kskat]

I just saw this, but read all the posts. Bless you and your wife!! If there were more people like you, we wouldn't have so many kitties running around!
I wondered about the male/female ratio when I rescued a litter of 5, all females!! One tabby, one calico and three gold and white. I only have one left, Buttercup is gold and white. Rose got hit by a car and Lily, Daisy, and Poppy disappeared last summer. I've never had so many disappear like that. Maybe one every couple of years, but last summer was horrible!
Anyway, I guess we have to accept nature when we take care of larger numbers. I have 15, probably small compared to you!

[acerlt]

Originally Posted by Jim F

Thank you for the words of kindness, Gail. It's been a lot of work but we keep plugging along and someday we will have them all vaccinated, spay/neutered and the kitty population here stabilized.
So sad about Tolly, that cancer is a heart breaker. I'm sure he had a very good life because he was lucky enough to be with a person that cares about cats the way you do.
Yes the abandoned kitten was from the feral cat, Kate. She was back yesterday at feeding time, came out of the kitty house where she had left the kitten. Her other kittens are still gone to where ever it was that she moved them too. I'm sure she abandoned the one kitten because it was sick and wouldn't have survived. Nature can be cruel but, at least in the wild, there wouldn't be any use in expending resources on a no-viable offspring. I'm hoping that we can get the eye infection cleared up soon and try to get baby reunited with mommy and siblings. Rather doubt she will accept it back after it had been away and smells of people and medicine, but would like to try. The kitten is taking in the replacement milk better now and the eye is looking to be much improved. Also able to get it to pass urine, didn't know about that but luckily the need and technique was printed on the label of the replacement milk container.
Jim

I'm by no means an expert on feral litters, but I would advise you to not try to return the kitten. The mother is likely to kill it. Keeping him/her inside, and raising her socialized from the beginning gives her a better chance at a safe loving forever home. Just think you can get her spayed at the right time and everything!

You will have to stimulate for poop too.

Keep us posted!

[cinderflower]

hi aunt kitty:

have you seen the greenie's pill pockets? i give my cats pills as infrequently as i can but they love those. i went with transdermal methimazole for diotima since i have to do it twice a day and that would be a lot of pills.

[Jim F]

Well, I guess we are never too old to learn. I didn't know that the mother may kill a kitten if we returned it, sure don't want to take a chance on that. I really didn't need another house kitty, we have plenty already but now it's starting to look like we'll have one more.
The kitten hasn't passed anything from it's bowels, I thought it was just because it was only drinking milk and didn't have anything to pass. How does one go about stimulating a two week old kitten to poop? Is there anything else you all can tell me to help give the little guy/girl a better chance to grow into a healthy cat? I think it's a little girl but, to tell the truth, I just can't tell on one so young.
Thank you for the kind words and advice
Jim

[acerlt]

The mother cat licks the kitten's bottom to stimulate the bowel and clean the poop away. So you need a very soft wash cloth (such as a baby cloth) or cotton balls. Dampen it with warm water, envision what it would feel like for the baby to have a mother's tongue licking it's bottom, and then emulate that with the cotton ball or wash cloth. In other words, little tongue strokes over the bottom (stroke toward the tail, away from the front area) to stimulate the poop. Formula is more than just water so there will be "solid" waste, though it won't be solid.

The reason I say the mother will kill the kitten is because she abandoned that baby to die because she was sick. Instinctively she can't risk the healthy ones, on trying to save a sick one. Now that the baby has been cared for by you, been to the vet, been fed formula, she no longer smells the same and the mother will not recognize it as her kitten. Since HER kittens are her main priority, she will either kill or abandon this one.

Perhaps you can find a good loving home for this baby, when she is old enough.

[Jim F]

Thanks Gail, I think the kitten will probably find a loving home real close to here, real, real close. I've never hand raised a baby kitten and neither has my wife, Judi and if we get through this I don't think we could give it away! I guess there is always room for one more.
I've been using a cotton ball and had been getting the kitten to empty it's bladder but hadn't got a bowel movement from it. I'm not too bright sometimes and it took me awhile to think of looking for something on the internet just for raising infant kitties. I found a couple of sites, one written by a vet and one by a feral cat rescue person. I tried some of the things suggested by them and it didn't seem to help so I took a break and just sat in my reclining chair with the kitten. Had the back reclined and baby was laying on my chest, pretending I was mommy and suckling on an imaginary mommy milk faucet. That was when the results of all the cotton ball bottom licking, tummy massage and back leg exercises, took hold and it quickly became time to change my shirt. The stool was well formed and probably too hard and there was maybe a little over an inch of it come out altogether. I think the little guy (or girl) needs to go some more but haven't been able to get any more from it. We gave it a tiny bit of hair-ball medicine as the vet that wrote the article suggested but still haven't got another a bowel movement. We are worried about it, there is so much we don't know. Like how much and how often baby kittens need to poop! The vet's office will be open tomorrow and I'll try to catch one of them before they go out to do whatever it is the cows need done this time of year. You said the "solid waste won't be solid" so I'm guessing the kitten is constipated. It's stool was pretty hard.
Thanks for the information, Gale.
Jim

[cinderflower]

i never raised an infant kitten but i know that human babies get constipated from store-bought formula as opposed to breast milk, because of the iron (or other things, probably).

i would imagine it's similar for kittens. whatever you feed it won't be as good as mother's milk but have no choice.

at least it's going some.

[acerlt]

Jim I laughed out loud about the kitten pooping on you! I'm glad you've found some expert advice on caring for the infant. Let us know what the vet says tomorrow.