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Original poster

Help? I've acquired a very young kitten?

962 replies

softplayfail · 20/10/2022 16:21

We've had a female cat visiting in the garden for about 7 months. We actually thought she belonged to someone but we discovered she had no home and was a stray. We were planning on catching her a couple of months ago but she disappeared. Anyway she reappeared and had a litter in my garden. Well I say litter. One kitten. Numerous attempts to catch her have all failed. She was happy to take food from anyone but would never let us touch her

Mum cat was found dead on the side of the road this morning. I feel so guilty as it is.

Anyway I've got the kitten inside. It's pissing it down. He's soaked. At a guess I'd say he's at most 6 weeks. He's been eating the food we've left for mum. He fits in the palm of my hand. I know nothing about cats really. Especially one this small

So I've booked him into the vets tomorrow. Earliest appointment

I have a 2 year old and a husband in bed from an appendicitis emergency.
So I'm on my own really

So questions
What do I do?
What do I feed him?
I've dried him with a towel and he's now all fuzzy but he's screaming murder

My 2 year old won't leave him alone but I can't split them cos she can't be left alone and he's like a tiny little thing. Any suggestions? Could I put him in a box for now? Just so he can sleep without being poked

Ok I don't know what to do.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
73
GonnaGetGoingReturns · 02/11/2022 13:10

softplayfail · 02/11/2022 09:12

3 weeks ago I didn't even want one cat. I don't need another one..he's enough of a handful.
He's currently fast asleep now. Must be so hard being a kitten

I know you say you don't want another cat but there are lots of unwanted cats - ranging from elderly to younger at various cat rescue centres around the country. Peppa might love a companion.

Lots of people move and leave cats behind...! Or during lockdown/covid got cats and then decided to not want them anymore. Or an elderly person will go into hospital/care home and people forget or don't want to deal with the cat.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 02/11/2022 13:08

iloveeverykindofcat · 02/11/2022 06:10

One of mine was like a slinky when she when she was a teenager. So lanky and when she stretched she went on forever. She's an Abyssinian cross and has the Oriental body type. My mum has never had a cat and was telling me to feed her more. She was free fed! She still is. She was like a piece of string until she was 2, then she filled out a little bit.

My old cat who was half chocolate point and half Snowshoe Siamese was very long in both legs and body - he looked like a half moon when he was at full stretch. His mum was the posh breed, dad plain old common black moggy!

He loved to stretch this way and that to show off his back etc and was excellent at jumping and was very active.

iloveeverykindofcat · 02/11/2022 11:35

He doesn't look real. He's like a toy. So tiny still! I bet he's growing though. One day you'll wake up and he'll have stretched out overnight.

ilukp · 02/11/2022 10:29

He is just so cute. It's ridiculous!

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/11/2022 09:55

softplayfail · 02/11/2022 09:12

3 weeks ago I didn't even want one cat. I don't need another one..he's enough of a handful.
He's currently fast asleep now. Must be so hard being a kitten

Ah - but when you have two, they play with each other and wear each other out.
Photo enclosed of two of mine when they were about 9 weeks old.

Help? I've acquired a very young kitten?
MidnightConstellation · 02/11/2022 09:15

Just want to say how beautiful Peppa is!

Original poster
softplayfail · 02/11/2022 09:12

3 weeks ago I didn't even want one cat. I don't need another one..he's enough of a handful.
He's currently fast asleep now. Must be so hard being a kitten

OP posts:
Soubriquet · 02/11/2022 07:56

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/11/2022 07:43

@softplayfail
When are you going to get Peppa a playmate?
😼😼

So two of them can race around the house catching spiders and waking her up at 3am?!

LeMoo · 02/11/2022 07:50

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/11/2022 07:43

@softplayfail
When are you going to get Peppa a playmate?
😼😼

Ha! I was wondering this last night!

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/11/2022 07:43

@softplayfail
When are you going to get Peppa a playmate?
😼😼

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 02/11/2022 07:33

softplayfail · 02/11/2022 07:32

Oh please play with me even though its 3 am and your exhausted

Perfectly reasonable request.

Original poster
softplayfail · 02/11/2022 07:32

Oh please play with me even though its 3 am and your exhausted

Help? I've acquired a very young kitten?
OP posts:
iloveeverykindofcat · 02/11/2022 06:10

One of mine was like a slinky when she when she was a teenager. So lanky and when she stretched she went on forever. She's an Abyssinian cross and has the Oriental body type. My mum has never had a cat and was telling me to feed her more. She was free fed! She still is. She was like a piece of string until she was 2, then she filled out a little bit.

Original poster
softplayfail · 02/11/2022 03:08

It's 3 08 and guess who's wide awake wanting to play

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 01/11/2022 22:22

@softplayfail just wait till you have 2 adult cats sharing your pillow. I know my place!

Blowyourowntrumpet · 01/11/2022 21:04

My old cat once came in with a mouse tail hanging out of her mouth 🤢
Clever Peppa for catching the spider 😻

Loveatortie · 01/11/2022 20:41

I am currently sitting on the edge of the sofa as our little cat is streching out slowly behind me,the dog is sympathetically lyingon the floor with his head on my feet. Dh has brought me a glass of wine as I'm busy.

Loveatortie · 01/11/2022 19:26

That had me proper laughing🤣🤣

NeverDropYourMooncup · 01/11/2022 19:21

The 'Ack-ack' noise is 'there's a bird and I want to kill it and eat half of it before leaving you a mangled wing and some guts just where you put your feet when watching telly, but there's a sodding pane of solid air in the way'.

Long Cats are Very Long, though. Usually to be seen when there's one person out of the two that are supposed to be in the bed - with a big, smug grin on their face as they do it, as they know you are going to feel really guilty about swirling them back up into standard cat size and seriously consider trying to curl around them and perch on the edge of the bed for the next three hours. My DTwatCat can extend to around four foot nine and three quarters of a five foot wide bed in the 45 seconds it takes for DP to take his socks off. And he'll still stretch a little bit more when DP realises his side is now fully occupied.

LeMoo · 01/11/2022 19:07

@softplayfail I'm still working that one put myself

OrangePumpkinLobelia · 01/11/2022 18:45

We have a super king sized bed mainly bought for the cats in order for them to share with us. We often wonder how one single cat manages to take up nearly all the bed.

(But yesterday it never occurred to me for a second to wonder why I went in early afternoon to turn on the electric blanket for them).

Happy cats. Less happy when we wanted them to budge up a bit later that evening.

Original poster
softplayfail · 01/11/2022 18:41

@LeMoo I have about one tenth of the pillow and he spreads out his entire body onto the rest while making purring snuffly noises. I got up to go to the toilet this morning and he'd spread out across my entire bed..how does something that doesn't even weigh a kilo yet take up so much space

OP posts:
LeMoo · 01/11/2022 18:39

softplayfail · 01/11/2022 18:27

@LeMoo I praised him thru gritted teeth.

Why does he sit on the windowsill and like grind his teeth and make a chattering noise?

Ah, I love it when they do that :)

No idea why they do it but they do it when they excitedly want to hunt whatever they're looking at. Usually birds here.

Does he still sleep on your pillow? Or is it his pillow now?

Toddlerteaplease · 01/11/2022 18:38

@BuryingAcorns read the full thread. It will warm the cockles of your heart!

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 01/11/2022 18:34

The chattering is "Something interesting I Spy"

Our cats bring in earthworns - half , whole , live , dead .
And leave then on the hall carpet .

Nice
I do say "Aww thanks Cats" as I scoop it up (live ones go outside , dead ones in the bin)