Litter of kittens found..paging experts please!

[Cailleach]

Whilst out and about this afternoon I have found a litter of six kittens in a clump of ivy in the garden of a derelict house.

I estimate them to be about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks old. Their eyes are all open and they look in good shape, other than being totally filthy and riddled with fleas.

Being the soft stupid sod devoted cat lover I am I sat in the garden for three hours at a discreet distance from the nest and waited for the mother to return. Nada. So I packed them into my rucksack, brought them home via the vet (who kindly checked them over), gave them a bath (they were black-bright and stank of urine) and settled them in a box with a hot water bottle / towel.

I have kitten formula from the vet and have fed them about 3-4ml each from a syringe. They all fed well and promptly piddled all over me, which was encouraging, if a bit grim-smelling.

I know to feed them about that much every two hours, to rub their bellies to stimulate their bowels, to keep them warm etc etc. Is there anything else I need to do?

Yours, in anticipation of precious little sleep over the next few weeks,

C
x

[SerotoninCanEatTomorrow]

I just caught up with your kittens and am blatantly marking my place - I love kittens!

Well done to you for rescuing them, you wonderful woman

[Sparklingbrook]

at those pictures. They are beautiful.

Is all this costing you a fortune?

[QueenStromba]

Aw bless. They're beautiful.

[GerundTheBehemoth]

So gorgeous. They are going to be a right handful when they're a bit more grown-up

[cozietoesie]

Wonderful, Cailleach. How often are you having to feed them?

[DoctorTwo]

Wow, they're gorgeous.

[Cailleach]

Sparkling alas yes, and at a time when we can least afford it but I am aware of the pressures on cat rescues at the moment so am happy to help.

Cozie I was doing every two hours but the vet informed me yesterday that every three hours is probably better as they are more like 3 weeks old rather than the 2 weeks we originally thought they were: they're v. small for their age basically.

They are having a bath in half an hour or so which they will NOT like but hey ho, it has to be done!

[SnapespeareSong]

Place marking for kitten watch (& well done OP...& they re gorgeous!)

[Fluffycloudland77]

You realise you won't be able to let them be adopted because people you saw previously as responsible pet owners will start to look more like potential kitten murderers who won't look after little tabitha the way you did.

[cozietoesie]

Well if they're not squittering and growing well, it sounds as if they're doing fine. They certainly look like feisty little blighters. Quite adorable. (And presumably now also damp?)

[Corygal]

There's cute and then there's kittenz! Faintmakingly sweet and so beautifully marked - so many congratulations to you on being so lovely, OP.

So lovely you deserve a lovely batch of kittens never to leave you...

[Catmint]

Lovely pics, thanks for sharing.

[timtam23]

Oh my goodness they are just gorgeous!

Well done Cailleach

[Sparklingbrook]

How's Dudley now timtam? Another lucky kitten.

[timtam23]

Thanks for asking Sparkling, Dudley is doing really really well & is asleep on my lap at the moment, he also has a habit of sneaking under the duvet at night (none of my other cats have done this but am getting used to it!)
I have some lovely pics of him nestling up to old blind cat, will have to put them onto my profile

I have massive admiration for Cailleach though as we were so busy with just the one kitten and he didn't need handfeeding etc

[Cailleach]

Fluffy Nonsense! All prospective adoptees will need to do is to fill out a 246 page questionnaire on cat care and provide a minimum of 50 character references before they can get their unworthy paws on one of my precious littl... oh dear...

Cozie they now smell fresh and clean after their evening dip... they were getting a bit ripe before. Mum would of course keep them spotless 24/7 but I draw the line at licking them!

And yes 6 of them are a bit of a handful... and so LOUD! My ears are still ringing from the 10.30pm feed...

x

C

[BelleOfTheBorstal]

Soooo lovely. Very pleased that you found them. Good luck with the little bundles.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Don't forget the home check & credit search.

[sashh]

OP did you contact Cats' Protection? They might have a mum who needs kittens, it doesn't have to be their own mum.

[Cailleach]

Fluffy that goes without saying ;)

Sashh the kittens are doing very well so far so I think we'll be ok from here. They have been with me for a week tomorrow so moving them again / changing their diet might be too stressful for them. Nice idea though. :)

All are doing fine: the little black one has been nick-named Farah as he loves to run round the room at amazing speeds. The grey one, who is the noisiest, has lost her miaow through shouting at me so much and can now only emit a faint "peep." She seems a bit embarrassed by this...

More updates to follow.

[Cailleach]

Unfortunately we have a poorly kitten, folks. Took her to the vet just now who could find nothing wrong but she is very weak and lethargic :(

Am cuddling her now and trying to get some food down her. Keep her in your thoughts please.

The rest of the litter are just fine btw.

x

C

[SaskiaRembrandtWasFramed]

Oh no :( Keeping everything crossed for her!

[thecatneuterer]

Oh no. Are you syringe feeding?

[Fluffycloudland77]

Oh lord, poor little thing.

[Cailleach]

thecatneuterer this one i have fed via an eye dropper as she will not feed from a syringe. nor a bottle come to that!

she is on my lap sleeping now. her temp is fine, clear chest, no breathing probs like coughing / sneezing etc. very odd...vet was v nice, said all they would do if she was admitted was to keep her warm and get fluids into her, so i may as well take her home because i could do that just as well there.

she pointed out that they are v small and thin for their age and although they are gaining weight well now, this means that they were poorly nourished by mum from the start. so of course they are even more vulnerable than kittens would normally be at this age.

i am cream crackered!

x
C