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

Aww, poor kitten. And poor you! Hope things improve soon.

Could you put her down your top? She might find your heart beat comforting.

Fingers crossed for the poorly little one x

Yes - put her down your top. Or take her off for a snooze with you. (With a towel underneath in case of accidents.) Poor wee stick. Sending lots of love to her.

I hope she's going to be ok - give her some cuddles for me.

Poor little thing, I hope she recovers.

Definitely try skin-to-skin if you can, it's recommended for human babies as well!

How's she doing, Cailleach ?

Slightly perkier...she's done two massive poos whilst sitting on me, so things must be moving inside her. She is still lethargic so I am keeping her warm on my knee with a hot water bottle next to her. I'm feeding her on sugar water, plain water and small feeds of milk on a frequent basis; the vet advised me to get fluids into her no matter what.

I think she's just had a bad start and not caught up and now it's overwhelmed her. She's always been the only poor feeder in the bunch: she literally slap-fights the eye dropper and growls and gets aggressive whilst being fed. She also swallows poorly. She's bloody hard work! In other words, she's a cat!

I am going to be up all night with her I think....More grey hairs incoming!

Being full of poo won't have helped her, it can make humans feel quite unwell.

Is she the runt of the litter?

Lovely kittens - I love tabbies!

Two poos is good - it will stop her bunging up inside. And Yes - getting liquid into her is critical, wee lass. Have you tried a kitten bottle and trying to adjust the teat holes? She may be ultra fussy about what she's drinking from.

I think you won't have much sleep either. Sometimes, constant love and attention is all that keeps the real poorly ones from drifting away.

Best of luck

Oh bless you for doing such a fantastic job Cailleach. I have everything crossed for the poorliest kitten.

And who is looking after you?

Fluffy no, the runt of the litter is one of the silver tabbies... who is also a bit quiet at the moment but then she's been that way since we got her really.

Mintyy Just me here tonight. Well, me and eight cats, anyway... the kids are at a sleepover and The Bloke has gone to his grans as she's just got out of hospital this evening.

Cozie she has refused to feed from a bottle, even though I cut a couple of holes in the teat to try different sizes. So the eye-dropper it is then!

I think I'll be catnapping in this chair all night. Just forced another few mls of water into poorly kitten... will try a small amount of milk soon as well.

I'll probably be up for a while if you want some company. You must be fretting madly - I'm terrified for the poor kitten and I've not even met her.

waves blearily to Stromba Yes am very concerned... just have to wait and see I suppose... She is such a sweet little thing, I am fond of them all already...

\link{http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-care/hand-rearing-kittens\See the bit} about getting the milk into them - it's down aways but very useful. Just in case you cut holes which were the wrong size.

Just to let you know - My Darling Oneago was abandoned by his Mom at a day old and he made it - although I think his breeder had to go for a month's sleep afterwards.

Small mercies anyway - you haven't got the kids doing a 'MUMMY, MUMMY.....' as well.

Has she got a name yet?

Cozie thanks for that, it's a useful page :) I am going to feed them a bit of milk now then try to have a brief nap... so if I go quiet for a bit that's why.

No, I haven't named them... yet :)

Yes - hope you get some sleep. Take her with you if you're concerned and let her sleep in the crook of your arm.

Might be worth sending someone to get full supplies of teats/milk from the vet in the morning because they'll likely only be open tomorrow morning.

I hope you get a nice bit of sleep. Our girl is 16 and can be rather demanding of attention when we're trying to sleep so I can't even imagine how bad six three week old kittens would be! Definitely stick the poorly one down your top if you can - the warmth and the sound of your heartbeat should do her good.

.

Did she make it through the night?

Hello!

We have good news and bad news: the good news is that the one who was poorly last night is now a bit perkier and is eating, although she isn't too enthusiastic about it and I am basically having to force her to do so. She has a long way to go I think, but I will persist.

The bad news is that the runt of the litter, one of the silver tabbies, is now very unwell and is almost comatose. I am doing the same thing as I did with the grey and white one, sugar water and other fluids on an hourly basis, and lots of cuddles (she is currently wrapped in a sock and stuffed into my bra!)

I have set up a kitty intensive care unit consisting of my gran's old knitting bag, a hot water bottle, a towel and a fluffy scarf and have zipped them up in that and put them on my bed...I have left an air hole in the zipper, obviously.

The little black one is suddenly a bit quiet as well... I am hoping he's just overeaten this morning as he is a greedy little sod!

Yours wearily,

C
x

Cailleach you're doing an amazing job. Here's hoping they all pull through.

You're doing a grand job, fingers crossed for the poorly ones.