Help? I've acquired a very young kitten?

[softplayfail]

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.

Yeah Ollie gets stuck in the carpet too I can hear when he needs them doing as he snags the carpet with every step!

Have only ever trimmed claws if they're continually getting caught in things. It's a trim, doesn't hinder their ability to jump etc - not like the horrific de-clawing done in the states.

I only clip Zara's left dewclaw because it sort of sticks out at an angle since she had her ankle fused.

Boycat's get stuck in things too - the throws on the sofa, my clothes, even on my bedding sometimes.

Softplayfail just a little thing while we're on the subject of claws. They do, as a pp said, shed the outer layer of the claw. So don't panic if you see what looks like a complete claw just lying around the house - if you look at it closely you can see that it's just the outer layer that's been shed (like snakes do their skins) and is actually hollow.

I clip my cats claws. He like to scrape his claws gently down my face to wake me up and when they're super pointy they've been known to make my face bleed.

I've just stumbled across this thread on a day when I could use a heart warming read.

I have 3 cats. They're very good for the soul.

OP, I hope the process of getting your second kitten goes smoothly... how exciting! 😁

Perhaps he's getting his own back for you cutting his claws

That very much depends on the mood!

Oh did the house check go op??

We passed!!!! We get to go to cats protection tomorrow and meet the little boy!

Wonderful. I love this thread, it's so uplifting. Thank you for bringing us along on your adventures.

Yayyy! Congratulations! Tomorrow is going to be awesome

This thread gets better every day 😍

Morning

Oh he has a teeny tiny collar! How cute!

I am so looking forward to hearing about your second kitten. :)

@WinterLobelia it's a kitten collar on the smallest setting and it's still a teeny bit big but essential so we can hear his bell. He's been stood on a couple of times and I definitely want to avoid that

Oh, look at him!

He is soooo pretty!

Congrats on the home visit, Mrs Im-not-a-pet-person!

Great news! Can't tell you how much I love this thread. It's such a joy to read.

@LeMoo she said and once again I quote 'everything seems good, you clearly know what you need for a kitten and are well prepared and knowledgeable'. 2 minutes cats protection lady while I dig this thread up and show you the fountain of my knowledge. Because like 3 weeks ago all I knew was cats meowed and thanks to Tom and Jerry was going to give him his weight in milk from the fridge. Instead I nodded and pretended I was the cat genius.

On a side note my husband has told me that when we argue and I tell him he's wrong he's going to use Peppa to point out my colossal wrongness

Oh my god! Fabulously cute.

did I miss his name?

i showed Peppa to mum in the hospital yesterday and she really likes him.

He was pouncing on my feet last night so I put him out of the bedroom. Not even 30 seconds of pitiful meowing outside the bedroom door was all it took for me to open the bedroom door and smother him in cuddles and kisses and tell him I would never abandon him

Then placed him on my husbands side to practice his pouncing

This reminds me of my first cats. I used to sneakily wiggle toes/fingers on my ex's side of the bed so he got pounced on.

😁 @softplayfail if ever there was a mn cat, I think peppa is it!

Have you thought about names for Kitten No 2? Does your dd know she's getting a second?

Poor little thing, bet he doesn't get put out the room again til he's bigger!

@SoupDragon I used to do the same lol

Can't wait til you have 2 kittens...and a Christmas tree

Love how excited you are for a ex non cat parent!

I have just googled cats at the RSPCA and Cat Protection near us. No kittens available right now. We have 2 adult cats who had a rough transition with each other when the second one arrived as an adult so think a kitten might be easier to integrate. Sigh. How much I would love a kitten. How much I love this thread!