Any hope for abandoned newborn kittens?

[MyGiantPony]

A friend has several feral cats in her barn. She traps for spay/neuter as she can, but it seems people dump them faster than she can catch up.

Anyway, a few days ago, one had a litter of 4. She took 2 off to hide but abandoned 2.

Friend is feeding milk replacement around the clock but not holding out much hope.

I’m calling a cat shelter tomorrow to see if they can take them. It’s a well funded private shelter with lots of cat expertise.

However, I wonder if they were abandoned because she knew there was something wrong? Or is that an old wives tale?

[NoDQhere]

Yes! Kittens are actually pretty easy to raise. Being carnivores they do not need colostrum, but do need to be raised on a milk replacer made for cats. Cats need taurine for eye development. I like KMR brand, most farm stores carry it. If your friend can get them sucking on a bottle they will only eat what they need. If she can get them to a week or so old, they will survive.

The hardest part is getting a decent hole in the nipple of those little pet nurser bottles you buy. I use a hot needle to burn a decent sized hole so when you hold the bottle upside down you get a slow drip. After you burn the hole through, really scrub the “burnt stuff” away and run a lot of water through it so it doesn’t taste off.

Always feed kittens (or puppies) on their tummies. I gently place my thumb and finger around their muzzle to steady their head. Then stick the nipple in their mouth and gently squeeze a bit of milk in. It can sometimes be hard to get them started so tell her to persist. Once they figure it out they will usually suck good.

I’ve always tried to feed newborns as often as possible (2 hours or so) but many kittens have survived fine with 3 or 4 feedings in a 24 hour period.

I think most kittens get abandoned because Mom gets frightened or is just young and inexperienced.

[OBXPony]

^^^ what they said! Also keep them warm! A hot water bottle under some fluffy towels or blankets. And do not forget tepid wet cotton balls to wipe their bottoms. All this will keep them alive and healthy.

[shayaalliard]

Agree with what’s been said already. I’ve raised several day or so old litters that were dropped off at our back door at the store, sans mom. Kittens are pretty easy. I use a stuffed animal with them for comfort, and get them on high end canned cat food as early as 3-4 weeks. They grow better and are easier to take care of once they make the swap.

[Chall]

Ah, finally someone posts about feeding on their tummies. All the cute pictures of people feeding baby animals on their backs seems so wrong. Quick way to get milk in their lungs. Feed them the way their mothers do, usually that’s with the baby on his tummy.

[oliverreed]

And tell her to make SURE she rubs their little anuses with warm moist cotton balls or they won’t poop and that will kill them. BTDT got the t shirt.

[MyGiantPony]

Thanks so much for the tips!

[khall]

I used syringes to “bottle” feed my two little tykes, eyes were not open yet when they came to me. I could not get them to latch onto the bottles, but had no issues with the syringes at all.

[emipou]

Kittens have such a high mortality rate that a lot of rescues won’t even take them in. It’s not worth all the work to raise them when so many of them just die. That’s what they’ve told me.

I’ve helped to raise feral kitten litters a couple times now. Feed the milk, keep them very warm and just hope for the best. The younger they are, the more likely they will be good pets, but the higher the mortality rate. Make sure they get daily baths in warm water with dried well, kept warm til dry. While washing them, use a wet towel to rub their little bottoms to encourage potty. Moms will lick down there to teach them how to go. They don’t just go on their own at first.

Make sure they have a heated pad or some sort of warmth in whatever box they are left in. They do not produce enough warmth when they are young to keep themselves warm on their own.

[oliverreed]

I raised one myself years ago. He got very ill as a tiny kitten, the vet pulled him through but it must have affected his heart. Lost him at age 7 to congestive heart failure. He was an awesome cat, thought I was his mother.

[NoDQhere]

A caution for heating pads. They can get too warm, so be very careful of them. Once the kittens are crawling you can leave them space where they can get off the heating pad, but newborns aren’t real mobile.

[TBROCKS]

[QUOTE=emipou;7702511]
Kittens have such a high mortality rate that a lot of rescues won’t even take them in. It’s not worth all the work to raise them when so many of them just die. That’s what they’ve told me.

I’ve helped to raise feral kitten litters a couple times now. Feed the milk, keep them very warm and just hope for the best. The younger they are, the more likely they will be good pets, but the higher the mortality rate. Make sure they get daily baths in warm water with dried well, kept warm til dry. While washing them, use a wet towel to rub their little bottoms to encourage potty. Moms will lick down there to teach them how to go. They don’t just go on their own at first.

Make sure they have a heated pad or some sort of warmth in whatever box they are left in. They do not produce enough warmth when they are young to keep themselves warm on their own.[/QUOTE]

I agree with all this from the BTDT perspective. It seems like they do really well or they tank in a hurry. We had major problems with kitten constipation. Apparently they need to be stimulated to produce a stool, we learned that the hard way. The KMR also doesn’t populate their gut with the proper flora. So that contributed to GI issues as well. If I had thought about it I would have looked into kitten probiotics. Just something to think about…

[Horsegal984]

I’ve raised so many newborns I’ve lost count. My personal fav is 50/50 KMR brand and goats milk(unpasteurized if you can find it). You also have to be a little rougher than you’d expect with stimulating them to poop, I use a finger on either side in a kind of pinching motion. Remember moms tongue is rough so you can be vigorous. Also, rice in socks makes GREAT warmies for cheap, just don’t overheat them or your kitchen and microwave will reek of burnt rice for days!

I’m hardcore with my babies, we all sleep through the night (6 hours) practically from the start and by 4 weeks those babies are on canned food slurry from a bowl! It’s like kitten bootcamp!

Here’s one other thing I’ve learned from working ER medicine. Dogs are a lot like horses, they will make anything possible go wrong. Cats however are more like cows, they’ll survive the worst odds just to spite us. Give the babies a chance, they just might surprise ya!

[GypsyQ]

I have one that was “abandoned” around a week old. Actually, stupid people stole the kittens from the nest because they didn’t see the mother. They fed the kitties whole cow’s milk for about a week before turning them in to the spca because they weren’t doing well. I fostered the sickliest. He is now two years old and full of himself.

He’s the fluffy one
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202397647606610&set=pb.1355767295.-2207520000.1407505000.&type=3&theater

[ChelseaR]

Definitely possible. I have had very good success rates raising very young litters.
KMR is good - I like the liquid kind that you get in cans rather than the powder to mix even though it is a bit more $$. Watch closely for gunky eyes and other URI signs as those can tank a little one very quickly.

My best helper was my very friendly Bassett hound who although spayed was very maternal licked them and took over the stool stimulation perfectly when they were very little and protected them very carefully from the other dog and my cats when they started to toddle around.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Everything said above – I’ve raised quite a few, including 6 of the 10 that are with me right now!

If you don’t have milk replacer, or run out, I’ve always had good luck with a very simple recipe: mix about 1 1/2 cup of regular milk with an egg yolk and a few drops of syrup to make it sweeter (my mom said it also helped with bowel movements, but I have no idea if that’s true or not!). Mix it together thoroughly and warm only as needed for feedings. All of my kittens have been raised on this and I’ve had no problems at all.

Warm but not too warm, feedings about every 2 hours, and for God’s sake, don’t overfeed! Some kittens don’t know when to stop and you will kill them if they take more than their stomachs can hold. Small, frequent feedings are best if you can do it.

[crosscreeksh]

FWIW…the rubber guard off the short end of a “blood drawing/vaccutainer needle” (sorry - not sure of the proper name) works great as a nipple!! (This from a vet friend!) Drop the rubber “teet” down into a 12 cc syringe and put the plunger into the syringe and push gently until the rubber teet comes through the end of the syringe. It will be expanded like a small balloon…make a hole with a hot needle as mentioned previously. I NEVER push milk into baby “anythings”…aspiration pneumonia is a killer… I gently drip the milk until I see them swallowing. Even a tiny kitten can suck milk out of the syringe/teet contraption. Good luck to your friend and her new family!!

[MyGiantPony]

Sadly neither made it. My friend does have a lot of experience with this, which I didn’t know. She did it all right, according to all the advice here, but no luck. There’s a momma cat in the barn that will nurse ANYONE’S kittens, and even she rejected these two, which prompted the in home attempt. No idea if the other 2 in the litter are ok. The mom took them off and hid them somewhere.

[anna_s_girl]

They may have just had something wrong with them. I once nursed an abandoned kitten who grew and thrived only to die of a heart defect at 3/4 months old.

[BasqueMom]

Am so sorry…have lost my fair share of bottle baby kittens although there is one sleeping on my lap as I type. DH named him Velcro and he’s pretty attached to his “momma.”

Most nipples that come with the nurser bottles are too hard and too stiff and almost impossible for a person to nurse from, much less a kitten. Have much better luck with squirrel nipples (cone shaped), softer material and if you need
more flow, can cut the tip off with small scissors (my needlepoint ones work prefectly).