Luring a kitten

She was obviously taken from mom too young. I am now her new best friend/mom. She was crying and wanted in my lap so I could rub her head. Now she is trying to nurse my arm. I mean seriously trying to nurse. No milk in my arm but that does not slow her down. At first I thought she smelled the chicken from my lunch. No - she wants to nurse. She just ate a can and a half of Fancy Feast so she is not hungry. I hope she outgrows this.

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It’s comfort seeking. She’s stressed. Poor thing. She just needs time.

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Have you seen her drinking waterĀæ. Maybe she’s thirsty.
I’d probably cave and get some EMR and a bottle.

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There’s no reason why you couldn’t give her a bottle a couple of times per day. It might help her de-stress and she’s more likely to outgrow it quickly.

That said, Hammie nursed on my shirt sleeve until he was about 2, and I got him when he was about 7 weeks, maybe 8. He needed the comfort.

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She drinks water. I have no idea where to get a bottle. She sits in my lap now, purring and trying to nurse my arm. And if I pet her head she is even happier. She doesn’t want to be locked in the bathroom - she wants to hang with me and try to nurse. My arm is getting sore.

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Walmart sells kitten bottles and small cartons of formula for low prices. Google the method to teach her to suck on a bottle. Make sure she’s upright to avoid getting fluid in her lungs.

It’s a good way to comfort her and won’t last long.

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Petco, PetSmart, Walmart, Tractor Supply all have kitten bottles and milk replacer. Just warm the milk to room temperature or slightly warmer, cradle her to your chest with her head elevated, and she’ll catch on fast. She’s young enough still that some KMR will do her good.

You’ll also have to cut a hole in the nipple, for some reason, they don’t come with that feature!

To prevent her from munching and stabbing your arm, get a hand towel and wrap it around your arm, she can knead that instead of your skin. Keep the same one handy, it will smell familiar to her.

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Hard to get anything done when you are the momma cat.

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park her on your shoulder and walk around. See how it goes.

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Yes, that works. I had to do that with one tiny dumped baby .
She clung to my clothes, under my hair. Happy and safe .

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Check your grocery store. Sometimes they have bottles and formula for kittens in the pet section. Or have Chewy or Amazon send you one.

as far as the box goes, try a little foil cake pan with the litter of your choice topped by teh garden/potting soil. You may have to take her and put her in and make her little feet do digging motions. I had to teach a couple kittens to use the box that way. And the cake pan was small enough to contain them without being too overwhelming. And when you are done you can toss it.

and she has decided that she loooovveess you, she wants to keeeep you. :rofl:

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She still is not getting the litter box. Last night I locked her in the bathroom with her bed, litter box, water and food. She pooped in the shower. At least that was easy to clean up. She peed somewhere. Thought it was in the shower but I took a shower and I still smell ammonia. I fed her when I got up and immediately set her outside on the top step. She immediately pooped out there so I let her back in. I guess I need to take some litter out of the box and put some potting soil in, since she likes to use potting soil as her bathroom. I am OK with being the crazy cat lady but I don’t want to be the hoarder with animal feces in the house. I don’t know why the other cats came ā€œtrainedā€. I am sure their early home life was just as bad as hers.

TSC did not have either KMR or kitten bottles. They had ā€œcat milkā€ for grown cats and had bottles for puppies, goats, calfs, etc. but nothing small enough for her. The local Walmart did not have anything but I have seen the KMR in the large Walmart when i was not looking for it. Closer stores are not as large and well stocked. She does need to nurse something besides my arm - she really puts the suction in trying to find ā€œmilkā€.

Little Missy is heartbroken that this little ā€œthingā€ is taking over her spot as the baby with special privileges. She hates the kitten. She hisses but won’t hurt her - just posturing, Kitten stands her ground and is unperturbed. She is either all out playing or fast asleep. I think the Revolution has made a difference in her flea problem. Very little scratching and I did not see any fleas on her little tummy. She is about big enough to see a vet and get kitten shots and treatment for internal parasites, which I am sure she has.

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We got ours at TSC, they were on a side wall in little kits with the KMR but if it’s not there, it’s not there. I used a dropper that I had but she’s nursing you for comfort so a dropper won’t cut it.

Do you have rubber gloves and could you cut off a finger and modify it into a cat teat shaped thing? Either that or Amazon for the kitten bottle.

I had one that would nurse my earlobes. Can’t recommend that for long either. The vet might have something kicking around, be sure to ask, and good luck!

I don’t know how big your bathroom is, but it sounds like she still has too much space.

Do you have a dog crate that would give her room for her little litter box, a bed, and her food/water?

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A small syringe (sans needle)
Will work in a pinch.
Call around, some place must have them.
I always thought my tiniest dumped kitten, who stayed tiny her whole life, became a human biter due to being weaned too early. Thankfully she had a teeny mouth but those little teeth were wicked.

Each time she finishes eating take her to the litter box, manipulate her front paws in a digging motion in the litter… show her how to do it. Take some dirtied litter from other boxes and put it into hers, it helps if she can smell what she’s supposed to do. Definitely keep her in the bathroom at night with her litter box.

How tall are the litter box sides? A short sided box is best to litter train small kittens.

This will grow into a bad habit as she ages if you don’t stop it from happening. When she’s laying on you have a cooking spatula or a thin kitchen container lid, slip it between her mouth and whatever she’s trying to suck each time she attempts it. When she can’t make enough contact to suck she will eventually stop trying.

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OMG - she peed in the litterbox!!! She went in the bathroom by herself and I followed. She climbed in the box and peed!!! Did not cover it up but I am just so excited she used it. I wish I knew what kitty treats she likes but so far it is just Fancy Feast and she gets that every time she is hungry. That bathroom - well Nature’s Miracle has not delivered its miracle. I guess I need to scrub down the whole floor and not just where I think she peed.

And yes - I don’t think being her pacifier is such a good idea. She is a pretty happy kitty playing like a demon so I don’t think she is anywhere near as stressed as when she showed up.

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try temptations. My cats come running from the far corner of the house when they hear me rattle the cannister. I just recently saw they have them for kittens too.

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If you can catch her in the box, pat her gently on the head 3 times. No more, no less. I don’t know what it is about this but every kitten I have done this to has never ever soiled outside the box.

She sounds like so much fun. I love demon kitty energy and the silliness they get up to. She is probably so happy to be safe and loved. You know her name is either Floof or Emma, right? (Emma a naughty girl. Emma hard to catch, Emma good girl, Emma orphan, etc etc :rofl: :rofl:)

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I hate Nature’s Miracle. I love Angry Orange. I have a semi-feral cat the other cats were blocking from the litter box. She peed on both my less than 1 year old couches. Angry Orange rescued them. Great for general floor cleaning.

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