Newborn Kitten Problem

[Castel]

As I was entering back home after going to my evening martial arts(and crafts) lessons, I heard some loud meowing coming from somewhere outside my house, the same meowing I had heard today around 3:00am before I went to bed, so I went outside to check where it was coming home. When I noticed the sound wasn't coming from the outside, but from the inside of my garage I searched around until I found a newborn kitten, smaller than my extended hand, rolling around at the bottom of some stairs where we store some stuff.
I grabbed the kitten with a piece of clothe and brought it inside the house to check if it was injured or anything, and my sister tried to feed it warm milk with a clean eyedrop bottle, but it didn't drink any.

After checking it wasn't injured, my sister suggested I left him back were I found it, in case the mother was still around and only left for a while (by the way, you can still see the mess left from the cat giving birth, so I suppose it can't be more than a day or 2 old), so I left him back there in a litter with some clothes to keep it warm.

Anyway, after all that, my question is: How long could a kitten survive without its mother? and: Should I take the kitten in, or wait until tomorrow morning, and then contact a vet or something? (it is 11:50pm as I write this)

[UncleWolf]

As I was entering back home after going to my evening martial arts(and crafts) lessons, I heard some loud meowing coming from somewhere outside my house, the same meowing I had heard today around 3:00am before I went to bed, so I went outside to check where it was coming home. When I noticed the sound wasn't coming from the outside, but from the inside of my garage I searched around until I found a newborn kitten, smaller than my extended hand, rolling around at the bottom of some stairs where we store some stuff.
I grabbed the kitten with a piece of clothe and brought it inside the house to check if it was injured or anything, and my sister tried to feed it warm milk with a clean eyedrop bottle, but it didn't drink any.

After checking it wasn't injured, my sister suggested I left him back were I found it, in case the mother was still around and only left for a while (by the way, you can still see the mess left from the cat giving birth, so I suppose it can't be more than a day or 2 old), so I left him back there in a litter with some clothes to keep it warm.

Anyway, after all that, my question is: How long could a kitten survive without its mother? and: Should I take the kitten in, or wait until tomorrow morning, and then contact a vet or something? (it is 11:50pm as I write this)

Not very long. They lose body heat way too fast. At most I'd say 12 hours if it is in a warm area and 5 hours at most if cooler than 70 degrees. Your best bet is to take it in and keep it warm.

Even then, there isn't much chance it'll make it.

[bluewind95]

Contact a vet ASAP. It's VERY hard to keep a kitten alive. What's the kitten's condition? Is it dirty? If it's dirty, then I don't think its mother is around... perhaps someone just dumped the poor kitten there (it does happen... it's horrible...). Do NOT feed the kitten cow milk. Cats are lactose-intolerant for the most part, and if fed with that, the kitten will starve to death. Vet stores sell cat milk, and I'm pretty sure pet stores do too. You can feed the kitten that. Make sure the kitten is warm and comfortable, and make sure it's got no.... maggot eggs...

Also, a kitten that young needs special stimulation to go to the bathroom. A mother would, well, lick it. For you... a Q-tip with a bit of warm water and gently massage the kitten so that it can go to the bathroom. Otherwise... the constipation and full bladder will kill it.

[Castel]

Its fur was all sticky, does that count as dirty?

And It couldn't have been dropped in there (at least not by a person) since the garage is behind a huge metal door.

[bluewind95]

... No cat mother would leave a newborn that way. The FIRST thing they do is lick that gunk off. I have a feeling someone caught a cat giving birth in their property and decided to get rid of the "problem". Make sure there are no fly eggs stuck to the cat's fur (whitish round things..) Because if they are... you need to take it to the vet as an EMERGENCY. Otherwise... the kitten will die a HORRIFYING death. If after cleaning it (with a warm, moist cloth), it's still dirty.... vet. ASAP.


Edit: But in that case... how did you get to the kitten?
Edit 2: My reading skills at this hour seem to be rather... bad. Then it seems that something may have happened to the mother cat. Because... again, no mother cat would have left a newborn kitten in that condition.

[Castel]

Here is a picture of the kitten right now:

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq165/Webax/001.jpg
The mother cat mightve been scared by my sister when she got here yesterday around 2:30, thats my best guess.

[UncleWolf]

By the picture, I'd say that it was abandoned. There is no way that the mother would have left it otherwise.

[bluewind95]

Thankfully, it seems the kitten is not infested with maggot eggs. But yes... looks definitely abandoned. Poor thing...

Again... first thing is to warm it. Lots. Do you have a source of heat that's not all THAT high? (heater, but not turned up to max... something like that?). Even as adults, cats tend to seek very warm places, and the kitten is going to need a lot of that. It's also going to need to be fed often. Again... no cow milk. You live in Mexico, yes? At least where I live, pet stores are a bit.. scarce. But HEB sells milk from Whiska's brand, and I think Wal-mart and other such places carry that too. A vet would be the best bet to get a whole kit, complete with the newborn kitten formula and baby bottles. If you get a toy baby bottle, that would work too (with a pin to make the hole), and probably better than an eyedropper, unless it has a very small opening. The general plastic ones won't do you much good. I know they used to sell toy baby bottles with bubblegum... though I dunno if they even make them anymore. Try, maybe, a smooth plastic bag with a tiny hole in one edge (with a pin) if the kitten finds the eyedropper too big?

[Castel]

Well, a friend managed to find me a vet close to my place, so now ill be going to take the kitten there. Thanks all for your help. :smallsmile:

[bluewind95]

Best of luck! I hope the kitten makes it. It's a very cute little thing.

[Moofaa]

I would reccomend taking it to the vet ASAP for immediate care, as well as tips on keeping it healthy if you want to keep it.

Clean it off, if its cold where your at fly eggs probably won't be an issue this time of year, but dirt and germs certainly are just as dangerous.

Keep it warm, they lose body heat fast. As mentioned cow milk is bad for them,

You mentioned leaving litter near it, so I imagine you already own at least one other cat.

Keep the kitten away! Its not unusual for male adult cats to feel threatened and kill kittens. On top of that the kitten and its mother could be carrying Leukemia or AIDs, both of which are very common in cats, not to mention other diseases (upper respiratory disease is running rampant right now, we curently have 3 cats infected with it, at least one won't make it). Don't expose your other kitties to it until it has been tested (which means waiting about 3-4 months, as it takes that long for leukemia to be detected). Oh, and the feline version of those diseases aren't communicable to humans, so your safe.

Outdoor cats are very succeptible to a range of feline diseases as mentioned above. We had 24 rescued cats, and are down to 16(soon 15 :-( ... over the past 5 years, many of them lost to diseases contacted from strays because many A-holes out there won't take care of their pets.. (We have 9 indoor cats, and can't manage anymore inside the house, even though we hate having to leave some outside). Outdoor cats also are VERY expensive to keep vaccinated, and its no garauntee they won't catch something.

Another myth to dispell since there are probably some cat owners reading this, is that fish, particulary Tuna, is actually toxic to cats. Most cat-foods that contain tuna are specially formulated in a way to avoid problems, but I wouldnt reccommend giving them fresh fish or tuna you buy for yourself.

Hope this helps and you have many years of happiness with your new furball!

[thubby]

a very simple way to keep it warm is a hot water bottle filled with relatively warm water wrapped in a towel.

do keep us posted.

[Castel]

I just got back from the vet, and it looks like I have a new Pet :smallsmile:

He said the kitten was probably abandoned by the mother while she was carrying the rest of the litter somewhere else, and probably forgot (the apparently) her.

I dont have any other pets, so I guess she's safe from catching any diseases that way for now.

And thanks for the tips on keeping her warm, im doing the bottle thing just now.

If any of you guys have any other tips on taking care of a newborn kitten, id be happy to hear them. :smallsmile:

@v: any help is appreciated :smallbiggrin:

[Tempest Fennac]

I can't give you any care advice, but I've had some success with sending Reiki to animals over the internet if anything else happens.

[Fostire]

yay for kitties. :smallbiggrin:

I think everything has been said already, but just in case...
It would be really unlikely for a cat to have only one kitten and cats are very defensive of their offspring so it's unlikely that the mother would have been scared off. As the vet said, the most possible theory is that the mother moved the rest of the litter elsewhere and either forgot or abandoned this one (one of my cats used to do this to one of her kittens, I think it was because it was missing a leg)

Keep a close eye on it on the first couple of days, without it's mother's milk it will be quite vulnerable to diseases.

[UncleWolf]

yay for kitties. :smallbiggrin:

I think everything has been said already, but just in case...
It would be really unlikely for a cat to have only one kitten and cats are very defensive of their offspring so it's unlikely that the mother would have been scared off. As the vet said, the most possible theory is that the mother moved the rest of the litter elsewhere and either forgot or abandoned this one (one of my cats used to do this to one of her kittens, I think it was because it was missing a leg)

It is also possible that the mother is older and has had several litters. If this is the case, she won't care as much.

It sucks, but it happens.

[Castel]

In case any of you where left curious about the fate of the kitten, I finally found it a good place, where it will hopefully be healthier and happier. (in case you wanna read the full, or a more wordy story, it is in my blog (http://fecastel.wordpress.com/).)

Again, let me thank you all for your advices and tips. :smallsmile:

[bluewind95]

I was indeed curious about the little thing. I'm glad you found it a home, but it's kind of a shame you didn't get to keep it. Hand-raising a pet must be quite an experience!

Still... it's quite something that you managed to keep the little creature alive for an entire week! You make a good cat-parent!

[Tempest Fennac]

At least it survived. Could you visit the kitten in the future?

[thubby]

awe, no new kitten in the playground? :smallfrown:

well, I'm glad it's ok and has a good home. :smallwink:

[Serpentine]

Keep the kitten away! Its not unusual for male adult cats to feel threatened and kill kittens. On top of that the kitten and its mother could be carrying Leukemia or AIDs, both of which are very common in cats, not to mention other diseases (upper respiratory disease is running rampant right now, we curently have 3 cats infected with it, at least one won't make it). Don't expose your other kitties to it until it has been tested (which means waiting about 3-4 months, as it takes that long for leukemia to be detected). Oh, and the feline version of those diseases aren't communicable to humans, so your safe.I know cats can get AIDS (and anorexia, incidentally), and I'm not surprised about leukemia, but somehow I doubt that leukemia is contagious, unless it has a pathogenic cause :smallconfused:

Another myth to dispell since there are probably some cat owners reading this, is that fish, particulary Tuna, is actually toxic to cats. Most cat-foods that contain tuna are specially formulated in a way to avoid problems, but I wouldnt reccommend giving them fresh fish or tuna you buy for yourself.I also find it very hard to believe that fish would be toxic to cats. Maybe unhealthy, but still. Source?

[Castel]

At least it survived. Could you visit the kitten in the future?

I'll definitely try to visit hir.
At least until its big enough to go to a new home.