Abandoned Kittens ? ?

[billt]

We were outside yesterday and Melanie heard sounds coming from inside one of the plants by the pool. There was a litter of abandoned kittens in it! The mother has evidently abandoned them, and was nowhere to be found. Before dark she retrieved them from the cold wet ground and put them in a box under the patio with a heating pad on "warm". I just checked and they are still alive and moving, but without food they're not going to last long.

Can you feed these things with baby formula and an eye dropper? Or do you need special formula for cats? She is going to call around today and see if a shelter will take them, but I don't know if they take animals that aren't weaned yet because of the constant care they need. One was already dead when she found the litter. We had very heavy rain here Sunday, and she thinks it might have drowned. The rest are still alive and kicking as I type this, (4:50 AM Phoenix time).  Bill T.

[MikeBjerum]

Baby formula will work ... Not perfect, but better than milk.  My wife used to use the milk replacer I had for the pigs, but most 7-11's don't carry that 

[ellis4538]

Check with a vet for what to use.  Our daughter successfully fed a stray with a bottle recently.  Be warned though, all of them will probably not make it no matter what you do.  Also, try putting a loud ticking clock in with them...almost like the mothers heart beat.

Good Luck.

FWIW

Richard

PS:  Spring is not a good time to try to give them to a shelter or whatever...we know that for a fact!

[red364]

Good luck with that . I did that once with one kitten and it was a little bit of work. The pet store or even wally world has replacement milk you can get to bottle feed 'em. Depending on how old they are she'll also have to "lick" them like mama does so they will go to the bathroom.   Lol,,,,,an old wash rag or paper towel works well for this.

[billt]

It seemed a little warmer and drier this morning, so at first light we put them back into the shrub. Within minutes they started crying, and the mother showed up, crawled into the shrub, (Natal Plum), and started nursing them! I think it will be much warmer today, so they just might have a chance. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and let nature take it's course. As long as she nurses them, I think they'll be OK.   Bill T.

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[Pathfinder]

It seemed a little warmer and drier this morning, so at first light we put them back into the shrub. Within minutes they started crying, and the mother showed up, crawled into the shrub, (Natal Plum), and started nursing them! I think it will be much warmer today, so they just might have a chance. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and let nature take it's course. As long as she nurses them, I think they'll be OK.   Bill T.

Halleluyah! Ain't Mother Nature great? She can be biyotch, but she is great as well. The babies should be well cared for now.

[billt]

Our back yard is walled in, but that's a double edged sword. It will keep stray dogs and other wild animals out, but they won't be able to jump the wall to get out if they survive. The other danger will be the pool. If they get to adventurous and fall in they'll drown. The mother must trust Sam, our Golden Retriever. He's outside a lot in this cool weather, but he doesn't bother the kittens or the mother.

I used to keep a piece of table tennis net hanging in the pool by the skimmer with a brick on the end. That way any lizards or mice that fell in would get carried toward the skimmer and they could crawl out. I doubt the kittens would have enough sense to do that. Especially if the pump isn't running.   Bill T.

[fightingquaker13]

Sounds like you're a softy for a right wing gun nut extremist bill. Seriously, petsmart has adoption days about twice a month for the "crazy cat/dog ladies of the US" etc. Maybe give them a call and see if there is a rescue group. I found a young, barely weaned kitten once. The thing couldn't have been more than 5-6 weeks old. The local no kill shelter said it had a 2 month waiting list. Bzzt! wrong answer. I got rid of her by sticking her in the game pocket of my Aussie oilskin coat. I reached in at the end of a debate I was hosting for the college while I was onstage and had the mike. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck (accompanied by a very cute little mew! (translation F you ). I then said "The python eats on wednesday, who wants her"? I have to say that if I were the type of prof who slept with his students, I could have had my pick. Needless to say, the cat was gone.
FQ13

[billt]

Sounds like you're a softy for a right wing gun nut extremist bill. FQ13

Not as much as I HATE cleaning dead lizards and field mice out of the skimmer basket! Once you've done it, you don't want to swim for a few days. A bit like cooling off your beer in the toilet bowl. I saw that in a biker movie once.      Bill T.

[ellis4538]

Have you found out how the mother gets in and out?  She would probably carry them out one at a time when ready.  We have had a stray kitten and an outside mature kitten turned inside kitten since June and it is a new experience for me at least since my wife had cats before I met her.

Richard