Well, it looks like I'm a cat mommy again!

United States
July 11, 2007 7:04pm CST
Late last night a female cat apparently gave birth to her litter under our car and then abandoned the babies right away. We rescued one kitten and didn't find the other two until later this morning. We couldn't simply leave them outside. There was a dog circling the neighborhood and I am sure he was onto their scent. So, now I'm a cat mom again, for the fifth time. So, I was wondering, how do you take care of newborn kittens? We've been feeding them out of an eye-dropper. And, they seem to like that. But, they sleep a lot and still can't see. Would you have any suggestions on what a newborn kitten might need? What should I feed them? And, how often? We're going to be making an emergency run to the Walmart in a little bit, so I'd love to have my kitten care list compiled by then. Any help you could give would be much appreciated.
2 people like this
11 responses
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
19 Jul 07
I know I am a bit late on this but you can dilute Milk with warm water and feed them by Bottle or you can get special Kitten Milk from the Vet You have to do this every Hour as far as I know I do hope they are ok and well
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
12 Jul 07
Give them milk, the ones that are for cats and give them alittle many times a day. You seeem to be a very caring person coz this is alot of work and will mean a lack of sleep and so on =) Good job!
@timou87 (1638)
• Singapore
12 Jul 07
im not too sure if i can provide you with any useful information on what a newborn kitten might need, but all i can say is congratulations on being a cat mommy, and im sure you'll take great care of the dear kittens
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
12 Jul 07
Are you keeping an eye out for the mother? She may come back. We got one of our cats when he was only a few days old. At first we fed him with an eye dropper but in a matter of a few days he was eating regular cat food even though his eyes were still closed. One of the cats that was already here sort of took charge and showed him what to do as he grew. They are still best friens. Maybe one of your other cats will take over and teach the kittens.
@gr8life (6251)
• Malaysia
12 Jul 07
Hello beautyqueen26, This is the third responses I have made about cats tonight *smile* I never have a pet and so I don't really sure what to advise you on this. I came across your recent discussion about your cats just now and after a deep thought, I decided not to answer it as I didn't have anything to say. But as I saw this, I changed my mind *laugh* I only know about Friskies *smile* So I bet it is not a worth advice I can give *wink* By the way, your story about how cute they are, made me feel like wanting to have a pet right now LOL!
• China
12 Jul 07
You are a very warm-hearted person. But taking care of a baby cat is a very hard work. maybe you can look for a mother cat. I also took care of a baby cat last year. but she always dysentery when she drink the milk.
@sunshinecup (7871)
12 Jul 07
Look in the pets department at walmart and you will fine some can milk for kittens. That is what I always used. How often to feed them, I can't remember, but it may tell you on the milk lable. Keep them warm with blankets and don't forget to use a warm wash cloth to wipe their bottoms to encourage them to use the bathroom. That is the grosses part, yuk. That's all I can remeber for now....Good luck :oD
@Calais (10893)
• Australia
12 Jul 07
Good on you, you have a kind heart.... Their eyes will not open until about 10 days, just leave them and dont try and ply them open or touch them... Keep them warm of course, get some kitten formula, if you have done this before then you probably know how to toilet them, they will only sleep and eat at this stage anyway. Good Luck with it.
@Aurone (4755)
• United States
12 Jul 07
Here is a nifty site I found that tells all about how to take care of orphaned kittens. Hope this helps. http://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm
@ElicBxn (63252)
• United States
12 Jul 07
Oliver & his bottle - Baby Oliver - hes over 1 now
Actually you need to take the darlings to the vet & get the kitten replacement milk from them, its superiour to KMR. We raised Oliver on it & he did great. But you can get a kitten milk bottle at walmart probably.
@cynddvs (2948)
• United States
12 Jul 07
There is a special cat milk that you can find in the pet food section of most stores. I think it comes in a dry mix. You will just keep feeding the kittens every few hours with the eye dropper. And I would call a vet in the morning just to get a few tips from them. I had the same thing happen to me several years ago. I was working at a grocery store and some lady came in balling her eyes out holding this tiny little kitten. She didn't know what to feed it and she couldn't take it home because she had big dogs. She was begging anyone to take it. So I took it home with me. I called the 24 hour vet and they told me until the morning to get some kayo syrup and feed it that through a syringe. I was going to try to take care of it but they told me I would have to feed it every 3-4 hours. I was working full time and in school at that time so there was no way to had that kind of time. Luckily I found a really sweet lady that takes in small animals like that and she took care of him. She called me a few months later and told me he is a healthy sweet kitten and was doing fine.