Orphaned kittens. How much to feed please

RedneckWoman · #1 06/17/05, 01:16 PM

Ok folks try not to flame me too much here k. I walked out ot get the mail this morning and found three kittens in a little clump of weeds by the road. There was a female cat that I assume was their momma about five feet from there that had been hit by a car. Anyway, I brought them back here and they are snoozing in a box of hay.I have a replacer that I had around for rabbits but the box says it can also be given to kittens. It doesn't say how much to give though. These guys don't look to be very old, they have very little hair and their eyes are still closed. So, can anyone tell me how much and how often to feed them?

TYIA.

CraftyDiva · #2 06/17/05, 01:22 PM

A Google will bring up all kinds of info. Here's just one...........
http://petcaretips.net/orphaned_kitten_care.html

Snowdancer · #3 06/17/05, 01:23 PM

Here's another with the approx cc's the kittens need per week of age as well as the other tips when working with newborn orphans.

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html

Crafty Diva, you're right,there was so many sites listed it was hard to pick one!

mamalisa · #4 06/17/05, 01:23 PM

Call your vet. Often, they have mamacats who will foster, and believe me, it is much easier.

**Cabin Fever** · #5 06/17/05, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Orphaned kittens. How much to feed?

I suppose I could eat two if they were prepared Szechwan style....

CraftyDiva · #6 06/17/05, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamalisa

Call your vet. Often, they have mamacats who will foster, and believe me, it is much easier.

Have to agree with this, feeding 3 kittens every 2 hours will knock you out fast.
Also try a shelter for a foster mom as well.

RedneckWoman · #7 06/17/05, 01:40 PM

Thanks everyone.

apirlawz · #8 06/17/05, 01:59 PM

I was in the exact situation about 2 weeks ago. I bottlefed them as much kitten milk replacer as they would eat 3 times a week, roughly 8 hours appart.

When I found them, mama had been gone for a while. Of the five, three were really weak, and two were not too bad. The three weak ones did eventually die, I was never able to get them to eat very much, I think they were probably too far gone by the time I found them.

I think they are about 4-5 weeks old now, and I've been mixing in kitten food with the milk, and giving them fresh water. They eat like crazy...their little tummies get so big they waddle!

They are going to make great pets for someone, but I don't think they will be very useful farm cats, no mama to teach them to hunt.

Good luck!

NURSESTACY73 · #9 06/17/05, 02:10 PM

I have been raising some orphaned puppies for a week now and it has been so rewarding. I didn't know about the idea of foster moms for animals, but I'm glad to know it now in case there is ever a need again in the future.

Good luck with your kittens!

Grandmotherbear · #10 06/17/05, 02:54 PM

Don't forget to wash their genital area with a warm washcloth after each feeding to stimulate ellimination. I read somewhere a general rule of thumb for feeding orphan animals is enough to make their little tummies like soft boiled eggs. If they get to the hardboiled egg stage they have definitely eaten too much and may vomit or have diarrhea.

GoldenMom · #11 06/17/05, 02:56 PM

[QUOTE=apirlawz]They are going to make great pets for someone, but I don't think they will be very useful farm cats, no mama to teach them to hunt. [QUOTE]

A lot of it is instinct. One of my barn kitties was "stolen" from his feral mom at about 5-6 weeks of age to be socialized. He was an only barn cat until I added another very young kitty. Now he is quite the assassin at 9 months of age!!!!!

CraftyDiva · #12 06/17/05, 03:41 PM

I just had a thought (rare occurance

)

Not that you need any more work but, check the other side of the road. Momma may have been moving her litter when she was hit, could be a few more orphanes on the other side.

Quint · #13 06/18/05, 01:08 AM

I found that most of it is instinctual. My best mouser was raised on a doll bottle and had never even seen his mother. He sure didn't need to be "taught" to hunt mice.

I've always just fed mine milk until their bellies got sorta hard. Takes some dedication to do it though.

Ravenlost · #14 06/18/05, 08:30 AM

Fostering is a good idea. We once had an English Springer Spaniel with pups who accepted an orphaned kitten! And I have a cat who was fostered when his mom got run over by a car. Also have a cat who was found out in a field alone when she was very tiny (only 4 oz). The cats had been abandoned and she was the only survivor. She is a great mouser and never had a mom to teach her.

Good luck. I hope it all works out well.