[Discobanditt]

Hello all! I recently adopted a rescued kitten. A friend of ours found her outside, and we estimate she is about 6 weeks old. The earliest vet appointment I could get for her was next Thursday, so I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants here. Some help would be lovely.

For starters, she has fleas. I looked online and found out that flea shampoo/medication shouldn't be used on kittens. I did find out that bathing them in Dawn and warm water followed by a flea comb is a good method. I tried this last night and got some of them off, but I know there are still some left. Any other ideas?

Secondly, I wasn't sure what to feed her. My friend simply gave her dry cat food moistened with water for a few days (they didn't have anything else). Today I picked up a bag of Science Diet dry kitten food and moistened it with a small amount of milk replacer. I also have some canned kitten food, but I wasn't sure how much to give her.

Lastly, I have her quarantined in my bathroom since I have another adult cat. I expect she will be in there until she is cleared by the vet on Thursday. I have everything she needs- bed, blanket, water, food, litter box, some toys, and a hideaway. I have been in there a lot cuddling and playing with her (she is VERY active!). My question is this: if she has some illness that I won't find out about until Thursday, can she infect my other cat through me?

Thanks for your help guys! Since tomorrow is the 4th, my vet is closed, so I can't call them.

I'm worried about my little girl, since I've never raised a kitten by myself before.

 

[sequoia]

It sounds like you're doing a good job. This site has a lot of good advice and answers your questions. Good luck with her

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

 

[zirpkatze]

how's her poop? if it looks healthy just keep feeding her what you're feeding her at least til you can see the vet. she'll eat a lot but i can't think of a number of how much to feed a kitten. you should probably give her 4 meals per day. is she readily eating the food you give her?

yes, you can pass things to your adult cat, especially parasites. wash your hands after you handle the kitten and i recommend using a designated set of clothes if the kitten comes in contact with your clothes. i've brought home ringworm on my clothes once and passed it on to one of my cats

 

[rabid_child]

Kittens can eat as much as they want. Wet food is probably easier than dry, and Science Diet is absolute crap quality food. The first 5 ingredients in Science Diet kitten food are: Chicken By-Product Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Animal Fat, Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice. You should look for a food that has meat as the first ingredient, and corn NOWHERE on the ingredients list. It's a cheap filler. Be sure to leave out a bowl of fresh water at all times.

Just keep combing for the fleas. You can use Advantage on kittens as young as 8 wks, but until then it's just baths and combing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zirpkatze

yes, you can pass things to your adult cat, especially parasites.

Ehhh that's not exactly true. If the kitten brings fleas into the house, then they can certainly get under a door to your other cat. Intestinal parasites are transmitted through a fecal-oral route, so the other cat would have to be sharing a box or otherwise ingesting feces from the kitten to get intestinal parasites, you wouldn't carry those on your clothes. Ringworm can be transmitted from cat to person to cat, but ringworm is a fungal infection, not a parasitic infection. I really wouldn't worry too much about it. Just wash your hands between handling the kitten and your cat. I worked in a vet office for 5 years, and had from 2-4 cats the entire time at home, handled sick animals all day at work, and my cats never got sick from it.

 

[Discobanditt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabid_child

Kittens can eat as much as they want. Wet food is probably easier than dry, and Science Diet is absolute crap quality food. The first 5 ingredients in Science Diet kitten food are: Chicken By-Product Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Animal Fat, Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice. You should look for a food that has meat as the first ingredient, and corn NOWHERE on the ingredients list. It's a cheap filler. Be sure to leave out a bowl of fresh water at all times.

Huh... interesting. My vet has highly recommended Science Diet in the past. She hasn't really preferred the dry food anyway.. she ate about 1.5 cans of wet food today. I still have the dry food out for her as a snack to supplement, but I think I'll go wet food all the way like I did with Willy (my other cat).

Quote:

Originally Posted by zirpkatze

how's her poop? if it looks healthy just keep feeding her what you're feeding her at least til you can see the vet. she'll eat a lot but i can't think of a number of how much to feed a kitten. you should probably give her 4 meals per day. is she readily eating the food you give her?

yes, you can pass things to your adult cat, especially parasites. wash your hands after you handle the kitten and i recommend using a designated set of clothes if the kitten comes in contact with your clothes. i've brought home ringworm on my clothes once and passed it on to one of my cats

Her first stool at home was REALLY loose and may have had some blood. However, her poop has firmed up since then and I don't see any blood (but this could just be due to the litter clumping). This is one of my worries, and I don't understand why not a SINGLE animal hospital is going to be open tomorrow. I'm worried sick. Even though her appointment is on Thursday, I'm going to call Tuesday and see if they can fit me in earlier.

Luckily, she has been really energetic and doesn't appear sick at all. Her stool does concern me though.

 

[Freesia]

It sounds like she should be ok with some TLC. Our feral kitten looked to be about 6 weeks old but the vet said she was actually 3 months when she arrived, she was just really small and thin for her age. She is now 7 months and plump and healthy. It sounds like you are caring well for your wee kitten anyway and attentive to her needs so she should bounce back in time.

 

[Discobanditt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freesia

It sounds like she should be ok with some TLC. Our feral kitten looked to be about 6 weeks old but the vet said she was actually 3 months when she arrived, she was just really small and thin for her age. She is now 7 months and plump and healthy. It sounds like you are caring well for your wee kitten anyway and attentive to her needs so she should bounce back in time.

Thank you!

I've been keeping an eye on her stool, and it looks sooo much better today! Firm and substantial, and I don't see any blood or mucus. She is also just a little exploding ball of energy. I played with her for a good straight hour or so this morning. So yes, I'm feeling much better about her well-being right now. Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[Discobanditt]

Update:

So I'm going to keep updating this thread on Pixel's status. I'm a little overwhelmed, and I think updating will help keep me from going crazy! I'm a bit of a worrier, in case you can't tell...

I'm getting the feeling that she was never fully weaned, as I am having issues getting her to eat and lap water. I'm giving her canned food with kitten milk substitute mixed in, but she just licks the milk off and leaves the rest. I've been trying to teach her how to eat solid foods, and she's getting better. Basically I get a hunk on my fingers and she will eat from that, and then start nibbling at the plate. I have to do the same with her water... she is so confused when it comes to drinking water. I have to lightly splash my finger around in the water and have her lick it off before she understands that she needs to drink it.

Poor baby... she's getting better about it though.

I gave her another flea bath today and got rid of some more fleas. After I combed through her hair, I couldn't find any more! I know that doesn't mean that they are totally gone, but it was heartening.

I also cleaned her litter box again and was really impressed with her poopies this time. They were less gray and watery, and I still haven't seen any signs of blood. I'm still keeping an eye out for symptoms of ringworm, haven't noticed anything, but I'm washing my hands constantly just in case. As for other ailments, I guess we'll have to wait and see. Ugh... I hate waiting.

Anyway, I added a picture of her. She is so cute, I can't believe how loving and affectionate she is!

Attachment 15992
Kitty in lap. <3

 

[yumy]

yea thats fine for the fleas right now. generally frontline is a very good flea treatment, just make sure to treat all cats in the home. it's labeled for 8 weeks and older though...your vet may apply it early or just wait a week or so.

6 weeks is about the age where they normally start to get weaned and pretty self-sufficient w/ food, but we obviously don't know exactly how old he/she is or where he's at. u can soften the dry food or feed canned food to make it easier, and use the milk replacer if needed.

it's good to keep her quarantined, your vet might want you to continue that for a while past Thursday also. the only thing i'd be worried about spreading through the quarantine is the fleas.

kittens are lot easier than puppies so don't worry too much. and enjoy him while he's docile now, he will probably be a terror soon.

 

[tofutti_cutie]

A lot of veterinarians do use Science Diet and recommend it pretty highly. I tried to switch my little kitten (9 weeks old) to another food (Innova kitten) and she keeps getting diarrhea so we haven't been able to achieve a total switch. A lot of the holistic food IMO, is somewhat rich...I like Innova cat and kitten and the KMR kitten milk replacement combination for most kitties but mine has needed I/D diet because of her irritable tummy!
You are doing thing right, her not lapping water is normal; most kittens will be happy to get their fluid from food and milk until about 8 or 9 weeks of age. What we usually do at the vet hospital where I work is offer the cat some soft food and a side dish of kitten milk replacement. They seem to breathe water in more than they are able to successfully drink it prior to 8-9 weeks. In any event, she is probably too little to eat hard food just yet.
There should be an emergency vet in your area. Ask your local veterinarian how they handle urgent care/emergencies. Sounds like you're doing everything right.

 

[Discobanditt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yumy

yea thats fine for the fleas right now. generally frontline is a very good flea treatment, just make sure to treat all cats in the home. it's labeled for 8 weeks and older though...your vet may apply it early or just wait a week or so.

6 weeks is about the age where they normally start to get weaned and pretty self-sufficient w/ food, but we obviously don't know exactly how old he/she is or where he's at. u can soften the dry food or feed canned food to make it easier, and use the milk replacer if needed.

it's good to keep her quarantined, your vet might want you to continue that for a while past Thursday also. the only thing i'd be worried about spreading through the quarantine is the fleas.

kittens are lot easier than puppies so don't worry too much. and enjoy him while he's docile now, he will probably be a terror soon.

I think she is fast approaching terror stage. She somehow got out last night, I think my hubby used the restroom last night and didn't close the door all the way. I have no idea how long she was out, but now I have the concern of contamination on my hands.

Now that she has gotten out, she darts for the bathroom door every time I open it. I did kitten-proof our bedroom and let her romp around in there for a while this morning. She is pretty much just a tiny fluffy ball of fury.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tofutti_cutie

A lot of veterinarians do use Science Diet and recommend it pretty highly. I tried to switch my little kitten (9 weeks old) to another food (Innova kitten) and she keeps getting diarrhea so we haven't been able to achieve a total switch. A lot of the holistic food IMO, is somewhat rich...I like Innova cat and kitten and the KMR kitten milk replacement combination for most kitties but mine has needed I/D diet because of her irritable tummy!
You are doing thing right, her not lapping water is normal; most kittens will be happy to get their fluid from food and milk until about 8 or 9 weeks of age. What we usually do at the vet hospital where I work is offer the cat some soft food and a side dish of kitten milk replacement. They seem to breathe water in more than they are able to successfully drink it prior to 8-9 weeks. In any event, she is probably too little to eat hard food just yet.
There should be an emergency vet in your area. Ask your local veterinarian how they handle urgent care/emergencies. Sounds like you're doing everything right.

There aren't any emergency vet clinics anywhere in this area. There used to be, but it closed due to a lack of funding. Our vet has an emergency number, but so far I haven't felt that the situation warranted an emergency call. I'll ask him about this on Thursday.

 

[tofutti_cutie]

Wow I am surprised, even in the semi-rural area where I live there is a veterinary emergency clinic, but it is also located on a campus affiliated with Purdue University, so that is probably how it stays funded. Generally there is an on-call vet clinic but I suppose your vet's office must have some emergency hours if there's no emergency clinic.

Kittens are so much fun, arent they? <3