New Year's Cats & Kittens Gallery-Page 1
There has been
Hit's to Uncle Gadget since Aug. 7, 2006
Should I Take in an Abandoned Kitten?
Be certain kittens are really abandoned before you disturb a nest. A momcat can be harder to spot than the stealth bomber, but just because she’s not there now doesn’t mean she’s not around. If the kittens are clean, plump, and sleeping quietly in a heap, odds are that they’ve got an attentive mom and should be left alone. Abandoned kittens will be dirty and the nest will be soiled, and they will cry continuously because they’re hungry. Ideally, kittens should not be taken from the mother until they are 5 to 6 weeks of age. However, kittens born to feral mothers should be taken away, if possible, at about 4 weeks old. At this age, it is easy to tame them and they have gotten 4 weeks' worth of the precious antibodies mother's milk provides. As they get older, it gets increasingly harder to tame them; kittens over the age of 8 weeks who have had no human contact will probably take months to tame...if it can be done at all.
Warmth and First Aid
If a rescued kitten feels cold, warm it immediately, but gently. Place it on a heating pad wrapped in towels and on the lowest setting, or warm a hot water bottle to about 100 degrees (wrapped in a towel) and place it with the kitten. Many veterinarians have incubators to warm a chilled kitten. Do not feed a kitten until it is warm, since it can't properly digest when cold. It is okay, though, to syringe feed a few drops of 5% sugar water or to rub a little bit of Karo syrup on the kittens’ lips.
Kittens under 3 weeks can’t control their body temperature. Keep them on a heating pad, set on low, wrapped in towels (at least two layers of towels, or one towel folded over) should cover the pad. You'll know if it's too hot if the kittens tend to sleep on the edges. The heating pad should be used until the kittens are about 4-5 weeks old, or until you notice that they're avoiding it. An alternative that many fosters prefer is a heat lamp over the kitten nest.
