There has been a litter of kittens in my crawlspace for about 4 weeks now. I decided to let them stay until they were old enough for mama to take them out. Well, I have a sinking feeling that mama is not coming back. The kittens cried all night and most of this morning so I went into the crawl space and brought them out. There was one dead kitten and 6 living.
Right now they are in the closet in a plastic storage bin large enough that they can move around. I've put a big towel in with them and they seem to be content for now but I'm thinking they have to be hungry. I don't know when the mama was last there.
Now, I know they are at the borderline age to be weaned so would it be okay if I got some kitten food and made a slurry to feed them? I will also get some plain clay litter for them. What else do I need or what else should I do?
Oh, the reason they are in the closet is because I have dogs who are NOT cat sociable and I thought the closet is the best way to protect them. I have a kennel I could put them in but they can get out between the wires - I tried that first.
Thank you for all of your help!
What do I do with these kittens?
i think the quickest thing you can do is go to a pet store a
and get a kitten replacer and ,as you said, make a slurry of a good grade kitten chow or canned food...make it pretty gushy and ten gently dip thier noses in it and i suspect the majority of them will get used to it quickly...might pick up a couple nursing bottles at the same time in case they don't take to the slurry...they usually do pretty well with this routine...you might have tooccaisionally rub thir bottoms with warm cotton swabs-moistenedd with water...this to stimulat them to urinate and deficate...kittens are survivors so try it....will try to find a home brew milk replace ments that you might use...Traci might have one.
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GotGatos
Davet is right, start with canned kitten food first, if they won't take to it right away, you have to supplement by bottle-feeding with KMR kitten formula, your vet or nearby petstore will have the formula and kitten bottles (be sure to pierce the nipples first, they are not pierced when you purchase them)
Here's a link to complete Kitten Care, including temporary kitten formulas (note, to be used ONLY in emergency, not long term), I strongly suggest KMR.
Ideally, kittens should be seen/evaluated by your vet and checked for fleas, mites, malnutrition problems, etc.
Here's a link to complete Kitten Care, including temporary kitten formulas (note, to be used ONLY in emergency, not long term), I strongly suggest KMR.
Ideally, kittens should be seen/evaluated by your vet and checked for fleas, mites, malnutrition problems, etc.
..........Traci
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GotGatos
Well, everyone is getting settled in. I found some Iam's canned kitten food at the grocery store and made a slurry and all but two took to it right off. It looks like they will be okay. 
Oddly, the two that did not take to the canned food immediately are the two largest of the 6 and the two that look either persian or siamese. Stubborn!
I got some plastic garden fence and put it around the wire kennel so they can be in there but cannot get out through the wires. It's like snow fence but only about 24 inches tall. So far so good.
Thank you for all of your help!
Oddly, the two that did not take to the canned food immediately are the two largest of the 6 and the two that look either persian or siamese. Stubborn!I got some plastic garden fence and put it around the wire kennel so they can be in there but cannot get out through the wires. It's like snow fence but only about 24 inches tall. So far so good.
Thank you for all of your help!
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GotGatos
Update
Well, the kittens are thriving so far. They're eating dry food and have become very sweet and loveable. They are big enough and active enough now that keeping them in the kennel is out of the question - they have learned how to get out anyway. I've been putting them in the bathroom during the day and in the kennel at night. That won't work anymore.
The problem is that I don't know how much longer I can keep the dogs away from them. The dogs just killed my cat that was a year old. I don't know what got into them - they have been fine with her before. Now I really fear for the kittens and doubt my ability to keep them safe.
I called the local adoption shelter and they won't take them because their foster parents who take cats all have as many as they can take. I could take them to the pound, but that isn't much good because people just don't adopt out of the pound here.
The woman at the adoption center told me that if I put an ad in the paper that I will need to screen the people who reply because people feed kittens to their snakes.
I'm really upset at the dogs killing my Kiku and at my wits end what to do with these kittens so they are safe. Does anyone have any suggestions? These are beautiful kittens and I hate to give them to someone for their barn. There are 2 that look like persians, one jet black with bright blue eyes, and 3 grey shorthairs that are so sweet and loving that they run to me when they see me. I am in Illinois if anyone knows of any groups that might be willing to help me. If so, please email me at javan56@yahoo.com
Thanks for all the advice you've given me so far.
The problem is that I don't know how much longer I can keep the dogs away from them. The dogs just killed my cat that was a year old. I don't know what got into them - they have been fine with her before. Now I really fear for the kittens and doubt my ability to keep them safe.
I called the local adoption shelter and they won't take them because their foster parents who take cats all have as many as they can take. I could take them to the pound, but that isn't much good because people just don't adopt out of the pound here.
The woman at the adoption center told me that if I put an ad in the paper that I will need to screen the people who reply because people feed kittens to their snakes.
I'm really upset at the dogs killing my Kiku and at my wits end what to do with these kittens so they are safe. Does anyone have any suggestions? These are beautiful kittens and I hate to give them to someone for their barn. There are 2 that look like persians, one jet black with bright blue eyes, and 3 grey shorthairs that are so sweet and loving that they run to me when they see me. I am in Illinois if anyone knows of any groups that might be willing to help me. If so, please email me at javan56@yahoo.com
Thanks for all the advice you've given me so far.
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Tina B and crew
- Posts: 2536
- Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2003 9:48 am
- Location: Virginia
I feel your pain. Did you have your dog checked by your vet after it killed your cat to find out if there was anything wrong physically that might have caused this behavior? I mean no offense, but I honestly do not think I could keep a dog knowing it killed another animal...what is to say it won't kill again? What kind of dog is it? But then again I am not the best person to comment on this because I had a kitten killed by a neighbors dog as a child, since then I have always had issues with dogs.
I would recommend strongly that you keep the kittens away from you dog 24/7...do not take any chances. It may mean keeping your dog confined for part of the day and the kittens confined for part of the day until you can find a place to take these cats. Have you checked around to make sure you found all the rescue organizations in your area? Have you checked with local vets to see if they would possibly take them and adopt them out? I know several vets in our area do this...I foster for one of them.
Try this link
http://www.1888pets911.org/organization ... 458c46e97f
put in your zip code and it will come up with shelters and organizations in your area that might be able to help. I wish you luck!
I would recommend strongly that you keep the kittens away from you dog 24/7...do not take any chances. It may mean keeping your dog confined for part of the day and the kittens confined for part of the day until you can find a place to take these cats. Have you checked around to make sure you found all the rescue organizations in your area? Have you checked with local vets to see if they would possibly take them and adopt them out? I know several vets in our area do this...I foster for one of them.
Try this link
http://www.1888pets911.org/organization ... 458c46e97f
put in your zip code and it will come up with shelters and organizations in your area that might be able to help. I wish you luck!
Tina B and "what a crew!"
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
How we behave towards cats here below determines our status in heaven ~Robert A. Heinlein
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GotGatos
Thanks for the reply and the link Tina B. I will sure take a look and see what the link brings up. I did a search on shelters in Illinois and there is one possibility. I emailed them last night to see if they can help.
I do keep the dogs away from the kittens but after last night's incident I realize that no matter how hard I try, the kittens are still in danger as long as they are in this house. I keep the bathroom door locked because the german shepherd can open doors and the beagle can slip through the smallest of openings; the dogs are outside in a kennel or at work with me through the day but in the evening when we come in to go to bed it is worrisome to me.
What happened to Kiku is my fault because I didn't realize she was in the garage when I put the dogs out there so I could tend to the kittens. They didn't bother her when they were all in the house.
I do keep the dogs away from the kittens but after last night's incident I realize that no matter how hard I try, the kittens are still in danger as long as they are in this house. I keep the bathroom door locked because the german shepherd can open doors and the beagle can slip through the smallest of openings; the dogs are outside in a kennel or at work with me through the day but in the evening when we come in to go to bed it is worrisome to me.
What happened to Kiku is my fault because I didn't realize she was in the garage when I put the dogs out there so I could tend to the kittens. They didn't bother her when they were all in the house.