Hi All,
Someone dumped 3 kittens in my neighbourhood. When I found them a few hours ago, they were soaked to the skin and unable to move. They are smaller than my hand and unable to stand. They are now dry and fluffy and sleeping in a shoe box, but realistically, I don’t know how long they will survive. They seem weak and are not liking the bit of milk I gave them. Any ideas?
Thanks
TFL
People are utter assholes, aren’t they. If in doubt, dump your problems on somebody else, right? … hey ho.
Same thing happened to us a couple of years back. You need to buy kitten formula and a feeding bottle, which you can get from any vet. He will show you how to use it (basically you hold kitten upright in one hand and hold the bottle with the other, angled slightly but without forcibly squeezing the milk out). Do not give them cow’s milk. If they’re reasonably healthy they will drink quite happily from a feeding bottle, but they do need feeding regularly … like, every few hours, which means you won’t be getting much sleep. The best solution would be to find a foster mother, although of course that’s easier said than done. If they don’t feed naturally, you can get a tube and syringe to feed them, but this is unpleasant and it might be kinder to let them go peacefully.
Do they have their eyes open? If so you might be OK (they’re about 1 week old already - if they made it that far they must be pretty strong). If not, frankly, they don’t have much chance. We had four. Two of them made it, two of them didn’t. Respiratory infection (all four). Because they haven’t acquired any immunity from mother’s milk, it’ll be touch-and-go. Once they get to about hand-sized they’ll probably be fine, and will start doing immensely cute things. Best of luck, anyway. Feel free to PM if questions.
One thing that’s a bit of a nightmare is that you have to help them poo. You need to get a bit of moist cotton wool and rub their nether regions with it. They will then poo and pee with abandon (you might want to do this NOW, just in case they’ve been bunged up for a while). It takes about 20 years for them to acquire the ability to do it themselves. OK, it might just be a couple of weeks. Can’t remember.
EDIT : if any of them sneeze, separate them immediately. They will complain like hell, but it’s for their own good 
Edit: Basically, what Finley says above.
An initial checkup at the vet’s might be a good idea. Keep them warm and dry, and feed them special kitten milk replacement formula which you can get at some vets and most pet supply stores. You’ll need a tiny bottle with a teeny tiny nipple for that; you may need to pierce the nipple tip and test it. If they’re really that young they’ll have only a 50% chance. Be prepared for that, and just know that you’re giving them a chance that they wouldn’t have alone. You’ll need to feed every 2 hours, all night long. You’ll also need to stimulated them to eliminate. More info here, see both pages.
Good luck!
Thank you Finley and Dragonbones for your replies. I thank you and so do the little ones.
Kudos to you for making the effort, Taiwan For Life. :bravo:
Indeed! That first month is going to be stressful, but it’ll be worth it, honest. Good luck, and hope the little ones are doing OK so far.
Quick note- don’t blame yourself if they don’t make it. Baby animals are notoriously hard to raise under the best conditions. I’ve had two kittens and a puppy die on me. It’s rough. Good luck to you and keep us updated.
What that wonderful person said. 
Good for you, TfL. I did that myself for about four kittens in Jerusalem.
Keep us posted on how they come along, and give us some pictures of the little fur balls.
Having not replied yet, I would assume the kittens are doing OK and that TfL is spending his free time on a bed instead of in front of the computer. Feeding 'em every few hours can be tough.
Thanks everyone, all three are ok at this moment. I live in a semi rural area and there happens to be an unused temple next door where I have “housed” them. They are in a large cardboard box with lots of old t-shirts and newspaper for bedding. Some of you may disagree with not bringing them inside but my own cat and dog (and wife!) are the number one priorities and I don’t want to bring any potential unhealthy bacteria/fleas inside.
They are being fed regularly by me and some lovely people who work at the cafe next door.I’m still trying to master the syringe technique - the liquid either doesn’t come out or seems to shoot out all at once.
If they do make it, I intend to have them neutered by the vet and given proper check ups and then they will become “garden” cats rather than house cats.
Thanks for all those concerned with how I will take a potential “loss” but I have dealt with that and am mentally ready. About six months ago, my wife and I cared for a new born puppy who was the off-spring of one of the local stray dogs. We named her Juno and she was absolutely adorable. We take our own dog to the beach everyday to play and Juno would always come with us. The competition when we played “fetch” was great for the dogs and they became best of friends although we stopped them becoming “lovers”! As Juno grew up, she became very friendly with another of the neighbourhood dogs and I think she may have mated with him. We weren’t to know as Juno was hit by a car just six months after we found her. She had a short life but one packed with fun. She scurried around the neighbourhood making toys out of paper cups and anything else she could get her paws on. My wife and I loved her as if she was our own dog and we mourned her passing for a long time. At the time, I wanted to start a thread about “animals mourning other animals” because our own dog seemed very upset and lethargic for a long time. Also the dog that I think Juno mated with cried and howled that first night after her passing. I have never witnessed animals mourning other animals and it was all so sad. I still can’t mention her name in front of our own dog because I don’t want to upset him.
So now, I’m being realistic with the kittens I’m caring for and am not getting too attached. My wife can’t handle another loss so soon after Juno, so she is staying in the background on this one.
There are some heartless people out there who do unimaginable things like dumping these little kittens and yesterday, when there were five of us crowding round the box, trying to make them comfortable, I thought how ironic it was that only a few hours ago, some lone stranger had come to dump in them in the neighbourhood. That’s life I suppose, and we’ll see what fate brings these little kittens next.
Please make sure that they are warm enough. Hypothermia is deadly for young 'uns.
[quote]
There are some heartless people out there who do unimaginable things like dumping these little kittens and yesterday, when there were five of us crowding round the box, trying to make them comfortable, I thought how ironic it was that only a few hours ago, some lone stranger had come to dump in them in the neighbourhood.[/quote]
This is actually kind of a beautiful image. There was ONE vile person who didn’t care and took those babies away from their poor mother. Then there were FIVE who gathered around to help them. I like to think people are intrinsically good.
Please do keep them warm- I used hot water bottles which I changed out every few hours- make sure the kittens can move away from them too so they don’t overheat.
You’re awesome, keep up the good work!
Yeah, I’m going to pipe in again on the warmth thing since the weather is not wet and cool. They need mommy’s body for heat, and they don’t have that. The box and cloths you provided, in an unheated building, are probably not going to be enough in this weather.
You need to provide a constant, reliable subsitute heat source, but don’t put it under the entire box – as NonTLT says, they need to have the option to move away from it.
If you take them to the vet he or she should be able to give them a bath for fleas or something, and then you can keep them in a box inside the house in a spare room or spare bathroom, with a hot pad on low, rolled up inside a towel, in one end of their box. This weather’s a bit too cold and wet to be leaving them out in an unheated abandoned temple, I think, even with all the cloth and papers in the box.
Thanks for all your warnings about the temperature. I feel under so much pressure!!! Just went out for another feeding session and it’s been the best one yet. All three seemed hungry and lively. They’ve got more sweaters and a covering for their box and they seem warm. I think I may have underestimated their age as they are now beginning to support themselves on their own feet and their eyes are open, so from what everyone has said on here, I think they are more like a couple of weeks old rather than a couple of days. Incidentally, my own 13 year old cat who is sitting on me now seems huge.
Thanks you lovely people.
It’s so good of you to help these kittens.
Just remember that the biggest problem with young kittens is often that they drink too fast and end up getting milk in their lungs, so take things slowly. It’s really important to encourage them to go to the bathroom after every feed, too.
And, should you find yourself with orphaned kittens or pups in the future, remember that ordinary milk is extremely bad for them. If stuck, feed goats milk instead, which is much more easily digested.
If their eyes are open already, that gives them a much better chance at surviving. If they have teeth, then you can wean them onto something healthy, such as chicken legs or bones, which they should happily gnaw on or you can chop them up FINELY until they have mastered the art.
Best of luck!
pictures!!! pictures!!! please!!!
By the way, I think you are amazing for helping out these abandoned innocents!
I’d be very curious to know WTF was going through his/her head. Finding a pile of newborns is still cruel, but logical. Finding some that had (presumably) been with their mother for a week or so… now what the hell was going on there? Perhaps it’s best not to know. I guess if they’ve been looked after by mum for a week they probably have a much better chance of surviving … that’s one good thing. Incidentally, you might want to prime some suitable adoptees sooner rather than later… they grow up fast.
Wot that guy said. It sounds like they’re old enough to suck from a bottle, which is easier (and possibly less dangerous) than a syringe. And it’s really funny to watch.
My gf-at-the-time bought 暖暖包 to keep our kittens warm, but I doubt you can still buy them. The hot water bottle idea sounds better.
Yep … we’re all rooting for you! It’s good you have some help with this, it’s a nightmare unless you can take shifts for feeding etc.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I left the house for work at 9am today and didn’t get back till 9pm, so it’s been a long day for me as well. Thankfully, when I checked the kittens this evening, it was obvious the nice souls from the cafe had been round. I had a bite to eat and then went out to feed them. They are eating off a small plastic spoon-I’m not using the syringe. They lick up the special kitten milk and there’s a tiny bit of shredded chicken in there. They are doing really well and have their own personalities. I’ve named them Scottie, Lauren and Haley (maybe some of you will know why!). It’s another cool night though, so I’m going out later to make sure their bedding is ok.
I’ll get on to the pic thing in the next few days.
Make sure you stimulate them to pee and poo regularly. Are you doing that? Just use a wet tissue and rub the anal-genital area gently, after each feeding. They may or may not go, but it’s good to keep a record so that you can refer to it when talking to the vet if there’s a problem such as constipation. Spend some time holding each one, and gently stroking too, so they’re getting the physical stimulation needed.