Kitten Care

[janice6]

10 hours ago, Moshe said:

Thanks, that is helpful.  I guess, I need to wake her and give that a try, as I just fed her some formula.

I think you meant to quote the person I commented to.

[Moshe]

1 hour ago, janice6 said:

I think you meant to quote the person I commented to.

That could be.  Still haven't slept.  Just fed and burped her and she purred, then decided she had enough so I put her up. 

[misterfox]

Good on you!

If you are gentle with her she may bond with you and be a kitty dog. ---  Siamese can be very devoted.  Or not.  They are cats.  

I've had Siamese most of my life, and they all have strong characters.  

 

This is true:

We are Siamese if you please

We are Siamese if you don't please

 

[RenoF250]

On 5/5/2019 at 7:12 AM, KWalrad said:

Feed it.

Water it.

Give it a place to crap (and teach it to do it in that place only).

 

It's not exactly rocket science. Animals have been surviving on their own without mankinds help for millennia. I'm pretty sure they'll continue to do so regardless of your actions.

 

Yeah that is about it.  You do have to like it clean like its mother and we will need video of that.

[Moshe]

1 hour ago, RenoF250 said:

 

Yeah that is about it.  You do have to like it clean like its mother and we will need video of that.

Yup.  I tried the hot wash cloth method, puckering but no results other than Ms. Kitty has large feet for a kitten and needle sharp claws that puncture the fabric rather effectively through tactical gloves to show her unappreciation of that methodology.  Hopefully, tomorrow morning the vet may have an idea.  I was able to burp her successfully, and that caused her to be happy and purr.  My daughter named her Angel, I refer to her as Ms. Kitty, from Gunsmoke I believe.  My memory is a tad hazy at my age after a 24 hour vigil.

[Zonny]

How come you haven't answered my question, "has she peed"? 

I assume she has by now or she'd be one yellow balloon kitty.

[Moshe]

16 hours ago, misterfox said:

Good on you!

If you are gentle with her she may bond with you and be a kitty dog. ---  Siamese can be very devoted.  Or not.  They are cats.  

I've had Siamese most of my life, and they all have strong characters.  

 

This is true:

We are Siamese if you please

We are Siamese if you don't please

 

Well, on the bright side she was able to evacuate on her own.  On the negative side the make shift litter box in a box she could crawl out and potentially injure herself so she has a kennel and she shat herself on herself.  This is an odd Siamese.  She has to be mixed with something.  I have never seen such large feet on a Siamese, and the claws come out all the time on those suckers, like Velcro on anyone or anything.  She is low and squat and likes trying to tool around and find small spaces.  On the bright side the other eye popped open.  We get to go to the vet this morning.  Maybe, since she has incisors, hopefully we can put her on soft kitten food.  If not, back to the bottle, clawing, and burping.  She has all the colorings and the constant meowing of a Siamese.  However, she must have been bred with a bear with retractable claws.  There are some grown cats I have seen who don't have the big feet she has.  She is handled as much as my skin and clothing can endure.  

[Moshe]

8 hours ago, Zonny said:

How come you haven't answered my question, "has she peed"? 

I assume she has by now or she'd be one yellow balloon kitty.

Sorry, she has shat and pissed all on her own and all over herself, you can imagine how bath time went, with Ms. Kitty Claws.  She has a round belly, but very obviously evacuated on her own.  She was in a towel covered kennel last night for her own safety, and that towel is probably not savable.  News paper this morning.  She has been introduced to the makeshift litter box this morning, squatted, then threw a fit and began to do gymnastics to climb out of the tall box.  For the sake of her not injuring herself, thus the kitty kennel.  It is a bit of a jump to the top of that box, and a long way down to a hard floor.  I don't think that would work well for tiny bones.  I just finished concluded feeding her, burping her, and putting her in the kennel for the Vet trip this morning to see what her needs are.  She has no fleas, the one eye opened, I guess they can see if she has worms, and what diet is appropriate, she needs shots, etc.  When she is old enough, I will have her spayed.  I can't remember when a cat's first heat cycle is.  It has been awhile since I have had female cat around, I was pretty young then.  

[misterfox]

We named our of our Siamese 'Sasquatch' because when he was a kitten he had huge feet.   Kittens tend to 'cling' and they have needle sharp claws.

At this point - with her eyes just opened, she should be pretty light colored.  The Siamese markings darken over time.  I've read it is a temperature thing: the extremities are a little cooler than the body.

[Moshe]

6 minutes ago, misterfox said:

We named our of our Siamese 'Sasquatch' because when he was a kitten he had huge feet.   Kittens tend to 'cling' and they have needle sharp claws.

At this point - with her eyes just opened, she should be pretty light colored.  The Siamese markings darken over time.  I've read it is a temperature thing: the extremities are a little cooler than the body.

She has a beige almost white coat, standard colored ears and tail, almost squat face. I could go fishing with those claws, and they are always out.

[RugerCat78]

You can fill a litter box with shredded newspaper. A number of kitten fosterers don’t use clumping litter in case the kitten ingests it. 

If her claws are bugging you, they can be trimmed very carefully. Remember as a kitten she is just learning how to control them.

She won’t be ready to be spayed until around six months old.

Finally, at this age, kittens have a hard time regulating their body temperature, so make sure she has a place she snuggle into. I sometimes include a stuffed animal about the kitten’s size as a pseudo-littermate.

Please post pictures!

[Moshe]

I just got back from the Vet.  She has a clean bill of health.  He estimates her to be about a month old, and needs to transition to kitty food with formula to soften it.  She is in the kitchen with that offering.  They clipped her claws back, thank G-d.  She got a de-wormer shot to make sure she doesn't get them later.  The Vet though the soft stool problem was due to feeding her formula.  She is at the cusp of real food and weening.  He figured the other eye finally popped out to the world due the age of the kitten.  I have her chart when things should be done.  She gets spayed in October.  One less statistic wandering around parking lots being lost.  I think she has imprinted on me now.  If I go to the kitchen she wants to follow me around.  But, I don't want her distracted for her first good kitty meal that she can eat on her own.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Moshe

[Moshe]

Trying to figure out litter box training.  I try to put her in the litter box, or the kennel to let her know there are two options, rather than having a cat that makes a mess everywhere.

[OldDad]

On 5/5/2019 at 9:17 AM, Moshe said:

Sounds like raising a puppy.  That I get that, I raised one, he is now two years old.  I have another 6 month old Rat Terrier to take care for.  As I said, before dogs are intelligent.  Cats are obstinate.  But, I get a weened kitten, no so hard.  This one apparently was not quite weened and abandoned, which makes it more complicated.  Every domesticated animal I have has been weened.  The easiest animal in the world to raise is a chicken.  Teach the hatchlings where the food and water are, and let them grow out.  Sheep are the suicide squad, like of like turkey's, they find ways to die.

I have to disagree with something you said; Cats are not obstinate, they are independent. The old story is very telling; The dog looks at it's master and thinks "He feeds me, he protects me, he loves me. He must be God." The cat looks at it's "owner" and thinks "He feeds me, he protects me, he loves me. I must be God."

I am a dog person who also loves cats. My wife is a cat person who also loves dogs. We have both. Quite some years ago a feral mama cat had a litter somewhere around our property. I went out and tried to make friends with the (not yet weened) kittens. All but one ran away. The one that came to me looked like a Siamese. We took it in, got it vetted, and bottle fed it. What a great cat! Very loving. What was interesting to me was the difference between that cat and its siblings that remained feral. Our cat grew long and sleek. The feral kittens grew into stubby, wildcat-looking animals. We eventually had to trap the feral cats and turn them in to a rescue.  They were predating on the birds and crapping in our gardens. I imagine they were eventually euthanized.

We are firm believers in keeping our cats indoors at all times. They will be healthier and will almost invariably live longer lives. Some people say "But he wants to go outside." Well, phooey. Your child may want to play in the roaring river but you don't let that happen.

[Moshe]

This is going to be an indoor kitty.  That has been decided by the female contingent of the family.  They are never around until the end of the day, so she is mine to train.  I feed her when she is hunger,y kitten kibble mixed with formula to soften it.  I am also trying to socialize her by petting her while she eats.  I try the litter box first, and show her how to dig, when she looses interest in that and looks for a dark place to stink up the living room, I put her back into the kennel.  So, routine, feed, litter box, kennel, repeat.  She eats right about four times a day, until she decides she is full.  I am not a cat person, I am a dog person.  I understand them better.  But, I am not willing to let any animal suffer needlessly.  So, a baby abandoned cat needs a home, she receives a home.  I do my best to work with the situation.  Our Rat Terrier 6 month old pup is frustrated, because he truly believes the sun rises and sets on him.  He looses his mind when it is kitty care time.  My GSD has become an outside guard dog, with a complete free run of the near acre behind the house (fenced).  I tried introducing the two dogs.  There is an affection between them, but it is like a Giant trying to play with a human.  Someone inevitably gets injured, and it is usually the human.  90 lbs of all muscle GSD vs. a half grown Rat Terrier, has found himself accidentally batted across the room.  Not out of maliciousness, just a size and strength issue.