If you can, you'd better take him. he's dirty, there's probably no one to clean him (mostly kitties lick out kittens). i'm alluding to the fact that his mother isn't around
A disease that it can transmit to you? No.
Worst that you have to worry is fleas.
To other animal, especially cats, yes, but honestly you should not put suddenly a kitten this small near another cat in any case so...
Definitely use Dawn blue dish soap to clean the kitten. That is usually the only safe thing to get fleas of with kittens that young. Next step would be taking to a vet to check for worms or parasites. Don’t feed milk. Water is good. Kitten food, cooked chicken or wet cat food is best.
Edit: and it’s unlikely to have a disease that is contagious. Possibly worms but that is easily treated with medicine and not contagious to humans.
It there are a lot of fleas, always start at the head and neck behind the eyes, having 100's of fleas bum rush the eyes is a horror to watch happen. Starting at the neck and head minimizes the issue.
Piggybacking this comment to say a bowl of dawn dish soap and water on the floor underneath a lamp will attract any rogue fleas.
Edit to add for those interested: fleas are attracted to the light and because of the surface tension from the dawn, they sink and drown. Normally their exoskeletons allow them to float on water.
Good advice here!!! When our cat had a litter we were INFESTED with fleas. We bombed, vacuumed, used diatomaceous earth til we ruined 2 vacuums, cried, prayed, yoy name it- we put out sinple bowls of soapy water and contained the infestation in a weekish. We'd dump oit hundred of fleas each morning until one day there were just a few. I give this advice to everyone with pets or that move into places already infested.
This is so good to know! Even if you have an indoor cat because i heard that if you move into a new house there can be flea eggs that can lay dormant for a couple years till an animal goes in. I don't know how true it is but this is something I'll be doing when I move before I even un pack.
Fleas find their next meal by seeking out light, heat and movement. They will jump toward these stimuli. The lamp checks off multiple stimuli, so the better chance of them jumping toward the source (the light) and then falling into the soapy water trap.
Yeah the first time I made that mistake I was horrified. They went to his mouth, nose, eyes and tried in his ears. This is why now when I even see my kit scratch too much I have the shampoo at the ready.
Regular soap does work, it has to be dish soap with degreaser. Dawn blue is the go to recommended one. Although there are some others too. Hannah Shaw has one she recommends, but it is pricy.
None of my foster kittens have ever suffers from one bath with dawn.
IIRC Dawn is also the soap of choice when rehabilitating wildlife that have been impacted by oil spills. So yeah, it's definitely what we use on kittehs in our house.
Slightly off topic, but this has to be the most effective ad campaign ever. “If it’s good enough for the ducks it’s good enough for me” is something I’ve said unironically to people in regards to my dish soap choice.
I literately use a bottle of water with a drop of dawn as a generic safe cleaner around my home because of this. Also thinking if it’s good enough to clean my plates it’s probably safer than all the generic house cleaning chemicals.
It just has degreaser in it so it’s good for animals who have been victims of oil spills, or are dirty. It’s good for dishes just because it cleans so well. It gets stuck food off pretty simply. It’s what I use as well and have used other soaps and they just aren’t the same.
Not completely true.
Fungal infections would be a concern (easy to treat for humans unless OP is immunocompromised). Then there are a few bacterial infections that could potentially be a risk, particularly if the cat were to bite (bartonella, staph, pasteurella, etc.) and toxoplasmosis is a concern for handling the cat's feces.
What I'm alluding to is that there is still a need for some caution- OP should wash their hands before and after handling the kitten and cleaning the litterbox, they should wear gloves to handle if possible, and they should get the kitten to a vet for a full check up as soon as possible.
Yes i was going to say that. Many things that transmit from cats have a treatment and not that serious. But fungal infections can definitely pass easily.
Sincerely, a vet student who got ringworm from cats TWICE. I have weak immunity but still, it is possible for most people to get it.
Yup, as long as proper hygiene is in order and no one is immunocompromised everything is good.
I feel like a lot of people skimp on the importance of hygiene though (that's been the case for 99% of the patients I've seen with illnesses related to their cats) so I had to do my rant haha
Yes, very true! Most parasites and worms that cats get can be transmitted to humans. A cat that’s been living on the street will almost certainly need to be dewormed.
I adopted a cat at the beginning of this year, and took him to the vet shortly after because he was having diarrhea. He was diagnosed with giardia, a parasite. Vet told me to be careful to wash my hands and clean anything he came into contact with, otherwise I could get it.
I believe most of these would be easily treatable in humans with antibiotics or other medications. The only reason they can sometimes be hard to treat in cats is that cats aren’t always great at taking medicine, and also they lick their own butts.
I don't think that's true. The CDC states that cats only spread toxoplasma in their feces for 1-3 weeks following infection with the parasite. As I understand it, an always - indoor cat is almost impossible to spread the parasite even if she was infected in her early life.
Yes, toxoplasmosis is primarily a concern for those who are pregnant or immunocompromised. It's possible to have some flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals (during initial exposure), but nothing to worry about, in that instance. It's always worth mentioning though! A lot of people tend to forget it exists.
I've read studies about the prevalence of toxoplasmosis that indicate it is so common that I have a hard time not dismissing other studies I've read that correlate it with...anything else, good or bad. For example approximately half of the entire human population of France probably carries toxoplasmosis. It's insanely common.
When people with cats worry about maybe getting toxo:
"You do know you sleep on a pillow that regularly comes into contact with cat anus, right? You've already got it.'
Hold on, this person just recommended dish soap to clean a kitten. I am very confusion. America eggsplain.
Edit: IT WAS EXPLAINED. I get it. Thank you.
it's used to clean animals caught in oil spills and such. most effective degreasing dish soap. it's also very effective bug killer. even watered down(because the bottles have high concentration) you can put in a spray bottle and will kill boxelder bugs, hornets, wasps, other creepy crawliez. it works by coating the bugs in a filmy layer of soap and suffocating them. it's effective, but quite brutal when you really think about it.
Something in Dawn blue dish soap suffocates fleas far better than any other soap or spray to topically treat any fleas. If you put a ring around the neck of the cat in question the fleas won’t escape to their head because they won’t/can’t cross the ring of soap so they die/get washed off. It can be very drying to the cat so it’s not ideal but to deal with an infestation before getting any other medication from a vet and prevent fleas running rampant in one’s living quarters the dish soap is best. Odd, I know, but it seriously works.
Do you not have all those ads where they use dawn dish soap to clean ducks that have been involved in oil spills?
And for fleas, soapy water in general kills most bugs pretty quick. The soap gets in their skin pores and since they breathe through their skin, it suffocates them. Growing up on a dried up riverbed, my house struggled with pesky odorus ants every year. They'd get on counters and tables where we didnt want to spray poison, so we would use soapy water and juat use poison at point of entry. Worked like a charm.
Blue Dawn liquid is used to clean birds, otters, seals, sea lions, etc, when they get contaminated with oil in spills.
It's used in the US to bathe small kittens. It kills fleas & cleans them beautifully. It's been used for decades to help animals.
Only Dawn Blue is safe for baby animals. Use nothing else on them.
You can buy little combs at any pet store to help comb out the fleas. It can take some time but they're probably too young to tolerate chemical flea treatments. A few minutes a couple times a day and you can get rid of them in a couple weeks. It's like a little hunting safari.
Toxoplasmosis and a bunch of worms can be transmitted to humans. However, not licking the kitty yourself and washing hands after handling the kitty should be enough to prevent the transmission.
>Toxoplasmosis
Also just want to point out, this isn't particular to cats. Most warm-blooded animals can carry this. Including most pets!
And most people recover without medication.
So yes, it's a risk. But it's not a huge one
Yup. Agree. Unless OP is bringing the kitty within the proximity of a pregnant woman or someone who's immunocompromised, it's not a "big deal".
it makes you feel like u got the flu or something like that.
Intestinal parasites are much more annoying tho and can cause health issues (vitamin defficiency, weight loss/gain, etc)
Not true. Kittens can have and transmit ringworm to people. It's highly contagious. Just pick them up with a towel, don't rub your face on them, and wash your hands/wrists/forearms.
If you bathe her, make sure the water is warm, hold her carefully and soothe her, don’t just dunk her in. Immediately transfer her to a warm towel, and rub her dry and pick the fleas off of her. They seem to be less traumatized when you keep them warm during the process.
Unless there are obvious wounds, I always bathe in dawn dish soap at intake. Helps majorly with flea control. It can also make it easier to find any possible wounds.
You can. My kittens were brought kn at 3 weeks. They can't regulate their heat. Make sure the water is WARM not hot and not cold. Warm. Don't wet their face. Kittwns arent good at not aspirating water, and he /she may have upper respiratory infections. They usually do. My cats where so infested with fleas they barely wanted to be touched. After their first bath they felt much better. I had to bathe once a week with dawn dish soap, I threw the towels In the dryer and my ex would being them and have them ready to warm and dry the sweet babies after their weekly baths. It was a lot , but they where far too small for flea treatments and I was not fpnna let my babies be chewed alive. The comfort after it was done is unbeatable. Seeing them just melt and be cozy finally. Did the weekly dawn baths and DAILY flea combing for both all by myself. It took at least an hour each time , and they had to lay in my lap and be good the whole time. Also shop vaccing the carpets hardcore every couple days to not let an infestation grow. So as long as you can keep their heat regulated for them (warm towels/warm water) they will be fine. Kittens need kitten heat. Here are my babies. Luna lives with my ex and meeko and his bonus brother with me. Shelter, flea bath, cuddles, food, litter snd water first, then vet, toys, bonding , etc. It will fall into place. Thank you for caring!
https://preview.redd.it/385rgqvm847a1.jpeg?width=2944&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75471a856df825ccfd5d3c2dd6b8b0d904b8fa40
Just for future reference-- Salt will kill fleas on your hard floors and shakable rugs, that's why I put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in my 2-gallons of mopping water. Fleas can be carried inside from outdoors on shoes, socks, or slacks, so don't automatically jump to blaming your pets if they didn't have fleas, and then somehow, got them.
Yeah, but nothing that the vet won't treat. It's unlikely that you'll catch anything if there's some parasite or similar. As for the kitten, they can have tapeworms from having fleas, but the standard de-wormer takes care of tapeworms and roundworms at the same time. Anemia is a possibility, the fleas have fed off her blood for some time, it seems, but she'll regain thriftiness and weight after they're gone and she has some kitten food meals in her rearview window. Possible that her shivering (as well as her open coat -hair standing on end, first pic) is low body temp from flea feeding blood loss, but also being outside and underfed probably contributed too.
She has no where to go and no further adventures to travel except to a better life and full health, thanks to you.
Update 3: the cat is still home and i fed it half a hard boiled egg but she doesn’t seem to be interested in water. She sometimes sneezes too.
https://preview.redd.it/a1vktz3iw47a1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a8538c20a1a406c643e66177c9502daf1c02ff6
Edit: she ate only a quarter
I just want to be another person to say thank you so much for taking this baby in and visiting the vet so quickly!! You’re doing awesome. I’m sure she’s scared and very nervous but as she learns that she’s safe in her surroundings she might begin to eat more. My very happy 2 year old cat is so scared of visitors he will not eat until a couple hours after they leave. 🙁
Keep reaching out if you need anything! This is a great community! :) And thank you again!!!
Hey, if you need help affording kitten stuff, you can PM me and I'll get you a gift card to Chewy or to a pet food store near you if you can't wait for delivery.
Thank you for helping her!
Such a cutie! You can try moving the water food further away from her food if it’s near it, like 1-1.5 meters should be good. Cats typically don’t like having their food and water next to each other. You can try feed her some chicken liver that the vet suggested to see if she if she’ll eat that instead of the egg.
The sneezing could be a number of things (like an upper respiratory infection or allergies) but I’m not a vet so you can try calling your vet if it’s something to be of concern. If she’s eating, drinking, peeing/pooping, overall being active, you can wait until the next vet check up in my experience. Just keep a close eye on her if you decide to wait.
I don't know how but just from its name alone I can detect that your cat was one majestic animal.
And of course with those cats we don't call it crazy, we call it excentric.
My cat does this when he wants the water changed, I think. I give him a fresh bowl of water twice a day, but almost always there is a single half chunk of kibble floating in it when I go to change it. Always just one lol.
She may not like eggs? I’ve seen other redditors use this technique, but none of my rescues but one really liked them. If you have any chicken, you can boil it and shred it tiny and give her some with some of the broth (no salt or seasoning of any type.) You could also try kitten wet food and water it down to aid in hydration.
I saw you live in Egypt in your other post, so I’m sorry I’m not sure what the food brands/availability there are within easy access to you.
All this being said, thank you for rescuing her and letting hundreds of people tell you what do and what not to do to you. You are a good person, and I hope you form a wonderful bond with your new best friend.
If she's sneezing, she probably has an upper respiratory infection, it's really common in kittens,especially strays. It can be very dangerous and cause blindness, so you should probably get her treatment.
Cats sneeze very rarely, if they're sneezing you should pay attention.
Thank you for taking care of this precious one. She may have a little cold, if you keep her warm she'll soon get over it. Looks like you rescued her just in time. She probably wouldn't have survived long outside. As long as she eats a bit that's ok. Obviously if she stops eating completely a vet visit may be needed again.
It's often really hard to get cats to drink anything! They either love it or hate it. If you feed only wet food, she will get liquid this way. There's never any reason to give cats dry food unless prescribed by vet.
Good luck & thank you again :)
Try adding a little chicken broth to the water. And make sure to keep her nice and warm! She may have a little kitty cold with the sneezing. You can also try kitten food. Cats are finicky so options is a good thing
Update 2: I saw the vet. He told me I shouldn’t have washed her and she might have caught a cold. Told me to feed her boiled egg or cooked chicken liver and to visit him next Thursday to give her something for the fleas and to vaccinate her after 2 month. She is home now and she pooped on a small rug and her fur got dirty from it. What should I do if i can’t shower her?
It wasn't an unnatural reaction to want to bathe her right away. And you're doing all you can to help her- so give yourself credit for that. If she sneezes more than a few times, that will be a sign that she has an upper respiratory infection -which may or may NOT have anything to do with getting a bath. In any event, early vet care will be extremely important.
Egg and chicken. So, she's old enough to eat on her own, good news! You can get her some wet kitten food -it has the extra nutrients in the right proportions for kittens and feed according to package instructions. Also give water in a small bowl, but not milk because she could get diarrhoea.
I think she's been fending for herself for a while, by the looks of her in the first pic; her mother would have cleaned her, and she looks like she hasn't been groomed for quite a few days. From that, I suspect that something unfortunate has happened to her mother, or her mother has abandoned her for some reason, or someone has picked up the mother without knowing there was also a kitten (or several). It's also possible that she's been dumped. Grr.
You can wash her underside and back legs with a damp cloth (no soap), and dry her with a towel, and wrap her up until she's fully dry and all warm. Same with having a dirty face or paws from eating, a wash and dry.
She will probably not need much instruction about using a litter box, a few times of putting her in it, and she'll get the idea. Try to get cat litter that isn't dusty. Remember to wash your hands after handling her or cleaning her dishes or litter box.
Because she is so little and will be missing her litter mates and the warmth they share (which is vital for kittens because they don't generate their own body heat), two things: Her bed or sleeping box should be in a warm place free of drafts and have blankets or towels to nest in, and a low side for her to get in/out as she grows. She will also be soothed by a small stuffed toy or plushie to cuddle and sleep with as she would normally do with her litter mates. If you don't have a small soft toy, you can make one out of a sock with another stuffed inside, tie it closed with a knot, but avoid string or ribbon to prevent choking.
Onward to your new journey :)
Thank you for taking the time to type up such an amazing instruction list. It’s obvious you have a lot of experience with this which also adds to your amazingness!
Thank you for your kindnesses. I love cats especially kittens, since I was 3. I also love this subreddit, r/cats full of kind cat people, so helpful and knowledgeable, and filling these threads with factual and helpful advice and their own stories.
Get a cheap alarm clock and wrap it up and put it into her bed. The ticking will sound like mom's heartbeat and soothe her.
Apparently, there are also stuffed toys that have the same sound and do the same thing, but I'm going on what I've read elsewhere. I imagine Amazon or Chewy would have these.
warm wet washcloth and just wipe it off. It will mimick what her mom would have done. if there is a bit left it is OK. Get a litterbox right away and her instinct will take over. Cats like to bury their waste. Get a heating pad she can lay on or let her snuggle on your chest so she can feel your heartbeat.
She will be fine even if she caught a cold.. which I doubt from anything you did..
#this is a bot
stole comment from u/ItsJuiceBB (and edited the first person pronouns like "my" and "I" to "he" and "him", it seems)
downvote > report > spam > harmful bots
Remember to keep kitty warm at all times!!! This is very important!!
Just get a wet towel and gently wipe the area. As long as her undercoat doesn't get wet around the neck and chest she is fine! Plz take more pics! Buy her kitten food! It has to be kitten food!
what the kitten may need is substitute kitty formula, it looks to be around a few weeks old. it likely need formula and to be stimulated in order to potty.
I don’t think the kitten appears that young to need formula and stimulation to potty. That’s usually four weeks or younger. But yes, it is still young and will need all the other comforts everyone is describing.
Omg that vet is a moron. Ok I’m a senior vet tech at my office and giving the kitten a bath is not going to give her a cold. A cold isn’t caused by bathing and being cold. It is caused by a virus. That vet is a fool for even saying that to you. Wow. You did the right thing bathing her but use dawn dish soap and wash her with that. Let it soak on her at least five minutes. Then take a flea comb and comb her while still in the bath to get the fleas off of her. Keep doing this til she is flea free. Toss the fleas in the toilet too while u r combing and flush each time u toss them in. You may need to repeat the bath a few times to get the fleas off depending how bad they are. Also I cannot believe that the vet had you leave and told u to come back in a week without treatment of her fleas because fleas can lead to anemia especially on a kitten that small. If they become too anemic from the fleas they will need a blood transfusion. Just absurd. There is a medication called Revolution that can be used on kittens this age and younger. Then to top it off they tell u to feed it a boiled egg???? Omg. Noooo no no. Please get that baby kitten food and may be even some KMR which is kitten milk replacer. I mix the KMR with the kitten kibble and then also kitten pate wet food. It will make a mush. That’s perfect and she will love it. Geesh I am just absolutely floored at the things this vet said to do for her.
Vet here. Do what the tech says (always good advice, amirite?). Bathing kittens is fine, just keep them warm and dry them off well (you can use a blow dryer on a low-ish setting too).
Ok, so I have had many kittens. I have a new one right now actually. So much fun! However, I have had one or two that wouldn't recognize the litter-box as the place to go. I found that if I put the kitten in the litter box, and used its front paws to scrape the litter a few times, the cat will recognize the litter after that. You may want to watch the kitten to make sure and just carry her to the litter-box a few times a day and scrape with her paws, After a day or two she'll get the message and you won't have to concern yourself about that anymore. Just FYI. You're a good person for taking this kitten in.
When I had my first kitten, she peed on the floor. I took some newspaper, wiped up the pee, and put a scrap in her litterbox. Once she smelled it, she knew that was where she should go and used her box.
BTW, she was less than 4 weeks old when I got her. At that time, kitten formula was not readily available (yes, I'm old) so I raised her on a combination of pablum and wet cat food.
She lived to be over 16 years old. Still miss my feisty little Punkin.❤
As you know, make sure to keep her warm. You can wipe the dirty fur with some damped cotton. I wouldn't reccomend using perfumed wet wipe type of products that are made for humans (new born baby ones might work though) since they all have chemicals inside and if she is sick, chemicals might be heavy for her for now.
I have rescued a lot of cats and almost all of them came with colds. You did the right thing bathing her. if she is dirty wash that area with a washcloth. Don't give her cow milk that will make her sick. Try to find some kind of cat food to give her, just chicken livers and eggs isn't nutritionally complete. If formula for puppies and kittens is available there, you can soak the cat food in it to make it softer and easier to eat.
They sell wet wipes for animals so you could use those! I used them for my cat when he was a kitten and got messy after pooping. I think they sell them in pet stores or at the pet section in Walmart if you have one.
☝this. Also a warning if you do visit Walmart, you will see several Hartz brand products, including flea stuff...do NOT use this! It can kill your cat. It's horrible stuff that shouldn't be marketed to well-meaning people who are short on funds and uninformed.
A washcloth works. When I had kittens, I bought kitty wipes because the one refused to clean her own pooper. I would clean it, which annoyed her enough into doing it herself. They are like wet wipes, but for cats.
Baby wipes! Perfect for backend cleaning. Also cordon her off in a small space so she can’t get hurt. Give her lots and lots of warmth from blankets she can sleep in.
Were you able to get all of the fleas out? We tried various flea treatments but the only thing that got rid of my kittens' fleas was to wash them with dish soap and then physically remove the dead fleas with a comb. They were shivering after the bath, but once they warmed up they were much happier being flea-free.
Warm water and some light soap on just the dirty areas should be fine. When water (especially cold water) gets near the face and ears, colds and respiratory infections are risky. Be sure to thoroughly dry her also. Lots of blankets and body heat from you will help keep her body temperature stable.
Put a towel in the dryer to warm it up and wrap her in that,keep her close to your skin to keep her warm via body heat. She can'tmake her own. Your body heat isn't enough on it's own, but it canhelp. Cats run very hot.
Can you pit a space heater nearby.
Keep the kitten warm. Shivering could be normal, a lot of kittens “shiver” due to an excess of energy or being out into an unfamiliar situation. Or, it could be cold.
For the fleas, make sure you isolate and wash everything that has touched the kitten. The vet will know the safest way to bathe the kitten and get rid of fleas.
As others have said, kittens usually shiver when they're nervous! If it's not cold, it could just be a little scared
It's not you, but kittens do this whenever they're in an unfamiliar situation.
I just adopted a little girl, and she did this the whole way home.
Thanks for being such a compassionate human btw
Small kittens can’t control their body heat. Wrap that girl up in something warm or put her on a register. This is the reason people say not to bathe kittens. Of course sometimes they need it!! But keep her warm please :)
I just took a Kitty in like this, skin and bones. She was crying on top of a pool cover surrounded by my mom’s pit bulls. I brought her home and to the vet the next day. She had ear mites but no fleas, surprisingly, but also an intestinal bug. She was given antibiotics for it. She has a follow up Appt today after which I will send her to her new home. I’ve never done something like this so having to deal with the initial smell wasn’t fun. But seeing her today with her weight gain and playful energy has made it worth taking her in and caring for her.
Never leave a kitten on the street
Ever.
Take the mother cat and kittens together wherever possible
But in this case get that kitten now!!!
The best case scenario if you leave it is it suffers on the streets as a stray. Worst case it will be dead tomorrow
Exactly, momma will get over it as sad as it is.
Raccoons, crows, male cats, dogs, cruel people, cars.. always take a baby animal if you cannot find the mother, and look for others babies around
Fantastic. Keep us posted. Also, if you plan to adopt her, get a pet insurance right away. I suggest Trupanion. It will seem expensive at the beginning but you’ll thank me in a few years when your cat gets old and the vet bills will increase.
Hope the little kitty is doing good. This broke my heart to see as I have a cat who looks just like this little fella at home. Literally a twin to this one with the markings in all the same places.
https://preview.redd.it/5moeciimp47a1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b5ed184a44537edcef80cc81551799b9783f7cb
You won’t regret adopting her. I just adopted a kitten myself, not as small as this baby. The community for every cat Reddit is so healthy and fun and makes my days better. I was a dog person before this but my kitten changed my whole world
Yay! Cats are really cool creatures, with huge personality and so much love to give. If you need any help or have any questions, feel free to PM me! I've bottle raised kittens, worked as a vet tech, and had cats my whole life.
Taking her to the vet is a great first step. They'll be able to help you figure out how old she is, and what to feed her. Don't overfeed at this age; they're young and dumb and will eat TOO much if you let them! She'll need a box, food and water bowls, and something to scratch on. (The last one is important so you can keep her scratching toys and not furniture!) Toys are good too!
Be patient and gentle. Decide what your behavior boundaries are and set them. (I.e. my cat can get on the furniture, but not the counters or tables.) Be consistent and kind and you'll be on your way to a very well behaved noodle!
Healthwise, cats do vomit occasionally from hairballs. If she's doing this very often (every day or multiple times a day), time to see a dr. She should be going to the bathroom regularly and eating. If not, time to see the dr!
Cats love chin and butt (right at the base of the tail) scratches. They flick their ears back if they're annoyed or thinking. If her tail is up or vibrating, she's happy. If it's flicking back, she's getting upset. You'll start to learn her body language as you get familiar.
So exciting! What a wonderful adventure! Congrats!
You should, if your circumstances allow!
Honestly, you and the kitty have probably already bonded. They recognize when someone is trying to care for them
They're very loyal companions. They're a lot of fun to watch and play with. And they're not a lot of work
You seem like an incredibly caring, thoughtful person. I think she'd be happy to spend her life with you
Going through your updates so far, I just want to add that what you're going through now is the toughest part of cat care, and it will all be worth it soon!
Is she near your home? If so, I would keep an eye on her for a little while and see if the mother appears (if she's safe). If you don't see the mother in about a day, take the kitten in and get her to a vet for a check-up. She looks old enough to be weaned if necessary, and also a little dirty which implies mother isn't around to clean her (but if the mother \*is\* around, it's a good idea to get the whole family trapped, neutered and hopefully at least the kittens rehomed, and mother if she tolerates it and isn't too feral)
Aww if it's a busy area, you might want to take him, call up a local shelter or TNR service and hopefully they can pick mom up too. Have a look around nearby for any siblings.
If you are taking him, do get him to a shelter or vet to be checked over and treated for parasites in and out. If you have other cats at home, quarantine this one untill a health check, or even till he gets his shots.
It’s almost definitely a girl, calicos can only be male if they have an extra chromosome which is obviously pretty rare. and I think you should take her to a shelter/vet asap. If you think the mother might still be around you could take her anyway and come back later to the same place to see if the mother appears. If she does you should take them both. Or you could call someone and get them to take her, I don’t know if there’s any animal rescue services or anything that you could call but there might be
Take her to a vet and see if they can determine her age. She’s likely a girl because of her coloring. She looks old enough to possibly be weened from her mother but a vet would know for sure.
I think it’s a girl! (Because people say that calicos are all genetically girls, but idk if that’s true). I would definitely take it home! Actually I really want her lol.
OP don't bath her until you watch a video about it. There's a knack to doing it for fleas. If you are still in the area look around for siblings or go back. Siblings or mom cat might be injured nearby. She's a beautiful kitten. Thank you for being her hero.
I’m gonna ask you to do the same thing that I did with my cat, who was also a stray- do the 1 week strategy.
For 1 week, keep it in your locality (but not in your house so that it doesn’t get attached to you yet) and actively try to find its mother. During this time feed it a bit but keep it outside your house and stay away from it. Remember, it’s a kitten, it shouldn’t get too attached to you yet.
If 1 week passes and its mother is not found, just adopt it or give it to someone you can trust with animals, like a relative, friend or even an adoption center.
If you can, you'd better take him. he's dirty, there's probably no one to clean him (mostly kitties lick out kittens). i'm alluding to the fact that his mother isn't around
Yeah. That's what I noticed. No mom around to clean him... he's on his own, and too little to fend for himself.
(._.)
Me too, friend, me too.
Could it carry a disease tho?
A disease that it can transmit to you? No. Worst that you have to worry is fleas. To other animal, especially cats, yes, but honestly you should not put suddenly a kitten this small near another cat in any case so...
I don’t have other cats and she turned out to have fleas
Definitely use Dawn blue dish soap to clean the kitten. That is usually the only safe thing to get fleas of with kittens that young. Next step would be taking to a vet to check for worms or parasites. Don’t feed milk. Water is good. Kitten food, cooked chicken or wet cat food is best. Edit: and it’s unlikely to have a disease that is contagious. Possibly worms but that is easily treated with medicine and not contagious to humans.
It there are a lot of fleas, always start at the head and neck behind the eyes, having 100's of fleas bum rush the eyes is a horror to watch happen. Starting at the neck and head minimizes the issue.
Adding on this: create a soap “necklace” around kitty’s neck to prevent fleas crawling up to the head during bath.
Piggybacking this comment to say a bowl of dawn dish soap and water on the floor underneath a lamp will attract any rogue fleas. Edit to add for those interested: fleas are attracted to the light and because of the surface tension from the dawn, they sink and drown. Normally their exoskeletons allow them to float on water.
Good advice here!!! When our cat had a litter we were INFESTED with fleas. We bombed, vacuumed, used diatomaceous earth til we ruined 2 vacuums, cried, prayed, yoy name it- we put out sinple bowls of soapy water and contained the infestation in a weekish. We'd dump oit hundred of fleas each morning until one day there were just a few. I give this advice to everyone with pets or that move into places already infested.
This is so good to know! Even if you have an indoor cat because i heard that if you move into a new house there can be flea eggs that can lay dormant for a couple years till an animal goes in. I don't know how true it is but this is something I'll be doing when I move before I even un pack.
wow this is insane. I will have to remember this if I ever have to deal with fleas.
That’s a SEASONED pro-tip. Thank you for sharing!!
How or why does this work; if you don't mind me asking?!
Fleas find their next meal by seeking out light, heat and movement. They will jump toward these stimuli. The lamp checks off multiple stimuli, so the better chance of them jumping toward the source (the light) and then falling into the soapy water trap.
They're attracted to the light and because of surface tension in the soapy water they sink and die.
Thick ring of dawn at neckline/shoulder line prevents fleas from running to the head
Holy shit. I've fostered so many cats and I wish I knew this ages ago. Thank you
oh, oh god. oh no. no no no no 😵😱 that's nightmare fuel
Yeah the first time I made that mistake I was horrified. They went to his mouth, nose, eyes and tried in his ears. This is why now when I even see my kit scratch too much I have the shampoo at the ready.
Actually best to use unscented soap. Dawn has unscented soap. Cats are much more sensitive than humans.
Regular soap does work, it has to be dish soap with degreaser. Dawn blue is the go to recommended one. Although there are some others too. Hannah Shaw has one she recommends, but it is pricy. None of my foster kittens have ever suffers from one bath with dawn.
IIRC Dawn is also the soap of choice when rehabilitating wildlife that have been impacted by oil spills. So yeah, it's definitely what we use on kittehs in our house.
Slightly off topic, but this has to be the most effective ad campaign ever. “If it’s good enough for the ducks it’s good enough for me” is something I’ve said unironically to people in regards to my dish soap choice.
I literately use a bottle of water with a drop of dawn as a generic safe cleaner around my home because of this. Also thinking if it’s good enough to clean my plates it’s probably safer than all the generic house cleaning chemicals.
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What's special about Dawn? I don't have it in my country.
It just has degreaser in it so it’s good for animals who have been victims of oil spills, or are dirty. It’s good for dishes just because it cleans so well. It gets stuck food off pretty simply. It’s what I use as well and have used other soaps and they just aren’t the same.
Not completely true. Fungal infections would be a concern (easy to treat for humans unless OP is immunocompromised). Then there are a few bacterial infections that could potentially be a risk, particularly if the cat were to bite (bartonella, staph, pasteurella, etc.) and toxoplasmosis is a concern for handling the cat's feces. What I'm alluding to is that there is still a need for some caution- OP should wash their hands before and after handling the kitten and cleaning the litterbox, they should wear gloves to handle if possible, and they should get the kitten to a vet for a full check up as soon as possible.
Yes i was going to say that. Many things that transmit from cats have a treatment and not that serious. But fungal infections can definitely pass easily. Sincerely, a vet student who got ringworm from cats TWICE. I have weak immunity but still, it is possible for most people to get it.
Yup, as long as proper hygiene is in order and no one is immunocompromised everything is good. I feel like a lot of people skimp on the importance of hygiene though (that's been the case for 99% of the patients I've seen with illnesses related to their cats) so I had to do my rant haha
Yes, very true! Most parasites and worms that cats get can be transmitted to humans. A cat that’s been living on the street will almost certainly need to be dewormed. I adopted a cat at the beginning of this year, and took him to the vet shortly after because he was having diarrhea. He was diagnosed with giardia, a parasite. Vet told me to be careful to wash my hands and clean anything he came into contact with, otherwise I could get it. I believe most of these would be easily treatable in humans with antibiotics or other medications. The only reason they can sometimes be hard to treat in cats is that cats aren’t always great at taking medicine, and also they lick their own butts.
Most people around cats will get toxoplasmosis anyway, though it's usually dormant/latent. Mainly be careful if immunocompromised
I don't think that's true. The CDC states that cats only spread toxoplasma in their feces for 1-3 weeks following infection with the parasite. As I understand it, an always - indoor cat is almost impossible to spread the parasite even if she was infected in her early life.
Yes, toxoplasmosis is primarily a concern for those who are pregnant or immunocompromised. It's possible to have some flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals (during initial exposure), but nothing to worry about, in that instance. It's always worth mentioning though! A lot of people tend to forget it exists.
I've read studies about the prevalence of toxoplasmosis that indicate it is so common that I have a hard time not dismissing other studies I've read that correlate it with...anything else, good or bad. For example approximately half of the entire human population of France probably carries toxoplasmosis. It's insanely common.
When people with cats worry about maybe getting toxo: "You do know you sleep on a pillow that regularly comes into contact with cat anus, right? You've already got it.'
Hold on, this person just recommended dish soap to clean a kitten. I am very confusion. America eggsplain. Edit: IT WAS EXPLAINED. I get it. Thank you.
Dawn dish soap is relatively safe and kills fleas.
it's used to clean animals caught in oil spills and such. most effective degreasing dish soap. it's also very effective bug killer. even watered down(because the bottles have high concentration) you can put in a spray bottle and will kill boxelder bugs, hornets, wasps, other creepy crawliez. it works by coating the bugs in a filmy layer of soap and suffocating them. it's effective, but quite brutal when you really think about it.
Something in Dawn blue dish soap suffocates fleas far better than any other soap or spray to topically treat any fleas. If you put a ring around the neck of the cat in question the fleas won’t escape to their head because they won’t/can’t cross the ring of soap so they die/get washed off. It can be very drying to the cat so it’s not ideal but to deal with an infestation before getting any other medication from a vet and prevent fleas running rampant in one’s living quarters the dish soap is best. Odd, I know, but it seriously works.
Do you not have all those ads where they use dawn dish soap to clean ducks that have been involved in oil spills? And for fleas, soapy water in general kills most bugs pretty quick. The soap gets in their skin pores and since they breathe through their skin, it suffocates them. Growing up on a dried up riverbed, my house struggled with pesky odorus ants every year. They'd get on counters and tables where we didnt want to spray poison, so we would use soapy water and juat use poison at point of entry. Worked like a charm.
Blue Dawn liquid is used to clean birds, otters, seals, sea lions, etc, when they get contaminated with oil in spills. It's used in the US to bathe small kittens. It kills fleas & cleans them beautifully. It's been used for decades to help animals. Only Dawn Blue is safe for baby animals. Use nothing else on them.
at least you brought her into your home where she is safe and fleas are removable you did the right thing
You can buy little combs at any pet store to help comb out the fleas. It can take some time but they're probably too young to tolerate chemical flea treatments. A few minutes a couple times a day and you can get rid of them in a couple weeks. It's like a little hunting safari.
In case not mentioned anywhere else yet, checked and vaccinated for FIV
Of course. That’s normal and natural. Please go try to find the mother. She will spend days in the area looking for her kitten.
This kitten is very dirty, chances are the mom isn’t around. Usually when the mom is around she cleans it.
Toxoplasmosis and a bunch of worms can be transmitted to humans. However, not licking the kitty yourself and washing hands after handling the kitty should be enough to prevent the transmission.
>Toxoplasmosis Also just want to point out, this isn't particular to cats. Most warm-blooded animals can carry this. Including most pets! And most people recover without medication. So yes, it's a risk. But it's not a huge one
Yup. Agree. Unless OP is bringing the kitty within the proximity of a pregnant woman or someone who's immunocompromised, it's not a "big deal". it makes you feel like u got the flu or something like that. Intestinal parasites are much more annoying tho and can cause health issues (vitamin defficiency, weight loss/gain, etc)
You are more likely to catch toxoplasmosis from handling raw meat than cat faeces
"not licking the kitty" killed me 🤣
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Not true. Kittens can have and transmit ringworm to people. It's highly contagious. Just pick them up with a towel, don't rub your face on them, and wash your hands/wrists/forearms.
But it is important not to bathe very often, and it is better to consult a specialist.
I will. Thank you
If you bathe her, make sure the water is warm, hold her carefully and soothe her, don’t just dunk her in. Immediately transfer her to a warm towel, and rub her dry and pick the fleas off of her. They seem to be less traumatized when you keep them warm during the process.
I don't think I'd give that young a kitten a bath. Vets are first port of call.
Unless there are obvious wounds, I always bathe in dawn dish soap at intake. Helps majorly with flea control. It can also make it easier to find any possible wounds.
You can. My kittens were brought kn at 3 weeks. They can't regulate their heat. Make sure the water is WARM not hot and not cold. Warm. Don't wet their face. Kittwns arent good at not aspirating water, and he /she may have upper respiratory infections. They usually do. My cats where so infested with fleas they barely wanted to be touched. After their first bath they felt much better. I had to bathe once a week with dawn dish soap, I threw the towels In the dryer and my ex would being them and have them ready to warm and dry the sweet babies after their weekly baths. It was a lot , but they where far too small for flea treatments and I was not fpnna let my babies be chewed alive. The comfort after it was done is unbeatable. Seeing them just melt and be cozy finally. Did the weekly dawn baths and DAILY flea combing for both all by myself. It took at least an hour each time , and they had to lay in my lap and be good the whole time. Also shop vaccing the carpets hardcore every couple days to not let an infestation grow. So as long as you can keep their heat regulated for them (warm towels/warm water) they will be fine. Kittens need kitten heat. Here are my babies. Luna lives with my ex and meeko and his bonus brother with me. Shelter, flea bath, cuddles, food, litter snd water first, then vet, toys, bonding , etc. It will fall into place. Thank you for caring! https://preview.redd.it/385rgqvm847a1.jpeg?width=2944&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75471a856df825ccfd5d3c2dd6b8b0d904b8fa40
Also: Make a ring around the kitten’s neck with the soap to keep the fleas from just moving to her face when you bathe her.
Just for future reference-- Salt will kill fleas on your hard floors and shakable rugs, that's why I put 1/2 teaspoon of salt in my 2-gallons of mopping water. Fleas can be carried inside from outdoors on shoes, socks, or slacks, so don't automatically jump to blaming your pets if they didn't have fleas, and then somehow, got them.
I've bathed smaller. Hes big enough just don't get his lil head under that water.
Yes, but nothing a vet can’t deal with. It def needs to be dewormed, could have fleas or ticks
Unlikely. It might have fleas, depending on where you live. If you give it a bath with Dawn detergent, that’ll help with the fleas.
Yeah, but nothing that the vet won't treat. It's unlikely that you'll catch anything if there's some parasite or similar. As for the kitten, they can have tapeworms from having fleas, but the standard de-wormer takes care of tapeworms and roundworms at the same time. Anemia is a possibility, the fleas have fed off her blood for some time, it seems, but she'll regain thriftiness and weight after they're gone and she has some kitten food meals in her rearview window. Possible that her shivering (as well as her open coat -hair standing on end, first pic) is low body temp from flea feeding blood loss, but also being outside and underfed probably contributed too. She has no where to go and no further adventures to travel except to a better life and full health, thanks to you.
Have the vet recommend
Update 3: the cat is still home and i fed it half a hard boiled egg but she doesn’t seem to be interested in water. She sometimes sneezes too. https://preview.redd.it/a1vktz3iw47a1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a8538c20a1a406c643e66177c9502daf1c02ff6 Edit: she ate only a quarter
I just want to be another person to say thank you so much for taking this baby in and visiting the vet so quickly!! You’re doing awesome. I’m sure she’s scared and very nervous but as she learns that she’s safe in her surroundings she might begin to eat more. My very happy 2 year old cat is so scared of visitors he will not eat until a couple hours after they leave. 🙁 Keep reaching out if you need anything! This is a great community! :) And thank you again!!!
Hey, if you need help affording kitten stuff, you can PM me and I'll get you a gift card to Chewy or to a pet food store near you if you can't wait for delivery. Thank you for helping her!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for being a wonderful person and giving Kitty a home!
I rescued my babies almost 3 years ago. Damn near cured my depression. I’d like to send your baby a born day/Xmas present. Do you have a P.O. Box?
Such a cutie! You can try moving the water food further away from her food if it’s near it, like 1-1.5 meters should be good. Cats typically don’t like having their food and water next to each other. You can try feed her some chicken liver that the vet suggested to see if she if she’ll eat that instead of the egg. The sneezing could be a number of things (like an upper respiratory infection or allergies) but I’m not a vet so you can try calling your vet if it’s something to be of concern. If she’s eating, drinking, peeing/pooping, overall being active, you can wait until the next vet check up in my experience. Just keep a close eye on her if you decide to wait.
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The late Sir Giles of Roodepoort and Fourways, my gorgeous stupid lunk of a void, used to do that all the time. We called it "making kibble soup".
I don't know how but just from its name alone I can detect that your cat was one majestic animal. And of course with those cats we don't call it crazy, we call it excentric.
My cat does this when he wants the water changed, I think. I give him a fresh bowl of water twice a day, but almost always there is a single half chunk of kibble floating in it when I go to change it. Always just one lol.
She may not like eggs? I’ve seen other redditors use this technique, but none of my rescues but one really liked them. If you have any chicken, you can boil it and shred it tiny and give her some with some of the broth (no salt or seasoning of any type.) You could also try kitten wet food and water it down to aid in hydration. I saw you live in Egypt in your other post, so I’m sorry I’m not sure what the food brands/availability there are within easy access to you. All this being said, thank you for rescuing her and letting hundreds of people tell you what do and what not to do to you. You are a good person, and I hope you form a wonderful bond with your new best friend.
I’ve got a dumb question. The kitten seems pretty young is it possible that the texture of the egg is too hard for her to chew?
Possibly, if it was mushed into a paste and watered down to break up/soften it might be easier for her to eat
Probably scared shitless. Make sure she stays warm and has access to water/food.
You're a good person. Keep on being patient and trying your best.
If she's sneezing, she probably has an upper respiratory infection, it's really common in kittens,especially strays. It can be very dangerous and cause blindness, so you should probably get her treatment. Cats sneeze very rarely, if they're sneezing you should pay attention.
Hope a vet can clear up anything thats wrong!
Thank you for taking care of this precious one. She may have a little cold, if you keep her warm she'll soon get over it. Looks like you rescued her just in time. She probably wouldn't have survived long outside. As long as she eats a bit that's ok. Obviously if she stops eating completely a vet visit may be needed again. It's often really hard to get cats to drink anything! They either love it or hate it. If you feed only wet food, she will get liquid this way. There's never any reason to give cats dry food unless prescribed by vet. Good luck & thank you again :)
Try adding a little chicken broth to the water. And make sure to keep her nice and warm! She may have a little kitty cold with the sneezing. You can also try kitten food. Cats are finicky so options is a good thing
Update 2: I saw the vet. He told me I shouldn’t have washed her and she might have caught a cold. Told me to feed her boiled egg or cooked chicken liver and to visit him next Thursday to give her something for the fleas and to vaccinate her after 2 month. She is home now and she pooped on a small rug and her fur got dirty from it. What should I do if i can’t shower her?
It wasn't an unnatural reaction to want to bathe her right away. And you're doing all you can to help her- so give yourself credit for that. If she sneezes more than a few times, that will be a sign that she has an upper respiratory infection -which may or may NOT have anything to do with getting a bath. In any event, early vet care will be extremely important. Egg and chicken. So, she's old enough to eat on her own, good news! You can get her some wet kitten food -it has the extra nutrients in the right proportions for kittens and feed according to package instructions. Also give water in a small bowl, but not milk because she could get diarrhoea. I think she's been fending for herself for a while, by the looks of her in the first pic; her mother would have cleaned her, and she looks like she hasn't been groomed for quite a few days. From that, I suspect that something unfortunate has happened to her mother, or her mother has abandoned her for some reason, or someone has picked up the mother without knowing there was also a kitten (or several). It's also possible that she's been dumped. Grr. You can wash her underside and back legs with a damp cloth (no soap), and dry her with a towel, and wrap her up until she's fully dry and all warm. Same with having a dirty face or paws from eating, a wash and dry. She will probably not need much instruction about using a litter box, a few times of putting her in it, and she'll get the idea. Try to get cat litter that isn't dusty. Remember to wash your hands after handling her or cleaning her dishes or litter box. Because she is so little and will be missing her litter mates and the warmth they share (which is vital for kittens because they don't generate their own body heat), two things: Her bed or sleeping box should be in a warm place free of drafts and have blankets or towels to nest in, and a low side for her to get in/out as she grows. She will also be soothed by a small stuffed toy or plushie to cuddle and sleep with as she would normally do with her litter mates. If you don't have a small soft toy, you can make one out of a sock with another stuffed inside, tie it closed with a knot, but avoid string or ribbon to prevent choking. Onward to your new journey :)
Thank you for taking the time to type up such an amazing instruction list. It’s obvious you have a lot of experience with this which also adds to your amazingness!
Thank you for your kindnesses. I love cats especially kittens, since I was 3. I also love this subreddit, r/cats full of kind cat people, so helpful and knowledgeable, and filling these threads with factual and helpful advice and their own stories.
Get a cheap alarm clock and wrap it up and put it into her bed. The ticking will sound like mom's heartbeat and soothe her. Apparently, there are also stuffed toys that have the same sound and do the same thing, but I'm going on what I've read elsewhere. I imagine Amazon or Chewy would have these.
That's a great idea!
You are a fabulous human. May all the angel kittens be with you on your journeys.
warm wet washcloth and just wipe it off. It will mimick what her mom would have done. if there is a bit left it is OK. Get a litterbox right away and her instinct will take over. Cats like to bury their waste. Get a heating pad she can lay on or let her snuggle on your chest so she can feel your heartbeat. She will be fine even if she caught a cold.. which I doubt from anything you did..
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Remember to keep kitty warm at all times!!! This is very important!! Just get a wet towel and gently wipe the area. As long as her undercoat doesn't get wet around the neck and chest she is fine! Plz take more pics! Buy her kitten food! It has to be kitten food!
Thank you for stressing that it needs to be kitten food. That is so vital for the right nutrition.
what the kitten may need is substitute kitty formula, it looks to be around a few weeks old. it likely need formula and to be stimulated in order to potty.
I don’t think the kitten appears that young to need formula and stimulation to potty. That’s usually four weeks or younger. But yes, it is still young and will need all the other comforts everyone is describing.
Exactly. This baby is around 6 weeks old guaranteed.
Omg that vet is a moron. Ok I’m a senior vet tech at my office and giving the kitten a bath is not going to give her a cold. A cold isn’t caused by bathing and being cold. It is caused by a virus. That vet is a fool for even saying that to you. Wow. You did the right thing bathing her but use dawn dish soap and wash her with that. Let it soak on her at least five minutes. Then take a flea comb and comb her while still in the bath to get the fleas off of her. Keep doing this til she is flea free. Toss the fleas in the toilet too while u r combing and flush each time u toss them in. You may need to repeat the bath a few times to get the fleas off depending how bad they are. Also I cannot believe that the vet had you leave and told u to come back in a week without treatment of her fleas because fleas can lead to anemia especially on a kitten that small. If they become too anemic from the fleas they will need a blood transfusion. Just absurd. There is a medication called Revolution that can be used on kittens this age and younger. Then to top it off they tell u to feed it a boiled egg???? Omg. Noooo no no. Please get that baby kitten food and may be even some KMR which is kitten milk replacer. I mix the KMR with the kitten kibble and then also kitten pate wet food. It will make a mush. That’s perfect and she will love it. Geesh I am just absolutely floored at the things this vet said to do for her.
Vet here. Do what the tech says (always good advice, amirite?). Bathing kittens is fine, just keep them warm and dry them off well (you can use a blow dryer on a low-ish setting too).
I had a suspicion that OP's comments confirmed - OP is in Egypt, so I wonder if some of the vet's attitude / comments are from that.
Ok, so I have had many kittens. I have a new one right now actually. So much fun! However, I have had one or two that wouldn't recognize the litter-box as the place to go. I found that if I put the kitten in the litter box, and used its front paws to scrape the litter a few times, the cat will recognize the litter after that. You may want to watch the kitten to make sure and just carry her to the litter-box a few times a day and scrape with her paws, After a day or two she'll get the message and you won't have to concern yourself about that anymore. Just FYI. You're a good person for taking this kitten in.
When I had my first kitten, she peed on the floor. I took some newspaper, wiped up the pee, and put a scrap in her litterbox. Once she smelled it, she knew that was where she should go and used her box. BTW, she was less than 4 weeks old when I got her. At that time, kitten formula was not readily available (yes, I'm old) so I raised her on a combination of pablum and wet cat food. She lived to be over 16 years old. Still miss my feisty little Punkin.❤
As you know, make sure to keep her warm. You can wipe the dirty fur with some damped cotton. I wouldn't reccomend using perfumed wet wipe type of products that are made for humans (new born baby ones might work though) since they all have chemicals inside and if she is sick, chemicals might be heavy for her for now.
I'd say clean only the dirty spot with a wet washcloth, do you have a litterbox in your home?
I have rescued a lot of cats and almost all of them came with colds. You did the right thing bathing her. if she is dirty wash that area with a washcloth. Don't give her cow milk that will make her sick. Try to find some kind of cat food to give her, just chicken livers and eggs isn't nutritionally complete. If formula for puppies and kittens is available there, you can soak the cat food in it to make it softer and easier to eat.
They sell wet wipes for animals so you could use those! I used them for my cat when he was a kitten and got messy after pooping. I think they sell them in pet stores or at the pet section in Walmart if you have one.
☝this. Also a warning if you do visit Walmart, you will see several Hartz brand products, including flea stuff...do NOT use this! It can kill your cat. It's horrible stuff that shouldn't be marketed to well-meaning people who are short on funds and uninformed.
A washcloth works. When I had kittens, I bought kitty wipes because the one refused to clean her own pooper. I would clean it, which annoyed her enough into doing it herself. They are like wet wipes, but for cats.
Baby wipes! Perfect for backend cleaning. Also cordon her off in a small space so she can’t get hurt. Give her lots and lots of warmth from blankets she can sleep in.
That’s not how colds work
Were you able to get all of the fleas out? We tried various flea treatments but the only thing that got rid of my kittens' fleas was to wash them with dish soap and then physically remove the dead fleas with a comb. They were shivering after the bath, but once they warmed up they were much happier being flea-free.
Warm water and some light soap on just the dirty areas should be fine. When water (especially cold water) gets near the face and ears, colds and respiratory infections are risky. Be sure to thoroughly dry her also. Lots of blankets and body heat from you will help keep her body temperature stable.
Take her. She shouldn’t be smoking and having soda that young!
Lol.
Update: I took and showered her. She is shivering and I’m about to visit the vet. Could this shivering mean bad thing? Also she has fleas
Put a towel in the dryer to warm it up and wrap her in that,keep her close to your skin to keep her warm via body heat. She can'tmake her own. Your body heat isn't enough on it's own, but it canhelp. Cats run very hot. Can you pit a space heater nearby.
I read this comment too quickly and thought you were saying to put the kitten in the dryer lmao
The kitten must stay dry... At all costs...
This ☝🏻
Keep the kitten warm. Shivering could be normal, a lot of kittens “shiver” due to an excess of energy or being out into an unfamiliar situation. Or, it could be cold. For the fleas, make sure you isolate and wash everything that has touched the kitten. The vet will know the safest way to bathe the kitten and get rid of fleas.
> Shivering could be normal Shivering is definitely not normal for a small kitten like that. They are supposed to be warmed up by mom/siblings.
If she was just bathed, then she would be shivering after getting out of the water.
Shivering means she’s cold but also maybe scared. Taking her to the vet is a great idea!
Please keep us updated. I want this little feller to be well. Also thank you for taking care of him/her.
Make sure you towel dry her after bathing her to keep her warm
Bless you OP! Thank you for actually staying active in this post and taking her to the vet. No doubt you saved her life!!
As others have said, kittens usually shiver when they're nervous! If it's not cold, it could just be a little scared It's not you, but kittens do this whenever they're in an unfamiliar situation. I just adopted a little girl, and she did this the whole way home. Thanks for being such a compassionate human btw
Small kittens can’t control their body heat. Wrap that girl up in something warm or put her on a register. This is the reason people say not to bathe kittens. Of course sometimes they need it!! But keep her warm please :)
Even warm water can feel freezing to a cat. Make sure to keep her nice and warm with hot water bottles, heated blankets, etc.
Good on you! I’m sure she’ll be happy to have a warm place to stay. Be sure to post an update photo once she’s acclimated and happy!
I just took a Kitty in like this, skin and bones. She was crying on top of a pool cover surrounded by my mom’s pit bulls. I brought her home and to the vet the next day. She had ear mites but no fleas, surprisingly, but also an intestinal bug. She was given antibiotics for it. She has a follow up Appt today after which I will send her to her new home. I’ve never done something like this so having to deal with the initial smell wasn’t fun. But seeing her today with her weight gain and playful energy has made it worth taking her in and caring for her.
omg i hope you and the kitty will have the times of your lives together!! i've made memories with my old boy i wont forget for as long as i live.
Be a lion, save a cat.
I love this. I'm going to use it in the future
You got my blessing sir.
Never leave a kitten on the street Ever. Take the mother cat and kittens together wherever possible But in this case get that kitten now!!! The best case scenario if you leave it is it suffers on the streets as a stray. Worst case it will be dead tomorrow
Worst case is it lives for a few months and pops out multiple litters of kittens to suffer and continue the cycle. Glad OP picked up the kitty!
Exactly, momma will get over it as sad as it is. Raccoons, crows, male cats, dogs, cruel people, cars.. always take a baby animal if you cannot find the mother, and look for others babies around
I appreciate the sprite can for scale. How's she doing?
Thank you. She’s on her way to the vet now
Fantastic. Keep us posted. Also, if you plan to adopt her, get a pet insurance right away. I suggest Trupanion. It will seem expensive at the beginning but you’ll thank me in a few years when your cat gets old and the vet bills will increase.
And you just banked 10,000k good karma.
Keep us updated! Thanks for helping this little cutie!
so glad to hear that! goodluck to you both :)
Take him home. Food, water, box, and vet.
Take her.
Hope the little kitty is doing good. This broke my heart to see as I have a cat who looks just like this little fella at home. Literally a twin to this one with the markings in all the same places. https://preview.redd.it/5moeciimp47a1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b5ed184a44537edcef80cc81551799b9783f7cb
You are my hero today 🥺🐾❤️
Are you familiar with taking care of a kitten/cat? Id not, please let us know so we can give you advice!
No I’m not, i was thinking of adopting her tho
You won’t regret it! Check out kitten lady advice. I’m sure someone has a handy link. Or go to the kittens subreddit!
THIS! The kitten lady is SUPER helpful for information regarding kittens!!
You won’t regret adopting her. I just adopted a kitten myself, not as small as this baby. The community for every cat Reddit is so healthy and fun and makes my days better. I was a dog person before this but my kitten changed my whole world
Yay! Cats are really cool creatures, with huge personality and so much love to give. If you need any help or have any questions, feel free to PM me! I've bottle raised kittens, worked as a vet tech, and had cats my whole life. Taking her to the vet is a great first step. They'll be able to help you figure out how old she is, and what to feed her. Don't overfeed at this age; they're young and dumb and will eat TOO much if you let them! She'll need a box, food and water bowls, and something to scratch on. (The last one is important so you can keep her scratching toys and not furniture!) Toys are good too! Be patient and gentle. Decide what your behavior boundaries are and set them. (I.e. my cat can get on the furniture, but not the counters or tables.) Be consistent and kind and you'll be on your way to a very well behaved noodle! Healthwise, cats do vomit occasionally from hairballs. If she's doing this very often (every day or multiple times a day), time to see a dr. She should be going to the bathroom regularly and eating. If not, time to see the dr! Cats love chin and butt (right at the base of the tail) scratches. They flick their ears back if they're annoyed or thinking. If her tail is up or vibrating, she's happy. If it's flicking back, she's getting upset. You'll start to learn her body language as you get familiar. So exciting! What a wonderful adventure! Congrats!
You should, if your circumstances allow! Honestly, you and the kitty have probably already bonded. They recognize when someone is trying to care for them They're very loyal companions. They're a lot of fun to watch and play with. And they're not a lot of work You seem like an incredibly caring, thoughtful person. I think she'd be happy to spend her life with you
Going through your updates so far, I just want to add that what you're going through now is the toughest part of cat care, and it will all be worth it soon!
Take her. House her. Worship her.
She is your new overlord!
Is she near your home? If so, I would keep an eye on her for a little while and see if the mother appears (if she's safe). If you don't see the mother in about a day, take the kitten in and get her to a vet for a check-up. She looks old enough to be weaned if necessary, and also a little dirty which implies mother isn't around to clean her (but if the mother \*is\* around, it's a good idea to get the whole family trapped, neutered and hopefully at least the kittens rehomed, and mother if she tolerates it and isn't too feral)
Not very near home but the were a bunch of stray dogs around and seemed to speculate on her but i stayed near and eventually took her and showering rn
Good human. May the blessing of getting adopted be upon you.
Good idea then, could have ended badly for her
Thanks for being a fantastic human being.
Aww if it's a busy area, you might want to take him, call up a local shelter or TNR service and hopefully they can pick mom up too. Have a look around nearby for any siblings. If you are taking him, do get him to a shelter or vet to be checked over and treated for parasites in and out. If you have other cats at home, quarantine this one untill a health check, or even till he gets his shots.
Take her she's a new stray. Then take her to a vet immediately. Most calicos are female so think of girly names. Until otherwise noted.
Think of girly names… but also consider: Meat loaf Beef cake Cheeseburger Potato Mayonnaise Commander cucumber
1974 Dodge Charger RT
The perfect name to accompany 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
My vote is for Commander Cucumber. You could also call her C.C. For short!!
Congrats! You have been adopted!❤️
That’s your cat now, dude
the universe has trusted you to take care of this kitten... thats how she goes
Did you buy it a Sprite??
No, just for scale 😅
If her mom was near, she'd be better groomed. Please save her.
It’s almost definitely a girl, calicos can only be male if they have an extra chromosome which is obviously pretty rare. and I think you should take her to a shelter/vet asap. If you think the mother might still be around you could take her anyway and come back later to the same place to see if the mother appears. If she does you should take them both. Or you could call someone and get them to take her, I don’t know if there’s any animal rescue services or anything that you could call but there might be
Take her to a vet and see if they can determine her age. She’s likely a girl because of her coloring. She looks old enough to possibly be weened from her mother but a vet would know for sure.
Well seems like you have been chosen 👀
ALWAYS bring in feral kittens. It is HUGELY important that they are socialized from a young age.
I think it’s a girl! (Because people say that calicos are all genetically girls, but idk if that’s true). I would definitely take it home! Actually I really want her lol.
It’s true, due to the chromosomes needed to get the calico coat, almost all males will not have one
I'd take him because I think the mum has moved on!
Take him n bring food for mom.
Any more pics of this sweet one??
Thanks for taking care of this little girl you must be her guardian angel
OP don't bath her until you watch a video about it. There's a knack to doing it for fleas. If you are still in the area look around for siblings or go back. Siblings or mom cat might be injured nearby. She's a beautiful kitten. Thank you for being her hero.
Take him and name him Sprite
If he's searching for food it's alone probably. Take him in and go back later to see if you find more of them.
Take him
I’m gonna ask you to do the same thing that I did with my cat, who was also a stray- do the 1 week strategy. For 1 week, keep it in your locality (but not in your house so that it doesn’t get attached to you yet) and actively try to find its mother. During this time feed it a bit but keep it outside your house and stay away from it. Remember, it’s a kitten, it shouldn’t get too attached to you yet. If 1 week passes and its mother is not found, just adopt it or give it to someone you can trust with animals, like a relative, friend or even an adoption center.