I rescued a kitten, what do I do?

[Redsonga]

A vet . And kitty illness is very contagious amoung cats, but they do not harm people. It is very important to make sure nothing is wrong with the eyes and lungs. There is something wild kitties get that is like a cold which could kill a small kitty like that .
I recused a wild kitty a year and half or so ago, she has no tail, I named her Marble (these are some of the first pictures I took of her)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13535569@N04/1387880439/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13535569@N04/1389572222/in/photostream/

 

[Oscarfan]

I say keep it! How you say no to face like that?

But, if it's got woims, I would get it checked out.

 

[Redsonga]

I say keep it! How you say no to face like that?

But, if it's got woims, I would get it checked out.

Worms are very treatable if you catch them in time and don't have both kitties sharing the same food and litter box

 

[Vic Romano]

Worms are very treatable if you catch them in time and don't have both kitties sharing the same food and litter box

Right, we're keeping the two very separated. That's the one piece of advice that's been very consistent.

Dave - she is adorable!

I guess I would go to a vet or something - I have never taken in a kitten that little myself so I don't know how that all works.

I can tell you some stuff about introducing two cats as we recently just finished that process ourselves! Let me know if you need any tips on that!

Definitely. Right now, our cat is NOT happy. She hissed at the kitten and at me. She never hisses, she's usually very sweet and very friendly. We're being told that's normal, but I don't know.

I'll say this too at the risk of sounding very ignorant: we've rescued and cared for animals many times before, never this small and young though. Kittens are a lot more work then I realized.

At this point, I'm leaning more towards fostering her. I don't know that we'll be able to keep her.

Oh yeah, and for such a tiny kitten, her poop is really stinky. The plus side is she litter-box trained almost instantly.

 

[redBoobergurl]

The hissing is VERY normal.

Our Taylor is usually a total sweetheart, loves everyone and will even lick you like she's a dog. When we brought home Pippin a couple of weeks ago she was NOT HAPPY at all and it was the first time I ever heard her hiss. What we did is kept them separate for a few days, gave Pippin her own room and litter box. We slowly introduced them for small doses, from one hour to several until they could finally be together all day. It did work - Taylor will even sleep with and try to bathe Pippin, it's really cute. It does take time and alot of work and sometimes just letting them battle it out a bit, but can be worth it in the end.

Of course, Pippin while still a kitten, is much older than that little ball of fur you got there! So I can understand her being alot of work!

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Most cats, if provided with clean litter, provided that it knows where it is, will almost always go to a litter box, you dont really have to train it. All our cats have anyway.

Bringing home a new cat to another will result in hissing...or worse. Its normal, just keep them seperated, but make sure to take some time to get the cats exposed to each other, and when you think they are comfortable with each other, then you dont need them seperated.

Young kittens should not be using litter. Its recomended that you use newspaper shreds, since they are softer on the kitten's sensitive paws

some vets have deals on feral animals, like you will get a discount on shots and stuff. But I would ask first.

and yes, kitten poop is very stinky

 

[Vic Romano]

I regret to announce that we were not able to keep her. We managed to find her a very good home, but we're absolutely heartbroken over the situation. It's just something that we really can't do right now.

What comforts me though, is the knowledge that I saved her life. Her siblings (that I was not able to catch) did not make it through the last 48 hours, possibly due to the weather or malnutrition or possibly even defending themselves against the other wildlife. However, our little kitten did live, and now has a chance at a long healthy and wonderful life.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice.

 

[redBoobergurl]

That's too bad Dave - but I'm so glad you found her a good home and I think it's so awesome that you saved her life! Did someone you know take her so you can at least see how she grows?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

well at least you saved her life

My grandmother actually found a kitten a few weeks ago and brought it home. Its an outside cat now though. Its really cute. But where we are the weather is warm still, so its not like its freezing. And we have a doghouse set up for it with blankets and things.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Aw I'm sorry you couldn't keep it, but at least it ended well! You did a very good thing.