Baby Kitty is struggling to hang on. Rescued from the brush pile that was about to be burned, she was the only kitten alive. The other three had perished. Mom was no where in sight.
Mom was a pregnant cat that was on the Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) list for Friends of Feral Felines in Maine. But the cat had her litter of kitten before she could be trapped. Her rescuer, we’ll call her Kimberly, had been tracking mom’s movements. She knew the kittens were in the brush pile. She went to rescue them.
She took Baby Kitty to her house where she’d be warm. She started making formula for her, and bottle feeding her.
This week when Baby Kitty opened her eyes, only one opened. The other appeared infected. She took a tea bag and a lot of puss oozed from her eye. Her tummy was appearing a bit hard.
I was helping Kimberly trap the feral mom. TNR and feral cat programs weren’t the answer for Baby Kitty. What were we to do? Mom finally was trapped, but had no interest in Baby Kitty. The mother/kitten bond had been broken.
Now, we rescuers had developed the bond with Little Kitty.
Kimberly didn’t have the resources to put into Baby Kitty. So she reluctantly called the local animal shelter. Would they give her a lot of gruff? The shelter agreed to take the surrender, and Little Kitty will be getting the medical exam she so desperately needs. Hopefully that will happen today.
At three-weeks old, Baby Kitty has a bit of a battle in front of her. Paws for Reflection hopes to track of Baby Kitty’s progress and keep you posted.
Have you ever rescued a baby kitten or puppy? If so, please share your experiences.
keep us posted. Poor baby. And Dawn – kudos to you for taking care of these babies. that’s great.
Glad she is able to get some help for Baby Kitty. Will keep her in my thoughts.
I’ve raised kittens form about 2-3 weeks on. The first was a litter of 5 that were anemic from fleas and malnourished because the mother was still letting an older litter nurse of her. They were pretty sick and the vet I worked with didn’t think any of them would live. We lost 1 the first night, but the other 4 survived and thrived. I did adopt 1 and we found homes for the other 3.
The other one I found delivering newspapers early one morning. She was about 2-3 weeks old and screaming in the middle of someone’s front yard with several adult cats around and 2 litter mates dead nearby. I scooped her up and she quieted down once she was in my car. Her front feet were injured and maggots were starting to develop on them. Several washings and some antibiotics and her feet were almost as good as new. She stayed and is still with me.
It’s a lot of time caring for them, but worth it if you can do it.