I work at a vet clinic, and one of our employees found a tiny kitten, less than 2 days old, out by her barn. She brought it in, and we put it in a box with a heating pad and started feeding it every hour. I decided to bring it home for the night. I’ll be up every hour feeding the tiny thing a few drops of formula from a pipette all night and then going to work in the morning. Hopefully the little one will pull through! If so, I’ll probably be on foster mommy duties again at some point.
So far so good. It’s hard to tell how much formula is actually making down into his tummy, but I think I’ve got a good technique down. He produced quite the prodigious poop earlier, and I know I’ve gotten pee out of him at least once, so the internal bits are all working well. It will certainly be an interesting night though. I’ll be sleeping in the living room so my constant wakings don’t disturb my husband. Good thing I like our couch. Hopefully the little bugger will pull through and we’ll find him a home. If not, we did the best we could and he wasn’t lost without a fight.
Well, he’s made it through the first 12 hours in my care. He pooped again and seems to have pretty good strength for such a tiny thing. I haven’t had anything to do with newborn kittens in close to 20 years, and they all had mom at the ready.
He’ll go back to the clinic today, and someone else will take over for the weekend - probably the doctor. I don’t work again until Tuesday, so I just might have to call Monday morning to see how he’s doing. I play on documenting his progress for as long as I can, so you can look forward to more teeny tiny kitten pictures and updates.
He was so untidy from making a horrid mess out of trying to eat. The formula runs all over his face, so he was wet from that. He was dry when he came in, but still has his umbilical cord attached.
/me hugs Avarie even though tears are running down her face
thank you for trying! It’s hardest with the tiny ones. you did your best!
if kitten went so soon, there was something likely wrong at birth…
which would explain kitten being found with umbilical still attached. Momcat knew.
This, seriously. He could have passed on the hard ground in the cold night or in the hot morning sun, but he passed away someplace soft and comfortable while being cared for. You did a good thing.
