Expert: Ali - 8/8/2009

Question
I found 4 orphaned kittens the mother will not attend to them. I am trying to take care of them but upon putting them outside in a box to keep them warm for just awhile they have become infested in their anus with maggots. I am trying to feed baby formula with an eye dropper to them but am having difficulty. I am more concerned with these maggots, what should I do? I have tried to clean them up keep new paper down, I have even put petroleum jelly on them to try to suffocate the parasite. I am at a loss, I do not want to see them suffer. The vets in the community are not in and emergency clinics are 2 hours away.

Answer
Erin,

I have a few very serious concerns about these kittens. The main concern is the fact that these babies have maggots on them at all. All things being equal maggots generally only occupy dead flesh, that's why in some cases surgeons will still use them to clean out seriously infected wounds where tissue is dying because the maggots will remove the dead tissue and leave behind the healthy tissue. I'm not entirely sure if the fact that these babies have maggots on them has anything to do with the kittens being left outside unattended for awhile or if there's some other issue that may explain what's going on. The fact that these babies have maggots on them at all is a bad sign. I have several questions that will hopefully help to get things back on track for these kittens, but it's important to realize that if the maggot infestation is allowed to go far enough the kittens may have to be humanely euthanized. This is a situation that can't really wait for treatment. Most veterinarians have an after hours number or answering service that you can contact in order to access emergency veterinary care. The sooner these babies are seen by a veterinarian, have all of the maggots removed, determine what caused the maggot infestation in the first place and treat the wounds before they claim these tiny lives the better their chances of survival will be. Maggots generally don’t show up unless there is infected or dead tissue for them to eat and I have difficulty understanding how that’s possible with healthy kittens. Vaseline isn't going to get rid of these bugs, they need to be removed one by one and destroyed.

As far as I know there is no other safe way to kill maggots on such young kittens and to be completely honest I’m not sure these babies are going to survive if the maggots are promptly removed and the damage done is appropriately treated by a veterinarian. Most veterinary clinics have emergency after hours numbers that can be called in situations like this. I’d recommend that you look up phone numbers of local vets and call them, some vets have an answering service much like a doctor does, which means they can be paged and you can speak with them by phone when they answer your page. Granted after hours veterinary care is more expensive than regular office visits, but emergency situations shouldn’t be left alone until a vet is in his/her office simply because finances are an issue. I understand that economic times are tough and I’ve gathered an ever growing list of financial resources that may be willing to help pet parents with the costs of veterinary care. In order to ensure that I don’t waste your time or mine by providing information that doesn’t apply to you all I ask is that you write me back with the general area you’re writing from so that I can pass along resources specifically available in your area. Given the severity of this situation I suspect that the kittens could potentially go downhill quite quickly if the maggots aren’t immediately removed, you can do this at home if you aren’t able to call a veterinarian’s emergency number and get these babies the immediate medical attention they so urgently need. DO NOT apply any insecticidal treatments, they aren’t safe for kittens under 8-12 weeks of age in most cases. If you have access to food grade diatomaceous earth you can sprinkle a bit over the kittens once you’ve removed the maggots using tweezers and tossed them into a bowl of rubbing alcohol. It’s important to get every single maggot off of these babies ASAP to prevent them from doing further damage and ultimately killing the kittens. I'm not sure how much experience you have with orphaned kittens so I've taken the liberty of providing some basic information for you below. These instructions are meant to provide these babies with the best possible chance of survival, however in this situation it's quite possible that one or more of the babies will die as a result of damage done by maggots.

Kittens are born with a very immature immune system which leaves them vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections. When everything goes the way that it was intended to newborn kittens get their antibodies to fight infection within the first couple of days after they’re born through mom’s early milk which is an antibody rich substance called colostrum. As the kittens grow they continue to receive important antibodies from their mother’s milk. Because kittens don’t tend to have much of an immune system when they’re very young it’s best to isolate them from other household pets and provide mom and babies with a room of their own. In the case of orphaned kittens finding a lactating queen willing to accept the newborns is preferable from a few different standpoints - the second best alternative to mom’s milk is another queen’s milk. Having another queen foster kittens that aren’t biologically hers also allows the kittens to learn important skills that will help them become completely normal, healthy cats. A last resort is hand rearing kittens partially because the kitten formulas really aren’t ideal from a nutritional standpoint and they really don’t offer any antibodies to protect the vulnerable kittens. When hand rearing kittens it’s really important to make sure that you concentrate on cleanliness to minimize the babies’ chances of contracting any kind of infection, this means making sure that everyone who handles the kittens washes their hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water before touching the kittens, the scale you weigh the little ones on should be cleaned thoroughly with hot, soapy water before the kittens come into contact with it, bottles/syringes should be washed in hot, soapy water after each feeding and the kittens’ bedding needs to be changed as soon as it becomes soiled for any reason.

Newborn kittens receive antibodies by nursing from mom, it's especially crucial that kittens nurse for the first 24-48 hours after birth because they receive an antibody rick milk called colostrum which helps to boost these baby immune systems. Some veterinarians and pet supply stores may have powdered kitty colostrum, if you can find it I'd certainly recommend giving it to these babies because they're going to need all the help they can get to fight the maggots off, even then these kittens may still need a rather large miracle to survive depending on the severity of the infestation and what the original reason is that caused the maggots to hang out on the kittens in the first place.  From the time that a kitten is born until s/he's received his/her kitten vaccines s/he‘s very vulnerable to infection. Since there is good evidence that too many vaccines cause more harm than they do good it’s not a bad idea to check out the following websites which will allow you to make informed decisions about vaccination and the potential risks to pets of all ages and life stages: http://www.holisticat.com/vaccinations.html and http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online/vaccine-side-effects.html

In the interests of keeping orphaned kittens as physically, psychologically and mentally healthy as possible I've found that it's best to keep things as calm, gentle and close to nature as possible. Hand raised kittens are often somewhat smaller when compared to kittens the same age raised by their mother or a lactating foster mom. I've found that there are important things that you can do to help your bottle babies behave as close to kittens raised by mom.

1) Orphaned kittens are often somewhat behind than their naturally raised counterparts when it comes to growth and meeting normal developmental milestones. Many kitten milk replacers make recommendations about how frequently orphans have been fed and the total amount of formula each kitten should receive daily based on their age and/or weight. Overall I've found that the majority of bottle raised kittens won't typically pig out to the point of gorging themselves while they're being fed. I'd be lying if I told you that no kitten has ever done a credible imitation of a Hoover vaccuum, but in my experience it's not something that happens frequently provided of course that kittens are fed on demand. When most queens care for their kittens they allow their babies to nurse pretty much on demand for the first several weeks of life. It's not uncommon for hand raised kittens to be somewhat smaller than kittens who were lucky enough to have a feline mom care for them from birth to 10-12 weeks of age when they're ready to be adopted into loving forever families. To compensate for the delayed growth in orphans I normally feed them on demand and allow them to eat as much as they'd like at a sitting, within reason of course. I've generally found that kittens will regulate what they eat reasonably if they're not being forced to eat more than their body tells them to. If the kittens are willing to suck on their bottle or the end of an oral syringe then it's perfectly reasonable to allow the babies to show you when they're full by turning their head away when you try to get the tip of the nipple or syringe into their mouths. Some kittens will fall asleep part way during their feeding, it's important to make sure that you gently wake the sleepy baby up by stimulating him/her by petting his/her body gently with a finger or two. Kittens do need to be burped halfway through their feeding and again at the end.

2) After burping the kittens it’s perfectly acceptable to offer them more food, if they refuse anymore food then it's time for an after meal bath so that the kittens are kept clean and they're able to bond with you like they normally would with their mother. Mother cats bathe their kittens from head to toe frequently throughout the day, most moms start at the top of their baby's head by washing his/her face and head. Once mom's satisfied that the kitten has a clean head and face she'll move on to washing the kitten's back and sides until she reaches the base of the baby's tail. Mom will then roll her baby over and use one or both of her front paws to hold that kitten on his/her back so that she can clean the baby's bib (area where s/he'd be wearing one if s/he was human), move along to the kitten's chest and abdomen. Once mom is finished washing her kitten's chest and abdomen she'll begin licking the kitten's belly in between the hind legs quite firmly to help encourage the kittens to get ready to urinate/defecate once the babies are stimulated appropriately. In most cases queens will clean their baby's ano-genital area last in order to stimulate him/her to pass urine or stool. This is normally done by mom licking the kitten from genitals to rectum repeatedly until the kitten uses the toilet. When it comes to bathing babies I recommend that pet parents try to keep things as natural as possible by using pre-cut strips from a slightly rough old towel moistened with water that's body temperature or even slightly warmer. You may also use cotton balls that have been lightly moistened with warm water or all natural, scent free baby wipes. I use like bottle fed human babies, hand reared orphaned kittens must be burped at some point during their feeding and they also need to be burped at the end of their feeding.

Ideally kittens should be raised by their mother, but occasionally moms reject their babies for one reason or another - some folks argue that mother knows when kittens aren't healthy or strong enough to survive, others aren't willing to accept defeat without at least trying to get these babies growing, gaining weight and developing as normally as possible. For the first 10-12 weeks of their lives kittens depend on their mother for protection, warmth, food, using the toilet and being groomed. When a kitten is orphaned there are several things they miss out on. Feline moms are usually kind, patient and attentive with their offspring. During the first few weeks of life mom allows her newborns to nurse on demand (this means mom doesn't get much time away from her babies), the kittens bond with their mother during frequent feedings, cuddles and baths. Queens stimulate their babies to urinate and defecate as necessary by licking their genitals and rectum, feline mothers also provide crucial antibodies through their milk to help ensure that their babies won't be as susceptible to viral/bacterial infections which could prove fatal at such a young age.  Raising orphaned kittens is time and labor intensive, I've found that feeding kittens on demand helps them to grow healthy and meet developmental milestones more quickly than scheduled feedings. Feeding orphaned kittens on demand (their demand) means that if the kittens are properly burped part way through and immediately after their feeding your kittens should be eating around every 1 1/2 - 2 hours 24/7 until they've reached 4 weeks of age or so when you can begin introducing solids, but even then these babies need a meal every 3 hours or so because they have such tiny bellies and very high nutritional requirements since they're growing so rapidly. Hand rearing newborn kittens can be difficult and this is a process that requires some specialized knowledge in order to spot potential problems before they become serious and claim any tiny lives. In some cases depending how long the kittens have been without their mother before being discovered there are situations when no matter what you do some or all of the kittens may die, it's very important to be able to spot tiny signs of trouble and do what's best for these babies as much as possible.

I don’t recommend feeding orphaned kittens of any age with an eye dropper, this makes things more difficult than necessary and can result in kittens accidentally inhaling their formula and potentially developing pneumonia or drowning as a result of inhaling too much fluid. In my experience it's always bee somewhat simpler to feed kittens using oral syringes or small bottles intended for feeding orphaned pets or wildlife. If you want to use bottles you may find that purchasing the bottle set meant for wildlife and household pets that comes with multiple nipples is best. I can’t say that I have had much luck with the nipple typically sold for use with orphaned kittens - it tends to be too large for younger kittens to latch on effectively, keeping in mind the size of mom’s nipples when she’s breast feeding her kittens is important when you choose nipples, especially if you want them to nurse as close to normally as possible. I feel most comfortable using oral syringes, they work quite well, are readily available in any 24 hour pharmacy and they're cheap - if you want to provide the kittens with a nipple attached to the end of a syringe you can do so because some syringes are large enough to attach the nipple to. Some kittens will latch onto a bottle or the tip of a syringe quite quickly and start eating immediately for others the introduction will take some patience and time. If you opt to use a syringe I'd suggest mixing kitten formula as directed on the package

If you're feeding human baby formula it may cause some serious health problems for these babies because it’s missing the basic nutrients that growing kittens need in order to stay as healthy as possible. It's very important to get these babies onto kitten milk replacer as soon as possible in order to improve their chances of survival. KMR, Mammalac and Just Born all make feline milk replacers for orphaned kittens, you can usually find them in local pet supply stores.

In a situation where I don’t happen to have any kitten milk replacer on hand I use  the following homemade formula, just remember this recipe is only meant as a short term solution until kitten milk replacer can be purchased since it still doesn’t contain the nutrients that mom’s milk or even powdered kitten formula has:

-> 1 cup of full fat organic goat's milk (which makes a great temporary substitute to bottle feed baby mammals without upsetting the tiny tummies)

-> 2 raw organic egg yolks (kittens need extra protein, the egg yolks provide that, don't give the kittens the egg whites though, they can cause some issues if they're raw)

-> 2 tbsp. plain, unsweetened organic yogurt (plain yogurt allows the kittens to receive beneficial bacteria naturally found in their digestive tract to minimize the risk of diarrea, vomiting and tummy aches, there's little to no lactose to worry about in yogurt because the beneficial bacteria essentially uses lactose for fuel)

-> 1 1/2 tbsp honey (adds just a small amount of sweetness, breast milk in mammals is apparently sweet, if the kittens aren't fussy about the whole homemade formula thing then you can add up to 2 tbsp of honey in total)

Combine all of your ingredients in a blender, and blend until the formula is a uniform color and texture.

It’s extremely important that orphaned kittens are NEVER fed on their backs like human babies, this position can cause the kitten to inhale his/her meal which essentially prevents them from breathing properly. It's best to syringe or bottle feed the kittens with their bellies facing the floor, this closely mimics the position kittens would settle in to nurse from mom, although I've seen some odd nursing positions in my time as well, this is more a reflection of the fact that syringes or bottles for hand rearing just aren't the same as breast feeding.
When orphaned kittens reach 3 weeks old then you can add 1 tbsp of strained meat/broth baby food and gradually increase the amount of baby food the kittens are getting as you slowly decrease the amount of formula given at each feeding and move on to gradually decreasing the number of bottle/syringe feeds you give the babies in a day. It‘s important that you don‘t use meat based baby foods that contain onions in any form because onions should never be fed to cats at any age. I recommend purchasing organic meat based baby food from your local grocery store/pharmacy since I’ve found that to be the simplest way to go,  however commercially prepared baby food can be expensive. If you do need to follow a budget you may want to consider making the baby food at home by gently poaching the meat until it’s cooked then running it through the food processor adding as much of the water the meat was cooked in as is necessary to achieve a smooth mix. Once you’ve pureed the meat you can strain the mixture so that it’s as smooth as possible and can easily pass through a bottle or syringe.

There is an incredibly serious pet overpopulation issue that affect shelters and rescue organizations. Unfortunately many animal loving staff working for animal welfare organizations are forced to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals simply because they don't have the time, space or resources to devote to each animal until their forever family comes along to adopt them. The euthanasia rate for cats tends to be much higher than that of dogs, this might be related to the fact that there are so many unwanted cats and kittens, though the overall euthanasia rates for cats is a much higher percentage than they are for dogs. The incredibly high numbers of cats and kittens admitted to shelters in North America (and I suspect worldwide) could possibly be an indication that cats are seen as disposable, another possible explanation is simply that pet parents aren't taking the important and simple step of controlling pet overpopulation humanely by spaying/neutering their cats before they reproduce.

Loving and caring for our cats and providing them with the incredible gifts that go along with spaying/neutering them at an early age is an important part of humane, ethical pet parenthood. There are many good behavioral and medical reasons to spay/neuter our cats. Cats that have been spayed/neutered are spared the pain and suffering that can happen as a result of developing uterine, ovarian or prostate cancers. The earlier in life that a cat is spayed/neutered the less likely s/he will be to develop prostate or breast cancers. Unspayed female cats are at risk of developing a potentially life threatening uterine infection called pyometra which causes the womb to fill with pus, if the uterus ruptures and spreads infection throughout the abdomen the cat's chances of survival are pretty low. The only treatment for pyometra is to perform an emergency spay, this procedure is much riskier than a routine spay because the cat is already quite sick which is associated with an increased risk of possible complications while the cat is under anesthesia as well as after she wakes up from her anesthesia. The emergency spay required to treat a cat with pyometra is more complicated and time consuming so it often quite a bit more expensive than a routine spay. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer I'd be more than happy to help you out to the best of my ability. I'm really rooting for these babies, so I'd certainly like to hear how they're doing - for now we'll keep them in our thoughts and prayers. I wish you the best of luck.