Expert: Norman Auspitz - 9/7/2010

Question
QUESTION: I found a baby kitten I'm not sure but I think its about 5 days old today its 02/07/2010 aand its eyes are starting to open but it looks like glass I'm scared that it might be blind I have read about how to feed, clean and keep it warm but I see that it wee- wee's alot but has no bowel movment. I'm alittle worried that it has a problem there, please I never had a cat befor but had to try and save this one.

ANSWER: Bianca,

First, of all, you are truly an angel to take on the rescue of this little tyke!!!!!!!!!!

I would wait until the eyes are open before drawing any conclusions about blindness.  Also, the kittens still cannot see when the eyes first do open.  It takes a few more days for eyesight to become established. Usually, the eyes do not "peep" until the kitten is closer to 10 days old, but 5 days old for beginning to open the eyes is not unheard of.

As far as bowel movements, once a day is normal for baby kittens. It may be that it had not had enough to eat until now.  If in doubt, you can always take it to the vet. Seeing your vet and establishing some rapport with the vet and the kitten may not be a bad isea at all.  The vet can do a pretty good check up to see if things appear to be OK.  We find a shoe box filled with face clothes or hand towels a good mode of transport for baby kittens.

At the tender age of a week or so, the most important thing is to make sure the kitten stays warm, as it is not old enough to regulate its own body temperature.  On the other hand, do not let it get oveheated.

Please let me know how things proceed.

Best regards... Norm.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Norm,
Kitty is all grown and very healthy, thank you so much for your reply, for his bowel movement I got him some cat formula at the vet it helped and I kept him warm, so once I went to check up on Kitty and he was over heating he was panting and his tong was sticking out it was so small and so cute.
When Kitty was about two weeks old I had to leave for over a month and my husband made sure Kitty was feed and kept clean although his not very affectionate towards animals but did agree to save him and take care of him. Don’t worry he wasn’t cruel to Kitty lol.
But now the thing is Kitty acts like a stray cat when its time for food he cries like he never got food in days and when I give his food he acts like a crazy person not taking note of anything going on around him, if I don’t stop him he will just go on eating doesn’t know when its enough then his stomach is so full.
I know that they are very playful at this age but when I try to pick him up, rub or love him Kitty wants to scratch and bit me. Is this normal, is there a way I can change him or will he grow out of it? But he is using the sand box so there must be some good. So sorry for my ignorance but this is the first time I have a cat always had doggies while growing up.

Thankfully
Bianca


Answer
Bianca,

At your kitty'e age all is normal.

You will have to socialize him to playing with humans. Cats have very, very tough skin, so scratching and biting behaviors are part of normal play.  We like to hold the kitten, speak softly, and stroke the kitten. They love this "game". If the biting/scratching behavior starts, we scruff the kitten, put it down and walk away. It usually does not take long for kittens to discover they need to play more gently with humans.

As to eating, we generally put a measured amount of food down for the cats twice a day and that is what they get to eat.  Thus we can keep control of their weight.

If you can find it, a good reference book is "Kittens for Dummies" by Dusty Rainbolt.  I suspect it is still available throguh Amazon or the like.

Best regards... Norm.