Expert: Ali - 9/28/2011

Question
Hello! Okay, I'll try to shorten this longs story: My sister found 3 orphan kittens by her house (there's lots of feral and domesticated cats there, so we don't know what these are), they seemed to be about 5-6 weeks.. their lower molars where already there and the upper ones were showing. She kept them for a good week or so, and then something tragic happened and one of them died. So me and my friend took one of the remaining ones and brought it home since my sister's house didn't seem safe. By this my sister already had another kitten, so she had 2 still with her.

Anyway, my friend has 4 cats and 4 dogs, the dogs are very friendly and used to cats/kittens, but the cats (all adults) are not very friendly with stranger kittens. We're feeding him Replacement milk every 3-4 hours since she (the kitten, sister named her "Unwanted") is still suckling on anything she can get a hold of. I'm not sure if we're supposed to give her solid food already or wait. And I'm concerned that she will have trouble socializing with other cats since she has no litter-mates.
Also, my friend, as loving as she is, can't keep her because she has a lot of school work and has already many animals, so I'm thinking of taking her home. I have a friendly dog, but has never been introduced to other animals. But I would have more time to take care of kitty. We need advice on this one.

Is it feral? Should we still be giving her replacement milk? How can we prevent phobias or social disabilities? Should I take her home with me?... In other words, what's the best way to raise this kitten?? Thanks.

Answer
Vilma,

Your kitten is very precious. I must say that the best thing for her social and physical development is to be with her littermates at this point in her life up until she's roughly 12 weeks old so if at all possible this is the first thing that I would suggest - it does go a long way towards her being the happiest, healthiest and most well adjusted kitten possible in the long run. In the picture you've sent me it looks like your baby has some eye discharge which should be checked out by a veterinarian as unvaccinated kittens that have contact with unvaccinated cats can contract eye infections and upper respiratory issues which should be carefully monitored and if necessary treated with antibiotics.

It's quite normal for a kitten who has been removed from mom (regardless of the circumstances) to suckle on anything from fingers to clothing and blankets simply because they should still be suckling on their mom, however at this stage this baby would be better served by transitioning her to a high quality wet food such as Wellness mixed with a kitten weaning formula (KMR makes one) to help her get the nutrients that she needs to continue to grow and develop. Be aware that since this baby was prematurely weaned she may have a lifelong issue with inappropriate suckling - I have a nearly 13 year old bottle baby who nurses on her own tummy fur but when she was a tiny kitten a couple of weeks old she wanted to nurse on everything she could get her paws on.

I would not recommend introducing your baby girl to any other animals for at least a few weeks - she's too small and vulnerable to disease right now... Once she's been examined by a vet, treated for any ailments she does have and given her first set of vaccines then you can consider introducing her to other animals besides her littermates.

Raising this orphan is all about time, patience, love and plenty more patience and love because you are going to have to try and teach her everything that her momma would have and that's a tall order. If she's not urinating and defecating on her own she may be younger than you think but if she is 5-6 weeks old try providing her with a litter pan filled with a clumping wheat or corn based litter (kittens tend to eat litter their first few times in the box and these products are safer for them throughout their lives). Please feel free to contact me at any time with any concerns that might develop with your babies over the coming weeks - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali