Help from cat gurus!

hester · Jul 30, 2015

We took in an orphaned kitten a week ago today (she'd been crying in the bushes outside our house for a day and a half, no mother in sight). We're not sure how old she is, but her eyes were open when we found her, so best guess is around two to three weeks. She sleeps very well, is getting more alert, and we've been bottle-feeding her with kitten milk replacement.

The question is when to introduce wet food? We've bought a couple of cans, but she doesn't seem to know what to do with it--I tried smearing a little on her mouth, but she doesn't seem interested in anything but the bottle.

Also, she's peeing/pooping on her own (on the floor, clothes, etc.

). A pet store clerk indicated she may be ready for litter training, but when I tried introducing her to the box, she tried to eat the litter crystals--gah!

Just looking for some suggestions--we've never owned a cat before, so it's all new territory. Any help or suggestions would be hugely appreciated, and many thanks in advance!!

Maggie Maxwell · Jul 30, 2015

Good on you for rescuing that poor little baby!

Have you talked to a local vet? On top of making sure she gets her shots and doesn't have anything like worms that need care, they're most likely loaded with information about feeding and litter training.

It's been a long, long time since I had bitty kitties around, and their momma was there to train them re: litter, so I don't know what to advise other than talk to a vet (well, try taking her paw and making a scratching motion in the litterbox. She might get it from there), but I really wanted to say thanks for saving her!

Kylabelle · Jul 30, 2015

You could also put some of her poop in the litter box and then showing her the whole scratching thing.

Thanks for taking her in!

kennyc · Jul 30, 2015

Kylabelle said:
You could also put some of her poop in the litter box and then showing her the whole scratching thing.

Thanks for taking her in!

Yep, sounds gross, but yes.....

She'll likely eat the wet food when ready. You might try putting the milk in a dish/bowl to move that direction...

and do get her checked out by a vet and spayed...

hester · Jul 30, 2015

Thank you so much Tam and Kylabelle!

She's a cutie-pie--even hubs, who isn't a huge cat person, thinks she's adorable...

Tam, thanks so much for the suggestions! We took her to the vet the day after we found her--she's a healthy little thing

. The vet indicated that she should start getting wet food around four weeks of age, and we think she's probably on the border, but my daughter said she actually backed away from it this morning (no love for chicken/liver pate?) We have to bring her in for shots and all that other good stuff around six weeks, so I'm going to make an appointment ASAP...

Kyla and Tam, that's a great idea about scratching in the litter and adding in the poop--going to try this today!!

Once again, thank you both so much for your help!! It's a new world for us, but it's a lot of fun so far...

hester · Jul 30, 2015

Kennyc, thank you so much for your suggestion about putting milk in the dish--going to try that to get her used to the idea of eating out of a bowl

.

And thanks so much for the reminder about spaying--we're definitely going to have that done. There's a ton of ferals in our area (probably where this little one came from) and the cat population keeps growing and growing, along with health problems in that population...

Tazlima · Jul 30, 2015

To show her how to scratch in the litter, I've seen the following method work wonderfully. You know how people teach rowdy toddlers to gently pet a dog rather than pound on the poor puppy? You hold the toddler's wrist, place their hand on the dog, and make them stroke the dog's fur, basically walking their muscles through the correct motions.

You can do something similar with kittens. Set them in the litter box, hold one little foreleg in each thumb and forefinger and gently make their little paws dig dig dig in the litter a couple of times. Then let them go off and play again. They generally get the idea very quickly.

chompers · Jul 30, 2015

pictures!

hester · Jul 30, 2015

Awww, thank you so much Taz! That's a great suggestion!!

Chompers, I will definitely be posting pics--she gave me the dirtiest look the other day, and I was so upset that my daughter didn't get to her phone in time. She folded her paws and gave me a side-eye while I was cleaning milk residue off her face

.

Cariad · Jul 30, 2015

Sounds like an uphill struggle... but a really cute and rewarding one, bonne chance!

Have you got a friend nearby with a cat? You could try fostering her out for a little while once she's got her vaccs done, if someone's prepared to help you. We took in a scrap, not quite as young as yours, and it was our older cat, who had learnt from her mother, who then taught him everything.

The moving poo thing that others have suggested worked for us too, and it also worked when we wanted him to start going outside and loosely buried some in the garden. Rubbing tissue along the scent glands on their chops and then along the things that are 'theirs' can also help.

oceansoul · Jul 30, 2015

I second chompers - Pictures! I've never raised such a small kitten, so I don't really have advise for you, but I need more Kitten Pictures in my life.

hester · Jul 30, 2015

Cariad, that's a great idea!! We have a neighbor with two adult cats, and she's been very good about offering advice and catsitting services

.

oceansoul, I will be posting pics ASAP!!

regdog · Jul 30, 2015

Be sure to wash the areas she's peed and pooped in with something that eliminates the odor so she doesn't equate those areas with places to go.
Rather than smearing food on her nose you can always places a little on your finger and let her lick your finger. Also it would be best for to be come an indoor cat from now on.

The birds will thank you and so will she-no cars, dogs or other cats to fight with.

Great for rescuing her :hooray:

heza · Jul 30, 2015

Our indoor cats always seemed to teach themselves to use the litter box, so... hmmm.

My niece does have a rabbit, and the way you train them is to find where they like to potty and then put the litter box in that spot until they get used to it... then you incrementally move the box to the place you want it.

hester · Jul 30, 2015

Thank you so much regdog and heza!! That's a great point about eliminating the odor in the places where she's gone--it's mostly the living room floor, which is (thankfully) wood, so easy to clean/polish. She also likes to nibble at fingers, so I'll try a bit of food intake that way...

Heza, that's an interesting point--a woman at the PetSmart told me that cats would instinctively figure out the litter box and how to use it. I'm wondering if her lack of exposure to other kitties is accounting for the confusion (also, since momma cat was a feral, she might have witnessed her pooping and peeing everywhere). I think I might try your niece's "box moving" method

.

Once again, thank you so much, everyone--I knew I'd come to the right place with my questions!!

chompers · Jul 30, 2015

I'd also only known cats to instinctively know how to use the litterbox -- until mine. Man, he was peeing and pooping everywhere but the litterbox. But sorry, don't know how to teach them, as it was the sis-in-law who taught my cat, and she did it within a weekend.

MaryMumsy · Jul 30, 2015

I raised two from the bottle stage. There was no issue with the litter box that I remember (this was in '86 and '88). But I was told not to use the clumping litter with babies. They get it on their paws and then lick it off and it does bad things to their innards.

The '86 baby lived till '04 and the '88 baby till '07.

And I second or third or whatever that you took the lttle thing in. Both of our bottle babies were ferals born in our back yard.

MM

hester · Jul 30, 2015

*Makes note to borrow chompers' sis-in-law

Mary, thank you so much!! I was also told not to use clumping litter--I made the mistake yesterday of buying this weird crystalline litter (made of silica) and kitty decided that looked tasty, so I tossed it and bought the clay non-clump stuff. Glad to hear your kitties were so healthy and long-lived!!

Brightdreamer · Jul 30, 2015

I wound up with a five-week-old kitty once - dumped at a pet store where my sister worked, and what was supposed to be a foster thing until a customer claimed it became permanent when the woman changed her mind. (Just as well - what kind of person wants to name an innocent kitten "Floyd"?) My advice on the food: do not panic if it looks like he doesn't know how to eat. Indy licked food off a spoon and shoved his face into the plate trying to "suck" it into his mouth, necessitating combing after each meal... and then, one day, between breakfast and dinner, he started eating normally. I believe it's a development thing that cannot be rushed. (He was about 6 weeks, IIRC, when the lightbulb went off in his head.)

And I never had an issue with the litter; dropped him in the box, dug his paws a couple times, and let him go. If issues persist, I'd talk to the vet again; there may be other issues, either physical/neurological or stress related due to being separated from Mom too early. (Indy retained the chewing/sucking habit his whole life, most likely from being taken away from Mom too early. It was murder on my bedsheets...)

Good luck!

MaryMumsy · Jul 30, 2015

Yes, my bottle boys retained the chewing/sucking habit also. Picture a full grown cat, but the size of a three month old, dragging a full length velour bathrobe across the floor and *crying*. Until we figured out what he was doing we thought he was in agonizing pain.

MM

cmhbob · Jul 30, 2015

Good on you for taking her in. We just picked up a stray a month ago.

Maggie Maxwell · Jul 30, 2015

MaryMumsy said:
Yes, my bottle boys retained the chewing/sucking habit also. Picture a full grown cat, but the size of a three month old, dragging a full length velour bathrobe across the floor and *crying*. Until we figured out what he was doing we thought he was in agonizing pain.

MM

We had a girl who did that. We always assumed it was her "hunting." She'd catch whatever clean laundry was on the bed and drag it around the house meowing until someone showed up. I always thought it was her wanting to show off her defeated prey.

Layla Nahar · Jul 30, 2015

heza said:
Our indoor cats always seemed to teach themselves to use the litter box...

In general a cat will do its business somewhere where it can bury the stuff. Have you tried something other than the crystals? Perhaps she might like better to start with the old fashioned (and scent free) clay litter. After she's comfortable with it you could begin mixing in the stuff you'd prefer - do it gradually and eventually you could be using just the crystals.

MaryMumsy · Jul 30, 2015

TAMaxwell said:
We had a girl who did that. We always assumed it was her "hunting." She'd catch whatever clean laundry was on the bed and drag it around the house meowing until someone showed up. I always thought it was her wanting to show off her defeated prey.

Mine liked the bathrobe that smelled like 'mommy'. Clean laundry was for making a nest in and taking a nap. One time my in-laws were over, hubby's clean underwear was in a pile on the bed (I'll wash it, I don't fold it and put it away), and there was the older of the two cats in a nest. My MIL was horrified. My response was: his cat, his underwear, if he didn't want the cat in it then he should have put it away.

MM

RedRajah · Jul 30, 2015

We had a cat who wasn't weaned properly & was separated from his mother who loved sucking on my mom's velour bathrobe too. He was such a neurotic sweetie...

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