Help Me or I'll kill a chipmunk with a calculator
Thu May 19, 2005 11:10 pm
So a friend of my brother's find a kitten and lives in an apartment that doenst allow pets. She calls up my brother to take care of it and he agrees to it and goes to get it. Its a cute little kat that looks like the cat AFI lost. It was cute and loveable for a couple of mins and then it began to meow incessantly. It looks pretty young like it should still be with its mom and is always meowing. I'm pretty much stuck with taking care of it so what should I do? Help me Dr. Phil and the PPT community.
Thu May 19, 2005 11:32 pm
*goes into her PETA/Animal Shelter mode*
Well, first, you should take it to the vet and/or the local animal shelter, to figure out it's health status, and age and all of that, and find out what to do if it IS too young to be seperated from it's mother. You should take it to the animal shelter, in case it accidentaly got out of the house, there will be people VERY worried about it.
Next, make a big pile of soft blankets on the floor, so it can rest in them. Also, just pet it and sit with it alot, so it knows it's not alone. Talk to it, because cats DO understand what you say, and, at least my cat, loves the attention.
As for meals, first find out an estimated age, and, if it's about older than 10 weeks, make sure it has SMALL dry food around the clock, fresh water around the clock, and canned food (Fancy Feast is the best, IMO, and the food should probably be something either tiny pieces, or that pate like stuff, that's like a... you get the idea...) two or three times a day, but not exceeding 1 1/2 cans.
Make sure you don't have any feline poisonous plants around, and be VERY throuough with what you consider accesable. My kitten, though he was 10 weeks, was the size of a 4 week old or younger, and managed to get about 4 feet off the ground by climing like a mountain goat. They can get ANYWHERE. Also, make sure you don't have any string or ribbons or beads or sequins or... etc. lying around. They will cost you thousands of dollars in vet fees.
Paper towel tubes, dry macaroni (too large to fit in it's mouth), the little rings off milk jugs and stuff, knotted up socks, and cardboard boxes are good inexpensive toys for kittens and cats...
I'll post more if I think of them...
EDIT: And I want a picture!
Well, first, you should take it to the vet and/or the local animal shelter, to figure out it's health status, and age and all of that, and find out what to do if it IS too young to be seperated from it's mother. You should take it to the animal shelter, in case it accidentaly got out of the house, there will be people VERY worried about it.
Next, make a big pile of soft blankets on the floor, so it can rest in them. Also, just pet it and sit with it alot, so it knows it's not alone. Talk to it, because cats DO understand what you say, and, at least my cat, loves the attention.
As for meals, first find out an estimated age, and, if it's about older than 10 weeks, make sure it has SMALL dry food around the clock, fresh water around the clock, and canned food (Fancy Feast is the best, IMO, and the food should probably be something either tiny pieces, or that pate like stuff, that's like a... you get the idea...) two or three times a day, but not exceeding 1 1/2 cans.
Make sure you don't have any feline poisonous plants around, and be VERY throuough with what you consider accesable. My kitten, though he was 10 weeks, was the size of a 4 week old or younger, and managed to get about 4 feet off the ground by climing like a mountain goat. They can get ANYWHERE. Also, make sure you don't have any string or ribbons or beads or sequins or... etc. lying around. They will cost you thousands of dollars in vet fees.
Paper towel tubes, dry macaroni (too large to fit in it's mouth), the little rings off milk jugs and stuff, knotted up socks, and cardboard boxes are good inexpensive toys for kittens and cats...
I'll post more if I think of them...
EDIT: And I want a picture!
Thu May 19, 2005 11:44 pm
This is why schools invented mystery meat.
Fri May 20, 2005 12:28 am
in the words of somone crueler than i:
"i can think of only one use for cats... Dog food"
take it to a shelter, get used to it.. or make dog food, your call.
"i can think of only one use for cats... Dog food"
take it to a shelter, get used to it.. or make dog food, your call.
Fri May 20, 2005 1:21 am
Is the cat old enough to eat solid food/drink liquids on it's own yet? If so, provide it with water, warm milk, and kitten food (which is a soft, smaller version of cat food). If the kitten is too young to drink milk out of a saucer, you're going to have to do the honours. The easiest thing to use is an oral syringe, which is commonly used for giving liquid medicine to babies, and is available from any drug store (Walgreen's would always give us one free with a prescription for my neice/nephew when they were babies).
As far as an age estimate goes, are it's eyes and ears both open? Can it run and climb yet? The youngest kittens can usually be seperated from their mothers is at about 5 or 6 weeks old. If the kitten can eat food on it's own, I'd say it's good for now.
As Jellyfish said, take it to a vet/shelter to get it checked up, and also check with local animal shelters to see if anyone's looking for this particular kitten. You could also try putting a Found ad in the Lost & Found section of your local paper's classifieds.
Make sure you provide the kitten a nice warm place to sleep. Safe toys to play with, and good food to eat. And a lot of love, kitties like love. Also, this kitten's at the age where you need to litter train it. So get a box and get going.
As far as an age estimate goes, are it's eyes and ears both open? Can it run and climb yet? The youngest kittens can usually be seperated from their mothers is at about 5 or 6 weeks old. If the kitten can eat food on it's own, I'd say it's good for now.
As Jellyfish said, take it to a vet/shelter to get it checked up, and also check with local animal shelters to see if anyone's looking for this particular kitten. You could also try putting a Found ad in the Lost & Found section of your local paper's classifieds.
Make sure you provide the kitten a nice warm place to sleep. Safe toys to play with, and good food to eat. And a lot of love, kitties like love. Also, this kitten's at the age where you need to litter train it. So get a box and get going.
Fri May 20, 2005 2:46 am
If you can't afford a vet, try calling a no-kill cat shelter. Many of those people are just the sweetest things and can help you with determining its age, advising you on how to care for it, and, if you don't want to keep it, findng a good home for it. Kittens are much easier to place than adult cats.
If it is crying for it mom or brothers/sisters, try wrapping an old-fashioned alarm clock in a thick towel and placing it next to the kitten. The ticking is much like their mother's heartbeat. Also, a hot water bottle filled with warm water, also wrapped in a towel.
If it is too young to eat on its own, you will need to feed it with a syringe or eyedropper. Milk is OK, but the liquid nourishment stuff that old/sick people drink is better. You can find it in a pharmacy. One of the brands is called Ensure.
Also, my guess is that there is a plethora of info on how to care for a kitten online. That is the first place I look when my dog is having a health problem.
If it is crying for it mom or brothers/sisters, try wrapping an old-fashioned alarm clock in a thick towel and placing it next to the kitten. The ticking is much like their mother's heartbeat. Also, a hot water bottle filled with warm water, also wrapped in a towel.
If it is too young to eat on its own, you will need to feed it with a syringe or eyedropper. Milk is OK, but the liquid nourishment stuff that old/sick people drink is better. You can find it in a pharmacy. One of the brands is called Ensure.
Also, my guess is that there is a plethora of info on how to care for a kitten online. That is the first place I look when my dog is having a health problem.
Fri May 20, 2005 5:41 am
Help Me or I'll kill a chipmunk with a calculator
[groucho]Why that chipmunk had a calculator I'll never know![/groucho]
Fri May 20, 2005 9:57 am
I keep on hearing the word Milk. Now contrary to popular belief Milk is actually quite unhealthy for Cats.
Get Cat milk eg: Whiskas Cat Milk.
Get Cat milk eg: Whiskas Cat Milk.
Fri May 20, 2005 12:43 pm
.:Chronically Depressed:. wrote:I keep on hearing the word Milk. Now contrary to popular belief Milk is actually quite unhealthy for Cats.
Sorry, mate, but you're only partway correct.
http://www.animalhealthcare.ca/contents ... 5&cat=dogs
This should explain some things for you, CD.
Fri May 20, 2005 1:40 pm
Ok... But still I don't think he'd like to find out the hard way and be cleaning Cat diarrheea off his floor...
Fri May 20, 2005 4:14 pm
ahoteinrun wrote:This is why schools invented mystery meat.
Fri May 20, 2005 7:47 pm
It can drink milk on its own, and can eat like small pieces of chicken, but when i bought it canned food it wouldnt eat. After I gave it chicken it stopped meowing. I doubt it belongs to someone else since the friend who found it got it whne they were trying to get it out the apartment building. I'll try to get a pic.
Fri May 20, 2005 7:54 pm
Have you guys asked around the apartments to see if anyone owns it?
Sat May 21, 2005 2:57 am
Lol, when I first saw the title of this thread, I thought it was another of those "give me money or I will cook a rabbit" type of threat. 