A kitten picked up on the street is a small, vulnerable creature that requires care and attention. It is not enough to simply feed and water the baby. You need to arrange a sleeping place, buy a litter tray and other accessories. The kitten needs to be shown to a doctor, worms and fleas removed, and vaccinated. Which of these actions should be done first, and which can wait, we will now tell you.
Does a kitten need veterinary help?
Take the kitten to the doctor as soon as it arrives with you. If this is not possible, a visit to the veterinarian can be postponed if the kitten from the street behaves normally, eats well, has shiny fur, and there is no diarrhea or vomiting.
When to contact a veterinarian
- Wounds on the animal's body (for example, the pet has clearly been in the teeth of dogs). The veterinarian will examine the baby in case of fractures, clean the wounds, and give an injection to prevent blood poisoning.
- Bald patches on the skin can indicate either a skin infection, poor nutrition, or allergies. If you discover baldness in an outdoor cat, increase isolation, care for your pet only with gloves, otherwise you may contract a dangerous disease (ringworm, fungus). The doctor will tell you the exact cause of the receding hairline after scraping.
- The pet is lethargic, refuses to eat, diarrhea, and has blood in the stool. These are symptoms of a dangerous infection. The faster he receives veterinary care, the higher the kitten's chances of survival.
About vaccinations, tests and sterilization
It seems that you can take a stray cat, wash and fatten it, and there is no need to do anything else. An erroneous opinion leads to a variety of negative consequences.
Vaccinations are needed against a range of diseases, many of which are fatal. Diseases such as listeriosis, panleukopenia, herpesvirus, calicivirus, rabies and a number of others must be prevented.
Tests done at the veterinary clinic will clarify the picture of the pet’s condition, then it will be possible to immediately prescribe the optimal course of treatment.
If you do not plan to involve the female cat in mating, think about castration or sterilization. Simply depriving an animal of access to what it wants during the call of instinct leads to mental disorders and genitourinary diseases.
What to do with a street kitten first
What to do with a kitten taken from the street depends on its condition. When you are sick, see a doctor. If the baby looks healthy, before feeding, you need to assess the age of the animal:
- A newborn kitten is blind, its ears are drooping, and it cannot walk. If the birth was recent, there are traces of the umbilical cord on the belly.
- A baby at the age of 1-2 weeks weighs 200-300 g. He already opens his eyes slightly, his ears begin to rise slightly, he can move them.
- A pet at the age of 3 weeks weighs from 200 to 400 g. His blue eyes are already open, he can take the first careful steps, reacts to sounds and movement.
- A baby from 4 to 5 weeks weighs from 200 to 500 g. He already runs, plays, eats wet food, his eyes change color.
What to feed a stray cat from the street
If the baby is not a month old, you need to:
- Finding a nursing cat is ideal. To do this, write an ad in a local group for cats on VK, FB or another social network. It is unlikely that they will give you a pet, but they may agree to shelter a kitten for a while. Promise to pick up the baby as soon as the need for milk disappears. You may have to pay.
- Buy special food for newborn kittens. It is sold in a veterinary pharmacy.
- Mix 2 tbsp. milk (preferably goat) with 2 raw yolks. Use this option as a last resort, since milk can cause diarrhea and eggs contain salmonella. Cow's milk is poorly absorbed by the cat's body, so nutritionists do not recommend it.
If the kitten is more than a month old, it can be given wet commercial kitten food or natural products. A cat is a predator, so make your baby meat puree from beef, poultry, or rabbit. If the cat is 1.5 months old, give minced meat with grated vegetables. From 2 months, meat can be cut into small pieces. You can feed him liver once a week. Do not give your kitten fatty foods (pork, lard), chicken bones, canned food, and smoked meats.
When to feed your baby
Newborn kittens need to be fed every 2 hours. To do this, place them on your tummy, place the bottle above your head, at a slight angle. The mixture should be warm, but not hot.
When the kitten is 11 days old, the periods between feedings can be extended to 3-4 hours. On day 12, the interval should be increased to 5-6 hours. From 4-5 weeks you can wean the kitten off the bottle. Give him the mixture in a bowl, gradually switch him to adult food.
Feeding your pet
The baby's first treat should be food with a wet consistency.
With the appearance of a pet, the problem of proper nutrition will arise. For the first few days, it is better to try feeding your pet wet food. In addition, you can give the cat a little kefir, low-fat cream, cottage cheese or fermented baked milk. Near the plate of food there should be a bowl filled with water. Small suckling kittens will have to be fed using a syringe without a needle. It should be filled with warm store-bought milk, previously diluted with water. After drinking the milk, the baby needs a light tummy massage. When the cat defecates, you will need to wipe the butt with a cotton swab. This should be done after each feeding, since there is no mother to monitor the baby’s condition, and he still cannot lick himself.
If you have chosen a five-month-old kitten whose body is stronger, you can feed him both dry and wet food. The main thing is that the cat receives all the necessary vitamins and minerals. It is permissible to feed an adult cat with purchased food, as well as food that is prepared independently. The diet should include veal and chicken, various offal, and low-fat fish. Cereals and fermented milk products will be beneficial.
Keep your kitten warm and dry
If you adopted a cat from the street, what should you do after feeding? Set up a sleeping area. Take a box, a laundry basket, a plastic container. Make a “nest” inside - put blankets and towels so that the cat is comfortable, warm, and does not fall or crawl out.
Until 3 weeks, a kitten cannot regulate its body temperature, so even in summer it can freeze. If he is very cold, warm him with your warmth, give him a massage. Place a heating pad near the kitten, wrapping it in a towel. If you don't have a heating pad, take a plastic bottle and fill it with warm water. Arrange your baby so that he can crawl away from the heating pad when it gets hot.
The kitten does not have a mother to clean up after it, so the towels will often get dirty. To prevent him from lying in excrement, constantly clean up after him and change towels. A diaper will help make the task easier. When the baby grows up and begins to climb out of the box, or you have picked up an adult kitten, begin training him to use the litter box.
I adopted a cat from the street: what to do if there are fleas or worms
A kitten picked up from the street always has fleas and worms. Check with your veterinarian which medications are best to give to your pet at his age and the dosage. For example, Dironet Spot-On and Dana Ultra will help you cope with fleas and ticks. These drugs are usually given from 2 months of age, but in critical cases they can be used earlier by reducing the dosage.
Anthelmintic (Dirofen) is first given to kittens at 3 weeks, and after 10-14 days a repeat dose. After this, you need to contact your veterinarian to find out when to vaccinate your baby against deadly cat diseases.
Vaccination
In order for a kitten in a new family to be healthy and happy, it needs to be vaccinated. Viral diseases such as calicivirus, rhinotracheitis, viral leukemia and “feline distemper” are deadly for animals. Even a domestic cat can easily become ill and die without treatment. She doesn't even have to look for them specifically. The owner can bring pathogens from the street on shoes or clothes.
Timely vaccination is the only way to avoid fatal diseases for your beloved pet.
Be sure to ask your veterinarian about the vaccination schedule.
The kitten must have all preventive vaccinations
Key points for caring for a stray animal
- Isolate your pet from other animals.
- Always wash your hands after handling your kitten.
- If possible, take your baby to the vet immediately.
- When you can't go to the doctor, examine your kitten carefully. If he looks healthy, you can just leave him in isolation.
- It is not recommended to bathe a kitten unless it is very dirty. It is better to wipe with a damp cloth soaked in warm water.
- Treat your pet for fleas and ticks, and get rid of worms.
- Feed your cat correctly. Give good food, observe feeding times.
- When the baby gets stronger, get vaccinated.
- Monitor your pet's health, and if there are any problems, take them to the doctor.
Getting used to the new home
The life of a street cat is full of hardships and dangers; he is in constant stress. Therefore, when caught, it may not give in to your hands, hiss and scratch. To prevent a frightened animal from causing you harm, it is better to deliver it to a new place of residence wrapped in a hat or other warm thing, or in a carrier.
The pet should be placed where it will be easier for him to get used to his new home. At first he may hide, this is normal. The main thing is that the kitten does not climb into a hard-to-reach place. The animal can also be injured due to compression by a door, a folding sofa or another object. To prevent this, it is advisable to temporarily place the cat in a separate room.
You may be interested in the following products:
| Toilet for cats 40.5*30*12 cm “KIS” (Deep with frame) | Matatabi / weaning off 1 gram marks / Japan | Milbemax for kittens and small cats |
What else should you buy for a kitten?
Regardless of whether you keep the kitten or are looking for new owners, you will need:
- Tray and litter for the toilet. The cat picked up from the street is wild and does not know what a litter box is. Toilet training is one of the first things you need to do if you adopt a cat from the street.
- Bowls - one for food, one for water.
- Scratching post. Cats love to sharpen their claws, so you need an accessory that will save your furniture from damage. Buy a few pieces, place them around your apartment, and teach your baby to use a nail clipper.
- A house, a bed where he can rest.
- Carrying. The accessory will come in handy when you need to take your baby to the veterinarian or when moving to another apartment. Carrying a kitten in your hands or bag is unreliable - it can jump out and get lost.
- Toys that he can occupy himself with when he wants to play.
- Veterinary first aid kit. Your doctor will tell you what medications you must have in the house.
If you pick up a cat from the street, buy accessories in veterinary stores and pet pharmacies that have quality certificates. Avoid shopping at the bazaar, especially medicines. Even if what you see is not a fake, but an original item, its storage conditions leave much to be desired.
First purchases
I wanted to create a place for the cats before we took them home, so I made a shopping list first. Here's what came in handy:
- bed,
- food (dry food and pate for kittens),
- bowls for food and water,
- tray,
- filler,
- tray mat,
- cat litter scoop,
- game balls,
- carrying,
- scratching post
I also ordered animal shampoo and a clicker for training. We are just starting to use the clicker, and the veterinarian did not recommend washing the cats, so the shampoo has not yet come in handy.
I ordered everything except food and carrying on Ozone. For two kittens it cost 4,799 rubles with free delivery.
I had no idea what a tray should be like, what kind of fillers there are and how many bowls are needed for two kittens, so I consulted with friends and read reviews of products. I spent a total of four hours on this.
Here's my favorite review of the tray:
We bought one tray for two kittens, and overall it’s enough for now. The tray had a grate, but a cat lover we knew said that we would be too tired to wash it, so we took it off.
We made a mistake with the filler. Friends advised me to take wood or clay litter, because such litter smells familiar to cats and they get accustomed to the litter box faster. I bought a clay one, but it was too strongly scented and the cats somehow didn’t like it. So two days later we bought another one. And during this time I had to clean up after them in the apartment a couple of times.
