[mineko012]

My bf was heading out in the pouring rain to pick up some take out when he heard loud meowing. He came across a teeny kitten (maybe about ... 6" from head to butt not counting the tail). It's pure white with blue eyes with the SAME huge 6 finger paws as the other white kitten we rescued! It's like mini-me.

Bf is rinsing the lil kitty now as best as he can. The kitten is dirty. Looks like it's been bitten. (Has an obvious bald spot btwn his shoulder blades).

Need help. At her age what should we feed her? Right now we have both dry and wet food. I *might* have some kitten milk stashed somewhere. I *might* have that sticky stuff in a tube (vitamins?) that I fed Aegee when she was pregnant.

What do I do? Need advice.

Oh. And what do I clean her ears with? Seems a tad grimy in the "fold" part of the ear. The weird looking part of it on the edge?

And it is a girl.

Sorry if I'm a bit incoreherent but I'm excited!

 

[Jeanie]

She sounds young. I would give her some kitten fomula, If she does well, I would try some canned food or kitten dry food soaked in formula.

You'll have to watch that bite. Cats are so susceptible to infection. Good luck!

 

[mineko012]

She's actually around 6" from shoulders to butt. She had fleas so that's what my bf and I have been taking care of since my last post. He went out and bought some flea shampoo and we've been religiously pulling fleas out of her by hand/tweezer. We think she's pest free (we hope).

She has a round lil belly. I put some wet food on a plate but she only licked it.

She's very affectionate. Didn't mind the bath/de-fleaing (all that much anyway). Purr's like a mack truck.

Questions:

I know I should keep my cats and this new one separated ... because she's new and all and my cats will probably be territorial. Should I worry about any diseases this lil one might be carrying? And whether or not she can give them to my kitties?

And also ... anyone know anyone in the Philly/NJ area who would take her in? I need to find another kitty home ... I'm running out of friends to impose on.

 

[Jeanie]

You have to make sure you don't use Hartz Mountain flea shampoo. The round tummy could mean she has worms, or just that she eats well. However, most kittens do have roundworms. When she's old enough you can get worm meds from the vet or the pet store.

I hope she gets a good home.

 

[mineko012]

My bf's friend who took this one's look-a-like offered to take her in. I want to wait a little bit since she's so young before I give her away though. My bf and I have more experience dealing with kittens/cats than the other couple.

Anyway, I have a slight problem.

The kitten is absolutely adorable ... when she's being sweet. She'll be all sweet and cuddling next to me ... and in the next instant she's biting and clawing at my arm/hand!

I don't recall any of my cats being so vicious when they were that young!

I dunno what to do. When she's sweet she's sweet ... but when she's in her nippy/fighty mood she's downright scary!

Maybe it's because she was obviously attacked by another cat. She also has a random tendency to shrink from hands ... My bf and I think that both this kitten and the other cat were abandoned ... and the previous owners weren't so kind to the cats.

How strange since the older white cat is as sweet as sugar and this one ... wow. If she was full grown I'd be afraid of her!

Is there any way to "correct" her scratching and nipping behavior? I don't want to give her away until she's not so aggressive. I understand that she's young and has had a hard life but ... I don't think anyone would want to take home an aggressive kitty?

I'm gonna try to play with her with the feather toy (for maximum distance) to see if I can tire her out ... hopefully her behavior stems from excess energy.

 

[ForJazz]

I'm sorry if I'm being unnecessary, but did you take Jeanie's advice about health and nutrition? Kittens are sooo vulnerable, and this little one is no exception.

Her behavior could be result of many things. Make sure you never play with her with your hands. If she bites/nips at you, do not discipline her or yell at her...she doesn't understand this and to her it is agressive, which will probably lead to more agressive behavior on her part. If she bites/nips at you -- let your hand go limp, and stop giving her attention immediately. Simply remove yourself from the situation. This is really important -- because you are right. No one will want to keep her if she continues this behavior as she gets older.

 

[mineko012]

It's not that I'm playing with her with my hands or anything. I'll be sitting in front of the computer and she'll jump on my lap ... and then she'll attack my arm or hand out of the blue. Or she'll come up to me and nuzzle my hand while she's purring cuz she wants to be petted and then she'll go crazy.

The entire day I ended up wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants and thick socks with the air conditioner pumping cuz I was afraid of these surprise attacks!

I tried the hand going limp thing ... she still doesn't stop! I have to pry her claws out (I'd almost forgotten how sharp kitty claws were) to get away when I can't stand the pain any more.

I tried tiring her out with the feather toy ... she has unbelievable energy compared to my cats. She just won't tire out! (I'm still playing w/ it as I'm writing this).

I don't know what's happened. Yesterday she was the sweetest little thing. Today she's ... well, scary. None of my kittens were like this. Ever. Not even when they were teething. They'd nip but never to the point where it hurt. They never scratched us (not on purpose anyway).

I don't understand the complete changeover from last night's behavior to today's.

 

[Jeanie]

She's probably a bit stronger and not frightened any more! Normally, she would be with her littermates and mother, and this is the way kittens play, and learn how to defend themselves. I would give her a soft, stuffed animal for her to wrestle and play fight with. She's using you as a littermate. This is one of the reasons kittens should be with their mother and littermates until 3 months.

In addition to the limp hand, say "no" sharply. I do hope her behavior improves. She's really just being a kitten, and will calm down with time and training. Good luck!

 

[CyPurrHimmie]

If one was to truly give you all the needed info I would be here forever and this post would be rather long ... So, with that said I would strongly recommend you visit this link, It will provide an invaluable amount of needed info pertaining to your current needs.
Good Luck!
http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml

 

[mineko012]

Well, the kitten is definitely going home with the couple who took it's "twin" ... My bf and I are going to keep her for another week or two because she is so young.

Her behavior hasn't really improved. She's sweet as pie in the morning when I go into her room ... and then a few hours later she goes into "crazy" mode. That's when I have to put on the sweatshirt and sweatpants and hope she doesn't go after my hair and scratch my face.

I've tried tiring her out by playing with her (I tired long before she did) with the feather toy. That didn't work.

So tonight my bf clipped her nails while I held her (with my hands covered by my sweat shirt sleeves). She did NOT like having her nails trimmed. She yowled like she was being mauled and fought like a wildcat. But it's done. Most of her nails are clipped ... so if she does scratch me at least she won't draw blood (I hope).

It's not like she's scratching me really. She "grabs" my wrist or my arm and just starts tearing at me with her claws and teeth. The stuffed animal trick didn't work either.

Ah well. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it. I'm at a loss for what else to do.

Hopefully it's just a kitten phase and she'll grow out of it.

She's as cute as can be when she's playing or in her sweet-purr-on-your-lap mode.