the song is "Take Me As I Am" from Jekyll & Hyde Raising Orphan Kittens, Working with Ferals, Pregnancy, Kittens The Feral Cat Coalition (trapping and taming ferals, raising orphans) Safe Haven for Cats (trapping and taming ferals, raising orphans) Alley Cat Allies (trap-spay/neuter-vaccinate-release ferals) CROM - Cat Rescue of Maryland (trap-spay/neuter-vaccinate-release ferals) Pregnancy Calendar Kittening Feline Pregnancy Catlady Di's Kitten Tips Supplemental Feeding Kitten Care Kitten Development Calendar Kitten Rescue Online My Tricks of the Trade Taming Feral Kittens If the kittens are younger than about 10 weeks, this method should work fairly well and quickly. The directions are for right-handers. If you're a southpaw, just flip the directions. Approach the kitten from behind with your left hand. Put your thumb right up under the right jawbone and your middle finger right under the left jawbone. Use your index finger on the top of the head to help keep the head from wiggling. (I say "put", but you'll probably have to grab.) Raise the kitten up until its feet are dangling, then grasp both hind legs with your right hand so they can't rabbit-kick you. Position the kitten on its back, with its bottom up against your tummy and its back supported by your forearm. Lower the kitten's head until it's about 45 degrees lower than the butt. (Something about a cat's physiology makes it think it can't move when it's upside down.) You should be able to hold the hind legs with the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, leaving the last 3 fingers free to tickle kitty's tummy, or any other body part you can reach. Speak softly and soothingly to the kitten, and move gently. Most kittens will begin to relax pretty quickly, and you'll be able to let go of the hind legs and use your right hand to stroke - tummy, sides, chest, under the chin - moving up all the while. Use the ball of your right thumb to stroke gently along the kitten's lips from the center of the mouth back toward the ear. Start very gently and then increase pressure to approximate a mother cat grooming her baby. (Eventually, you should be able to stroke from the tip of the nose up the side of the nose, across the eye, and up into the ear. Just pretend your thumb is a momma cat's tongue, and "groom" the kitten.(I've even been known to lick my thumb so it's damp when I get to the nose part.) When you've achieved some measure of success, you can then return the antsy ones to their living area (you can continue a little longer with kitties who really start to relax). Then immediately feed something really tasty, and talk to them while they eat. They'll come to associate feeling physically well and happy with being with you. The kitten should be much easier to approach next time. Just continue with whichever steps from above apply to that particular kitten. With some, it takes a while; others "fall" almost immediately. Each kitten will respond differently, but this process has worked very effectively for me. You'll need to "tweak" it to apply to each new kitten, but it works. Taking Care of Orphan Kittens There are a number of things you're going to need to do this job properly. It helps if you have them all assembled before you begin. Here's a list to get you started: A nursery, sized relative to the number of kittens and their age.For large litters or older kittens, copy paper boxes work well. For a small number of kittens or really young ones, something about the size of a dish pan will do. I always place paper towels on the bottom. Then I provide material for a "nest": shredded paper towels, soft thin rags cut into pieces about 4" x 4", old socks cut in half between foot and cuff, etc. Do not use bath towels - young kittens can smother on these. A heating pad with adjustable temperature. A pet nurser and kitten formula. KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) or Just Born kitten formula are good. Do not use cows milk or human infant formula - these contain lactose and will give most kittens severe diarrhea. I buy the powdered KMR; it looks a little pricey up front, but it's cheaper than buying the formula in the cans in the long run. Canned formula will only stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 48 hours, and you need to warm it before you can feed it to the kittens. I mix the powder with warm water, so it's ready to go with a lot less fuss. A salad-dressing shaker bottle is perfect for mixing formula, but any container with a leak-proof lid will work for shaking and mixing. A "kitten kit" containing: soft unscented facial tissues or toilet paper, or cotton cosmetic pads. (I like these best.) A soft, baby toothbrush An alarm clock (for you!) Soft thin face cloths (baby washcloths are perfect) A bath towel A notepad and pencil Are you ready? Here we go! Set up your nursery in a warm, draft-free room. My bathroom works very well for this purpose, since it gets nice and warm in there if I leave the light on and the door closed. I have a wooden cutting board I put across my sink to be a stable base, then I put the heating pad (set on low) down on half of the cutting board and cover it with the bath towel folded in half. Then I place the box on top of this, with only half of the box on the heating pad. If it gets too warm, the kittens can move to the unheated side. Feed the kittens. You'll have to prepare the nipple that comes with the nurser. The directions usually say to heat a needle and puncture a hole in the tip of the nipple, but that has never worked for me. I take a small, sharp pair of sewing scissors and make two teeny cuts in the tip in an X-shape. (You can do this with a sharp knife, too.) Just be sure the hole is not so big that formula runs out easily. If it drips slowly when you turn it upside down, you've got it right. Prepare the formula according to the directions on the label. I use water a little hotter than body temperature and put it in a shaker and shake it until my arm gets tired. Then I pour it into the bottle and allow it to cool to the right temperature. Test it on the inside of your wrist just as you would for a human baby. Just a teeny bit warm is the right temperature. When I feed the kittens, I put the toilet lid down and sit there with my legs crossed. I lay the kitten on the upper leg with its head just below my knee. This puts the kitten at a good angle for feeding, and you can rest the heel of the hand holding the bottle on your knee so it's steady. Make sure you put the nipple far enough into the kitten's mouth. The tip of the nipple should be just a little farther back than the center of the kitten's mouth, between the tongue and the soft palate. Some kittens need to be taught how to suckle from a bottle. Sometimes you have to squeeze a little formula into the kitten's mouth so it gets the idea; with others, you need to pull back lightly on the bottle so they suckle hard to keep it in their mouths. If a kitten starts to go to sleep before it's had enough to eat, pulling back a little on the bottle will often wake it up so it will eat some more. A kitten is full when bubbles appear around the mouth. Keep track on your notepad of the time of each meal and how much each kitten ate (there are measurements on the side of the bottle) so you will be able to see if there's a change in the amount they're eating. Eating considerably less twice in a row is a clue that there's something wrong, and you should take the kitten to the vet. Help the kitten eliminate. Take a cosmetic pad (or a tissue or toilet paper) and gently stroke the kitten's genitals to stimulate elimination. You're looking for clear urine and soft-formed stool. Wipe the kitten's bottom when it's finished. Cleaning time! Dampen a facecloth and gently wipe any formula from the kitten's face. Use the toothbrush to gently groom the baby, and then place it back in the nest. I like to give the kittens a little extra. Sometimes I'll take them into the bedroom with me, lie down and place them on my chest between my breasts, and cover them with something thin and soft. The warmth of my body and the sound of my heartbeat seems to help these little ones thrive - if they were still with their mother they would be curled into her body, and I try my best to be a good substitute. Everyone works with kittens differently. My methods may not work for you, so be creative and come up with your own! As long as you keep them warm, clean, and fed, you're doing it right. E-mail me!
If the kittens are younger than about 10 weeks, this method should work fairly well and quickly. The directions are for right-handers. If you're a southpaw, just flip the directions.
Taking Care of Orphan Kittens
There are a number of things you're going to need to do this job properly. It helps if you have them all assembled before you begin. Here's a list to get you started:
Prepare the formula according to the directions on the label. I use water a little hotter than body temperature and put it in a shaker and shake it until my arm gets tired. Then I pour it into the bottle and allow it to cool to the right temperature. Test it on the inside of your wrist just as you would for a human baby. Just a teeny bit warm is the right temperature.
When I feed the kittens, I put the toilet lid down and sit there with my legs crossed. I lay the kitten on the upper leg with its head just below my knee. This puts the kitten at a good angle for feeding, and you can rest the heel of the hand holding the bottle on your knee so it's steady. Make sure you put the nipple far enough into the kitten's mouth. The tip of the nipple should be just a little farther back than the center of the kitten's mouth, between the tongue and the soft palate. Some kittens need to be taught how to suckle from a bottle. Sometimes you have to squeeze a little formula into the kitten's mouth so it gets the idea; with others, you need to pull back lightly on the bottle so they suckle hard to keep it in their mouths. If a kitten starts to go to sleep before it's had enough to eat, pulling back a little on the bottle will often wake it up so it will eat some more. A kitten is full when bubbles appear around the mouth.
Keep track on your notepad of the time of each meal and how much each kitten ate (there are measurements on the side of the bottle) so you will be able to see if there's a change in the amount they're eating. Eating considerably less twice in a row is a clue that there's something wrong, and you should take the kitten to the vet.
Everyone works with kittens differently. My methods may not work for you, so be creative and come up with your own! As long as you keep them warm, clean, and fed, you're doing it right.
