Please excuse the length of this. I am wordy at best, and this will take some explaining.
I asked a question the other day about the nine orphaned kittens I pulled from the animal shelter. I am a rescue and while I do rescue cats, and have cared for kittens before… it has been a long time.
I am bottle feeding, doing stimulation for the bathroom, wiping them down after each meal, making sure they stay warm, keeping them safe from all other animals here of course… I have provided some toys for them to attempt to play with. I also took them to the vet on Saturday morning, as everything that comes to my home through my rescue or not gets vetted quickly. I was having some issues with some of the kittens. They were old enough for their eyes to be open, but several kept having an issue with this, and I had three that would not suck at all, and two that were trying to suck from the side. I did notice their little mouths were very red.
The vet checked them really well and, as is usually the case, we learned that some humans are indeed monsters.
We called animal control tog et as much history on the kittens as possible and learned that the man who brought them in claimed the mother had died "unexpectedly." The AC officer told us they have had trouble with this man before with regard to cats. I got his phone number and called him, telling him I was with a rescue and needed some specific history. The "gentleman" (used loosely) finally told me that "the neighbor’s kid" had "talked his own son" into taking two cats (the mother included) and tying their tails together whole tossing them across a clothesline. The mother cat was killed, and the man had no clue what to do with her "young’uns" so he dropped them at the "pound so they could be dealt with." He never dreamed that "any rescue would mess with a bunch of kittens." He also asked me why I had taken "all darn nine of "em." I did not even justify the question with a response, but I did ask him if the boys had been around the kittens. The response was a hesitant "yes."
The vet wrote out for me to ask him about glue. The man responded that the boys did have some "of that there Super Glue stuff."
Bottom Line:
The kittens had an attempt made to have their eyes and mouths glued shut with a generic Super Glue. Not all of them got both done, though none had escaped getting glued somewhere.
We have the kittens are between 2 and 3 weeks, and are doing better after the care they received yesterday. The vet felt they would be better coming home with me where hey would receive around the clock care. They are all doing much better. Those with sore mouths are getting fed from the side and I am actually having to use a medical syringe on some rather than a bottle. We are washing their eyes with an antibiotic solution twice a day.
I have one that is refusing food. Per the vet, I am making sure he gets the amount he has to have to live. He is now throwing up. I did call the vet, and he told me to keep doing as I am, and tomorrow he will look at this one again. I do NOT want this kitten to die this way, though I know I may well lose him. I still have to try and do anything and everything I can.
I have written this book to ask for suggestions please. I am very used to abused and neglected dogs, and have taken in stray cats. I have also bottle fed two cats before that were orphaned, but this is a whole new ballgame for me.
Any advice will be appreciated, and thank you for reading.
Here is a link to the pictures of the kittens. The second link is the specific kitten with the problem now.
Thank YOU in advance.
http://s947.photobucket.com/albums/ad316/eaglesdenrescue/Orphaned%20Kittens/?action=view¤t=Noteatingwell.jpg
http://s947.photobucket.com/albums/ad316/eaglesdenrescue/Orphaned%20Kittens/
OK..we have five rescues and only two of us do cats. The closest rescues other than these cannot take on any more just now, as their county shelter was closed due to a distemper outbreak.
So we will be feeding the orphans unless another rescue further away steps up. I have no trouble caring for them and the shelter will call if they get a "foster" mother in… and will allow me to bring her here.
As for the abuse: The rescue my husband and I founded handles abused and neglected animals. We have already begun the procedures to insure these people are fined (the most that will happen sadly) … but also, we are trying to make sure IF they manage to get another animal, they will be in violation of the law. No more animals for the CRUEL family. My neighbor HAD a nursing female, but her milk has dried up. We did try and really hoped the maternal thing would kick in. She did lay down with the kittens. But it did not happen.
Right now we are going to keep these little guys going as best we can. We are feeding about every three hours and giving them a lot of snuggle time. It is just me and my husband for now, but I will have some help coming in on Monday. We will do what we have to do. They no longer are filthy and I think the glue is mostly gone, though you can still see the effects on a couple of them. The vet has called me back and told me the antibiotic we have them on, Albion, for resporatory infections (in case of inhalation of the glue fumes) may be causing the throwing up. I will just offer a little less milk, a little more often. I will sleep when they are safe. They certainly did nothing to deserve this and I know they cannot understand. We will get them to the point where they can find a good forever home, and make sure they get only the best. They deserve all the love they can get and the best home. I will triple screen potential homes for these guys!!!
Hi there! Bless you for taking them in. One is hard enough let alone nine! There is one thing that I always keep around its a life saver for kittens. That is Karo Syrup (corn syrup). I you rub that on there gums or just mix it in with their formula. Its great! It will cure lots of things. If the kittens aren’t warm enough..its speeds up there blood sugar which keeps them warmer. If they start to have seizures (from low blood sugar) it will help with that too. I think it a good thing to just have on hand. It has saved many kittens lives in my life. But as for your kittens it sounds like you are doing everything right. Make sure when if you are bottle feeding them to keep them on there bellies and not have their necks up because you don’t want them to aspirate any milk into their lungs. But good luck with them!
First thing – those kittens are ADORABLE. And kudos for taking all nine of them.
Second- that dad and his kids should be fined BIG time, and the kids are probably going to grow up being juvenile delinquents.
Third- Just keep feeding him. My baby was just days away from death when my boyfriend and i got him, but all you have to do is hope and take the best care of them that you can. He is now eating by himself and playing. If the little one who is refusing the food keeps throwing up, you just have to take him to the vet again. Maybe something isnt agreeing with him or there is another problem.
Good luck and let me know how the kittens do!
I hope Animal Control or social agencies can really come down on the man and the kids.
It seems you are doing everything possible, and I really have little further advice. I am posting a link on caring for orphan kittens that probably won’t tell you anything you don’t know, but may put everything together in one article.
You have a tremendous challenge ahead of you, and I commend your wanting to help these poor kittens who certainly didn’t deserve what happened to them.
I wonder if the shelter or any rescue group can find a surrogate mother cat?
Hi,
What a handful you have there! I visited your photobucket album and instantly had to rely on a COA pillow (COA = Cute Overload Attack). =^^=
You are doing everything one can possibly can to take care of nine orphans. It is not an easy task at all and I wonder how much sleep you are getting every night!
Anyway, it appears that the kittens are thriving and since they are alert and active, all signs points to positive results.
And the back story you just told us is jut too heart wrenching. I certainly hope that justice can be served! This scenario unfortunately is happening all too common. We pride ourselves as being at the top of the food chain, a more superior animal and yet, some of us traded compassion and kindness for it. Such a shame!
For the little one that is not eating, all you can do is to force feed. If feeding via a syringe is not getting and food down, try using the tubing method. Here’s a good explanation on how to do it:-
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/tube-feeding.html
Thanks also for making sure all of them are getting vet care. They are really lucky to have found you.
I can assure you that you are doing the very best and now it is up to the kitten’s survival instinct to kick in.
Best of luck and if you need any specific help, feel free to post again.
Contact feline rescues and see if any have a queen with a litter, then foster the orphaned ones to her.
Then go back to animal control and make out an abuse report about what you learned from that guy.
Darling little babies! Blessings to you Beth, and to Jerry! What horrible little urchins to commit such a despicable act. I hope they are punished to the full extent of the law, and can never own another animal again.
From what you describe, your care is exceptional! Your Vet is guiding you properly, and I know you are going above board on the nurturing and love! The little sick "Marmalade" kitten will hopefully survive with force-feeding, hydration, electrolyte replacement, meds, and most of all the knowledge that he is loved. Keep him close, I will say the usual prayers for him. Remember to stay healthy yourself….that means SLEEP! Keep us posted…..Theresa