Found Mama & Sick Kitten

[Inchworm]

Last night I was going to my neighbor's apartment, and found a tiny kitten in middle of the parking lot. While I was going into her building I saw an adult cat looking in a window. I walked over and she let me pet her. Since my neighbor just moved in and I'm not familiar with the "owned" cats in her building, I walked away and went back to the kitten. Unlike the ferals and their kittens, this little fellow let me scoop him right up.

Since he is very tiny, and she had said she wanted a kitten, I offered it to my friend, but she wouldn't take it, so it came home with me. On the way in, I showed it to one of the women who feeds our ferals and she said the kitten looked about "one day away from death." She gave me some kitten sized food and suggested that I soak it in water to soften it. It turned out that this wasn't necessary and the little guy just gobbled them up. He was very thirsty too, and drank first.

I snapped a couple of pictures of him, but don't want to scare him further. Here he is in a 20 gallon tank:

He's settled in and eating here. You can see a little better just how skinny he is:

This morning I found that he's used the litter box several times, so I guess that part of him is working OK too. What I'm really worried about is that his eyes are stuck shut with mucus. I guess an early trip to the vet will be in order.

An hour or so ago, I went down and found the mother cat, but no other kittens. I got her to come to me by offering food and water, but when I brought her inside she panicked and bit my hand several times. It took some time in the stairwell to get her to calm down. She never did come to me again, but when I set the open cat carrier down, she ran right into it. I won't even try to get a picture of her yet, but she's a beautiful Siamese looking cat.

The Momma is still so frightened that she hasn't moved a bit from the position she was in when I brought her in almost an hour and a half ago. She can see food and water, and even her kitten in the tank.

Last night I had to take down and re-setup another 20 gallon tank that was blocking the door of my fishroom so I could close it to protect the kitten from my cat Pandora. She is furious with this whole situation and will do nothing but his at me since I brought the kitten in. She actually tried to scratch me a few times.

Right now I'm not sure about what to do. If the kitten survives, I'd like to keep him, but Pandora hates the idea. Someone told me there's a vet in the area that might take them in and find them homes, but I don't know about that for sure. I just feel so sad and worried that these poor little creatures, who were obviously abandoned by their former owner, will be able to have a good and safe life with someone who loves them.

If you have advice, or have had experience dealing with a similar situation, I'd really like to hear what you did and how things worked out for you.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You should definately take him to the vet ASAP, but its a good sign he is eating, drinking and pooping- he looks rather dehydrated and underweight though- small but regular meals are probably the best. What was his poop like- no tapeworm or anything in it?
With the mucus thing around the eyes, maybe you can get a warm damp sponge and see if you can sponge some of the mucus off his eyes to help make him a bit more comfortable? You should definately check his skin/fur through to make sure he doesn't have fleas/mites/parasites or area's of fur loss etc.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Tokis-Phoenix,

Thanks for your quick reply and your good advice.

I started feeding him gradually last night, just a few pieces at a time with a little break in between. By the time I went to bed I had left a good supply in the dish for him.

His poop looked OK, but I use the clumping kind, so when I got up it was probably drier than it was when he made it. It appears that it wasn't too loose or too hard. I don't see anything wrong with his skin, and no obvious sign of parasites or worms. Of course, that doesn't mean he doesn't have them. I'm cleaning his eyes with lukewarm water and cotton balls, but I'm worried it's a symptom of something worse.

The mama cat looks healthy, just frightened. She looks like she's been well enough fed, but has no collar on. She's clearly not one of the ferals yet. From what I've been able to see without being able to turn her over, or even get a really good look at her when she's not crouched down, she doesn't seem to look like she's nursing. It's been over two hours now and she still hasn't moved, except to blink her eyes.

I've heard the kitten make some little cries when he was alone and wanted to be picked up, but so far, even though I held him and petted him, I haven't heard him purr yet. He's not very active either, and just sleeps or lays there.

I hope he will improve. Now I'll try to find a vet and a neighbor who will take me there.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Is there any blood around the eyes at all? Cats and kitten eye infections can be caused by numerous things like bacterial infections, this site seems to contain some good information about them though;

http/www.vetinfo.com/cateye.html

Make sure the kitten is kept warm as if its lost a lot of weight it won't have much body fats to keep it warm.
With the mum cat though, does she seem in good health or have you not been able to get close enough to her yet? Taming cats can take a long time, its probably best not to interact with her too much for now unless totally nesarsary at this point as this experience is probably very stressful for her- when you catch her for the vet (which i'd advise taking her to as well), wrapping her up in a towel can help prevent her from trying to scratch you when you are moving her .

 

[Bloo]

oh poor little thing! It looks like a few week old Siamese kitten. Well done for taking them in and trying to help out.
And no doubt your own cat would be furious. A very difficult situation. Do however keep them away - you never know what disease (such as FIV) the mom & kitten might have. And wash your hands inbetween handling them and your own cat. If I was in NY, I'd help you out and take them in the blink of an eye.
Best of luck at the vets

 

[Tangerinefizz]

Awww poor little guy. He looks an awful lot like my Cleo when we got her. She was very, very sick. She wasn't found by us, but by friends of ours. She had eye gunk, goop around her nose, ear mites, a bad cold among being very malnourished. I think it cost us $115 in medications for her ear and oral meds to clear up the rest of the ailments. It sounds to me like he could be suffering the same cold type thingy.

I wish I lived closer to you, I'm in the market for another siamese cat. I'd take that one of your hands in a heartbeat. You aren't coming to Ontario, Canada anytime soon are you? lol

Bless you for taking him in and helping him. You are wise to keep him away from your other cat though as others suggested. When we first brought Cleo home I wouldn't even let her near the dog until we knew what she had.

Best of luck to all of you!

If you need more assistance, there is a great Siamese Rescue in New York. They may be able to help, and maybe even willing to come get mama cat, I don't know.

 

[WILDER]

Poor little thing.
Is the mother thin as they might need worming.
Sounds like it has cold in the eyes if its been in a drafty cold area, should clear up if you keep bathing them.
Good luck nice to see someone take an ill animal in.
Been here many times with poorly kitten from the farm.

 

[PlecMama]

Have you left the mama and kit alone, out of enclosures? She might want to be with her baby but not know how to get there since the kid's in a tank. I have NO better suggestions for you, but if they were living together - and it sounds like they were - they will want each others company still.

The vet might examine them for free since they are strays, tell him you want to bring a pair of strays in to be examined and see what he says, or try the PDSA.


Oh and about your hand - a few bites? ...is ya tetanus up to date? I cut my hand and I was at 8 years post-vax and they decided to give me a booster anyway. Go get your hand looked at! With puncture wounds they will probably give you a booster if your last vax was more then 5 years ago.

Oh and in case you are scared of needles....ignore that last part, don't worry at all, they definitely won't give you a booster, but still GO! (they'll hold you down and do it once you are there! )

 

[Rhiannon]

He is an exotic breed of some sort (I have grown up with exotics all of my life and have a siamese ragdoll, but have had burmese and tonkinese), I am thinking more maybe a burmese due to his colouring and hair length.

Definitly keep the gorgeous little thing. I hope you can possibly keep mumma cat too...

 

[KathyM]

How did it go at the vets? The mucky eyes could be anything from cat flu to a basic infection, to a symptom of something much worse. Ideally they both need FIV/FeLV testing and completely isolating from other cats at all times until they have the all clear.

I was wondering though - why on Earth do you have him in a fish tank? Take him out of it, it won't be doing him or his mum any good.

 

[LisaLQ]

I'd personally go one further than taking to a vet, and ring the shelter and get them to take them on. Not only are they poorly, but they're also putting your other cat(s) at risk, and shouldn't be in your home where you cant quarantine properly. They obviously need specialist care, both health and behavioural, it's a massive undertaking and one for the professionals If you want to keep them, you could always request that they bear you in mind, it would probably mean going through the adoption process and a homecheck but it's what's best for the cats

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Any update/news on the cats ?