New Mum with loads of questions Options

[MilliandMe]

Hi All!

I am a new mum to a little Girl, Milli. She is just over 7wks old. Yes I know this is young.

We found an ad in the paper for 3 kittens for sale. So we drove out to have a look, we were absolutely appalled when we got there.

The little kittens were in a dirty box with no food or toilet area, the guy there said that the mother cat ran away when the kittens were 3wks old and that he had hand raised them. They were so underfeed, and flee riddled. My little girl was meowing so much but stopped as soon as I picked her up, she is super affectionate. The other little kitties were so scared they were shaking and hissing at me and my partner.

I was so upset at the way they were keeping the kittens that I picked up the box and told the guy that I was taking all the kittens and I wasn’t going to pay him anything, he didn’t try and stop me and just yelled abuse at us, we got in the car and drove to our local RSPCA and told them what had happened. They took the other 2 kittens.

So now after that not so nice start to life, Milli is doing really well, but I do have a few questions. I should have asked the Vet but was so worried about what he was going to say about Milli's health that I forgot all about my questions.

She had loads of fleas, we washed her in kitten flea treated shampoo and have flea treated her, and flea comb her every day. I suspect that there is only a couple of fleas left on her now, how long does it take for the treatment to work?

She also has a big belly, it does get smaller when she hasn’t eaten but she loves her food. She has been wormed, again if she has worms from the fleas how long will the worming treatment take to kill the worms?

She is using the litter box like a champion, and her poop is solid and brown, but how often is a kitten supposed to poop?

she was apparently being feed Whiskers wet kitten food and Whiskers milk, the vet said to put her on to Kitten Supercoat dry food and raw Kangaroo meat that you buy in the supermarket. So she gets a teaspoon of meat in the morning and dry food all day and a tablespoon of meat at night. She is drinking water now too. Is this is the best diet for her?

The vet didn’t seem to concerned with her weight, well didn’t mention anything to me about it. She weighs just over 600gms. Is this a good weight for a 7wk old kitten?

Also her fur is soft but kind of crimpy, is this because of all the fleas or will this just be how her fur is?

sorry about all the questions, I have never owned a cat before, and well truth is I just love her to bits, I don’t know what I would do if something happened to her.

Thanks

[Heather Sharada]

Welcome to COA and kitten ownership....she sounds like a dear little baby...very young yes but sweet....Now to some of your questions...

She had loads of fleas, we washed her in kitten flea treated shampoo and have flea treated her, and flea comb her every day. I suspect that there is only a couple of fleas left on her now, how long does it take for the treatment to work?

Fleas have a cycle - there will be eggs on her coat - microscopic...keep using the flea comb gently and remove fleas as they die or hatch. You will need to treat her to cover that fleas will hatch every 10 days so that no adult fleas remain to lay eggs.

She also has a big belly, it does get smaller when she hasn’t eaten but she loves her food. She has been wormed, again if she has worms from the fleas how long will the worming treatment take to kill the worms?

She will have worms - so speak to the vet about a safe product for Round Worms - this will need to be repeated fortnightly once or twice....not too often so that it is harsh. The fleas would possibly cause Tape Worm so when she is around 9 weeks or so again get a Tape Worm dose from the vet - don't throw too many chemicals at her at the same time. Her big belly is likely because she was malnourished.

If you were able to feed her her wet food 4 small feeds in a day you might also prevent her overloading her tummy.

She is using the litter box like a champion, and her poop is solid and brown, but how often is a kitten supposed to poop?

Kittens like babies of any species go when they get the urge....she probably would go a little more frequently if she was eating mainly wet food...

she was apparently being feed Whiskers wet kitten food and Whiskers milk, the vet said to put her on to Kitten Supercoat dry food and raw Kangaroo meat that you buy in the supermarket. So she gets a teaspoon of meat in the morning and dry food all day and a tablespoon of meat at night. She is drinking water now too. Is this is the best diet for her?

I would give her a better quality kitten food if you can get it - Royal Canin Baby Cat - small biccies and better quality formula than the Supercoat - give her some RC mixed in. She might like a little grated cheese. might even like a chicken drumette with the skin removed and the meat slashed so she can grab hold of it.

Whiskas Sachets and Whiskas kitten milk are better than I thought she would have been receiving. She can have a little Kitten Milk - Whiskas - it has Taurine in it which is essential for cats, just a little at a time. You can also get Fancy Feast Kitten food and you could even get some human grade minced steak and mash a little into the kitten wet food.

The vet didn’t seem to concerned with her weight, well didn’t mention anything to me about it. She weighs just over 600gms. Is this a good weight for a 7wk old kitten?

She is a little underweight - we breeders like to see the weight at birth say - 80 to 100 grams plus at least 100 grams a week - so maybe should be at least 800 grams but now she is on good food and regular care and has less blood sucking fleas she should gain very quickly.

Also her fur is soft but kind of crimpy, is this because of all the fleas or will this just be how her fur is?

Her furr is just baby coat - not really indicative of her coat later on....the baby fluff will fall out in good time.

Feel free to ask if you have other questions...and I am sure others will be along to offer their advice soon.

[MilliandMe]

Thank you so much for answering my questions.

I am sure I will have more in the future!

[jaspersmum]

Don't give her roo meat at the moment - it is a very lean meat and she needs the fats from normal meat for growth. If she will eat it, human mince meat or chopped up chuck steak/gravy beef (small baby sized chunks) and I too recommend getting her onto better quality bikkies - my tribe are on Royal Canin kitten mixed with Felidae chicken (grain free) and feed her four times a day if you can, with smaller amounts as if she gorges herself she will just bring it back up again.

Welcome to the world of being owned by a cat and thak you for rescuing her to a good life.

[lynh]

Hi,

Welcome to this forum. I'm new too, and this is such a good way to get useful information and have a bit of a laugh sometimes.

Milli is gorgeous. What a beautiful face!!

I'm sorry, I didn't take note of the name of the lady who answered all those questions, but I agree with everything she's said.

The only thing I'd add, having been the "victim" of a couple of major flea plagues, would be to point out that if Milli has had the run of your house while carrying live fleas on her, she may have dropped fleas and/or eggs and/or larvae onto your carpets or floors. You only need a few eggs to hatch to have a major plague in your home. Believe me, this is not good. Be vigilant. If you find Milli seems to be getting fleas again for no real reason, or you have the odd flea jumping on to your legs or arms, you might have the beginnings of a problem and you'll have to treat your house.

If you or anyone else who uses this site ever has a problem with a lot of fleas in the home, please use this forum and I'll give you all the info I can from my own experience in making my house as flea-free as humanly possible.

You are going to enjoy your little girl. After all, "Happiness is being owned by a cat".

[Rachelle]

Thank you for standing up for the innocent kittens and saving them from that hell, great work!

Thank you even more for opening your home to this beautiful baby. Heather has given great advice which should help you, and feel free to ask more questions, it's how we learn :)

I have found with the little ones I have rescued who haven't had regular food, that they will keep on eating past reasonable point so I give small portions often.

Melbamax is a good wormer, there are plenty of others to chose from.

Welcome and looking forward to pics of your baby

[Catsfriend]

I want to add also my congratulations and compliments and respect that you have taken Milli on and are committed to giving her a good start in life. What has happened to the other two siblings?
To all the good advice given above I only want to add that 7-8 weeks of age is really a good time to give her some first VACCINATIONS (F3 or F4) so she can start to build up a strong immune system. Also, keep her environment very clean and avoid contact with other animals for the next 2 months until her immune system is stronger, as kittens of that age are extremely vulnerable to all sorts of germs and diseases. Once she is 6-9 months old, she will be strong enough to resist any danger, and she will be pure joy to you.

[love.my.cats]

What a horrible situation for her to to have come from. She's very cute though. Welcome to the forum.