Help with rescue, please

I have searched for help on how to save a kitten about 4 weeks old whose mother was found dead two days ago, but have found very little that is useful. We didn't find the kitten until today. I am in Italy and there is no formula, no kitten bottle, none of the things mentioned in the rescue docs online. What can I do? There are also no rescue organizations except in Rome, far far away. The poor thing won't eat from a saucer. I forced about 3 demitasse spoons of warmed skimmed milk down it, but it wouldn't take soaked catfood at all. The emergency formulas say they won't permanently support growth... so what to feed it? I do recall a vet telling me to supplement milk for weaners with baby food chicken or turkey, so tomorrow I can buy some. I cleaned it with a warm, wet cottonball. It is sitting in my lap on a towel because it otherwise yells continuously, but it poops as it wishes and wherever it is. I tried to introduce it to a good mom cat who was related to its mom, but she just spat at it, as did all the other cats. It is thin, has a round tummy which is flaccid. It walks well, ears are up, has teeth but still has a round head. I will be so grateful for any help at all. I cannot bear to think of the poor thing starving.

Here is a formula that you can make at home, I've used it several times and the kittens do really well on it. Also wanted to mention, I always kept hot water bottles, covered with a towel to keep them warm. Any kind of bottle will do, I used soda bottles.

Okay here's the formula, I wish you the very best of luck

One 12 ounce can of Evaporated Skim cows milk, One 4 ounce can evaporated whole cows milk, one 4 ounce container of plain yogurt and three egg yolks. Mix well and strain. I always give it to them warm - let them think it's coming right from Mom...what do they know???? I use droppers to feed the kittens, I like them better than bottles.

And I have found a recipe for a pedialite substitute:

4 1/4 C. Water. 2 tsp. sugar - you can add up to eight for flavor. 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda. This is good to have on hand for babies that are getting dehydrated or showing signs of URI.

Try the Campus Cats website for a formula recipe based on goats milk. Even straight goats milk will do in the short term. If the kitten is 4 weeks or more, though, you can go straight to solid food (the website has suggestions for that as well).

The kitten needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible, though; surely there is a vet in your area who can evaluate the kitten's condition and help get it going on solid food. Dehydration is a real danger for this baby, as well as starvation.

Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats

Hey, Aimee; thanks for the pedialyte formula!

Our vet uses bottle of warm water to help keep babies comfortable, too. They tend to use gallon milk cartons or the like, which are flat-sided and less likely to roll.

Other posts have covered feeding the little one. After you get him eating and all checked out one more thing you want to do is get him using the litter box. If he's pooping by himself he's old enough to use the box. Get a container that he can get into (I use a Rubbermaid rectangular food storage container for my kittens) to use for a litter box. Put him in it and scratch his paws in the litter. At his age he may take right to it if his mom had already started showing him the ropes. Otherwise take a warm damp papertowel or cotton ball and gently stimulate his bum while he's in the litter box. He should at least pee in short order. Then scratch his paws in the litter. Do this a couple of times and I bet he gets the picture in no time.

I don't know how reliable this is, but it will work in a pinch (it is definitely better than nothing) As for a bottle, if you can find a baby bottle with a working nipple, use it. If you have a small glass similar in shape to a bottle and a plastic food storage bag, you can make what is called a 'sugar tit' (sorry about sp) Cut a very small hole in the corner of the bag ( it should be the kind you store frozen food in as plastic is thicker and doesn't tear as easy, doesnt matter how it closes) If you put water in the bag it should drip out but not run. Then place the bag over the glass with the cut corner over the top of the glass (filled with milk replacement). Pull the bag fairly tight over the top of the glass and twist the excess bag around the bottom of the glass. This will be messy, but it should work and if the kitten is 4 weeks old, you can begin to feed it canned cat/kitten food, although I have been warned to avoid the fish flavor (apparently they use fish heads to make it and it can be harmful, but you should confirm this with someone.) Continue to feed it formula until it gets the hang of eating the food to be sure that it is getting enough to eat. You may have to take the canned food on your finger and put it in the kitten's mouth to make it taste it. Usually once they actually taste it, they will begin to try and eat. I took this milk recipe from one of the many websites that I visited after finding my own rescued kitten, and I am sorry but I cannot remember which one it was.

'I am including a formula recipe that can be made from things bought at your local 7-11 store, just in case you find a baby when the pet stores aren't open: One 12-ounce can of Evaporated Skim cow's milk, One 4 ounce can evaporated whole cows milk, one 4-ounce container of plain yogurt and three egg yolks. Mix well and strain. I always give it to them warm - let them think it's coming right from Mom...what do they know???? They're happy, I'm happy and it's usually a nice ending.'

Good luck with your kitten, I hope that all goes well.

Looks very bad. It simply will not eat. Or drink the homemade pedialyte. It simply shakes its head and sends it everywhere. I never thought much about not finding evaporated milk in the supermarkets, but it is reality. Why do we find it essential and the Italians don't use it? Hmmm. The vet opens about 10:30 and if the kitten lasts till then I will take it in, but it is shakier and shakier and doesn't cry as loud, although I have continued to get a few drops of formula and water into it as I could.

Have you tried baby food? Without onions. If it is getting weak, at this point I would try to feed it just about anything that it would eat, maybe potted meat or something similar, they tend to love the smell. I'm sure it's not good for their tummy(so please, nobody fuss at me), but at the starvation point, I will try anything with a little one. I think your biggest concern should be getting it to drink. I found with mine, I had to wrap her in a cloth very tight so that she couldn't wiggle, and hold them as close to flat on the belly as you can, if necessary hold it up until you get it to take the formula, then quickly change it's position. Once you have them wrapped up, wait for the crying to start, then use the bottle, or whatever to drop milk in its mouth. Once might tasted it, I had to literally take the bottle away when she had enough.

You may have to let it play and wear itself out, I have found that with an older kitten that has been with its mom, it is their instinct to fight you. Check for dehydration by pinching the skin gently at the back of its neck and pulling it away from the neck(very gently!), if it doesn't spring right back withina second or two, the kitty is dehydrated, forget about formula, and get as much of the pedialyte into him as you can.

I have also known kittens of this age to greive themselves to death because of the loss of their mother. You also do not know what it might have been exposed to, it may have gotten something from the mother. Sometimes there is simply nothing you can do. Definitely get it to a vet, but if he doesn't make it, don't blame yourself. It sound to me like you have done just about everything you can.

Since the vet opened this morning I tried nothing other than what I had already been doing. The kitten died at the vet. The vet said there was never anything I could have done as it was sick from the start. It's body temp had dropped beyond salvation in spite of the hot water bottle and something was white, though I didn't catch what. I feel rather sorry that I forced it now.

Judith,

I'm so sorry to hear about your kitten. We recently lost a kitten that I had tried so hard to save