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My house is, affectionately, referred to as “The Temple of Bast” by my friends, and for good reason. Every cat in the neighborhood hangs out at my house. I feel like I’ve reached “crazy cat lady” status far too early!
Having so many cats hanging around, most of them feral or stray, we wind up taking care of the occasional orphaned or abandoned kitten.
KMR, a popular brand of kitten formula, can be expensive though. And, when you’re on a budget, like I am, picking up cans of that stuff regularly can really add up. So, I found myself having to look around for recipes for kitten formula, and tips on taking care of orphaned kittens.
I found a really good recipe, cheap and easy to make, at this site.
However, the recipe calls for a cup of whole milk, and from what I’ve read elsewhere, cows milk isn’t good for cats and kittens. So, I would use goats milk in place of the cows milk. Other then that, the recipe and tips featured on that site worked out very well.
You have to remember to help the new kittens empty their little bladders and bowels, as they won’t be able to do this on their own for a few weeks after birth. And, you’ll have to keep wiping them down with a damp cloth, something made of terry cloth works best, since their mommies aren’t around to lick them clean all the time.
Kittens, depending on their age, should eat every few hours or so. And, their hydration is particularly important. You want to make sure they are always adequately hydrated, but not over hydrated. Over hydration can lead to life threatening diarrhea in very young kittens.
Here’s another good site to look over, for more tips on raising abandoned kittens.
Do remember that you may not be able to save every kitten you run across. In the end, if you’ve done everything you can do and the kitten doesn’t make it, realize that you tried your hardest and did everything you could, and that makes all the difference. Not being able to save them all shouldn’t stop you from trying. You could make a big difference to the helpless life before you. Even if you’re on a tight budget.
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