Hi All,
I need everyone's help please.
My daughter rescued a wee kitten tonight from a group of local boys who were throwing stones at her, and her sibling sister. Mother couldn't be found and the kitten's sisters was dead when my daughter found her.
She is malnourished. Bony, yet tummy is big (she looks awful in this respect). She is black. Her fur looks like it is thin (maybe that is normal for this age?). We estimate her to be no more than 4/5 weeks old.
Ben (our dog) was in the car when my husband went to fetch our daughter from riding. So, Jasmine (we've already named her) was in the car with Ben who licked her a few times (phew!).
When I first saw her less than 1/2 an hour ago - she was trembling/shaking (fear? cold?). She was clingy - probably because Ben was trying to sniff and lick her. (He managed a couple of licks - she hissed in fear).
She has dry crusts in her eyes. I also noticed she had a snotty nose (never seen it this bad in a cat/kitten before!) - the mucous was globbed on both nostrils. I cleaned them off gently. She is sneezing a lot!!! And with each sneeze - comes a trail of lovely mucous (we all have it on our feet....yuk). Oddly the mucous which was on her nose was opaque whilst the fresh mucous sneezed out is more clear/greenish hue.
Any ideas of what she might need?
She doesn't seem to be warm/hot to the touch. Also, I'm not sure if her shivering/trembling/shaking is shivering, trembling or shaking - and if it is from fear (Ben and new surroundings) or shock, or all of the above?!
Oh - my husband gave her milk (fresh)....argh, after my telling him she needed fresh cream (which I later realised we are out of!). She went to Ben's bowl and grabbed a hunk of meat (fresh) and sat chomping on it voraciously for about 5 minutes. I'm sure she was just starving/hungry. Hubby then gave her some dog biscuits (GRRRRR) which I obviously think is probably too rich for her since she is so young (?). But he argued that cats (she is feral) are survivors and she can probably handle just about anything - being that the local cats eat whatever they can scrounge.
Obviously, I'd like to give her the best - to optimise her chances of survival. I will not vaccinate, btw...and we plan to keep her.
GPM, after being here for 1/2 an hour - just a few minutes ago - we saw her sidling up to Ben - looking like she was about to root for a nipple. You shoulda seen Ben's face..tongue hanging out - and not knowing quite what to make of her (she is a tiny wee thing). Ben was sitting up, btw --- then she crawled under his front legs (he was up, remember) and Ben lifted his left paw - not knowing WHAT to do
! He gently and awkwardly (bless his heart) extracted himself from atop her - and moved so he wouldn't hurt her. I think they're gonna be great friends..and I'll send you a photo when she is stable and well.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Lisa